1. Basic aspects of International Marketing
There are three basic aspects of International marketing are as follows:-
The new product development process
Demand management
Sales marketing process
(1) The new product development process can be defined as follows:-
This process characterizes itself as integration between Marketing, R&D/Engineering and
Manufacturing. Besides, several operating levels are active within the new product
development process.
The steps shown in figure will be explained below:
Product idea generation
The first step in the process means the creation of a large number of product ideas. New
product ideas can come from many sources: customers, scientists, competitors, company
(sales) people or channel members, etc. However in order to eliminate unpromising product
ideas in the NPD process as early as possible, and to ensure that the development efforts fit
into a firm's product strategy, the process must be closely tied to the strategic (marketing)
planning .
Idea screening
As the purpose of idea generation is to create a large number of ideas, the purpose of the
succeeding stages is to reduce the number of ideas to an attractive practical few. The first
idea-pruning stage is screening. During the idea screening stage, the ideas are analyzed
against a set of predetermined criteria, to determine which ideas are pertinent and appropriate
for the company. The product ideas have to match with company objectives, (product line)
strategies and resources. Therefore, a variety of tools and techniques have been provided, to
assist in screening new product ideas, including rating scale and checklist models of product
success/failure discriminators.
2. Business analysis and forecasting
Before the screened idea will further be developed into a prototype, first production cost,
profitability and demand have to be forecasted, for example, by using the following
techniques: PERT(=Program Evaluation Review Technique) or CPA(=Critical Path
Analysis). With these techniques there can be given an answer to the following questions:
"Can we make it?", "Should we make it?" and "Can we sell it?”
Product development and testing
When the answers to the above questions are positive, the approved idea can be further
developed into a prototype and finally in a physical product. Then will be tested if the
product is safe and efficient.
Market testing
After the company is satisfied with the product's functional performance, the product is ready
to be dressed up with a preliminary marketing program and to be tested. The purpose of
market testing is to learn what the product's impact is in a competitive environment and how
customers and dealers react to handling, using and purchasing the actual product. This will
provide much more accurate details on market acceptance and thus, sales and profit.
Market research and commercialization
The final stage of the new product development process is commercialization. At the
commercialization stage the marketing manager must ensure he has the answers to the
following questions: when the product will be launched, to whom, where and how.
(2) Demand management process
To get funding for PRODUCT-enabled projects, it's necessary to navigate the PRODUCT
demand management process to prove that you are investing wisely in PRODUCT.
Unfortunately, the process can be as bad as its name. Bad, but necessary, given the
unquenchable thirst for PRODUCT services and the fact that, according to my survey (still in
process),
Over 50% of business and PRODUCT leaders agree that business leaders make half-baked
requests and are clueless about enterprise impact
Nearly 60% of business leaders admit that they want it all — right now — regardless of
ROI
Almost 35% admit of business leaders admit to getting enamored with PRODUCT fads
As PRODUCT becomes embedded within every aspect of the business, there's an infinite
number of great ways to apply technology and a lot of business leaders find themselves
competing for the same resources. "Demand management" is a governance process to allocate
limited PRODUCT resources to benefit the enterprise as a whole. When fully implemented,
demand management provides business leaders the information and capabilities to understand
3. PRODUCT costs, evaluate potential investments and convert PRODUCT-enabled
investments into business results. Demand management consists of six components:
Strategic planning provides the prioritization context for all investments, including what
PRODUCT-enabled capabilities are required, how much can be spent on PRODUCT, what
return is expected, and how PRODUCT will be managed to promote and protect enterprise
interests while encouraging business unit innovation
Portfolio management translates strategy in to how much should be spent on each of the
three types of PRODUCT-enabled investments (e.g., strategic, enhancement, and keeping
the lights on) and, on an ongoing basis, is used to guide decisions and facilitate cross-
organization project review
Decision rights are allocated to ensure responsible PRODUCT decision making consistent
with the principle that business leaders should have the authority to decide "what"
PRODUCT is needed while PRODUCT leaders should have the authority to decide "how"
PRODUCT is delivered
Financial planning determines the actual amount of funding available for PRODUCT-
enabled investments and allocates the funding in budgets consistent with the strategic plan,
portfolio targets and decision rights
Prioritization and funding decisions occur on an ongoing basis across and down the
organization in line with decision rights and criteria established during strategic planning,
portfolio management, and financial planning
Value management reinforces accountability for realization of tangible business value by
reviewing projections, ascertaining commitments, monitoring results. The fact that only 5-
10% of companies hold their business leaders accountable for business value from
PRODUCT-enabled investments is a huge opportunity for you. If you are willing to
promise to deliver measurable results, you will go to the front of the line
4. Yes, the demand management process can be onerous, unless you know how to play the
game. When proposing investments:
Align with enterprise strategies and clearly define the desired outcomes
Deliver value with your proposed initiative early and often to justify both one-time and
ongoing costs and resources
Show how your project will enhance cross-enterprise collaboration and integrate critical
processes, information and technology
Assign the best and brightest employees
Demonstrate how your proposals will leverage existing technology, improve systems
performance, reduce "keeping the lights on" costs, and mitigate risks
(3) Sales marketing process:
The Sales marketing planning and control process is often defined as
The process of defining the action steps, priorities and schedules by which the marketing
strategy will be implemented and making sure that the company is achieving the objectives
that are stated in the marketing plan within the determined budget.
The following steps and activities can be distinguished:-
Figure: The Sales Marketing Planning and Control process
The assumption is made that the output of this process, called the marketing plan by
marketing people, covers a time period of one year. The input of the annual marketing plan is
the strategic marketing plan, which is the output of the preceding process. When it concerns
an international company, it means that the marketing planning and control process will be
5. done on Product Group-level. As consequence of this, a more standardized Pan European or
worldwide marketing plan becomes feasible, leading to many advantages in efficiency and
effectiveness.
The steps shown in the figure above will be explained below:
Research of marketing mix and control
Like the strategic marketing planning process, this process also begins with research and
analysis of the marketing and consumer environment. Besides, research for the marketing
mix is necessary, which is focused on sensitivity analysis to various elements of the
marketing mix, analysis for reseller satisfaction, market response, goal achievement, etc.
Financial forecasting
Before the annual objective can be determined, the financial situation has to be forecasted.
On the revenue side it shows forecasted sales volume and average realized price, on the
expense side it shows the forecasted cost of production, physical distribution and marketing.
The difference is the expected profit.
Objectives setting
The annual objectives can be stated for the one year strategy (for example, increase market
share by x% or improve brand awareness by y% in that year) as well as for specific
statements concerning marketing activities. An example of a specific statement is: decrease
cost of sales force as a percentage of sales, improve advertising awareness or improving
company image. These statements have to be quantified and a time horizon has to be set.
Marketing strategy and action program
When the objectives have been set, the marketing managers have to refine the strategic
marketing plan to the annual marketing plan. Specific marketing tactics have to be developed
besides the action programs. The action programs contain the marching orders in response to
the question "How will we get there?", and the actual steps by which strategies will be
implemented to reach the established objectives.
Control
The last step of the marketing planning and control process is control, which forms a distinct
process itself. The control of the annual marketing plan will be handled by the management
of the PMC.
To implement the marketing strategy, marketing management has to decide what level of
marketing expenditures is necessary to achieve the marketing objectives. The total budget has
to be allocated among the several marketing activities and tools in the marketing mix during
the implementation of activities; the company has to review the process of marketing and
sales activities regularly throughout the year. These reviews provide an opportunity to listen
to weak signals and to redirect any parts of the planned action program that are off target