International Marketing: A Case Study of Brooklands Hotel

This report examines the international marketing strategies of Brooklands Hotel, a premier hotel in the UK, as it seeks to expand its operations globally. The report analyzes the scope and key concepts of international marketing, explores the rationale behind Brooklands' internationalization, and evaluates the opportunities and challenges associated with global expansion. It delves into the key criteria for selecting international markets, examines various market entry strategies, and presents an overview of the global versus local debate. The report also investigates how the marketing mix (product, price, place, and promotion) differs in various international contexts and provides recommendations on how Brooklands can adapt its marketing mix to different international markets. Finally, the report compares home and international orientations, outlines ways to assess competitors, and makes recommendations on how Brooklands should operate in an international context.

INTERNATIONAL MARKETING

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................2
LO1...................................................................................................................................................4
P1 ANALYSE THE SCOPE AND KEY CONCEPTS OF INTERNATIONAL MARKETING........................4
P2 USING YOUR CHOSEN CLIENT ORGANISATION, EXPLAIN THE RATIONALE FOR IT TO WANT
TO MARKET INTERNATIONALLY AND DESCRIBE VARIOUS ROUTES TO MARKET THE
ORGANISATION CAN ADOPT.......................................................................................................6
M1 EVALUATE THE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES THAT MARKETING INTERNATIONALLY
PRESENTS TO YOUR CHOSEN CLIENT ORGANISATION................................................................8
LO2.................................................................................................................................................10
P3 EVALUATE THE KEY CRITERIA AND SELECTION PROCESS TO USE WHEN CONSIDERING
WHICH INTERNATIONAL MARKET TO ENTER............................................................................10
P4 EXPLAIN, USING EXAMPLES, THE DIFFERENT MARKET ENTRY STRATEGIES, INCLUDING THE
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF EACH.........................................................................13
M2 APPLY THE MARKET EVALUATION CRITERIA AND ENTRY STRATEGIES AND MAKE
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOUR CHOSEN CLIENT ORGANISATION.........................................15
LO3.................................................................................................................................................16
P5& M3 PRESENT AN OVERVIEW OF THE KEY ARGUMENTS IN THE GLOBAL VERSUS LOCAL
DEBATE......................................................................................................................................16
P6 THE MANAGEMENT TEAM OF YOUR CLIENT ORGANIZATION WOULD LIKE YOU TO
INVESTIGATE HOW THE PRODUCT, PRICE, PRICING AND PROMOTIONAL DISTRIBUTION
APPROACH DIFFERS IN A VARIETY OF INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT............................................18
M4 DETERMINE AND ARTICULATE IN DETAIL HOW TO ADAPT THE MARKETING MIX OF
BROOKLANDS HOTEL IN DIFFERENT INTERNATIONAL MARKETS..............................................20
LO4.................................................................................................................................................21
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P7 EXPLAIN AND ANALYSE THE VARIOUS INTERNATIONAL MARKETING APPROACHES YOUR
CLIENT ORGANISATION CAN ADOPT.........................................................................................21
P8 IN ORDER TO HELP THEM MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION, YOUR CLIENT ORGANIZATION
WANTS YOU TO COMPARE HOME AND INTERNATIONAL ORIENTATION AND WAYS TO ASSESS
COMPETITORS, OUTLINING THE IMPLICATIONS OF EACH APPROACH.....................................22
M5 EVALUATE VARIOUS MARKETING APPROACHES AND COMPETITOR ANALYSIS IN
RELATION TO AN ORGANIZATION AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW THEY SHOULD
OPERATE IN AN INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT..............................................................................25
CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................................26
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................27
2

INTRODUCTION
International marketing is the process of studying cultural differences among different nations
so that companies can successfully expand their operations in a foreign country. The marketing
strategies in a global market are always different from the domestic market and applying a
uniform marketing plan across all the nations is a purely theoretical concept which has to face a
number of problems when implemented on the ground. The current assignment
discussesdifferent routes through which companies expand their operations in a foreign
market. While expanding into a new market, the product, price, place and promotion activities
need to be strategically planned so that companies can adapt themselves to the changing
situations. The assignment will try to find out the reason why these companies wish to
transform from domestic to an international company and what are the benefits of doing so.
