International Marketing Strategies and Success Factors

This assignment requires an in-depth analysis of international marketing strategies and success factors. The student is expected to provide a comprehensive review of the topic, including key concepts such as market segmentation, targeting, positioning, and entry mode strategies. The assignment also requires the inclusion of relevant examples, references, and online resources to support the analysis. A suitable title for this assignment is 'International Marketing Strategies and Success Factors'.

INTERNATIONAL MARKETING

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
LO 1.................................................................................................................................................1
Meaning, scope and key concepts of International Marketing...................................................1
Reasons for organization to want to market internationally.......................................................4
Various routes for entering into the international markets..........................................................4
LO 2.................................................................................................................................................6
Evaluation of entry to selection of different markets and defining success factors....................6
LO 3...............................................................................................................................................10
Key arguments in global against the local marketing...............................................................10
Investigating marketing mix in international context...............................................................12
LO 4...............................................................................................................................................13
Explaining and analyzing different marketing approaches.......................................................13
Comparing home and international orientation and ways of assessing competitors...............14
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................15
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................16

INTRODUCTION
International marketing can be defined as carrying out of marketing activities by the
organisations across national boundaries. It is basically creation of marketing mix strategies
internationally for selling the products and services in the international markets according to the
tastes and preferences of targetted international customers(Cadogan, 2012). The Frazer company
Ltd, is a plastic manufacturing organisation located in Gloucestershire. The company is a reliable
supplier of fabricated finished goods made of plastic, wanting to expand its business
internationally. The present report will discuss international marketing strategies designed by the
company for expanding its business internationally. It will also cover the basic differences
between local and international marketing and the scope of it. The report will lay its emphasis on
different entry gates for expansion of business in the global markets and selection of the most
appropriate channel for entering into the international market.
LO 1
Meaning, scope and key concepts of International Marketing
International marketing is planning and designing of marketing mix (price, promotion,
place and people) for effectively flowing the goods and services in the international markets for
the motive of earning profits by the organisations.
From the above description of international marketing it has been evolved that it includes
research of the intended countries where the business is to be carried out, identification of the
tastes and preferences of the people in the plastic industry, preparing strategies and taking
decisions regarding the marketing mix of the company, entering into the foreign markets through
a particular gate after proper analysis and finally starting operations in international markets and
satisfying customers.
Characteristics of international marketing
 It is the marketing of company's products and services in the foreign markets.
 The term international marketing involve at least two nations where the products and
services are served to the targetted customers.
 International marketing is characterised by large scale operations in terms of
manufacturing, transportation and warehousing(Cateora, 2007).
 The concept of international marketing is that. it makes available goods in the
international markets according to the needs and requirements of foreign customers.
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 International marketing is imposed with the challenges like trade barriers, marketing
restrictions etc. The planning and designing of international marketing plans and strategies are very
complex and thus it makes the implementation of international marketing activities
difficult.
Key concepts of International marketing
International marketing have following key concepts that are given below:
Production concept: International marketing have a production concept in which the
management focuses on improving efficiency of the production and also finding the most
effective distribution channels. This concept states that customers in the global markets will buy
products that are easily available and comfortable affordable.
Selling concept: This concept of international marketing is about selling the goods which
is produced by the company regardless of the requirements of target global markets. It basically
means selling the standardised products to international customers without moulding it according
to needs and requirement of the customers. The main objective here is to increase the sale,
overlooking the long term profitability of the organisation(Five Marketing Concepts Explained
with Examples, 2017).
Product concept: This concept is one of the most popular concept applied by the
management of different companies. This concept says that international customers will buy
those goods and services which provides the best quality, innovative characteristics and which
best meets their expectation. The international marketing strategies involves improvement of
products on the continuous basis for meeting the expectations of its target customers.
Marketing concept: This concept holds that meeting customers needs and requirements
is the utmost organisational goals and objectives for sustaining and growing in the international
market. This concept believes that hearing customers say and reacting accordingly is the way to
success for any organisation. Frazer follows this concept of satisfying its clients by delivery them
the goods and services according to its clients specifications.
Societal concept : This concept states that goods and services delivered to the customers
must provide some value to them and must increase the society's welfare in general.
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Illustration 1: Key concepts of international marketing
source : (Five Marketing Concepts Explained with Examples, 2017)
Scope of International marketing
Advancement of the technologies resulting into better communication and transportation
infrastructure, creation of digital platforms and of course the globalisation has widened the scope
of international marketing for The Frazer. Different factors have broadened the scope of
international marketing such as import, export , join ventures, contractual agreements.
