INTERNATIONAL

MARKETING
DLMMARE01
INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
 MASTHEAD

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DLMMARE01
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2
PROF. DR. JOSEPHINE ZHOU-BROCK

Ms. Zhou-Brock is a Professor at IU International University of Applied Sciences. She studied

management at the International Management Institute in Lucerne, Switzerland before mov-
ing to Glasgow, Scotland (UK), where she received her MSc and PhD from the University of
Strathclyde. She worked for several years as a management consultant with the GD Interna-
tional Hotel Group Ltd. in Hong Kong (China).

Her teaching and research focuses on consumer behavior, international business and inter-
nationalization, and marketing. Ms. Zhou-Brock has been published in various leading peer-
reviewed journals.

3
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTERNATIONAL MARKETING

Module Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Introduction
Signposts Throughout the Course Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Basic Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Required Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Further Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Learning Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Unit 1
Introduction to International Marketing 15

1.1 Issues Related to International Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

1.2 Environmental Factors in International Market Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
1.3 Features of Buying Behavior in International Marketing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Unit 2
International Marketing Strategies 29

2.1 Market Segmentation and Market Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

2.2 Market Entry Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
2.3 Market Exit Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Unit 3
International Market Research 51

3.1 Qualitative and Quantitative Primary Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

3.2 International Surveys and Observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Unit 4
International Marketing for Specific Sectors 59

4.1 Industrial Goods Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

4.2 Consumer Goods Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
4.3 Wholesale and Retail Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
4.4 Service Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

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Unit 5
International Products 71

5.1 Product Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

5.2 Product Mix and Degree of Standardization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
5.3 Brand Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Unit 6
International Pricing and Terms of Sales Policies 85

6.1 Pricing on International Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

6.2 Types of Price Discrimination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
6.3 Credit and Discount Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Unit 7
International Promotion 97

7.1 International Promotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

7.2 International Promotion Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
7.3 Optimal Standardization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Unit 8
International Distribution 111

8.1 Distribution Channels, Intermediaries, and Distribution Schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

8.2 Organizational Forms for International Market Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
8.3 Potential for Standardization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Unit 9
International Marketing Mix 127

9.1 Home Country Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

9.2 Global Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
9.3 Multinational Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

Appendix
List of References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
List of Tables and Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

5
INTRODUCTION
 WELCOME
SIGNPOSTS THROUGHOUT THE COURSE BOOK

This course book contains the core content for this course. Additional learning materials
can be found on the learning platform, but this course book should form the basis for your
learning.

The content of this course book is divided into units, which are divided further into sec-
tions. Each section contains only one new key concept to allow you to quickly and effi-
ciently add new learning material to your existing knowledge.

At the end of each section of the digital course book, you will find self-check questions.
These questions are designed to help you check whether you have understood the con-
cepts in each section.

For all modules with a final exam, you must complete the knowledge tests on the learning
platform. You will pass the knowledge test for each unit when you answer at least 80% of
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When you have passed the knowledge tests for all the units, the course is considered fin-
ished and you will be able to register for the final assessment. Please ensure that you com-
plete the evaluation prior to registering for the assessment.

Good luck!

8
 BASIC READING
Bradley, F. (2004). International marketing strategy (5th ed.). Toronto: Pearson Education.

9
 REQUIRED READING
UNIT 1

Levitt, T. (1983). The globalization of markets. Harvard Business Review, 61(2), 92–102.
(Database: EBSCO).

UNIT 2

Balu, R. (2001). Hindustan lever. Fast Company, Jun 2001(47), 120–136. (Database: EBSCO).

UNIT 3

Kumar, V., Reinartz, W., & Venkatesan, R. (2006). Knowing what to sell, when, and to whom.
Harvard Business Review, 84(3), 131-137. (Database: EBSCO).

UNIT 4

Rust, R. T., Moorman, C., & Bhalla, G. (2010). Rethinking marketing. Harvard Business
Review, 88(1/2), 94–101. (Database: EBSCO).

Seybold, P. (2001). Get inside the lives of your customers. Harvard Business Review, 79(5),
80–89. (Database: EBSCO).

UNIT 5

Douglas, S., Craig, S., & Nijssen, E. (2001). Integrating branding strategies across markets:
Building international brand architecture. Journal of International Marketing, 9(2), 97–
114. (Database: EBSCO).

Immelt, J. R., Govindarajan, V., & Trimble, C. (2009). How GE is disrupting itself. Harvard
Business Review, 87(10), 56–65. (Database: EBSCO).

UNIT 6

Coy, P. (2010). Why the price is rarely right. Business Week, 4165, 77–78. (Database: EBSCO).

UNIT 7

Sullivan, E. A. (2009). Measure up. Marketing News, 43(9), 8–11. (Database: EBSCO).

10
Lance, R. (2009). The paradox of ROT and decreased spending in the ad industry. American
Journal of Business, 24(2), 11–14. (Database: EBSCO).

UNIT 8

Fites, D. V. (1996). Make your dealers your partners. Harvard Business Review, 74(2), 84–95.
(Database: EBSCO).

UNIT 9

Kotler, P. (2006). Alphabet soup. Marketing Management, 15(2), 51. (Database: EBSCO).

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 FURTHER READING
UNIT 1

Kumar, N. (2008). The CEO’s marketing manifesto. Marketing Management, 17(6), 24–29.
(Database: EBSCO).

Verhoef, P., & Leeflang, P. S. (2009). Understanding the marketing department’s influence
within the firm. Journal of Marketing, 73(2), 14–37. (Database: EBSCO).

UNIT 2

Zabin, J. (2006). The importance of being analytical. Brandweek, 47(28), 21. (Database:
EBSCO).

UNIT 3

Reed, D. (2010). You can hit bullseye every time. Marketing Week, 33(50), 44–46. (Database:
EBSCO).

Zaltman, G. (1997). Rethinking market research: Putting people back in. Journal of Market-
ing Research, 34(4), 424–437. (Database: EBSCO).

UNIT 4

Zaheer, A., Gözübüyük, R., & Milanov, H. (2010). It’s the connections: The network perspec-
tive in interorganizational research. Academy of Management Perspectives, 24(1), 62–
77. (Database: EBSCO).

UNIT 5

Benady, D. (2010). Using licensing to build a mega brand. Marketing, 03/02/2010, 32–33.
(Database: EBSCO).

Mizik, N., & Jacobson, R. (2005). Talk about brand strategy. Harvard Business Review,
83(10), 24–26. (Database: EBSCO).

UNIT 6

Williamson, P. J., & Zeng, M. (2009). Value-for-money strategies for recessionary times. Har-
vard Business Review, 87(3), 66–74. (Database: EBSCO).

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UNIT 7

Bloom, J. (2006). The truth is: Consumers trust fellow buyers before marketers. Advertising
Age, 77(7), 25. (Database: EBSCO).

UNIT 8

Balasubramanian, S., Mahajan, V., & Raghunathan, R. (2005). Consumers in a multichannel

environment: Product utility, process utility, and channel choice. Journal of Interactive
Marketing, 19(2), 12–30. (Database: EBSCO).

UNIT 9

Hollis, N. (2008). Going global? Better think local instead. Brandweek, 49(42), 14. (Data-
base: EBSCO).

TIP

Should you have any problems logging into the library databases or accessing full texts,
please contact the library helpdesk:

lis@iubh-fernstudium.de

13
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
International marketing is a specific discipline within the broader field of marketing that
is becoming increasingly important in our globalized economy. This course aims to pro-
vide you with the knowledge and skills you need to develop effective marketing strategies
for companies operating internationally.

This course will begin by introducing you to the fundamental features and functions of
international marketing before exploring specific strategies for selecting, developing, and
exiting international markets. We will look at the role of market research and analyze dif-
ferent methodologies for collecting relevant information.

We will explore the features of specific business sectors and the opportunities and chal-
lenges faced by companies. We will look in-depth at the industrial and investment goods
sector, the consumer goods sector, the wholesale and retail sector, and the service sector.

You will acquire a broad understanding of the characteristics of international product,

pricing, promotion, and distribution policy as we explore the strategic decisions made by
companies seeking to either differientiate or standardize their policies. This course will
conclude with a discussion of the international marketing mix skills and the benefits /
disadvantages of adopting either a home-country, global, or multinational orientation.

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 UNIT 1
INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL
MARKETING

STUDY GOALS

On completion of this unit, you will have learned …

– the role of marketing for companies seeking to internalize their businesses.

– what are four important issues related international business activities.
– how to utilize supplier, consumer, and competitor feedback to shape marketing poli-
cies.
– which environmental factors shape international market development.
– what differentiates the buying behavior of individuals from the buying behavior of
organizations.
 1. INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL
MARKETING

Introduction
International Business Activities
Transnational or cross-border business activities are a necessity for many companies.
They help companies to achieve their economic goals and guarantee competitiveness by
expanding activities from a domestic market into international markets. In doing so, com-
panies seek to ensure their ongoing existence by increasing the pool of potential custom-
ers. The expansion of international business is also a result of the increasing interconnect-
edness of national economies. Such growth in interconnectedness can be attributed to
developments such as:

• the creation of economic and monetary unions,

• decreasing trade tariffs and establishing free trade zones,
• companies becoming increasingly mobile, and
• barrier-free communication across national borders emerging as a result of technologi-
cal advances and widespread use of the Internet.

Business activities must be coordinated across the multiple countries in which a company
operates. Coordination is increasingly important as the interdependency of national mar-
kets prevents a company from developing strategies targeted towards single national mar-
kets, independent of strategies on other markets. Activities in one national market will
often have implications for activities in another.