The assignment also discusses various factors which need to be analysed in order to enter a
new market. Thesefactors include favourable trade policies, economic and political stability and
demand for the product and services of the company.
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BROOKLANDS HOTEL OVERVIEW
Brooklands Hotel is a premier hotel situated at Weybridge, Surrey. The hotel has 120 luxury
rooms and provides food accommodation, spa, wedding and leisure activities for the guest. The
hotel was established in 2010 and has become quite popular in the UK for providing exquisite
varieties of Italian and Spanish food along with facilities of gym, spa and other leisure
activities.The current report will discuss various factors in the international market which can
make an impact on the strategies of the organisation working globally (Brooklands, 2018).
Figure 1: BROOKLANDS HOTEL
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LO1
P1 ANALYSE THE SCOPE AND KEY CONCEPTS OF INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
International marketing is the process of satisfying the requirements of customers which are
located in the different regions of the world. As these different regions have different cultures,
beliefs, social and political, therefore, marketing needs are also different for different countries
(Ferraro and Briody, 2013). Brooklands hotel’s plan to expand can only give fruitful results if
they will make an effort to analyse these cultural differences and make strategies for marketing
accordingly.
The scope of international marketing has been widened due to the emergence of new
technologies and modern mediums of communication which are facilitated with the help of
internet. Due to these modern facilities, the management in different countries from the
central office has become convenient and effective; the regional managers in different corners
of the world can be brought together with the help of video conferencing facilities (Vahlne and
Johanson, 2017). In addition, increased knowledge regarding cultural preferences and buying
habits of the customers has helped companies to operate in a smooth and efficient manner.
Following are the key concepts in the international marketing at present:
EXPORTS
Export is one of the methods used by companies to expand their operations in a foreign
country. Inexporting, the readymade products manufactured in one country are directly
exported to another country. Theexportoperations have become more convenient with the
introduction of advanced logistic facilities. For Brookland hotel, exporting operation implies the
booking of hotel rooms online from different corners of the world (Cavusgil, et al. 2014).
IMPORTS
Selling of products and services which are generated in some other country and are sold in the
home market is termed as import operations. These imports are undertaken generally from
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developing countries where the availability of labour is plentiful.Large-scale imports provide
low-cost raw material for home industries.
WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY
These units are the full-fledged manufacturing units of companies in a foreign country. The
government of the host country welcomes this type of investment because it is a long-term
investment and creates stable employment for the local population (Akaka, et al 2013).
Governments also provide a variety of facilities for such operations such as fast approvals of
permissions, providing basic infrastructure and technological support. The cost of operations is
also reduced due to a reduction in logistics expenses.
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P2 USING YOUR CHOSEN CLIENT ORGANISATION, EXPLAIN THE RATIONALE
FOR IT TO WANT TO MARKET INTERNATIONALLY AND DESCRIBE VARIOUS
ROUTES TO MARKET THE ORGANISATION CAN ADOPT
REASONS FOR GOING INTERNATIONAL
Brooklands Hotel is a leading hotel in the UK and is planning to expand its operations
internationally. Whether or not a company goes international, the global market forces make
an impact on the operations of companies. The tough competition given by the multinational
hotel groups and competitive pricing strategies make it necessary to operate in a global
environment (Bown and Crowley, 2014). Following are some of the primary reasons why
Brooklands hotel is planning to go international:
 Due to the entrance of global players in the area of hotels and hospitality business, the
market in the UK has become saturated (Armstrong, et al. 2015).
 Emerging economies of Asian countries are providing excellent infrastructure and trade
policies to the foreign countries who wish to expand their operations in these countries.
 Brooklands hotels will get an opportunity to gain new knowledge, experiences and
technologies by operating different markets and can improve its services by competing
in an international market.
VARIOUS ROUTES TO INTERNATIONALISATION
Joint Venture
Joint venture is a collaboration of a foreign country with a domestic company. Brooklands hotel
can benefit from this kind of partnership since local companies possess good knowledge
regarding preferences of the customers and the local tradition which makesthe entry in a
foreign country easy. The joint ventures also help the company to increase its brand awareness
in the local market (Killing, 2013).