Trading of goods and services through import and export is the easiest and the most
convenient way of developing foreign markets for The Frazer's domestically manufactured
goods. This will allow to company to know the exact market situations of the other nation where
the business is intended to be start so that a manufacturing unit can be established after assessing
the performance of company's product in that nation. Strategic alliances has also made the
international marketing's scope greater. It allows Frazer to alliance with its competitors for
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utilising the syngenetic benefits from the capabilities of both the companies and it provides
flexibility and innovation to the organisation(Demangeot, Broderick and Craig, 2015).
Reasons for organisation to want to market internationally
The Frazer Company Ltd wants to go international because of the following reasons that
are discussed below:
Growth opportunities: Frazer wants to go international because of tapping more
opportunities in global markets. Frazer already has a established place in the local market and it
has reached its saturation point and by going international it would be able to make a growth
through expanding its business in foreign markets.
Increasing profitability: The other reason for Frazer to go global is to earn more profits
by serving its products and services to the different foreign customers.
Diversification of risk : Frazer would be able to diversify its business risk by expanding
its operations internationally. International marketing would make the trade of goods and
services to foreign customers as per their requirements which in turn would spread the risk of
failure of business. For example, if the macro environmental factors like high inflation rates, low
economic growth or drastic change in the taste and preferences of the domestic customers affects
business adversely, Frazer would have the other streams of regular income from the international
operations.
Increasing customer base through technology: Advancement in the digital media has
made Frazer to go for international marketing. Online official website and different portal
established such as eBay, Amazon etc. would help the company to reach masses internationally.
These platforms will also help in effective promotions and creation of brand image of the
organisation's goods in intended international markets (Hamill, 1997).
Availment of government incentives and exemptions: Frazer would enjoy various duty
and tax exemptions and incentives while producing goods and services for export sales. This is
one of the rationale of company to want to market internationally.
Various routes for entering into the international markets
There are different ways of making an entry in the foreign markets available with The
Frazer Ltd such as exporting, licensing, franchising, partnership, acquisitions, new subsidiaries,
joint ventures etc. They are discussed below:
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Direct exporting: It is one of the most convenient way of starting the business in foreign
markets. In this method, organisations produces goods and services in the domestic country and
then sourcing it to other countries. Appropriate pricing, labelling and packaging needs to be done
while exporting the goods and sourcing it to distributors in the intended international markets.
Marketing and promotions involves trade shows, local sales and digital advertising (Madhok,
1997).
Licensing: In this method, Frazer can give the license to the international company fort
manufacturing its products in exchange of some royalty fees.
Franchising: This route would allow Frazer to expand its business by selling the
franchise of its business to other party in the foreign country in return of some financial
compensation such as fees, commission etc.
Joint venture: This method would allow the Frazer to collaborate with some local
companies in the international market to form a new entity for expanding its business. This route
is beneficial as it optimally uses the technological benefits, local expertise of the domestic
companies of international market.
Creating a new subsidiary: Frazer can establish a subsidiary firm in the international
market which will function according to its governance.
Opportunities and challenges in international marketing
There are different factors affecting the international marketing such as -:
challenges
 Cultural differences: International marketing of Frazer would face challenge of cultural
differences and customers behaviours variations.
 Legal issues : Frazer while expanding business internationally will face various legal
constraints by the ways of restrictive laws, regulations, tariff and trade barriers imposed
by the foreign countries.
 Intense competition : Frazer would face cut throat competition from various domestic and
international suppliers of fabricated plastic finished parts that are used in machines. Ecological factors: Climate, environmental policies might create problems as the plastic
manufacturing company creates high pollution level in the absence of proper wastage
disposal system, harming the environment(Hoppner and Griffith, 2015).
Opportunities
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 High profitability would be achieved by Frazer by effective marketing in the international
markets.
 Large market share would be build through expansion of operations in foreign countries,
serving large numbers of customers
 Benefits of economies of scale would be an opportunity to Frazer as the operations and
manufacturing will be done at large scale, making the per unit price of product low.
 Enhancement of brand value would be created by effectively marketing in the foreign
markets and satisfying the needs and requirements of different clients.
LO 2
Evaluation of entry to selection of different markets and defining success factors
Evaluating selection process for an international market
Illustration 2: Evaluation of selection process of foreign market
source : The International Market Entry Evaluation Process, 2019
First of all, Frazer will identify the countries where it wants to expand its operations. This
either could be done by grouping the countries that have similar governance, or similar culture
etc., such as Australia and US have similar languages.
Each country's screening would be done by the marketing management of Frazer
company by effective analysis of country's situations with the help of PESTLE analysis, industry
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specific analysis for finding out the feasibility of the idea of expansion of business in those
countries.