Such transformations in the landscape of international business have major consequen-

ces for the marketing activities of companies. Companies need to adopt new approaches
to marketing to meet the challenges associated with the increasing internationalization of
markets.

1.1 Issues Related to International

Marketing
International marketing refers to the process of expanding into and operating within
global markets using specific marketing mix tools. It is characterised by cross-border
activities that involve adopting both country-specific and transnational approaches. Inter-
national business activities require companies to respond to distinct issues that arise as a
result of crossing national borders. Here, we will explore four such issues: information
demand, business risk, complexity, and uncertainty.

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Information Demand Marketing mix
Creating a marketing mix
means choosing and
A great deal of additional information is often needed to enter new national markets as adjusting certain market-
companies need to familiarize themselves with the unique features and environment of ing tools and then decid-
ing on how intensely to
each particular market. This is sometimes referred to as the information demand. The task use them in order to meet
of sourcing additional information is often met with problems of procurement; accurate as many marketing objec-
sources of information need to be found and developed so that the company can access tives as possible; it is
often associated with the
the information it requires. four P’s: product, price,
promotion, and place
A particular type of additional information required by companies relates to the distinct (distribution).
cultural features of each national market and how to adequately consider these features Additional information
Additional information is
when working within these markets. In many cases, drawing from personal or lived experi- needed as foreign mar-
ence, e.g. through travelling to the specific countries or permanently relocating employ- kets are often different to
the domestic market of a
ees abroad, is the only way to acquire the necessary cultural knowledge needed for mak-
company e.g. in terms of
ing informed decisions. Knowledge about a culture is by no means equivalent to legal system, geography,
“experienced knowledge” (Czinkota & Ronkainen, 2010; Backhaus & Voeth, 2010). culture, or competitive
environment.

Business Risk

Closely linked to the problem of gathering additional information is the issue of increased
business risk when operating across national borders. With often only limited information
available, companies face greater uncertainty operating in foreign markets compared to
operations in their domestic market. The outcomes of entrepreneurial actions cannot be
accurately predicted when there is insufficient information available and thus the risk
associated with international operations is greater.

Complexity

Entering new national markets entails greater complexity and differentiation of both man-
agement responsibilities and marketing tasks. Careful preparation and decision-making is
extremely important given the demands placed on the capabilities and skills of manage-
ment staff working transnationally. It is worth noting that in many cases, management
and marketing tasks are highly interdependent.

However, it is problematic to directly and exclusively attribute the complexity of manage-

ment and marketing tasks simply to “transcending national borders”. Whether operating
on a domestic or international scale, developing new markets and pursuing product inno-
vations often entails great risk and the amount of additional information required is often
considerable (e.g. when it comes to developing new technologies); the increase in com-
plexity of management tasks is always significant when developing new aspects of a busi-
ness. However, at a management level, crossing borders always presents companies with
two specific dilemmas: 1) How do we enter a new national market? and 2) How do we
work within it?

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 Uncertainty

As we have already seen, decisions resulting from entry into new national markets are
usually high risk and characterized by a high demand for information. Entering new
national markets generates a high degree of uncertainty that management needs to
respond to. Effective responses to uncertainty usually involve designing measures to
reduce this uncertainty, such as procuring the necessary information to make informed
decisions. However, when it comes to making important decisions about international
business, information addressing the questions of “whether” and “how” to enter new
markets (such as information on how existing competitors will react to the market entry of
the new company) is not always available. Modelling different scenarios and analyzing
their consequences is essentially the only way to address such questions.

How do all these issues associated with international business relate to one another? As
the company selects and begins operating within new markets (in a process known as
Market development market development), the level of both the information demand and business risk
Both business risk and declines until finally reaching levels typical of operations within a domestic market. The
information demand
decline in the course of company gradually learns how and where to gather relevant information and becomes
market development. more adept at judging whether the reactions of competitors actually matter. Through
experience, management undergoes a process of maturation that increases their capabili-
ties to assess alternative marketing strategies and instruments (Backhaus & Voeth, 2010).

Feedback

The information demand and the level of business risk as well as the type and complexity
of management responsibilities are all strongly linked to the feedback received from
national markets. Three main types of information direct the scope of national marketing
activities: supplier, consumer, and competitor feedback. We will review three case studies
in order to examine these different types of feedback in greater detail.

Case study: Beverage industry

A German consumer goods company in the beverage industry expanded its international
presence significantly from the period of 2005–2010. While the company generated less
than 1 % of total sales from international business activities in 2003, this share increased
to over 40 % by 2009. The rapid development of numerous foreign markets necessitated
the formulation of several overarching, transnational business goals. In 2007, the com-
pany created the following business goals:

• Eight to 12 % return on the nominal capital (before taxes and interests)

• Sales volume of €3.0 billion (2007 sales: €1.5 billion) and a leading market position in
Europe
• Establishment of an open, success-oriented, inspiring, and internationally-oriented
company culture

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In 2010, when commenting on this aspect of the internationalization process, the head of
corporate and strategic planning stated: “These few transnational objectives have allowed
us to create a common language that connects us across different cultures and mentali-
ties and creates a common identity. The common language of the objectives forms the
basis of a transnational corporate culture.”

Company goals that are specific to foreign markets and the configuration of international
activities (such as those in the case study) constitute supplier feedback. Company goals Supplier feedback
will typically focus on market position (e.g. market share, sales, market coverage), cost Supplier feedback refers
to information from pro-
(e.g. efficiency, productivity), and profitability (e.g. profit, return on capital, profit-turnover ducers of goods and serv-
ratio) (Becker, 2001). They sometimes include financial goals (e.g. liquidity, capital struc- ices, such as company
ture, etc.), social goals (e.g. security, job satisfaction, company culture), and/or prestige goals or the company’s
financial position.
goals (e.g. image). A feature of these goals is that they draw the focus away from individual
national markets and relate to the company as a whole.

Goals related to cost play a significant role in achieving a company’s overall objectives.
Industrial enterprises, in particular, are increasingly influenced by a growing number of
fixed costs. The portion of costs independent of actual production costs is growing stead-
ily for the majority of companies. In most cases, increases in fixed labor costs are the main
reason for this. Additional reasons include increases in the allocation of funds for research
and development and increasing capital costs. But if a company needs to supply several
national markets with production infrastructure that has a high share of fixed costs, this
will also significantly influence the company’s financial position. While intrastructure
(whether purchased or constructed) comes at a cost, additional sales volumes result in
greater distribution of fixed costs; higher additional sales volumes result in wider alloca-
tion of fixed costs and thus lower costs per unit produced. This greater distribution of fixed
costs is referred to as “economies of scale.” Realizing the potential for economies of scale
(which leads to reduced production costs and sustained competitiveness) is among the
most important motives for a company seeking to internationalize its activities (Meffert &
Bolz, 1998).

Having examined supplier feedback, we now turn to consumer feedback. We will look a
second case study to explore this concept.

Case study: UMTS

The “Universal Mobile Telecommunication System” (UMTS) uses frequency bands much
more efficiently than the “Global System for Mobile Communication” (GSM) standard.
UMTS’ significantly quicker transfer rates allow users to better operate multimedia serv-
ices using mobile devices. However, mobile network operators have had to make signifi-
cant investments to be able to offer UMTS technology. With this in mind, it is understanda-
ble that all UMTS network operators from the onset have attempted to enter as many
national markets as possible. T-Mobile, for instance, bought not only the licenses for UTMS
services in Germany, but also licenses in many other European countries. This was a stra-
tegic move, given that the same operational knowledge developed for the German market
could be used repeatedly to establish services in multiple locations and this would allow
T-Mobile to operate data traffic across national borders. Deutsche Telekom also spent
about €1.3 billion in 2010 auctioning cellular frequencies for the new transmission stand-

19
 ard “Long Term Evolution” (LTE). LTE provides data rates of several hundred megabit/
second (whereas UMTS only achieves a maximum of 14 megabit/second) and thus enables
interruption-free transmission of videos or online games. However, neighboring countries
also have to utilize LTE to guarantee efficient use of this technology. Only then will Deut-
sche Telekom be able to recoup their investments. The overall market volume for LTE is
forecast at over $11 billion USD by 2014.

We can see in this example, the cross-border exchange of information and goods is an
essential source of consumer feedback required for national marketing activities. Under-
standing consumer preferences (in this case, preferences regarding cellular usage) and the
spread of consumer and their buying behavior (in this case, the uptake of different tech-
nologies across different countries) is the type of feedback companies need to develop
strategies for different markets.

The globalization of markets, as a result of increasingly standardized consumers’ needs,

has led to the standardization of information (Meffert & Bolz, 1998). As accessing informa-
tion has become easier in the course of liberalizing information and communication mar-
Coordination-related kets, a coordination-related dimension to international marketing has emerged with
dimension regards to collecting and managing this information. In many countries, consumers are
The liberalization of infor-
mation and communica- able to access information about supply or on supplier behavior in a sector relevant to
tion markets simplifies them, and vice versa. Collecting, analyzing, and distributing such information requires
the gathering of informa- considerable planning and coordination on the part of companies.
tion but requires a coordi-
nation-related dimen-
sion. Adequate information is vital for a company or consumer to take advantage of country-
specific differences in price or quality. While the cross-border procurement of industrial
goods has occurred throughout history, the development of the Internet has increasingly
allowed consumers, in addition to companies and merchants, to choose from a variety of
regional and national markets in many consumer good sectors. This has greatly facilitated
Arbitrage the process of arbitrage. Arbitrage occurs when country-specific differences in prices and
Arbitrage occurs when quality are known and the costs related to procurement (e.g. import taxes, delivery
consumers try to take
advantage of price differ- charges, etc.) do not outweigh the relative benefits of purchasing from a foreign market.
ences in different mar-
kets, purchasing from one Companies targeting similar consumer groups across multiple national markets with a
market and selling in
another at a profit. policy of differientiated pricing face considerable challenges to coordinate their activi-
Differentiated pricing ties; arbitrage occurring across national markets often places pressure on a differentiated
Differentiated pricing pricing policy.
(also called differential
pricing) is the practice of
charging different prices Having discussed supplier and consumer feedback, we will now use a case example to
across different markets illustrate competitor feedback. Competitor feedback refers to the information about the
for the same product.
strategy and operations of companies providing similar products.