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Franchisee
Franchisee business is the process of giving authority to another small company to use the
brand name of the company. In return for this favour the parent company will charge some
amount of fixed revenue on the annual basis, the company may also provide some expert
knowledge and skills to support thegrowth of the new business (Kraft, et al. 2012). This kind of
operation increases the brand awareness of the company at no extra cost. But if poor services
are provided by the franchise company there is a risk of brand degradation.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Merger and acquisitions are a widely practised way in the hotel industry to enter a foreign
market. Mergers and acquisition help in reducing competition in the market and expand the
operations of the company in a broader area. Brooklands hotel can use this route of expansion
by acquiring small hotel groups in a foreign country and improve the quality of operations of
these hotels by its professional management and experience in the field of hotel management
(Deresky, 2017).
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M1 EVALUATE THE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES THAT MARKETING
INTERNATIONALLY PRESENTS TO YOUR CHOSEN CLIENT ORGANISATION
OPPORTUNITIES
By expanding globally Brooklands hotel will have a number of opportunities which can be
usedto increase the profit levels of the company and improve the quality of its operations.
 Brooklands hotel has an opportunity to create an advantage over its rival companies by
establishing its branches in foreign countries.
 The increased profit levels due to international operations will help the company
improve the quality of services.
 Brooklands hotel can also diversify its services to suit the needs of international
customers.
 The international expansion gives an opportunity to balance the negative growth of one
market with the positive growth in another international market which reduces the
amount of risk in the business (He and Balmer, 2017).
 The hotel business is a highly seasonal business; global operations will give an
opportunity to Brooklands hotel to take benefit of differential seasonal requirements in
different markets of the world.
CHALLENGES
Along with opportunities in the global business, there are a number of challenges which can
make an impact on the decision making of the company. These different challenges are
discussed below:
 The greatestchallenge for Brooklands hotel to establish its businessesin a foreign
country is the cultural barrier. This difference can be in the buying habits, purchasing
capacity, language and personal preferences which need to be analysed before entering
a new market (Luthans and Doh, 2018).
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 The marketing in a foreign country is also a challenging task; if the company relies on a
general marketing approach for all the countries it can make the marketing campaign
ineffective.
 Strict regulations on the operations of companies and requirement of different
permissions can create a barrier for the companies.
 Political instability is also a challenge for companies, the new government may impose
new duties and tax regime which may increase the cost of operation of companies.
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LO2
P3 EVALUATE THE KEY CRITERIA AND SELECTION PROCESS TO USE WHEN
CONSIDERING WHICH INTERNATIONAL MARKET TO ENTER
KEY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING A COUNTRY
Brooklands hotel is planning for international expansion but it takes a deep research and
planning to make sure that the expansion plans pay off well. The advancements in
telecommunications and transportation are providing new opportunities for the companies to
go international. But there are many risks involved these international ventures. To minimize
these risks a structured and strategic approach is needed to ensure that maximum results can
be obtained from minimum resources (Marchi, et al. 2014). The planning for international
operations must be long-term rather short-term becausethese strategies may take some time
to start giving result in the form of financial benefits.The local culture and customs make an
impact on the way the services aredelivered and the marketing approach of the company.
These are the key criteria’s to consider while planning which international market to enter.
Political Stability
The prevailing political situations in a country are the primary factor to consider because any
kind of political instability in the country can affect the operations of the company. Brooklands
hotel management has to investigate the key regulations in the country and the level of Red
tape culture which makes it difficult for the companies to take permissions for basic facilities for
operations of business like powers supply and water (Vaughan, 2016). When the political
situation in a country isstable the government provides a number of trade benefits to the
foreign countries, especially in the developing countries.
Availability of Basic Infrastructure
The basic infrastructure does not include only the roads, electricity, telecommunication and
transportation facilities, it also includes the human infrastructure available in the country.
Variety of skilled and unskilled labour should be available in the country as well as qualified
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candidates must also be available to carry the operations of the company (Mowforth and Munt,
2015). If the human resources are scarce then they will demand high remuneration and it will
increase the cost of operations of the company.
Economic Situation
The economic situation in a country is also one of the key criteria ofselection,if the economic
situation is not good it will decrease the purchasing power of the buyers and the level of profits
of the company will also reduce (Hoskisson, et al. 2013).
