International Marketing Strategy: SME and LSE Market Selection

This report delves into the critical debate between customization and standardization within international marketing strategies. It examines how these approaches influence market selection for both Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Large-Scale Enterprises (LSEs). The report explores the benefits and drawbacks of each strategy, analyzing how companies can balance the need for global consistency with the demands of local markets. It discusses the impact of standardization on service quality and the importance of brand adaptation in international markets, particularly for SMEs. The report also highlights the role of innovation and the use of relevant examples to illustrate the concepts. The report concludes that while both approaches have their merits, the optimal strategy depends on the specific industry, market characteristics, and the company's resources and capabilities. The report emphasizes the importance of understanding customer preferences and adapting marketing efforts accordingly to achieve success in the global marketplace.

Running head: INTERNATIONAL MARKETING STRATEGY
INTERNATIONAL MARKETING STRATEGY
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Executive Summary
Standardisation is considered as an approach that can acclimatize to function across diverse
cultures as well as countries with an agenda of endorsing products. Service businesses have
been gradually focusing on the needs of small segments of clients or even specific clients;
there remains an important issue concerning ways of providing greater value to the clientele
in cost-effectual manner in order to confirm utmost customer satisfaction. The relationship
between customization and service quality has been drawn from the association between
marketing and exchange theory. Standardisation tends to improve service quality. Marketing
standardization is considered as one of the elements adds towards an effective global strategy.
Nevertheless, the appropriateness of standardized or customized marketing relies on the
characteristics of the industry as well as markets within which an organization operates. The
following report has provided evidences of standardisation and customisation debate in the
global market strategy. It has also evaluated the extent to which the effect of standardization
and customization has influenced the market selection method of SMEs and LSEs in the U.K.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Discussion..................................................................................................................................3
Effect of standardization and customization in international marketing...............................3
Customisation and Standardization as opposed to service quality.........................................5
Standardization and Customization impact on SME brand adaptation in international
marketing................................................................................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................8
References..................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
The increasing expansion of business into global markets have led majority of
organizations to adopt international marketing strategies with an aim of safeguarding them
from overseas competitors. Thus, standardisation and customisation are two vital approaches
which are typically taken into consideration in order to comprehend the underlying concepts
of global marketing. In the view of Skarmeas, Zeriti and Baltas (2016), Standardisation is
considered as an approach that can acclimatize to function across diverse cultures as well as
nations with an agenda of endorsing products. Thus, markets are developing greater level of
similarity and making standardisation a key for survival. Irrespective of number of benefits of
standardisation, the marketing approach shows few drawbacks. Standardization of marketing
practices all through diverse markets has been appealing as potential economies of scale in
production, endorsement and distribution and exploration along with expansion. The
following report will discuss the significance of standardisation and customisation debate in
the realm of international marketing strategy. Additionally, it will analyse the degree to
which it shapes the market selection method of Small and Medium Sized enterprises as well
as large scale enterprises.
Discussion
Effect of standardization and customization in international marketing
Marketing practitioners as well as scholars have addressed successfully managing
client service pleasure and improving client reliability. It has been found that increased level
of client satisfaction in the long run results in higher level of client loyalty along with word of
mouth communication. According to Dangelico and Vocalelli (2017), as service businesses
have been progressively focusing on the needs of small segments of clients or even individual

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clients, there remains a fundamental issue concerning ways of delivering greater value to the
clientele economical manner for gaining recurrent client approval. However, as per the
perspective of service delivery, the challenge focused on dealing with service quality and
service productivity at the same time (Kasiri et al. 2017). The primary aim of decreasing
expenses, managing reliability and refining productivity has relied on standardizing the
service process as well as product. On the other hand, since individuals mostly inclined
towards seeking service operations, they have been showing unpredictability and variability
in their behaviour, service organizations endeavour to imitate one of the essential
individualities of industrial production that has been standardizing the human factors in the
production as well as provision of service.
According to Bettiol, Di Maria and Grandinetti (2015), the impacts on customer
satisfaction tends to be detrimental when they are at low levels. In international markets,
when companies show high competitiveness in delivering more standardised or customised
offerings, their effects shows positive results. This shows the relevance of their debate on
global marketing strategy. Service corporations which use company specific and sector
detailed standards take into account competitive advantages. They decrease their transaction
costs and are perceived as businesses that actively promote the security of their customers.
Mannion and Exworthy (2017) by drawing relevance to this argument have claimed that
client satisfaction can be obtained through either increased level of standardization or high
level of customisation. However, increased levels of both these approaches essentially do not
generate any utmost level of satisfaction. Even though the prominence of customization has
been valued in international markets, numerous organizations have been continuing their path
to superior standardization. In the view of Kasiri et al. (2017), this approach reduces cost and
increase efficiency to an excessive point and in that way upsurges client satisfaction. As per
studies, the U-shaped quadratic relationship between standardization and customer fulfilment