Case study: Deregulation and the aviation industry

In the 1990s, after the process of strict deregulation of the airline industry had essentially
ended, competition intensified between airlines. Increasingly airline carriers (most of
which were formerly state-owned companies) began founding global networks in order to
offer their clients a connected, worldwide transportation network. In 1997, after many air-
lines had already had their bids to establish alliances accepted, Deutsche Lufthansa, Air

20
Canada, SAS, Thai Airways, and United Airlines decided to found the “Star Alliance” net-
work. This development forced all carriers not already organized into such networks to
take action. Ultimately, competitor feedback created a situation in the airline carrier mar-
ket that compelled all companies to internationalize their business and become affiliates
of international networks (Machatschke, 2000).

Competitor feedback is a fundamental factor influencing the development of interna-

tional commercial activities. Relative competitive positions and the extent of a company’s
own internationalization as well as the internationalization level of competitors are one of
the main causes for the interdependence of national markets. In the case study above,
competitor feedback resulted in an integration into competing networks in order to
remain competitive on a global scale. Changes in the behavior or number of competitors
entering a single market may force a company to adjust not only their international mar-
keting policy towards a particular national market but also toward other markets in which
they are active.

The establishment of competing networks with mutually interdependent competitive

positions may significantly reduce an international company’s “degree of freedom”
regarding their business activities in individual national markets. The actions of one com-
pany or its competitors in a single national market may result in a need to make adjust-
ments not only in that market but in all other national markets. Take, for instance, a new
competitor entering a domestic market and undercutting the price level for a product
already sold on this market. This will force a company already selling this product to not
only reduce their prices on the domestic market but it may in turn impact the ability of the
company to enter other markets or change their pricing structure in other markets as well.

Feedback on competitors is important when planning, trialling, and continuing interna-

tional commercial activities. However, assessing the extent and nature of competition can
be especially difficult when international competitors are integrated in terms of strategy
or equity; competitors may be cooperating in some segments but competing in others
and, at times, these relationships can be difficult to distinguish.

Definition of International Marketing

Marketing requires the gathering of specific information and implementation of particular

strategies in the international context. Risk, uncertainty, and complexity are especially rel-
evant when it comes to operating across borders. So too are the problems of coordinating
marketing activities across multiple markets and developing strategies that take advant-
age of economies of scale. Against this backdrop, we define the tasks of international mar-
keting as (Backhaus & Voeth, 2010):

• accessing or managing relevant feedback (supplier, consumer, and competitor feed-

back) at the business segment level,
• coordinating national marketing activities (when entering new markets and operating
within multiple markets), and
• optimizing profits across all national markets.

21
 1.2 Environmental Factors in
International Market Development
The market environment of international business is characterized by technological, polit-
ical-legal, and socio-cultural factors. We will explore each of these factors and their impact
on international marketing.

Technological Factors

Historically, technological factors have been especially influential on the development of

international markets. Advances in both communication and transport technology (some-
times referred to as freight) have led to the distribution of labor, management, and pro-
duction, and reduced costs associated with sourcing materials, producing goods and serv-
ices, and selling them in multiple locations. However, available technology varies across
and even within national markets, affecting the decision-making of suppliers, consumers,
and competitors.

Political-Legal Factors

Political-legal factors refer to the political situation and stability of a country as well as the
development and implementation of their legal systems (which includes both domestic
and international legal structures). For companies considering entry into different
national markets, it is important to assess the political-legal situation of each country,
using either qualitative or quantitative tools. Qualitative methods include country check-
lists that determine the degree of certain risk factors (such as currency risks or security
risks) or country risk profiles that illustrate the intensity of specific risks according to
country. With regards to available tools, country risk indexes such as the Business Envi-
BERI and ICRG indexes ronment Risk Index (BERI) and the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG) index are
The BERI and ICRG especially important for companies. They evaluate risks for each country, using qualitative
indexes are indicator
models for determining data from interviews with managers and/or researchers and quantify the data in order to
risk values for individual develop country rankings.
countries.

We will use the following case study to examine political-legal factors and use of the BERI
index.

Case study: Click-IT AB

Swedish media production company Click-IT AB produces digital storage media and multi-
media applications. To expand their product portfolio, management has decided to enter
the market for flash memory cards, as the demand for this product is forecast to increase
worldwide in the next five years. Flash memory cards are the storage devices used in USB
flash drives or as memory cards in digital cameras. Despite wanting to internationalize
their business, Click-IT AB does not want to leave Europe. As a family-run, highly risk-con-
scious company, Click-IT AB decides to use the BERI index to analyze risks associated with
each country and work out which countries they should target.

22
The table below illustrates the assessment of country risks and their development based
on the BERI index (Homburg & Krohmer, 2009).

Table 1: Assessment of Country Risks and Their Development Based on the BERI Index

Overall
Overall Risk (5-
Political Operative Invest- Risk year fore-
Risk Risk Risk ment Risk (2008) cast)

Country Maximum risk = 0 Minimum risk = 100

Highlyin- Germany 61 69 83 71 74
dustrial-
ized coun- USA 67 69 61 64 68
tries
France 57 61 67 62 65

UK 63 67 51 60 62

Industrial- Spain 61 63 51 58 60
ized coun-
tries Italy 39 50 57 49 52

Emerging China 57 53 73 61 63
countries
Russia 44 42 58 48 50

India 40 49 50 46 48

Brazil 44 42 46 44 47

Estonia 47 44 36 42 45

Ukraine 39 41 43 41 43

Israel 34 40 41 38 40

Develop- Egypt 42 46 47 45 44
ing coun-
tries Syria 44 40 47 44 44

Indonesia 35 38 49 41 43

Source: Homburg & Krohmer, 2009.

After considering the above information, Click-IT AB chose Germany and the UK as target
markets given that the overall expected risk is the lowest for each of these countries.

The abolishment of cross-national trade barriers is an important factor when it comes to Cross-national trade
analyzing political-legal factors, as this has greatly contributed to increasing international barriers
Free trade agreements
business activities. Establishing free trade agreements is of particular signficance. Exam- reduce cross-national
ples of free trade agreements include the following: trade barriers.

23
 • ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations: Brunei, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam)
• NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement: Canada, Mexico, and USA)
• GAFTA (Greater Arab Trade Area: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon,
Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emi-
rates, and Yemen)
• Common markets, especially the European Union and Mercosur (Mercado Común del
Sur: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay)

Socio-Cultural Factors

Cultural differences between individual countries are an essential factor to consider when
designing international marketing policies. Five dimensions outlined originally by Geert
Hofstede’s cultural Hofstede can be used for characterizing the culture of a country (Homburg & Krohmer,
dimensions 2009):
Hofstede’s cultural
dimensions can be used
to characterize the cul- • Power distance: When there is a high power distance in a society, less powerful mem-
ture of a country. bers accept and thus expect a comparatively uneven distribution of power. Societies
with a low power distance are characterized by egalitarianism.
• Individualism: In an individualized society, the bonds between members are compara-
tively loose whereas the integration of members into social groups is great in societies
that are characterized by collectivism.
• Masculinity: People tend to take a firm line with one another and act competitively in
societies characterized by strong masculinity. Values such as modesty and care tend to
prevail in countries with weaker masculinity.
• Uncertainty avoidance: In countries in which this dimension is strong, people tend to
feel threatened by certain or unknown situations and strive to ensure a great extent of
security. People in cultures where this dimension is weaker are more willing to take
risks.
• Long-term orientation: Where long-term orientation prevails, people largely focus on
the future and attach importance to values such as endurance and thriftiness. Where
short-term orientation is stronger, people focus on values oriented towards the past or
the present, e.g. respecting and continuing traditions.

These cultural differences are especially important when designing marketing strategies
in different countries. The content of communication and the introduction of product
innovations are two areas of marketing policy that will differ depending on the specific
national culture. It is also very important to consider cultural differences when it comes to
the leadership behavior of managers (Roth, 2005; Dwyer, Mesak, & Hsu, 2005; Newman &
Nollen, 1996).

24
1.3 Features of Buying Behavior in
International Marketing
After discussing the features of international markets, we will explore variations in the
buying behaviors of individuals and organizations.

Individual Buying Behavior

Differences in individual buying behavior are often the result of differences in socio-eco-
nomic structures and values. One measure used to classify individuals and their buying
behavior is the so-called Sinus-Milieus, a social and target group model developed by the Sinus-Milieus
Sinus Institute Heidelberg in Germany (n.b. The institute has also developed an interna- Sinus-Milieus is a model
that classifies consumer
tional version of this model called Sinus-Meta-Milieus which defines target groups across target groups according
national borders). The model classifies consumers according to social status and basic val- to differences in attitudes
ues and groups consumers into specific “milieus” such as the “traditional milieu” or “new and values.

middle class milieu” that each represent different buying behaviors (Sinus Institute, 2016).