After the preliminary and detailed screening of the proposed countries by Frazer, final
selection would be made on the basis of competition, political situations, legal conditions,
environmental factors, economic growth level and technological adaptability of the potential
international markets.
Last stage in the process is personal experience of proposed countries conditions
regarding its political, consumer behaviour, competition, cultural and social preferences etc. for
formulating effective marketing strategies of entering into those markets.
Different market entry strategies
A market entry strategy is a systematic and planned process of expanding business
operations outside the domestic boundaries. Joint venture, licensing, franchising, exporting,
creating new subsidiary, piggybacking, merging and acquiring are market entery strategies
Frazer could use.
Market entry
strategies
Meaning Advantages Disadvantages Example
Joint venture Developing an
entity by two or
more companies
for carrying out
the business
operations
together in
international
markets
 Quick
access to
the latest
technologi
es.
 Utilization
of local
venturer/
partner
expertise
and
knowledg
e about
local
markets.
 Ambiguou
s
objectives
of joint
venture
entity.
 Lack of
coordinati
on
between
the
partners
involved.
 Conflictin
g cultures
Jaguar land rover
joint venture with
China's Chery,
decided to
provide R&D and
engine
manufacturing
services.
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 Diversific
ation of
costs and
risk
between
different
parties.
 Easy exit.
of
different
companies
Exporting Production of
goods and
services in the
domestic region
and selling them
in the
international
markets is the
crux of export.
 This
method
rules out
the
requireme
nt of
setting up
of
business
premises
in
internation
al
countries
thus,
saving
cost of
internation
al
operations
.
 The main
limitation
of this
route is
high cost
of
transportin
g of
goods.
 Issues
with local
distributor
s.
Anglo American
exporting mining
and metal
products.
Licensing It allows  The  Inability The Walt Disney
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companies to
offer license to
the other parties
in the intended
international
markets for
manufacturing its
goods in return of
royalty
fees(Skarmeas,
Zeriti and Baltas,
2016).
benefit of
this route
is that it
avoids
complexit
y,
regulation
barriers,
transportat
ion cost.
 Cost
establishm
ent for
making
goods
available
in
internation
al
markets.
to
experience
the actual
market
conditions
of foreign
markets.
 Standard
license
fees
irrespectiv
e of the
exceptiona
l profits
made by
the
licensee.
Company have
offered licensing
agreements to
local parties in
international
markets.
New subsidiary Creating a
company that will
carry out the
operations of
parent company
in international
markets.
 No
dispersion
of control.
 Will act
according
to the
parent
company.
 Easy
cooperatio
n and
 High cost
of set up
of
company.
 No
flexibility.
 Untrained
manageme
nt and
human
McDonald's,
KFC, Pizza Hut
are some
examples of
franchise.
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coordinati
on.
resource.
Applying market evaluation criteria
Frazer wants to expand its business for which the market evaluation is done. Market
evaluation is the systematic analysis of market conditions of a specific industry. It depends on
various factors such as :-
 Demographic segmentation of the market : US's small scale enterprises that requires
plastic formed fabricated parts.
 Target audience: automotive, agriculture industry, medical , water treatment industry.
 Needs and requirements of the target audience: solid fabricated parts that are long lasting
and which are designed as per the clients specifications.
 Level of competition: high competition from Sullivan Plastic products, Acrylic plastic
company.
 Entry barriers : US have strict regulations regrading plastic industry but favourable trade
barriers(Vida, 2015).
Frazer has chosen venture entry mode for its international marketing and expanding. This
method suits the requirements and available resources of the organisation. Like it will not totally
disperse off the controlling rights to the local party involved. It will provide aid to Frazer in
effective utilisation of the resources of the local partners such as local awareness regarding the
tastes and preferences of customers, country's general conditions favouring the business
operations. The suitability for the Frazer is that its business risk and cost would get diversify
with the local party.
Adaption of marketing strategies for different market
Besides forming joint venture in US, Frazer can apply exporting strategy for selling its
products in the neighbouring countries that do not involve very high transportation cost. The
company can offer license rights to local parties in South Asia as this will be more suitable route
there because the culture and tastes of the customers are very different from the host country.
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LO 3
Key arguments in global against the local marketing
There have been lot of arguments against the standardised global marketing and adaptive
local marketing applied by different companies around the world. Global marketing is useful in
the scenario where customers prefer the same standard quality like in the case of clothing brands
such as BlackBerry, Levis etc. The global marketing provides this benefit when the brand enjoys
remarkable reputation in the global markets and the customers prefers the same standard service.
