International Marketing

Ans-1 What is an International Market?

A market can be defined simply or rather complexly. In the simplest terms, a market is a system of institutions, rules and procedures relating to the exchange of goods and services between persons or organizations. Markets can be defined in different ways, including by geography, customer, product or even the behavioural characteristics of consumers.

Advantages of International Marketing Higher Sales

International marketing helps business in enhancing their sales by presenting them at international level. It provides access to wider market globally through which business connects with large number of customers. This boosts the sales volume and overall profitability of organization.

Minimizes Cost

It help companies in reducing their cost by producing goods in large quantities. Companies when trade in international market performs their operations at large scale which helps them in attaining cost competency in both national and international market.

Earns Foreign Currency

International marketing is an important source for earning foreign revenue by nations. Companies by trading in foreign market brings large amount of foreign reserves in their home country. All business dealings are made in foreign currency by companies operating at an international level.

Enhance Living Standards

International marketing helps people of different nations in enhancing their living styles. People are easily able to purchase high quality goods which are not produced in their home country from international brands. It serves as a platform where different reputed brands are able to sell their products in various nations.

Create Employment

It generates employment opportunities in home country as well as in host country. International marketing requires large scale operations to be performed by companies for meeting out the demands of large population. Companies hires huge no. of employees for carrying out their activities efficiently.

Rapid Industrial Growth

International marketing leads to rapid industrial growth of the country. It creates demand for new products which enhances the scale of operations of industries. Various infrastructural facilities such as transportation, insurance and banking are also guided by international marketing that contributes to national economy.

Benefits At Time Of Emergency

International marketing provides special benefits to nations facing emergency situations. Whenever any country is adversely affected by situations like drought and flood, it gets help from

other nations in international market. Emergency supply of all goods and services for fulfilling the urgent needs of peoples in such countries is facilitated through international market.

Disadvantages of International Marketing

Cultural Differences

International marketing faces many difficulties due to varying cultures and norms across the globe. Different countries have their distinct norms, traditions, lifestyles, languages and preferences. Companies may sometimes find it difficult to sell their products.

High Competition

The degree of competition in international marketing is very high due to the presence of large competitors. Companies entering foreign market have to compete with both home brands as well as various international brands.

Government Restrictions

International marketing is bound to follow various strict rules and regulations imposed by government. Government impose high tax and duties on import and export of goods which adversely affect the profitability and continuity of companies. Sometimes, it become difficult for companies to abide by all the rules and regulations in host country.

War Situations

International marketing is adversely affected by tension and war like situation among nations. It is subjected to diplomatic relation between countries and continues as long as these countries shares friendly relations. If any tension is erupted in host country, companies incurs huge losses and may lead to complete shutdown of their operations.

Distance Issues

Large geographical distance among nations is a major drawback in international marketing. Companies requires large efforts in servicing customers at far distant places. Suppling of fresh and perishable products to far nations becomes a challenging task for companies.

Ans 2. What is Marketing and Explain Marketing Implications?

The term marketing has been defined and interpreted in many ways by numerous writers and practitioners over time. But the definition of marketing given by American Marketing Association is most widely accepted.

According to American Marketing Association, “Marketing is the process of planning and, executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives. Philip Kotler defines marketing as a social process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating, offering and freely exchanging products and services of value with others.”

These definitions suggest that marketing involves a diverse set of activities directed at a wide range of products and stresses the importance of facilitating satisfying exchanges. Marketing may be defined as the process of ascertaining consumer needs, converting them into products or services, and moving the product or service to the final consumer to satisfy certain needs and wants of consumer segments with emphasis on profitability.

Implications of Marketing: Focus on Customer.

Marketing aims to satisfy the customer. Activities of marketing must be directed and focused at the customers. Marketing efforts must be directed at meeting customer needs, not market shares. For this, marketers must track customer needs on a continuous basis.

The corporate planning, processes and people must be reconfigured around the customer. Marketing begins with the identification of customer wants, needs and requirements. These are converted into products and services that might satisfy the basic needs.

Marketing must Deliver Value.