Moving beyond the differences in socio-economic structures and values within consumer
groups, individual countries also show specific differences in terms of product preferen-
ces. Some examples of such differences are listed below (Homburg & Krohmer, 2009):

• Many Spanish people wash their dishes by hand with cold water running from the tap.
Their dishwashing liquid must therefore have specific characteristics to allow for this
practice.
• The Spanish prefer their yoghurt to be runnier while Germans favor a thicker consis-
tence.
• People in the UK tend to wash their clothes at considerably lower temperatures than
the inhabitants of most other European countries. Washing agents sold in the different
countries need to feature different characteristics.
• Climatic conditions influence the type of skincare women use and products thus vary
across different countries.
• Pork is widely refused in countries with a predominantly Muslim population while
Hindu-dominated states do not consume beef.

Organizational Buying Behavior

Having considered variations in the buying behavior of individuals within and across
countries, we will now look at features of organizational buying behavior. For many organ-
izations, the centralization of procurement processes is of utmost importance and is a cen-
tral feature of their buying behavior. The motivation for companies to centralize their pro-
curement processes is often the opportunity to bundle resources and demand and
strengthen their competitive position. Prices are, in many cases, no longer negotiated in
individual countries, but rather negotiated centrally. Other factors characterizing organiza-
tional buying behavior include the involvement of multiple organizations and multiple
personalities, demand related to country-specific features, standardization, and high
interaction between supply and demand.

25
 Patterns of Buying Behavior

Moving on from individual and organizational buying behavior to look at buying behavior
as a whole, we face the question of whether or not societal-cultural conditions across
countries and regions are becoming homogenized. Are countries and regions actually
becoming more similar and less diverse? As globalization makes its mark on all cultures
and societies, we need to analyze whether inevitable changes in cultural practices are
resulting in different behavioral patterns. In this respect, two contradictory developments
can be observed:

• Cultures are assimilating across borders and customer behaviors in different countries
are converging.
• Resistance against such cultural convergence is increasing in many countries, with con-
sumers turning back to regional and cultural products and consumption patterns. The
consequences of such a reaction to cultural assimilation is especially evident when
comparing the Western world to the Arab world.

EXERCISE
Levitt’s convergence theory provides a clear explanation for this assimilation.
Please read Levitt (1983). What reasons does Levitt state for the convergence of
consumer needs?

Levitt (1983)postulates that there is an increasing homogenization of markets as well as

the development of cross-culture and cross-national target groups with converging needs.
Levitt lists the following reasons for the convergence of consumer needs:

• similar sociodemographic developments in many industrial nations (e.g. a trend

towards smaller families, increasing life expectancy, etc.)
• societies increasingly experiencing and integrating foreign cultures (e.g. in educational
institutions)
• improvements in transport (e.g. quicker and less expensive flights, proliferation of tour-
ism) and communications technology (e.g. Internet and wireless technology)

Companies are increasingly reacting to converging consumer needs by standardizing what

they offer consumers and increasing the centralization of decision-making and manage-
ment. For instance, managers of American and Japanese companies in Europe tend to opt
for standardized advertising strategies as they perceive the countries of the European

26
Union to be very similar. Falling fixed-unit costs resulting from the production of higher
volumes allows for the reduction of prices which strengthens the convergence of con-
sumer needs even further.

SUMMARY
Expanding business activities into more than one country does not grad-
ually change the business environment; it changes the very scope of
business itself. A move towards internationalization is usually character-
ized by higher complexity and uncertainty. It involves greater risk while
at the same time increasing the chance of securing company success
and demands greater flexibility in company strategy. International busi-
ness often necessitates adjustments to local conditions while simultane-
ously realizing advantages gained from standardization. It requires
increased efforts and intrastructure to handle the different national mar-
kets (i.e. managing supplier, consumer, and competitor feedback).

The environment of international marketing is characterized by techno-

logical, political-legal, and socio-cultural factors. In terms of technologi-
cal factors, significant advances in communication and transport have
occurred in the past decades. Abolishing cross-national trade barriers
has been a significant development in the political-legal environment.
As for socio-cultural factors, cultural differences between the individual
countries are the most essential factor to consider when designing inter-
national marketing policies.

Differences between the buying behavior of individuals and organiza-

tions have to be taken into account. The buying behavior of individuals
is largely the result of different socio-economic structures and values.
The increasing centralization of procurement processes is of utmost
importance when it comes to consider organizational buying behavior.

27
 UNIT 2
INTERNATIONAL MARKETING STRATEGIES

STUDY GOALS

On completion of this unit, you will have learned …

– the difference between multinational and global segmentation.

– which criteria are used to divide the market into distinct segments.
– which strategies can be used to develop and operate within new national markets.
– the relationship between the timing of market entry and business success.
– what to expect when exiting a market.
 2. INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
STRATEGIES

Introduction

PORSCHE PHILOSOPHY: THE PRINCIPLE PERFORMANCE

Today, Porsche is active in over 100 countries. We are a centrally controlled
worldwide network. Thanks to our subsidiaries and other Porsche Services, we
have a global presence and the Porsche brandname is recognized in virtually
every language. Porsche has always been an export-oriented company. In the
1950s, cranes unloaded the first Porsche 356s in the harbor of New York which
was a tremendous success for that time. Our concept works. Other companies
know this too and approach us. We are happy to help—with the portfolio of our
subsidiaries and other Porsche Services. […].

Source: Porsche, 2012.

2.1 Market Segmentation and Market

Selection
Choosing which national markets to develop and classifying them into groups are two
essential functions of international marketing. As with national marketing, market seg-
Market segmentation mentation in an international context is comprised of two tasks: selecting the segments
Market segmentation and developing them. Depending on the underlying strategic direction of the company,
means dividing a hetero-
geneous market into two different approaches can be taken here (Meffert, Burmann, & Becker, 2010):
homogeneous sub-mar-
kets by considering the • Multinational (or multi-domestic) market segmentation focuses on the differences
distinct features of actual
and potential buyers between countries. Multinational segmentation is a multi-stage process. The first step is
within them. to choose national markets that have potential for development. Afterwards, consum-
ers are segmented. In some cases, transnational segments are created when similar tar-
get groups are identified in multiple countries. This approach emphasizes the differen-
ces between national markets. This strategy is ideal for highly differentiated products or
products dictated by local preferences, e.g. confectionary.
• Global market segmentation is based on Levitt’s convergence theory and focuses on the
similiarities between countries. This approach views the world as a homogeneous mar-
ket and tries to identify worldwide target groups (e.g. teenagers with same behaviors
and interests, middle-aged women with disposable income, etc.). This type of segmen-

30
 tation is used for global brand management, often for fashion brands (e.g. Hugo Boss,
Prada), cigarettes manufacturers (e.g. Marlboro), or technology products (e.g. Apple
iPhones), which aim to adopt a widely standardized marketing approach.

Multinational and global market segmentation approaches differ in complexity. Multina-

tional market segmentation makes sense for companies that have a polycentric orienta-
tion and perceive greater value in pursuing differentiated market development strategies.
Multinational market segmentation is also common for companies with an ethnocentric
orientation who perceive greater value in locating national markets that are similar to
their domestic one. Global market segmentation, by contrast, corresponds with a geocen-
tric or regiocentric orientation and global or transnational marketing strategies.

Multinational market segmentation is often more desirable in the early stages of interna-
tionalization as it is less complex and the methods for segmentation are comparatively
easy. Global market segmentation is often the right approach for large, global brands in an
advanced internationalization stage. “Born-global” companies, that is, companies that
pursue a global marketing strategy right from the onset of operations, are the exception.
Such firms can be found particularly in the IT industry—Google is a good example of a
born-global company (Meffert, Burmann, & Becker, 2010).

We will now explore these two market segmentation approaches in greater detail.

Multinational Market Segmentation

This type of market segmentation and selection assumes that consumers in different
countries will differ from one country to the next in their behavior, and that the different
market conditions across different countries will result in specific markets appearing more
or less desirable. The following case study looks at how this type of market segmentation
and selection is implemented in practice.

Case study: Features of multinational market segmentation

BelaGreen AG is a corporation that sells high-end personal care products (e.g. suntan
lotion, face care, etc.) for the most part within their domestic market of Germany. As sales
and profits are declining as the result of increased competition in the German market, the
board of directors considers expanding business into foreign markets. You are the assis-
tant to the CEO and responsible for gathering available information on countries of inter-
est for BelaGreen AG and recommending which markets to target. In doing so, you classify
countries using the following portfolio structure (Homburg, 2011):

31
 Figure 1: Portfolio Structure

Source: Homburg, 2011.

Countries of interest to BelaGreen AG are evaluated according to the following criteria.

Table 2: Evaluation of Portfolio Structure (A)

Italy France Hungary Russia Poland

Market very low very low very high very high high
growth for
personal care
products
(high-price
segment)

Political sta- medium very high medium low low/medium

bility

Norms and high very high low medium medium

standards for
ingredients in
personal care
products

Price level high/very very high low very low medium

high

Language dif- low very low medium very high high

ficulties

Customer high medium low low very low

loyalty

Economies of high very high high medium low

scale of
established
competitors

32
 Italy France Hungary Russia Poland

Population very low medium medium medium

growth

Market vol- high high medium low medium

ume

Competition high very high low medium high

within the
market for
personal care
products

State regula- low very low very low medium low

tions

Possibility to high low high low very high

establish own
production
site in the
respective
country

Source: Created on behalf of IU (2016).