However, reality is different. Different markets with varied preferences do not demand
the standard products rather wants the products and services that meet their requirements. This
argument holds an importance as not knowing the target segment and their preferences have led
big giant to fail miserably in the global markets while expanding the business. This gives an
opportunity to the competitor to make differentiation in their products and gain larger market
share. Ignoring the local needs of the different market creates a negative brand image of the
companies globally(Theodosiou and Leonidou, 2003).
Local marketing is basically customising the marketing mix of the organisation as per the
needs of different market segments around the world. Like McDonald's customised its product
element of marketing mix when it started its operations in South East Asian countries. It
moulded its products taste such as made it spicy for this market segment.
But, this approach of marketing have some argument against that accurately determining
the customers wants is not possible which leads to blunders by making unwanted mouldings in
the products. Local marketing is also very costly which is why many global companies avoid
applying it.
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Illustration 3: Global v/s local marketing
source: (Standardisation vs Adaptation in International Marketing, 2016)
Appropriate balance is required to have between global and local marketing approach.
Frazer can standardised some element of marketing mix while it can customise some other
elements for making its marketing strategies effective in expanding successfully internationally.
Although, local marketing is time consuming and is very costly but the repercussions of this
approach would be worth to company's resources. In the South Asia markets, understanding
customers needs and requirements and serving according to them would generate more income
for Frazer. It will also build image of the brand that it takes care of the needs of its customers.
However, producing standard quality products would be beneficial in this plastic industry.
Expanding in it neighbouring countries having a sort of similar taste, global marketing strategy
would be more suitable for Frazer.
Investigating marketing mix in international context
Marketing mix is the combination of marketing tools such as price, place, product and
promotion applied by organisations for its achieving marketing objectives.
Price: Frazer's pricing of the products for international markets would depend upon
various factors such as cost of products, rivalry's price, distribution channel's cost. There are
some challenges also such as exchange rates, inflation rate etc. that have to be considered while
fixing it up.
Promotions: This element is used for communicating company's products to the
customers. The promotional strategies are formed taking cultural aspects of the international
markets.
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Product: Quality products at the most affordable prices are preferred by the global
customers. Frazer needs to consider this fact and accordingly design its marketing mix.
Place: Finding the locations that are easily accessible by the customers is the crux of this
element. Like having stores at the most populated area in the city or town would help in getting
noticed by large of number of potential customers.
Illustration 4: Global marketing mix
source: (International Marketing Mix, 2018)
Frazer could customise its promotion strategies in different market segments for better
attracting customers in different regions like using local languages in its promotional campaigns,
hitting the emotional cords in sensitive customer segments. The company can standardised its
product element because machine are mostly similar and the fabricated parts used are constant in
terms of quality and specific features.
It can make price element adjustable by conducting research about the competition's price
in the international markets and accordingly setting its price. Cost leadership might be one of the
marketing strategy which could initially be used by the company for attracting number of
customers and making its presence felt in the international markets(Payne and Frow, 2005).
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LO 4
Explaining and analysing different marketing approaches
Different international marketing approaches are centralised and decentralised
approaches.
Centralised marketing approach to international marketing discuss the idea of preparing
marketing strategies by the parent company's marketing department at its main office for all of
its operations including both domestic and international. This approach is useful for making
controlled and quick decisions for the brand. This approach is applied when company requires no
local marketing, when it is involved in direct exporting and the marketing team is very efficient
and competent in formulating effective marketing strategies(Grönroos, 1989).
Decentralised approach is concerned with delegating the authority of taking marketing
decisions in the hands of different located partners or distributors. This approach encourages
local marketing team to be more creative and innovative while design their marketing campaigns
for increasing the sales.
Frazer could adopt mixture of these approaches while expanding different markets of US
and South Asia. It can apply centralised approach when expanding through direct exporting and
new subsidiaries in the international markets as no local marketing is required in product element
of its marketing mix. It needs to adopt decentralised approach when expanding through joint
venture and licensing. It would provide great results when local parties will make the strategies
taking into consideration their local expertise and knowledge.
Comparing home and international orientation and ways of assessing competitors
There are four different types of international orientation which are ethnocentric,
polycentric, regiocentric, geocentric (Puthusserry and et.al, 2018).
Ethnocentric orientation is concerned with activities and practises of international
marketing of the parent host company have to be complied by all of its subsidiary companies.
This is useful in standardisation marketing where there is no change in the marketing mix.
Suitable for Frazer in direct exportation. Polycentric is related to idea of considering every
country's local market's requirements. Regio centric orientation is concerned with the similarities
between political, economic and cultural conditions in different countries. Geocentric orientation
entails the concept of targetting customers all over the world who shares similar interests.
