International Marketing

When businesses expand and break into overseas markets, they have to consider the differences in culture of the country that they are expanding into with that of their own.

This is easier said than done and in reality, many businesses fail miserably in their attempts to reap benefits from overseas markets.

Cultural differences have to be taken seriously if businesses want to capture a slice of the international market.

An example would be sending a business representative, who is direct and straightforward with his/her words, to promote business products/services in China. This particular business representative should be asked to help with promotional activities in a country such as Australia, where his/her style would be more welcome. China is a place which emphasises more on subtlety and sensitiveness and relationship building and management through the Chinese terms ''guanxi''.

Another example would be to send a female representative to some Middle Eastern countries for business talks or promotion, again, this would defeat the main purpose of building up the business profile in those countries. Women are regarded as people who should stay home and mind the house rather than appear in public, let alone take the lead in business activities.

Marketing A Business Takes Time : cont.....

Some business owners I know of, endure months or even years of mediocre or even poor results to achieve what they have today.

By looking at a successful business today, one might not know the initial struggles that the business owner(s) went through during the start-up years.

Some of them might have gone through lots of pain, so the message is Never Give Up!

Assignment Skills

Writing a marketing report is no easy feat. One has to first be familiar with the various marketing concepts and use them appropriately throughout the report.

The format or structure of the report is key to getting a good grade. One has to pay attention to the flow of the report, from intro to body to conclusion. It has to be written in a way that leads the reader step by step and in a timely fashion, so he/she understands what it is that you are writing, the market problem, the various recommendations for solving the problems, the implications of the various recommendations etc.

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Marketing Subjects/Units: Guidance For Students

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Market Penetration Cont .....

Businesses can try the usual special offers to get target audiences to buy their products/services for that particular day or week. After that period, it will be Business As Usual (BAU) and if consumers in the target market, who had tried the products/services during the offer period, fancy the products/services, they will now place this new brand in their minds and will consider coming back for more.

So, marketing can never be done in isolation. If a business has done its promotion well enough and has managed to pull in the crowds, they will still have to have quality products/services (P=Product), otherwise consumers will only try it once and never come back.

Market Penetration

This strategy, which is based upon using current/existing products to penetrate current/existing markets, is useful for certain businesses.

These businesses can try to capture non-users or users of competitors' products from the current/existing markets.

Promotion : Gifts

This is an old tactic to draw attention and get shoppers to choose your product. Although it's an old tactic, it can be quite useful.

Here in Singapore, Sunshine Bread, which arguably is less sellable compared with its biggest rival Gardenia Bread, recently offered hotdog rolls as a giveaway for a purchase of its standard white or softmeal bread loaves.

Shoppers tend to try the bread and if they feel that its quality and price is worth the money paid, they will return and buy more in future. The above tactic is to get them to first try the bread and acquire the taste and appreciate it.

Promotion Cont.....

A skillful marketer knows and understands the huge importance of Promotion. Done well, it will attract the correct target audience and if the business already has a solid Product, value for money Price, a convenient and good location (Place), 75% of the battle is won.

Marketing Mix : Place

Another very important element of the Marketing Mix is Place or Distribution as it is commonly known.

How customers get to you or how your product or service gets to them is crucial in deciding if it is easy and convenient for them to buy.

Marketing Mix : Price Cont .....

There are many traditional coffee shops now being opened and managed in air-conditioned shopping malls.

This concept has been around for several years in Singapore and crowds just keep going back for more.

On the menu, one can easily find coffee, tea, toast bread, chicken rice, curry rice, mee siam, mee rebus etc.

The entire marketing mix is important in keeping the business at the top but one important ingredient that the target market looks for is Price. If prices are kept low or at least lower than competitors, a business will surely be able to survive and even prosper.

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Marketing Mix : Product

One of the Ps in marketing is product.

The Product has to be something that people or consumers need. It cannot be something that the business owner wants to sell, but rather it must be something that people or consumers are willing to buy.

The challenge for any business is to think of a good, ideal and suitable product to place onto the market. The product has to be what consumers need and want, and also it has to be sellable and perhaps stand out from the crowd. Product features and designs could be made in such a way (after market research) that attracts consumers or differentiated from competitors' products.

Marketing Teacher : Businesses Adopting The Marketing Concept Cont.....

I know of a business which fully adopts the marketing concept. It is a service-related business that started in 2006.

The boss is someone with an entrepreneurial spirit. He runs the business almost single-handedly, with only one part-time assistant.

He understands the importance of the marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion, service, goodwill etc) and applies it in an effective and balanced manner to ensure that sales stay at a very healthy level, while keeping costs low.

The boss first started with a service that he knew consumers need and that there were not many competitors at that time. So he did his market research and combined the use of the marketing mix in such a way that he did well in his first year of business operations. From 2007 and 2008, he diversified into other service areas, and has done equally well, particularly in the promotional aspect of his various service lines.

Now, he could easily make a net profit of between $90,000 - $99,000 a year. It certainly beats working for someone, where one has to listen to mostly demanding orders from the bosses and cope with the everyday office politics. Mind you, an average graduate's pay (someone in his/her 30s) is only about $50,000 - $60,000 a year.

Businesses Adopting The Marketing Concept

Businesses that adopt this strategy have to:

- have a deep understanding of the market, based on thorough market research and not simply based on rough estimates or guesses

- make use of innovation, the business must be willing to change as the requirements of the market change

- careful planning and skilled execution of its marketing program and activities

Marketing : It Is Everywhere

When you think of it, Marketing is actually present in almost every part of our lives.

You yourself are always marketing yourself. You could be going for a job interview, you could be after that dream girl/lady/woman or guy/gentleman/man, you could be running for election for a club president position, you could be doing a home business, you could be playing professionally as a sportsman etc etc.

All of the above and many more aspects of our lives require us to do some form of marketing of ourselves. Product, price, place or distribution, promotion, service, goodwill etc are all activated so as to enable us to do well in our quest for our aim(s) or goal(s).

Target Market

Once market segmentation has been conducted, the market segment(s) that the business wants to target can then be chosen.

The chosen market segment(s) to be targeted, will be the target market(s).

The Business will then put forth all of its marketing efforts into aiming at the target market(s).

Market Segments or Segmentation

This is a crucial concept that students have to first understand before embarking on their marketing knowledge journey.

When a business starts off initially, it has to divide or break up the huge consumer market into segments. They can do this by simply grouping consumers according to income levels, geographical regions, age groups etc; and then decide which market segment or segments they want to target.

Once decided, they will have derived their target markets to 'aim' at for sales of their products/services.

Market Positioning

Marketers within organisations usually try their best to create an image or 'position' for their product, brand or organisation name in the eyes of their target market vis-a-vis competitors' market position of their own product, brand or organisation name (competitors').

For example, their product, brand or organisation name could be seen as a useful budget product or a good product priced for the middle income earners or it could be something that consumers feel is an expensive yet quality and 'high class' product.