Table 3: Evaluation of Portfolio Structure (B)

Egypt Portugal Brazil Sout Africa

Market growth low medium/high high/very high very high

for personal care
products (high-
price segment)

Political stability very low medium/high very low very low

Norms and low medium very low medium

standards for
ingredients in
personal care
products

Price level low high low high

Language diffi- very low low low very low

culties

Customer loyalty medium very high very high high

Economies of low medium high very low

scale of estab-
lished competi-
tors

Population high low very high very high

growth

Market volume medium high low low

33
 Egypt Portugal Brazil Sout Africa

Competition low very high very low very low

within the mar-
ket for personal
care products

State regulations medium low very low low

Possibility to very low very high low medium

establish own
production site in
the respective
country

Source: Created on behalf of IU (2016).

The first step in multi-domestic market segmentation is to exclude countries that do not
Market segmentation meet the company’s requirements. The following market segmentation criteria are usu-
criteria ally utilized as part of the pre-selection process.
Market segmentation cri-
teria can help to reasona-
bly subdivide a market. • Economic variables: Examples are per capita income of a population, the gross domes-
tic product, or the level of consumption expenditure in a specific country.
• Sociodemographic variables: Factors such as age distribution, birth rates, educational
level, or gender ratio may yield further information about potential target groups in a
specific country.
• Political/legal variables: These variables give some indication of a country’s stability,
investment security, and the legal feasibility of the planned undertaking. In addition to
these variables, barriers to entry, tariffs, import bans, guidelines for advertising, etc.
also need to be considered.
• Geographic variables: In many industries, a country’s geographical characteristics, such
as the quality of transportation routes, climate, or raw materials, have a direct impact
on product design and logistic systems.
• Technological variables: The stage of technological development such as the existence
of broadband networks can be an important factor. A country’s level of technological
infrastructure is also important for designing communication policies.
• Cultural variables: These factors can include the level of individualism versus collectiv-
ism, power distance, and masculinity among others of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions
(Hofstede, 1997).

An evaluation using these criteria will assist a company to identify the potential benefits of
entering a specific market (i.e. market attractiveness) and how potentially difficult it is to
enter a specific market and establish a market share (i.e. barriers to entry). Segmenting a
market using the aforementioned criteria is comparatively inexpensive and can be done
quickly; in many cases secondary sources or the countries’ statistical offices have all the
necessary data readily available. However, in many cases, the quality of such data will
strongly correlate with a country’s level of development. Additionally, it might not be pos-
sible to compare data from one country with another as the definitions of the variables
can differ. Furthermore, there is a possibility that the supplied data might be influenced by

34
the respective political situation, particularly in the case of totalitarian systems. Tradi-
tional strategy evaluation methods such as checklist or scoring techniques are recommen-
ded for further assessment of the national markets in such cases.

For BelaGreen AG, market attractiveness and barriers to entry can be evaluated using the
following criteria:

Table 4: Evaluation Criteria

Criteria for evaluating market attractiveness Criteria for evaluating barriers to entry

• Market growth for personal care products (high- • Norms and standards for ingredients in personal
price segment) care products
• Political stability • Language difficulties
• Price level • Customer loyalty
• Population growth • Economies of scale of established competitors
• Market volume • Competition within market for personal care
• Possibility to establish own production site in products (number of similar products)
the respective country (i.e. found own subsid- • State regulations
iary/joint venture)

Source: Created on behalf of IU (2016).

Combining all qualitative criteria related to market attractiveness and barriers to entry
results in the following assessment:

Table 5: Qualitative Evaluation

Accessibility of the national

Market attractiveness market

Italy 2 x very low, 1 x medium, 2 x 4 x low, 2 x high

high, 1 x high-very high = low-medium
= medium

France 2 x very low, 1 x low, 1 x high, 2 x 3 x very low, 1 x medium, 2 x

very high very high
= medium = low-medium

Hungary 2 x very low, 1 x low, 1 x high, 2 x 1 x low, 1 x medium, 3 x high, 1 x

very high very high
= medium = medium-high

Russia 1 x very low, 3 x low, 1 x 1 x very low, 4 x medium, 1 x

medium, 1 x very high high
= low-medium = medium

Poland 1 x low-medium, 3 x medium, 1 x 2 x low, 1 x medium, 2 x high, 1 x

high, 1 x very high very high
= medium-high = medium-high

Egypt 2 x very low, 2 x low, 1 x 1 x very low, 1 x low, 1 x

medium, 1 x high medium, 3 x high
= low = medium

35
 Accessibility of the national
Market attractiveness market

Portugal 1 x low, 2 x medium-high, 2 x 2 x very low, 1 x low, 1 x

high, 1 x very high medium, 2 x high
= medium-high = low-medium

Brazil 1 x very low, 3 x low, 1 x high- 1 x very low, 1 x low, 1 x high, 3 x

very high, 1 x very high very high
= medium = high

South Africa 1 x very low, 1 x low, 1 x 1 x low, 1 x medium, 1 x high, 3 x

medium, 1 x high, 2 x very high very high
= medium-high = high

Source: Created on behalf of IU (2016).

As seen in the table above, market attractiveness and accessibility of the national market
are evaluated by combining the criteria for each of these factors. In Italy, for instance, both
the growth of the market for high-price segment personal care products and population
growth are low. Averaging all six criteria for market attractiveness in Italy results in the rat-
ing of “medium”. Brazil, by contrast, has very few norms and standards for the ingredients
in personal care products, which makes this national market very accessible. When enter-
ing this market, additional investments required to comply with these standards are rela-
tively few. Averaging all six criteria of market accessibility, accessibility in Brazil is rated
“high”.

Findings from this qualitative evaluation for each country can then be plotted on the port-
folio structure grid according to market attractiveness and accessibility as shown in the
following figure.

36
Figure 2: Classifying National Markets in the Portfolio Structure

Source: Created on behalf of IU (2016).

The countries that BelaGreen AG chooses to target are South Africa, Poland, Hungary, and
Brazil. Portugal, Italy, and France definitely show some attractiveness and BelaGreen AG
should check what is causing the poor accessibility of these national markets and whether
these factors can be altered in the long term. BelaGreen AG might consider questions such
as: “Have we already competed with the same competitors on our domestic market?” and
“Will it pay off in the long term to become active on this comparatively attractive market in
spite of the predictable short-term losses?”

Global Market Segmentation

Having explored the process of multinational market segmentation, we will now turn to
the process of global market segmentation. Global market segmentation is a one-step Global market segmen-
approach of developing segments without choosing specific national markets before- tation
Global market segmenta-
hand. This means that consumers are directly segmented across national borders. Global tion is an approach where
market segmentation can be conducted worldwide or for specific regions, e.g. Europe. customers are segmented
This type of segmentation is usually based on the classification of consumers according to across national borders
without reference to
lifestyle and behavior. countries.

37
 CASE STUDY: BMW TARGET CONSUMER PROFILE
[SIGMA was the company charged with researching the market for BMW focusing
on future trends.]

What Sigma’s research found was the “I’ve made it” attitude of the 1990s BMW
driver, what they called the “social climbers” was now changing to a more family
friendly group. They foresaw that as the yuppies declined, other groups with dif-
ferent upscale mindsets would increase in number. They suggested four seg-
ments going forward and BMW reacted to the new segments by introducing a
car to match three of them:

1. “Upper liberals” includes socially conscious, open-minded professionals often

with families who were successful in the 90s. They were predominantly Volvo,
Saab, and SUV drivers

What did BMW do? For upper liberals, BMW added the X5. This is a SUV that the
company prefers to call a “sports activity vehicle”, in a bid to appeal to this
group’s active lifestyle.

2. “Post-moderns” are high-earning innovators like architects, entrepreneurs,

and artists. They are highly individualistic and gravitate toward head-turners like
convertibles and roadsters.

3. “Upper conservative” are wealthy, traditional thinkers. They’ve never been

that interested in driving sporty cars like BMWs, and consider luxury and com-
fort over driving performance. They would normally purchase the Mercedes S-
class and Jaguars as they strive for elegance and sophistication.

What did BMW do? BMW-developed the Rolls Royce Phantom, which sells for
about $325,000, and is intended for the very wealthiest upper conservatives.

4. “Modern mainstream” are family-oriented, active, and normally purchase the

near-premium brands like Honda or Volkswagen: BMWs were considered too
expensive for them. But increasing numbers of them are looking to move up
above the middle class and are open to purchasing luxury-brand cars.

What did BMW do? In 2001, BMW launched the new Mini, aimed at upper-mid-
dle-class buyers who were not quite affluent enough to buy a real BMW. This
group is also the target market for the new BMW compact, the 1 Series. The Mini
brand provided the company with the opportunity to enter a very different seg-
ment of the automobile market whilst reducing the risk of affecting perceptions
of their existing brand.

Source: BMW12, 2012.

38
Global segmentation of mass markets is generally based on classifying consumers accord-
ing to cross-national sociodemographic, psychographic, or behavioral characteristics.
Social demographic information is often used to develop initial insights e.g. dividing con-
sumers according to age, household size, income, etc. However, a multi-dimensional
approach based on either single constructs of lesser complexity (such as perceptions or
attitudes) or multi-attribute constructs of greater complexity (such lifestyle) are also
standard practice for global segmentation.

In contrast to segmentation using single-dimension criteria such as age, segmentation

according to lifestyle allows companies to develop cross-national target groups based on Lifestyles
patterns of buying behavior. The cross-national target groups identified in this process will Lifestyles are complex
behavioral patterns influ-
react similarly to marketing measures as they share largely the same values, attitudes, and enced by constructs such
behaviors (Berndt, Fantapié Altobelli, & Sander, 2005; Keegan, 2002). as values and personality.