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has been taken as evidence claiming that in the realm of appropriate market segments,
companies can be successful through operational productivity and low budget. However,
Skarmeas, Zeriti and Baltas (2016) have argued that a middle ground can be challenging to
attain as far as customer satisfaction is concerned. Studies have revealed that both the
approaches must generate suboptimal financial results. Furthermore, with advanced
technology, organizations operating in international markets must explore the potentials of
managing the balance between customization and standardization.
Customisation and Standardization as opposed to service quality
The relationship between customization and service quality has been drawn from the
association between marketing and exchange theory. Bettiol, Di Maria and Grandinetti
(2015) have noted that service customisation is significant in the process of quality
endorsement and quality determination. According to Wang et al. (2016), standardisation
tends to improve service quality by endorsing dependability, efficiency, expectation as well
as developed economic efficiency. While standardization delays novelty it upsurges
effectiveness, develops smooth functioning of the developments as well as benefits in
decreasing the costs (Mannion and Exworthy 2017). Under resource advantage theory,
superior client importance in addition to reduced supply expenses can be accomplished
through ‘bundling of relevant supplies’ for customization as well as standardization. In
relation to international marketing strategy standardization and customisation, financial value
can be seen as customers’ awareness development related to the usage of the product.
Complete customization of advertising approach has implied to the expansion of individual
tailor-made produces, pricing, advertising as well as delivery of strategies that have no
consistent components. Wang et al. (2016) have noted that social value delivery can be
evaluated in relation to customers’ belief that the marketing strategy yields or be unsuccessful
to generate stronger associations between the organization as well as the customer.

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Standardization and Customization impact on SME brand adaptation in
international marketing
SMEs have been inevitably encountering strategic choices of standardization or
customization of their marketing in the global marketing activities. Eventually, companies are
required to make marketing decisions across several nations, compelling international
perspective on the subject. According to Kasiri and Mansori (2016), global marketing is
fundamentally a holistic concept thereby considers international branding as a significant
framework to deliberate this decision. Mitchell et al. (2015) have argued that there has been a
growth in the similarity of markets across the world owing to improved levels of
communication, travel as well as the emergence of demographically equivalent segments in
different countries. It has been noted that the global market comprises of range of
standardised markets instead of larger number of customised markets (Ong and Zien Yusoff
2015).
While evaluating factors related to brand adaptation, it has been noted that
international marketers contemplate customisation of their brands chiefly due to competitive
pressures, innovative networks in addition to varying customer needs. Thus, changing
customer desires restates the implication of cultural differences amongst the local and global
markets. Wang et al. (2016) have cited the example of honey manufactured by SMEs which
is purchased as a herbal medicine in countries like China and Korea, but in the UK it is
bought as a spread. Thus, global marketers must take into consideration the degree of
difference of clientele attributes and preferences while making a market positioning decision.
Meanwhile, SMEs have introduced process innovation with an aim of improving the capacity
of their production processes or supply chain developments related to the increase of
customer reliability and reduction of costs. As per studies of Spee, Jarzabkowski and Smets,
(2016), these innovations are developed for individualistic usage in order to customize the

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products to align with particular applications. Ong and Zien Yusoff (2015) have asserted that
different types of innovation are imperative at different points in the development
of life cycle of products. Furthermore, it has been noted that niche strategies are expedient
for small and medium firms which deliver leading–edge technology to initial adopters. It has
further been claimed that business model innovation is advantageous subsequently to the
commodification of mainstream products. Thus, small firms can deal with customers
customized products conceivably enhanced with services. However, same small and medium
firms have been unlikely to develop utmost dynamism in order to align with evolution of
life cycle stages, particularly at its conflicting ends. Kasiri and Mansori (2016) by drawing
relevance to the case of innovative strategies used in SMEs have postulated that SMEs
require following innovation strategies which do not depend on scale in production or
promoting services in markets. Thus, for SMEs to focus on product customisation and client
intimacy particularly in provision of industrial services, SMEs should sought scales by
geographical expansion to comparable product markets rather than focusing on product
line diversification.
In the view of Mitchell et al. (2015), LSEs (large scale enterprises) takes in more
resources, while SMEs tend to exhibit behavioural flexibility, thus SMEs require to play to
their strong points. The Aldi-Group being a LSE comprises of the discounter outlets Aldi
Nord (North) as well as Aldi Süd (South). According to Ong and Zien Yusoff (2015), Aldi is
one of the prominent discounter in Germany as well as an extensive global operator with a
standardized marketing approach. The approach of standardisation has directed Aldi to focus
on the equitable promotion policies and less time expended on R&D processes on new
pricing and promotional approaches. Aldi through standardization approach has maintained
the 30% cheaper harvests across the world in addition to the average low prices which have
been kept same all over the world. According to Anees-ur-Rehman et al. (2017), marketing

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standardization is considered as one of the elements adds towards an effective global strategy.
Nevertheless, the appropriateness of standardized or customized marketing relies on the
characteristics of the industry as well as markets within which an organization operates.
However, it has been noted that it is possible to take into consideration that the lack of strong
relationship between the two might provide a reflection of the significance of internal
cultures as well as principles in creating force for standardization or customization on the
contrary to the external conditions which have been determining such strategies (Contò et al.
2015). As per studies, it has been noted that LSEs operating in the UK has shown a
significantly higher degree of standardization in terms of customisation when related with
UK large associations which are likely to reflect the increasing degree of integration within
UK retail markets.
Conclusion
From the above discussion it has been concluded that standardisation and
customisation are two approaches which are characteristically taken into concern to
understand the fundamental concepts of international marketing. Standardisation is
considered as an approach that can adjust to function across diverse cultures and nations with
an agenda of endorsing products. It has been noted that social value delivery can be
considered in terms of customers’ belief that the marketing plan produces or be unsuccessful
to generate robust associations amongst the organization as well as the customer. LSEs (large
scale enterprises) considers more resources, while SMEs tend to exhibit behavioural
flexibility, thus SMEs require playing to their strong points. The relevance of standardized or
customized marketing relies on the characteristics of the industry as well as markets within
which an organization operates.

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