Trade Barriers
Trade barriers are the restriction that is put by the government of acountry to regulate the
movement of goods and services from one country to another country. These restrictions may
be in the form of tariffs, customs duties, copyright protection and technology transfer. All these
trade barriers must be deeply analysed in order to select an international market for expansion
(Rugman and Verbeke, 2017).
SELECTION PROCESS
Different criteria for selecting acountry are discussed in the above article the next step is to
plan and execute the process which is completed in the following steps.
1. Country identification: The country identification is done on the basis of trade policies,
economic situations and availability of basic infrastructure in the country.
2. Preliminary screening:This step includes assessing the demand of the customers for the
products and services offered by the company.
3. In-depth screening:In this step, the macro environment of the country is scanned and
the factors which can make an impact on the long-term profitability of the company are
considered.
4. Final selection:Now the country is fit according to all the key criteria and the final
selection is done for expansion (Jormanainen and Koveshnikov, 2012).
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5. Direct experience: In this step, the managers of the company visit the country in person
and analyse all the factors which can make an impact on the working of the company.
13

P4 EXPLAIN, USING EXAMPLES, THE DIFFERENT MARKET ENTRY STRATEGIES,
INCLUDING THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF EACH
LICENSING
Licensing provides the ownership of company’s intellectual property, product or services. The
franchiser collects a royalty of this agreement. For example, Microsoft gives the license of using
its software by paying the required amount for the purchase (Huang Sarigöllü, 2014). Another
example is of Disney; the company give the permission to use its brand name on t-shirts, toys,
books and watches, and in return gets a fee. This fee is generally given one time or annually. In
contrast with franchising operations, the licensing operation does not require strict supervision.
After the license is provided to use the brand name the licensee company works on its own.
STRATEGIC ALLIANCES
The strategic alliances are formed between two companies when one company has some
special assets or expertise that can help other company to improve its quality of products or
services (Johnson, 2016). This partnership is based on the mutual relationship and both the
organisations share their resources while remaining independent organisations. The strategic
alliances are formed in the areas of logistics, distribution channels, expertise or knowledge. This
is an outsourcingrelationship to supplement the internal resources and get expertise from
outside players. In this agreement, both the parties have equal ownership and the benefits are
shared
FRANCHISING
The terms and conditions of franchising and licensing and almost the same but there is asubtle
difference between both these agreements. In licensing, thelicensor givesthe right to use its
intellectual property, product or services to the licensee and in return get the royalty. While in
franchisee the franchiser gives the permission to use the successful business model and the
brand of the company. Thefranchiser also provides the initial capital for the business as well as
training, know-how and other technical details of the business. Maintaining the standard of
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services plays an important role in the franchising agreement because any negligence in the
quality can hamper the brand strength of the parent company. Franchising can provide
maximum returns to the franchiser in minimum investment (Johanson and Mattsson, 2015).
WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARIES
The parent company of a wholly owned subsidiary holds its 100% stocks. This subsidiary is
located in a foreign country and has its independent management structure and clients. This
type of partnership keeps the parent company safe from the geopolitical and economic
fluctuations in a country.
Figure 2: International Marketing
[Source: http://multimediamarketing.com/international-marketing/]
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M2 APPLY THE MARKET EVALUATION CRITERIA AND ENTRY STRATEGIES
AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOUR CHOSEN CLIENT ORGANISATION
Brooklands hotel needs to evaluate different geopolitical and economic factors before entering
an international market; the criteria for evaluation include the infrastructure, economy and
other social and political situations in the country. Brooklands Hotel is a service-based
organisationand the availability of human capital is a crucial factor to consider. The facilities
provided by the government to support the travel and tourism industry also need to be
analysed. Good transportation infrastructure such as roads, railway stations and airports are
also important while choosing a foreign country for expansion.Evaluation of local customs and
tradition is also important for Brookland hotels. The tourists arriving in the hotel must be given
salutation according to the local customs and in the local language. The hotel menu should
include local cuisines so that the travellers visiting from different countries can experience the
indigenous taste and habits (Ramamurti, 2012).