Marketers have to track customer needs and deliver the product as per their requirements. This is not an end in itself. The company must satisfy the following equation with resultant value above 1:

Customer Value = Benefits / Cost

The corporate strategy must be aimed at delivering greater customer value than competitors. The corporate planning, processes, and people must be reconfigured around the customer.

Marketing is Business.

When customer is the focus of all activities, marketer has not to search customers to seek response to his products. Customer group is decided for whom the product is prepared and presented, Following figure shows that customer provides business and business seeks customer.

Difference between Selling and Marketing

Selling	Marketing
Definition
The selling theory believes that if companies and customers are dropped detached, then the customers are not going to purchase enough commodities produced by the enterprise. The notion can be employed argumentatively, in the case of commodities that are not solicited.	The marketing theory is a business plan, which affirms that the enterprise’s profit lies in growing more efficient than the opponents, in manufacturing, producing and imparting exceptional consumer value to the target marketplace.
Related to

Constraining customer’s perception of commodities and services.	Leading commodities and services towards the consumer’s perception.
Beginning point
Factory	Marketplace
Concentrates on
Product	Consumer needs
Perspective
Inside out	Outside in
Business Planning
Short term	Long term
Orientation
Volume	Profit
Cost Price
Cost of Production	Market ascertained

Ans 4 Write short notes on the following: ii) EPRG Orientation: EPRG stand for Ethnocentric, Polycentric, Regiocentric, and Geocentric. It is a framework created by Howard V Perlmuter and Wind and Douglas in 1969. It is designed to be used in an internationalization process of businesses and mainly addresses how companies view international management orientations. According to the EPRG Framework (or the EPRG Model), there are four management approaches that an organization can take to get more involved in international

business substantially.

The EPRG Framework suggests that companies must decide which approach is most suitable for achieving successful results in countries abroad. For this reason, the EPRG Framework can be a useful tool to utilize if a company does not know yet how to manage business activities between companies in the local country and a host country. The EPRG Framework is additionally useful for making strategic decisions.

Ethnocentric:

In this approach of the EPRG Framework, the company in a local country that wants to do business overseas does not put in much effort to do research abroad about the host country’s market. Instead, most of the market research is executed in the headquarters in the local country. With this approach, the company seeks for markets abroad that share the same characteristics as the local market so that the marketing strategy does not have to be adapted. More specifically, the ethnocentric approach uses the same marketing strategies that are created by local personnel and further utilized multiple countries.

The ethnocentric approach of the EPRG Framework has benefits but also downsides. At first, the company saves a lot of operational costs that can be invested elsewhere. But the downside is that the company does not build up new knowledge about the market abroad, which could substantially increase sales volume if products and strategies would be adopted to the needs of the host country.

Polycentric:

In the polycentric approach of the EPRG Framework is the opposite of the ethnocentric approach. A company that utilizes this approach carefully consider different markets abroad to identify host countries that could potentially offer the most benefits. It means that if a company has a local headquarter and a separate office overseas in a host country that manages the operations in that or more countries, the marketing strategies are locally created and implemented based on the local needs. Businesses that utilize the polycentric approach of the EPRG Framework strongly believe that every market has its differences. For this reason, these types of companies implement different marketing strategies for each market.

Ans 8 Geocentric Orientation.

A company with a geocentric orientation views the entire world as a potential market. The basic assumption of this approach is that all human beings are alike. A geocentric company develops standardized marketing mix, projecting a uniform image of the company and its products for the global market.

The business of the geocentric company is characterized by sufficiently distinctive national markets that the ethnocentric approach is unworkable, and where the importance of learning curve effects

in marketing, production technology and management makes the polycentric philosophy substantially sub-optimal.

Pricing is established on a worldwide basis. Global channels of distribution are established and promotional policy is developed to project a uniform image of the firm, and its products. Since this orientation implies global attitude to the development of marketing policies, it provides for improved coordination and control. This approach is more successful in areas such as production and research than in marketing.

In general, the desirability of a particular international orientation EPRG tends to depend on several factors which are as follows:

Size of the firm.

Experience gained in the given market. Size of the potential market.

Type of the product and its cultural dependency.