VRIO analysis for assessing internal capabilities
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Value in the VRIO analysis questions whether internal resources and capabilities are
valuable to the Frazer. Like if the company have can reduce or avoid the external threats or it is
capable of exploiting opportunities available in the market, then such capabilities would be
considered as valuable resources of the firm. These valuable capabilities would help Frazer to
meet the competition's standards in the international markets of US and South Asia.
Rarity is the factor which provides Frazer a competitive advantage over its rival firms in
the international market. Like company is exceptionally good in satisfying its customer by
fulfilling the minute specifications given by the customers. This quality of Frazer will make the
company to face the intense competition from international manufacturers.
Imitability element of VRIO analysis questions that whether Frazer without required
resource such as effective distribution channel would face any cost limitations in acquiring or
building such resource. Frazer have average kind of distribution channels for its products and
services which might pose a threat to the firm in standing still against the stiff competitors in
international market.
Organising: Last element in VRIO model is organising the structure in a way that best
utilises the resources of Frazer. The organisational needs to be designed which would exploit its
available capabilities optimally for creating a long sustained competitive advantage.
RECOMMENDATIONS: Frazer could structure its organisation in divisions and
departments for better operating at international level on large scale. Localisation approach in
promotion strategies requires Frazer to establish separate divisions for carrying out the marketing
activities in international markets for better understanding of the customers and serving them
according to their needs. This will help the company to grab the opportunities available in the
international market(Kale, S. H. and Sudharshan , 1987).
CONCLUSION
From the above project report, it has been summarised that international marketing is a
strategic management which requires a lot of planning , designing of marketing mix in a way that
it helps in achieving organisational marketing objectives. The report discussed about the nature
and scope of international marketing which is very broad due to advancement in the technology,
development in communication and transportation infrastructure. It also covered Frazer's
marketing strategies, routes it took like joint venture for expanding in US and licensing in South
Asia markets. Marketing mix structure was designed in the report that it should standardised its
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products in terms of quality and features and local marketing approach in its promotional and
pricing elements of the marketing mix.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Cadogan, J. W., 2012. International marketing, strategic orientations and business success:
Reflections on the path ahead. International Marketing Review. 29(4). pp.340-348.
Cateora, P. R., 2007. International Marketing 13E (Sie). Tata McGraw-Hill Education.
Demangeot, C., Broderick, A. J. and Craig, C. S., 2015. Multicultural marketplaces: New
territory for international marketing and consumer research. International Marketing
Review. 32(2). pp.118-140.
Grönroos, C., 1989. Defining marketing: a market-oriented approach. European journal of
marketing. 23(1). pp.52-60.
Hamill, J., 1997. The Internet and international marketing. International marketing review. 14(5).
pp.300-323.
Hoppner, J. J. and Griffith, D. A., 2015. Looking back to move forward: a review of the
evolution of research in international marketing channels. Journal of Retailing. 91(4).
pp.610-626.
Kale, S. H. and Sudharshan, D., 1987. A strategic approach to international
segmentation. International Marketing Review. 4(2). pp.60-70.
Madhok, A., 1997. Cost, value and foreign market entry mode: The transaction and the
firm. Strategic management journal. 18(1). pp.39-61.
Mühlbacher and et.al, 2006. International marketing: A global perspective. Cengage Learning
EMEA.
Payne, A. and Frow, P., 2005. A strategic framework for customer relationship
management. Journal of marketing. 69(4). pp.167-176.
Puthusserry and et.al, 2018. International new ventures market expansion through collaborative
entry modes: A study of the experience of Indian and British ICT firms. International
Marketing Review. 35(6). pp.890-913.
Skarmeas, D., Zeriti, A. and Baltas, G., 2016. Relationship value: Drivers and outcomes in
international marketing channels. Journal of international marketing. 24(1). pp.22-40.
Theodosiou, M. and Leonidou, L. C., 2003. Standardization versus adaptation of international
marketing strategy: an integrative assessment of the empirical research. International
business review. 12(2). pp.141-171.
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Vida, I., 2015. Retail Expansion into International Markets: The Case of United States Retail
Chains. In Proceedings of the 1998 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual
Conference (pp. 502-503). Springer, Cham.
Online
Five Marketing Concepts Explained with Examples. 2017. [Online]. Available through
<https://iedunote.com/marketing-concept>
International Marketing Mix. 2018. [Online]. Available through
<http://www.learnmarketing.net/internationalmarketingmix.htm>
The International Market Entry Evaluation Process, 2019. [Online]. Available through
<http://www.marketingteacher.com/the-international-market-entry-evaluation-process/>
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