Different entry strategies are used by the companies to enter in an international market, these
strategies include franchisee, licensing, strategic alliances and wholly owned subsidiaries. For
Brooklands hotel, the strategic alliance is the most suitable strategy because it allows the
company to have independent control on the operations. There are a number of stakeholders
in the hotel industry such as fruits, vegetables, meat and spices suppliers, entertainment
service providers andtransportation services providers. Strategic alliances can be formed with
these distributors. Forming strategic alliances with small local companies the company gets an
advantage of knowing the local preference which will help the company to make a decision
regarding the design of services and marketing strategies (Johnson, 2016).
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LO3
P5& M3 PRESENT AN OVERVIEW OF THE KEY ARGUMENTS IN THE GLOBAL
VERSUS LOCAL DEBATE
Global vs. Local: Which way to go?
Operating in a global or local market, both have their own share of challenges and benefits. The
global markets provide differentopportunities to the companies to learn new knowledge and
improve their profit ratios by achieving economies in scale but the global markets possess
different kinds of risks which need to be analysed carefully before starting the operations in a
foreign country (Schreiter, 2015). The managers need to travel a lot to assess the market
conditions. In addition, the regionalmanagers also find it challenging to strike a balance
between global corporate strategies of the company and the strategies which are most
practicalaccording to the local conditions. On the other hand,local market operations have the
benefit of having a stronghold in the regional market and a better understanding of local
mindset. The local markets are also able to design customizedservices according to the local
customers and are much secured against external shocks of economies generating from the
fluctuations in the global economies. But these businesses also have to face tough completion
from the multinational companies (Meissner, 2012).
Is it possible to strike a balance between global and local market?
Making a balance between global and local market is possible by implementing the strategy,
‘Think globally act locally’. This statement means that the companies should be able to adapt to
the local ways so that a connection can be made with the customers. The managers at
Brooklands hotel need to know when to act globally and when to act locally. For example, the
recruitment criteria and the standards of manufacturing must be on international standards but
the aesthetics features of products and services and the marketing campaign must be designed
according to the local preferences. Organising some local sports tournaments or providing
healthcare benefits will help Brooklands hotel establish a positive brand image of the company
will make the brand name familiar to the local customers. The best way is to understand the
17

audience well and work with the local teams for perfect execution of the marketing strategies
(Xie, et al. 2015).
For Brooklands hotel, the best approach will be to think globally and act locally. In this
approach, the managers need to assess the local taste and preferences of the customers and
try to make the services responsive to these demands. The global approach can be applied in
the managerial function in which a structured approach is required according to international
standards.
Figure 3: Global vs. Local
[Source: https://www.pamdidner.com/global-marketing/global-marketing-case-studies/]
18

P6 THE MANAGEMENT TEAM OF YOUR CLIENT ORGANIZATION WOULD LIKE
YOU TO INVESTIGATE HOW THE PRODUCT, PRICE, PRICING AND
PROMOTIONAL DISTRIBUTION APPROACH DIFFERS IN A VARIETY OF
INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT
When operating in an international market, the approach of marketing mix should be based on
the suitability of the country where operations have to be carried out. The four elements of the
international marketing mix are explained below:
PRODUCT:
The services of Brookland hotel must be designed considering the cultural background and
buying habits of the general population. Manufacturing companies adopt the strategies of
standardization in which company makes similar products for all the markets. But the
standardisation strategies can only be successful if the foreign market has similar demand
patterns. The standardisation in the hotel industry can be in the customer services (Helm and
Gritsch, 2014).
PRICE:
The pricing of services in a global market is decided according to a number of factors such as
disposable income of the population and the pricing strategies of the competitors.For
international operations, the strategy of standard pricing across all the countries may not work
properly because the level of income and the purchasing capacity varies from country to
country, Instead,adaptation pricing strategy may work absolutely fine (Samiee, et al. 2015). In
adaptation strategy, the prices are decided according to the local conditions. The pricing
strategy should always be sensitive to the local requirements.
PLACE:
The place strategy includes the distribution channels of Brookland hotels. The distribution
channels are generally managed by the regional leadership rather central leadership. The
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operations of distribution can be standardised according to a particular country.Thelocation of
the hotel must be near Airports, railway stations and highways (Nagle, et al. 2016)
PROMOTION:
The promotional campaign for Brooklands hotel should be country specific. The political
climate, language and cultural preferences play an important role in the marketing. Free
merchandise vacations, gifts and bonuses can be offered for the regular customers at the hotel.