The EPRG framework provides guidelines for the type of orientation a firm may have towards external marketing. The suitability of EPRG orientation may differ not only from company to company but also from-j one marketing decision area to another within the same firm.

Advantages of Geocentric Orientation

MNC’s can develop a pool of senior executives with international experiences and contacts across the borders.

The expertise of each manager can be used for the accomplishment of MNC’s objective as a whole.

Reduction in resentment, i.e. the sense of unfair treatment reduces. Shared learning, the employees, will learn from each other’s experiences.

Disadvantages of Geocentric Orientation

The cost of training, compensation, and relocation of an employee is too high. Highly centralized control of staffing is required.

Proper scrutiny is required by the HR to select the most suitable person for the job, which could be time-consuming.

This approach is very costly since the recruitment agencies or the consultants are to be hired for the global search for eligible candidates.

Ans 9 Examples Of Market Niches 1. Remote working employees

The changing nature of the industry and technology has resulted in many employees working from home. These employees have specific requirement that differs from those who work in an office environment. Due to these specialized requirements, such employees and employers are an excellent niche market to target. Marketers can focus on these employees by providing affordable home office equipment and technological upgrades that make remote work easier.

2. Travel

While the travel market is vast, there are various niche markets within the travel industry. Businesses who want to make an impact in the travel sector can consider specializing in travelers who are:

3. Home organization

This niche market caters to customers who want to restyle or renovate their existing homes. Companies can segment this market by targeting customer goals. The goals can include improving functionality, maximizing space utilization, and altering the interior design. For instance, a niche market in the home organization can comprise homeowners planning to create a modular and smart kitchen.

4. Health and wellness

Like travel, health and wellness is a large market that caters to customers who want to better care of their health. There are many market niches in the health and wellness sector, including:

A company can further narrow down the market niche by considering the target market's demographics, interests, and values. For instance, you can provide plant-based health supplements to people who want to lead a vegan lifestyle.

5. Do-it-yourself (DIY)

Rather than hiring professionals, some people prefer to complete tasks themselves or purchase pre-made products. These customers are a part of the DIY niche market. Companies targeting this market provide the customer with the material, tools, or skills to accomplish a DIY task. Through their products, these companies help customers create something new. For instance, a business can target the DIY niche market of the paint industry by providing pre-made paint solutions and tools using which customers can paint their homes without relying on a professional.

6. Specialised diets

It is common for people to follow a specialized diet to remain fit and healthy. Some people might follow a specialized diet because of allergies, sustainability concerns, or simply because they want to switch to a better lifestyle. These consumers might find it challenging to find and prepare a specialized diet. This makes dietary requirements a potential niche business. Companies can further market this segment by either focusing on food selection, preparation or consumption.

For instance, if you want to provide a sugar-free diet to customers, you can sell sugar-free ice creams, sweets, or chocolates. You can help customers make sugar-free ice-creams by publishing a recipe book.

7. Education technology

Education technology is a field that focuses on teaching various skills to a child. Many education tech companies focus on children with special needs, while others might focus only on toddlers. Apart from segmenting the market based on age, companies can segment the education sector by subject, skill set, or technology platform.

8. Home security

Another popular and profitable niche market is home security, which helps people keep their houses and belongings safe. In addition to offering safety solutions to customers, some businesses may teach elders and children about various home safety practices. Companies can offer doorbells connected to web cameras or smart digital locks connected to a customer's phone.

9. Safety preparations

There is a growing market for people interested in preparing for unexpected events and emergencies. This market comprises different subgroups, such as preparation for outages, droughts, fire safety, and cyclones. Companies in this niche can provide safety services or products with a prolonged shelf-life that consumers can use during such events. For instance, you can create practical plans or manufacture tool kits for disaster management for clients who live in areas prone to frequent flooding and drought.

10. Dating and relationship

Companies can segment the market of dating and relationships in several ways. For example, you can design an online dating app that caters to people with a specific hobby or interest. Another method of creating an opportunity in the dating and relationship industry market can involve targeting customers at a particular stage of their relationship. For example, you can design products aimed at middle-aged couples.