In Germany, the study “GfK Roper Consumer Styles” by the Gesellschaft für Konsumfor-
schung (GfK) [Society for Consumer Research] is often used as the empirical foundation
for global market segmentation (n.b. this study is available in English and German). It is
the advancement of the famous “Euro Socio Styles” study, which has been conducted in
15 European countries since 1989 (Becker & Schnetzer, 2006). However, while “Euro Socio
Styles” only analyzes Europe, “Roper Consumer Styles” evaluates the whole world, identi-
fying eight global lifestyle segments. The GfK lists the following segments (Meffert, Bur-
mann, & Becker, 2010):

• Dreamers: motivated to achieve happiness

• Adventurers: driven by passions
• Open-minds: seek a balance between self-actualization, social responsibility, and pleas-
ure
• Homebodies: desire material security and status
• Rational-realists: value hard work and responsibility
• Organics: search for sustainability and self-actualization
• Settlers: long for peace and harmony
• Discerners: seek a balance between responsibility, duty, and pleasure

In the US, lifestyle segmentation is conducted according to the “Values and Lifestyles”
(VALS) framework developed by SRI International (Franzen & Moriarty, 2009). Consumers
are segmented according to their primary motivation and resources into following eight
segments:

• Innovators
• Thinkers
• Believers
• Achievers
• Strivers
• Experiencers
• Makers
• Survivors

39
 Apart from using standardized typologies such as the Gfk “Roper Consumer Styles” or
VALS, companies can also segment consumers according to their particular circumstan-
ces. Such criteria can be found throughout marketing literature and is not necessarily spe-
cific to the international context (Bock & Uncles, 2002). Examples of these criteria include:

• preferences for specific product characteristics

• interaction effects with and among customers
• obstacles for making decisions (such as information gaps)
• buyer power and negotiating power of consumers
• individual customer profitability

Market Segmentation in the B2B Sector

While adopting either a multinational or global strategy is helpful for segmentation in the
consumer sector, how are important are these approaches in the business-to-business
(B2B) segment? We will look at a second case study now to explore how segmentation is
conducted in this sector.

CASE STUDY: LONG-TERM CLIENT COOPERATION OF VOITH AG

Voith is a global provider of leading-edge technology and industrial services.
Voith offers a broad portfolio of systems, products, and services that serve the
five essential markets of energy, oil & gas, paper, raw materials, and transport &
automotive in all regions of the world. Voith’s operating business is bundled in
four group divisions: Voith Hydro, Voith Industrial Services, Voith Paper, and
Voith Turbo. Much of the worldwide paper production is produced on Voith
paper machines. One quarter of the world’s hydropower is generated using
Voith Hydro turbines or generators. Voith Turbo drive elements are used around
the world in industrial plants or for road, rail, and marine applications. Europe’s
largest companies rely on technical services delivered by Voith Industrial Serv-
ices.

Source: Voith, 2016.

In general, global segmentation of clients in B2B markets is easier than consumer markets
as there are fewer potential clients to analyze. Additionally, these clients are often already
international companies, which in turn facilitates the segmentation of new markets. In
some cases, potential customers can be analyzed according to qualitative criteria (such as
values, policies, etc.) in addition to quantitative criteria (such as procurement potential,
market power, or even ordering patterns in the context of specific sales strategies).

At least three options can be differentiated for segmenting the B2B sector (Zentes, Swo-
boda, & Schramm-Klein, 2010).

40
• Producers of industrial or consumer goods that offer standardized product ranges and
that have comparatively large groups of customers can use an approach similar to cus-
tomer segmentation. This is the case for Voith AG.
• Producers of industrial or consumer goods that offer rather differentiated, specialized
product ranges (e.g. specific technology) and are aware of only a few potential custom-
ers, can segment target groups across borders by means of concrete customer contacts.
• Producers with less fixed customer relations do not have to segment at all; establishing
customer relations on a 1:1 basis can result in a “follow the customer” strategy that
does not require marketing strategies to fit the characteristics of multiple target groups.

2.2 Market Entry Strategy

When working in new national markets, companies can choose to adopt different market
entry strategies and overall market development strategies. There is a great deal of
research on such strategies. To develop an appropriate strategy, management has to
make two important decisions:

• Which mode of entry (e.g. export, franchise, joint venture, etc.) should be used to enter
and subsequently develop the market?
• What timeline for entering the market should be implemented?

We will explore both these decisions in the following case study.

Case study: How to develop international markets

Your Spanish company, Cars Moviendos SA, is active in the automotive supply industry,
specifically machine engineering, and wants to enter the booming Chinese market. Your
position as Vice President of Marketing means that you have been asked to recommend
the most appropriate type of market entry. You begin by considering the following modes
of entry (Homburg, 2011). Mode of entry
First step of international
market development:
Table 6: Market Entry Type choosing the mode of
entry (i.e. type of organi-
zation).
Direct export Sales without intermediaries, usually through sole agencies, representa-
tive offices, and permanent establishments.

Indirect export Contract acquisition and distribution through intermediary third-party

companies.

Licensing Licensor grants licensee the right to use intellectual property with the lat-
ter paying a fee that either depends on actual usage or a contractual basis.

Contract manufacturing Third parties produce a product or individual modules on a contractual

basis.

Joint venture Founding of a jointly controlled company to which the partners contribute
funds, expertise, and often already existing company shares. They can be
classified as majority, equity, or minority joint ventures, depending on the
allocation of capital shares, ownership, and supervisory rights.

41
 Subsidiary Direct investment on the national market without any partners. There are
different types of subsidiaries, ranging from distribution-only set-ups to
independent R&D activities.

Source: Homburg, 2011.

As the Vice President of Marketing, you will have to consider the following factors and their
impact on potential market entry strategies:

• The market is extremely attractive for many competitors as the Chinese automotive
market is steadily growing.
• Some competitors of Car Moviendos SA have failed to successfully enter the Chinese
market, which indicates that the right market entry strategy has to be carefully consid-
ered.
• China’s accession to the WTO (2001) has considerably improved conditions for potential
investors, in part because: 1) the obligation to have a balanced foreign exchange
account was abolished, 2) companies producing in China no longer have to reach an
export quota of 50 %, and 3) investors now benefit from numerous “tax reliefs”, espe-
cially in the regions of Central and Western China.

Cars Moviendos SA has the following qualifications for international business activities.

• The company has existing subsidiaries in France, Italy, and Poland.

• As an adequate “cultural fit” was lacking, a previous joint venture between Cars Movie-
ndos and another cooperating company failed.
• Many Cars Moviendos SA clients are already located in China and are looking for a com-
petent supplier in the country.

EXERCISE
Please discuss which type of international market entry could work for Cars
Moviendos SA, taking into account the aforementioned technological, political-
legal, and socio-cultural factors as well as the company history of international
business activities.

There is extensive literature about the different methods for companies to enter and sub-
sequently develop markets. However, in order to evaluate these methods and decide on a
basic strategic orientation, emphasis should first be directed towards a number of differ-
ent factors. Firstly, you should consider the advantages of differentiation and standardiza-
tion as these advantages will support your strategic decisions. Secondly, you should
gather information about the resources and competences of your company; it is advisable
that you only opt for strategies that match your profile of existing competences (Kotabe &
Helsen, 2008). Thirdly, you should evaluate the degree to which your company will be able
to exercise control in the foreign country. Finally, any evaluation of market entry type
should be complemented by an evaluation of risk. Risk emerges when a decision made

42
under uncertain circumstances cannot be revised without disadvantages or changed at
the company’s discretion. However, any evaluation of market entry types should not be
limited to these factors; there are many other considerations to be taken into account.

The following figure summarizes the different evaluation criteria and the questions that
need to be answered when choosing the right market entry strategy.

Table 7: Evaluation Criteria and Questions Regarding the Market Entry Strategy

Question to be answered in order to select the

Evaluation criterion right market entry strategy

Realizing advantages through differentiation To what extent does the selected strategy aim at
adjusting marketing activities to the requirements
of the location?

Realizing advantages through standardization To what extent can cost advantages be realized
through economies of scale?

Risk What risks does the market entry type entail?

Opportunities to exercise control To what extent will the company be able to influ-
ence decisions abroad?

Dependency How heavily does the company want to depend on

cooperations with other firms?

Resources needed What resources are needed to implement the strat-

egy?

Requirements concerning replication Does the strategy entail high demands on the com-
pany to efficiently and effectively transfer its exist-
ing resources and competences to a new country?

Requirements concerning reconfiguration Does the strategy entail high demands on the com-
pany to efficiently and effectively developing new
country-specific resources and to combine them
with the existing resources and competencies?

Source: Created on behalf of IU (2016).

For Cars Moviendos SA, the following aspects suggest the optimal strategy would be a
direct investment in China, in the form of either contract manufacturing, developing a
joint venture, or establishing a subsidiary.

• Developing local representation will facilitate direct access to the market and enable
flexible adjustments to be made in response to China’s dynamic market conditions.
• Becoming active abroad allows the company itself to establish more of a presence in
China, which is particularly important in this market.
• It will be easier to develop long-term relationships with clients, which is especially
important for attracting and retaining Chinese clients.
• It will be easier to control local activities, which is particularly important in a foreign
market such as China.
• The fact that many Cars Moviendos SA clients are already active in China gives the com-
pany an advantageous initial position.

43
 However, there are also aspects that indicate a direct investment in China is not the most
favorable strategy, and that indirect strategies such as indirect/direct export or licensing
should be the preferred option. These reasons include (Homburg, 2011):

• lower capital expenditure and thus lower risk of losing capital,

• quicker exit is available if sales drop, and
• no direct contact to Chinese clients currently exists.