The penetration of internet and other communication mediums like TV and newspapers also
need to be considered while deciding a marketing plan in a foreign country. The social, political
economic and technological situation of a countrymust be analysed deeply before making a
marketing strategy for global markets (Meissner, 2012).
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M4 DETERMINE AND ARTICULATE IN DETAIL HOW TO ADAPT THE
MARKETING MIX OF BROOKLANDS HOTEL IN DIFFERENT INTERNATIONAL
MARKETS
The marketing mix of Brooklands hotel includes the quality of services provided, pricing of
rooms, and location of the hoteland the country-specific marketing strategies of the
organisation. The travel and tourism industry is growing very fast and the government of
various countries are promoting international companies to expand their operations due to
high employment generation capacity of the hotel, restaurant and hospitality sector (Bird, et al.
2012). The location for the foreign country branch of Brookland hotel should be around such
places where high accessibility of the people can be ensured. These places include airports and
railway stations. The pricing strategy in developing countries must be designed by assessing the
purchasing power of the population, the focus should be on providing quality services in
minimum possible prices so that Brooklands hotel can create an edge over its rival companies in
the market.
The promotion is the most important part of international marketing strategy of Brooklands
hotel. The promotional campaign of a company varies from country to country and these
campaigns should be tailored according to different regions. For example, In India, there are
different languages and cultureswithin a single country and the promotional material has to be
prepared in different languages. Making customize add campaign may be an additional task for
the marketing team and it results in strong brand recognition and loyalty.
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LO4
P7 EXPLAIN AND ANALYSE THE VARIOUS INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
APPROACHES YOUR CLIENT ORGANISATION CAN ADOPT
International marketing approachesare of two types- Centralised and decentralised. In
centralized marketing, the concentration of all the powers is at the top management level while
in decentralized marketing the top managers delegate power to the mid or low-level managers.
The basic difference between these two approaches to marketing is explained below:
CENTRALIZED MARKETING
This approach of marketing the powers and authority to take all the decisions regarding
planning and management are taken by the top management. The decision making by the
central authority makes the management uniform and the process of decision making also
becomes quick. The central office delegates the marketing plan to the regional managers and
they have to follow the instructions as it is. This approach gives all the decision making powers
to the senior managers which becomes a reason for increased bureaucracy and red tape culture
in the organisation (Samiee, et al. 2015).
DECENTRALIZED MARKETING
In this approach to marketing, the responsibility of decision making is delegated to the middle
and junior level managers at the regional level. In international marketing, this approach is
beneficial because managers who are working at the local level have a better idea of the
customer demands and the position of the competitors in the market. The decision making
power also bring a confidence in these managers and they try to perform better and give
positive results for the company.
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P8 IN ORDER TO HELP THEM MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION, YOUR CLIENT
ORGANIZATION WANTS YOU TO COMPARE HOME AND INTERNATIONAL
ORIENTATION AND WAYS TO ASSESS COMPETITORS, OUTLINING THE
IMPLICATIONS OF EACH APPROACH
The companies which decide to expand their operations in a foreign market can have two types
of orientations which are home orientation and international orientation which are discussed
below:
HOME ORIENTATION
The companies which have home orientation focus primarily on the domestic market and
produce goods and services according to the needs of the local customers. The international
operations are carried out as a means to fulfil the excess production from the home market.
The company selects a market which has similar demand patterns as of home market and
carries its export operations in these countries.It is mainly a business to business transaction
and operations are limited only to sell the goods in a foreign country (Papadopoulos, et al.
2012).
INTERNATIONAL ORIENTATION
In international orientation, the company establishes its plants and business stores in aforeign
country and makes an analysis of the demand pattern of the local customers. The product and
services are designed according to this demand. The company also designs a marketing plan to
increase the brand awareness of the company (Watson, et al. 2018). The requirement of each
international market is different therefore international orientation involves a different kind of
risks and a number of factors have to be considered while launching its products or services in a
foreign market. The tax structures, cultural preferences, purchasing power, regulatory
framework are the different factors which need to be analysed to ensure that the operations of
the company in a foreign land run smoothly.
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WAYS TO ASSESS COMPETITORS
To assess the competitive landscape of Brooklands Hotel in an international market, Porter’s
five force analysis is discussed below which is a widely used tool.
Porter Five Forces analysis of Brooklands hotel
1. Threat of new entrants:The travel and tourism industry is growing at a fast pace and the
hotel industry is one of the primary stakeholders in the tourism industry. Due to this
high growth, the threat of new entrant is high. Although barriers to entry are low the
likeliness of success is not sure. Brooklands hotel has established its brand as a premier
luxury hotel with its continuous quality services which is difficult for a new company to
achieve (Terpstra, et al. 2012).
2. Threat of substitutes:The companies providingsimilar services in a lower cost create a
threat on the customer base of the company. To address this problem, the company
should focus on innovation in providing the servicesby using digital technologies. The
companyshould also provide good quality services at an affordable price range to retain
its customer base and attract new potential customers.
3. Threats of Rivalries:Aggressive marketing policies create price wars among companies
in which companies continuously decreases the prices of products and services up to a
level where it starts affecting the profitability of companies. Brooklands hotel
shouldoffer some new innovative services in food, accommodation or entertainment
facilities to create an edge over the competitors in the business (De Mooij, 2010).
4. Power of customers:Customers can shift from one hotel to another very easily which
increases the power of customers. In addition, different websites are available for
customers which provide a comparison between prices of different hotels which
facilitates the switching process. The promotional offers are given by competitors also
24

lure the customers. To face all these factors company should work on making its
services efficient and affordable so that long-term customer retention can become
possible.
5. Power of suppliers: The suppliers in the hotel business include the fruit, vegetables,
grains, spices, transportation and entertainment service providers. These suppliers are
an important part of business and Brooklands hotel should maintain a good relationship
with these suppliers. The company should also purchase raw materials from different
suppliers in place of relying on any one supplier for all the raw material needs because
having a single supplier increases the bargaining power of suppliers and they can
demand higher prices for their services (Watson, et al. 2018).
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M5 EVALUATE VARIOUS MARKETING APPROACHES AND COMPETITOR
ANALYSIS IN RELATION TO AN ORGANIZATION AND MAKE
RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW THEY SHOULD OPERATE IN AN
INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT
Different approaches in the international marketing are already discussed which are centralised
and decentralised. Nowadays companies do not rely on any one approach completely and both
the approaches are used according to the different situations in the market.Absolute
centralisation is not practical in the international marketing scenario because of its emphasis on
taking each and every decision by the top management. This approach may not be able to
produce desired results because the regional managers have to take some decisions on the
operational level which are necessary for smooth functioning of the organisation in aforeign
country. On the other hand, if absolute decentralisation is followed it can provide excessive
authority to the local managers and they will take arbitrary decisions and the top management
having no control over these decisions.To avoid such situations, Brooklands hotel must rely on
using both centralised and decentralised approaches. In starting phase, the centralised
approach is better because it will help the company establish itself in a foreign market. Inthe
second phase, the local managers can be delegated some powers to take decisions regarding
local demands and the issues regarding employee benefits and rewards (Tsiotsou and
Goldsmith, 2012).
In the hotel industry, the customers get lured easily by attractiveoffersinvolving discounts, free
meal coupons and free overnight stay. The online websites which compare the rates of
different hotels also present an option in front of a customer toswitch. To tackle all these
issues,Brooklands hotel should analyse the demand of the local as wellasinternational
customers and make necessary advancement in the service accordingly. In addition, the
company should also use digital platforms to promote the services and create brand awareness
of the company. The company should also sponsor local sports and cultural activities to
increase the brand recognition.
26

CONCLUSION
The globalisation phenomena have blurred the boundary between nations and the
governments in different countries are also welcoming international hotel groups to establish
facilities in their country which is beneficial for the growth of tourism industry. The current
assignment discussed the factors which need to be analysed by Brookland hotel while launching
its operations in new markets of the world. Some of these factors are internal to the country as
prices, quality of services, employees. While some of the factors are outside the control of the
company like political, economic situations and the cultural preferences of the local population.
The assignment also highlighted the different forinternationalisationand the advantages and
disadvantages of each.
27

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