Upon evaluating all these factors, founding a joint venture or a subsidiary appears to be
the best method for Cars Moviendos SA to enter the Chinese market. The fact that the Cars
Moviendos SA clients are already active on the market significantly facilitates the compa-
ny’s market entry and this advantage should be capitalized upon. Furthermore, entering a
joint venture would allow the company to tap into local knowledge, e.g. regarding existing
distribution channels in China.

Timing The timing for the start of international market development is the second critical factor
Timing strategies refer to determining a successful market entry. Two important decisions need to be made here.
when to start developing
a market and can be dif- The first decision is how should the order of entry into different national markets be coor-
ferientiated into country- dinated? Which country or countries should go first, and which countries should follow?
specific and transnational The second decision to make is when exactly is the right time to enter each country, con-
timing strategies.
sidering the competition present on the respective national markets. With both of these
decisions, it is important to differentiate between country-specific and transnational tim-
ing strategies.

Cross-national timing There are two typical cross-national timing strategies to choose from: 1) the waterfall
strategies strategy, which involves gradual market entry, and 2) the sprinkler strategy, which
Cross-national timing
strategies refer to timing involves simultaneous market entry. When implementing the waterfall strategy, markets
strategies for entering are entered successively, according to their level of attractiveness. A company will first
multiple markets. strengthen its position in a strong market and only then enter the next one. Implementing
the sprinkler strategy means that the company enters all selected markets at once. The
waterfall and sprinkler strategies can, of course, also be combined with one another.

Advantages of the waterfall strategy are that less resources are required, which results in
lower risk, the possibility to stop entering new markets, and the creation of “strategic
bridgeheads”. Creating a strategic bridgehead is where establishing a presence in one for-
eign market enables or facilitates entry into the next foreign market. Disadvantages of the
waterfall strategy include the potential for competitors to introduce imitation products on
markets not yet developed and the risk of making premature decisions about the progres-
sion of new market entries. A company might be successful in new markets even if it failed
in a previous market; however, there is a risk with the waterfall strategy that past perform-
ance in specific markets will unduly (and perhaps unwisely) influence decisions about
entering further markets.

The comparative advantages of the sprinkler strategy include better prospects to enter
markets before competitors, and better protection against the product becoming obso-
lete. By implementing this strategy, a company may even be able to establish barriers to
entry for competitors. It is also possible that the company can balance risks between the

44
different national markets. For products that have a short life cycle, high research and
development costs may only be amortized through activity on all relevant markets simul-
taneously.

In such cases, there is essentially no alternative to the sprinkler strategy. Disadvantages of

this strategy are the need for considerably higher financial and personnel resources and
the higher level of coordination required.

There are two typical country-specific timing strategies to choose from: 1) the pioneer Country specific timing
strategy, where the first international company on the foreign market is the pioneer, and strategies
Country specific timing
2) the follower strategy, where companies will wait for competitors to “test the waters” strategies refer to timing
before they enter. strategies for entering a
specific national market.
Implementing the pioneer strategy means that the company is ahead of competitors when
it comes to developing marketing expertise. The pioneer may even be able to establish
barriers to entry for other competitors to ensure a larger market share. Disadvantages of
this strategy are potentially higher costs associated with actually developing the foreign
market. Competitors can enter this market at a later date at much lower costs, essentially
as “free riders”. Additionally, the trajectory of market development may be uncertain,
which entails another major risk.

Advantages associated with adopting the follower strategy include lower market develop-
ment costs, improved ability to assess how demand will develop, and a more detailed pic-
ture of consumers’ needs on this foreign market. Disadvantages of the follower strategy
are that the company may face barriers to entry that were established by pioneering com-
petitors and lost opportunity to realize competitive advantages (resulting from an initial
lack of competition).

Case study: Market entries by Tesco

British grocery and general merchandise retail chain Tesco is active on more than a dozen
national markets and is the world’s fourth largest retailer. The company generates 70 % of
its revenue from its domestic market, the UK. Tesco entered its first foreign market,
France, as late as 1993—almost 70 years after the company was first founded. In the 1990s,
Tesco developed other selected European markets, namely markets close to the UK, both
in geographical and cultural terms, that offered great market growth potential. In the late
1990s/early 2000s, Tesco shifted its internationalization efforts towards Asia. In 2007,
Tesco entered the US market with the new, innovative soft discount convenience brand
“Fresh & Easy”.

EXERCISE
What type of market entry strategy did Tesco implement? How do the features of
this strategy differ from the alternative strategy the company could have
chosen?

45
 The timing of market entry is an essential factor influencing a company’s success. The pio-
neer and the follower strategy are the two basic options, with the latter being subdivided
into early and late followers. Pioneers usually apply a waterfall strategy, followers a sprin-
kler strategy. Decisions about when and over what period to enter a market are usually
interdependent.

2.3 Market Exit Strategy

Examples from the business world show us that market exits are on the rise, and even
Market exits though market exits are to be expected in the course of internationalization, such exits
Market exits refer to the are not often anticipated by the companies themselves. While there is a great deal known
process of leaving a mar-
ket completely. about business growth, there are comparatively few insights into matters of divestment,
negative growth, and market exit. Much more information is needed, not only because the
number of market exits are on the increase, but also because studies show that most mar-
ket exits are actually reactions to earlier developments (Dranikoff, Koller, & Schneider,
2002).

Companies completely leaving a market can be analyzed at the level of individual indus-
tries. In Europe, industries such as the textile industry, consumer electronics, and cell-
phone manufacturing have all been significantly affected in the past decade, as European
companies are not really able to compete on procurement and production markets and
have had to undertake a process of exiting from multiple markets. Trading of consumer
goods is a sector that has in the recent years experienced a massive and, in some cases,
obviously hasty internationalization, leading to a huge number of market entries and
exits. For example, Dohle’s retreat from Poland in 2002 (Dohle is a German family-owned
trading company) was part of a cross-national growth strategy with the market exit result-
ing from an attractive takeover offer. For other companies, a radiating domestic market (in
the case of Marks & Spencer) or a new management board (in the case of Carrefour) have
been important influencing factors (Zentes, Swoboda, & Schramm-Klein, 2010).

CASE STUDY: TCHIBO TO PULL OUT OF UK

Tchibo, the German coffee chain, is pulling out of the UK in the face of the coun-
try’s deteriorating economic climate and weak currency.

The family-owned company, whose shops sell coffee and a rapidly changing
array of consumer goods, has put the leases of its 51 UK stores up for sale. It is
also closing its 100 coffee shop concessions in Sainsbury and Somerfield super-
markets.

Tchibo entered the UK market with great fanfare in 2000, and expanded quickly
from its first shop into London into the rest of the country.

46
 Paul Chadderton, managing director of Tchibo Coffee UK, said in hindsight the
company “probably expanded a little faster than we should have”. He said some
of the company’s UK stores were lossmaking, and the portfolio as a whole was
not operating “at the level we required” […]

The company’s earnings before interest and tax dropped from €45 m in the first
half of 2007 to €7 m in the first half of 2008 as Europe succumbed to the eco-
nomic slowdown. However, Mr Chadderton said the Tchibo group was still
strong and would maintain its presence in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and
Eastern Europe.

Source: O’Connor & Wiesmann, 2009.

Such a complete exit from a foreign market or even a partial retreat (such as when a trad-
ing company closes operations in all smaller towns) can have a variety of consequences.
These can be divided into 1) internal effects, which include the effects on the company’s
economic results (for the market and the company as a whole) as well as the company
structure and ongoing processes within the firm, and 2) external effects, which include
effects on the industry as a whole, as well as stakeholders, and shareholders in either that
single national market or, as is often the case, in multiple markets.

Market exits can also be obstructed or impaired significantly by specific barriers to exit.
There are three main types of barriers to exit (Nargundkar, Karakaya, & Stahl, 1996). Barriers to exit
Barriers to exit include
economic, strategic, and
• Economic barriers include asset durability, the intensity of capital activities on respec- management-related bar-
tive markets, and binding ties resulting from personal contacts. Special attention riers.
should be paid to the sunk costs that many companies rightly or wrongly perceive as an
economic barrier to exit.
• Strategic barriers include close vertical integration (both forward and backward), cus- Vertical integration
tomer and supplier power, and difficulties associated with ensuring an operative and Vertical integration
occurs when companies
marketing-related fit between the remaining company divisions if a partial exit is to be within the supply chain
undertaken. are owned by the com-
• Management-related barriers include management staff being personally affected, or pany itself.

perceiving/fearing damage to their personal or company image. Compensation claims

are an additional example of management-related barriers.

The concept of sunk costs warrants additional explanation. Sunk costs are those costs Sunk costs
incurred by a company to enter a market, continue to be active on that market, and When leaving a market,
different types of sunk
remain competitive. They are costs that, in essence, cannot be recovered, i.e. investments costs can occur.
that cannot be sold. When opting to leave a specific market, a company may recoup some
investments by selling assets such as manufacturing equipment to competitors.

There are different types of sunk costs. We can differientate here between tangible and
intangible assets, or rather exogenous and endogenous sunk costs. Exogeneous sunk costs
occur for all companies entering a market. They are discrete investments such as start-up
costs or costs associated with building infrastructure. Endogeneous sunk costs emerge for
specific companies who invest in strategies that seek to stimulate customer demand

47
 (Shaanan, 1994; Sutton, 1991). Examples of endogenous sunk costs include fixed capital
for specific purposes, production expertise, market conditions, employment relationships,
advertising expenses, market research, research and development, and under-utilization/
over-utilization of machines or infrastructure. Amortizations associated with direct invest-
ments are especially important. As companies are not necessary aware of sunk costs until
they leave the respective market, they usually cannot be quantified beforehand. However,
sunk costs should definitely be calculated before a market exit (Zentes, Swoboda, &
Schramm-Klein, 2010).

SUMMARY
Choosing the path and mode of internationalization involves a number
of complex decisions for companies. Segmentation is a useful process
for deciding which target groups multinational or global) to focus on. A
similar process can be undertaken for the B2B sector depending on the
level of standardization/differentiation, however, additional options
such as the “follow the customer” strategy are also available to compa-
nies.

Market attractiveness and barriers to entry are important considerations

when selecting specific markets for expansion. A country’s degree of
political, economic, and financial risk are important factors influencing
market entry and a company’s overall success. This holds especially true
for developing countries and emerging markets. They are characterized
by a certain level of uncertainty, which is why many companies hesitate
to invest there. In this way, however, they neglect the development of
long-term growth potentials and the establishment of strong brand posi-
tions. Another success factor for developing foreign markets are low bar-
riers to entry, which represent a country’s openness towards foreign
investors. Many countries try to protect their domestic economy with
protectionist measures and in this way inhibit both the development of
their national economies and the success of companies entering their
markets.

Choosing the type of market entry and the timing of this entry are the
most important strategic decisions to be made when entering new mar-
kets. The high degree of control, provided by market entry types such as
joint ventures and subsidiaries, can have a positive effect on market suc-
cess but also entails higher demands on a company’s resources and
competences. When considering the right timing for entering a market,
companies can choose between cross-national and country-specific
market-entry strategies and opt for either a sprinkler and a waterfall
strategy. When applying a sprinkler strategy, several national markets
are developed simultaneously, which requires a widely standardized
marketing. Implementing a waterfall strategy means slowly developing
new markets one by one, aiming to secure markets sequentially and pre-

48
vent cross-national failures. In many cases, large companies have better
resources and more competences that could be relevant for developing
the new market and realizing economies of scale.

Different factors lead to market exits. Typical reasons for exiting a mar-
ket include coordination problems related to specific national markets,
profits, and the extent of anticipated sunk costs.

49
 UNIT 3
INTERNATIONAL MARKET RESEARCH

STUDY GOALS

On completion of this unit, you will have learned …

– what is qualitative and quantitative primary research.

– the role of market research for internationally active companies.
– how to conduct an international survey.
– what needs to be considered when organizing an observation.
– what are internal and external sources of international secondary research.
 3. INTERNATIONAL MARKET RESEARCH

Introduction
Information Required for Making International Marketing Decisions
Adding an international dimension to existing national marketing activities means that
decision-makers not only require more information i.e. quantity of information) but, in
many cases, different types of information altogether i.e. quality of information). An
increased amount of the information required is the natural result of expanding business
activities to a wider geographic area. The actual amount of information required will often
depend on the approach taken towards international marketing and the specific strategies
adopted for market expansion, market entry, and market development. In general, more
information is required a) the further a company shifts away from their home country ori-
entation, b) the more foreign markets are to be developed, and c) the more differentiated
the development of the foreign markets needs to be.

However, decision-makers in international marketing not only need more information,

they also need different types of information, or rather, more diversified information.
There is an obvious shift in the type of information required when other relationships,
environments, and influences need to be considered. This is also the case when a com-
pany has limited country-specific, experience-based knowledge.

In this unit, we will explore the various methods for sourcing the desired quality and quan-
tity of information.

3.1 Qualitative and Quantitative Primary

Research
Primary market Primary market research involves collecting data that is specific to a company and their
research needs, conducted by the company itself or a market research company contracted to pro-
Primary market research
refers to data that a com- vide this type of research. Examples of primary research include focus groups, surveys,
pany or market research field tests, interviews, and observation of consumer behavior, all of which can be qualita-
institutions have gath- tive or quantitative in their design. Quantitative international primary research collects
ered that is particularly
tailored to the individual data using measures that can be applied to many countries or markets within a country
needs of that company. and lead to numerical, representative results. Qualitative international primary research,
by contrast, collects data that does not allow statistical inferences to be drawn. Such
measures aim instead to collect data to develop a more in-depth picture of that country or
market; they don’t seek to measure the distribution of specific attributes within a popula-
tion but rather aim at characterizing the facets of those attributes Kepper, 1994). We will
look at a case study now to illustrate the purpose and functions of these different forms of
research.

Case study: All-Sports GmbH

52
All-Sports GmbH is an internationally active sporting goods producer based in Germany
that has been facing declining sales figures in recent years, despite generally positive
trends occurring within the industry. Management assumes the company’s product range,
which has not changed for years, is one of the primary reasons for unsatisfactory sales.
The company has decided to analyse this hypothesis and gather the necessary informa-
tion for it to take steps to improve sales.

Generally, market research involves gathering, analyzing, and interpreting information

about companies. For All-Sports GmbH, market research performs the following functions:

• Stimulating function: Market research can be a stimulus for new marketing decisions. In
the case of All-Sports GmbH, research could reveal new market segments with untap-
ped sales potential. Options for reorganizing the product range can be discovered via
research findings such as introducing specific pieces of popular sporting equipment.
• Predictive function: Market research can be utilized to estimate changes in marketing-
relevant factors and their potential impact on the business. For this sporting goods pro-
ducer, research can be used to forecast future sales that result from different marketing
strategies. Market research can provide All-Sports GmbH with answers to the following
questions:
◦ What will happen to sales in the coming years if the company sticks to its product
range?
◦ How would focusing on specific sports i.e. shrinking the product range to focus on a
limited number of sports) affect sales?
◦ In what way would expanding the product range affect sales?
◦ Are those sports that are currently popular likely to be equally popular in five years?
◦ How will the willingness of consumers to pay for specific pieces of sports equipment
change in the coming years?
◦ Will the popularity of sports as a recreational activity increase or decline in the com-
ing years?
• Evaluative function: Market research supports decision-makers to evaluate and choose
alternate market approaches. All Sports GmbH can gather information about which
product policy has been most successful in the past. Based on these insights, it is possi-
ble to assess alternatives for different product policies and make an informed decision
about future strategies.
• Controlling function: Market research allows a company to collect information about
their position in the market and the effectiveness of the marketing measures that they
are currently using. All-Sports GmbH can use market research to monitor change in
sales figures, turnover of stock, consumer perception of price, degree of brand aware-
ness, etc. and thus monitor the success of any marketing measures implemented e.g.
changes in product range, sales promotion campaigns, etc.).
• Affirmative function: One of the functions of marketing research is to provide insights
into what has led to specific results. After adjusting the product range e.g. adding spe-
cific items for popular sports), All Sports GmbH may find that sales have in fact
increased but that these improvements are the result of natural fluctuations in sales
rather than the result of specific marketing initiations.

All-Sports GmbH can utilize market research to answer the following marketing questions:

53
 • Market development: Has the market potential changed as a result of changes in the
population of different countries?
• Behavior of market players: How do customers and key competitors behave?
• Effects of marketing tools: To what extent can the effect on sales be attributed to chang-
ing the product range i.e. expanding or reducing it), communication policy e.g. promot-
ing the new product line through advertising), and pricing policy e.g. reducing prices to
tap into new customer segments)?
• Monitoring company-specific marketing factors: To what extent can conclusions about
changes in market potential be drawn from ongoing monitoring of sales statistics?

3.2 International Surveys and

Observations
In order to obtain good quality international primary research, a central requirement must
be satisfied: the data gathered from different national markets or segments must be com-
parable. As each country is characterized by distinct qualities, any data collection must be
nationally differentiated. The non-experimental survey is the most widely used method
for gathering information in international market research. In such surveys, a group of
people, which are ideally representative of a particular population, are asked to respond
to questions about specific issues by an investigator who does not exert any bias on the
answers of respondents. Non-experimental surveys can shed light on a broad range of
issues affecting marketing and can be undertaken in a number of ways. The non-experi-
mental survey is an instrument of quantitative primary research. It is used to systemati-
cally gather information about relevant issues from a group of representatives. What is
particularly significant about this method is that the investigators cannot influence
results.

A qualitative form of primary research is the non-experimental observation, which

involves watching and analyzing the actions of research subjects in natural or staged con-
ditions. Researchers directly observe the actions of people as they respond to specific
stimuli and make assumptions about products and services regarding their preferred fea-
tures, patterns of usage, etc. based on the behavior of the research subjects. Modern
methods of observation include the use of cookies tracking website traffic and use, and
customer loyalty programs that track the purchases of repeat customers.

Instrument-based surveys that gather data through the use of technical instruments are
growing in use in national marketing research, in contrast to non-experimental observa-
tion of subjects where the results are always influenced by the specific biases of the inves-
tigator. Non-experimental observations are thus limited in their value and their use is not
expected to increase in the future Bauer, 2009).

54
Secondary research draws on existing data and can be differentiated into secondary Secondary market
research with internal and external sources. In exceptional cases, secondary research can research
Secondary market
actually replace primary research completely, e.g. when sufficient data has already been research uses existing
collected on a specific issue and is not yet outdated. Even though primary research col- data sourced by busi-
lects up-to-date data, it should always be complemented by secondary research. nesses, institutions, and
other organizations e.g.
census data or Nielsen
Case study: The fast food chain EAT Ltd. ratings.

EAT Ltd. is an internationally active fast food chain that is considering whether or not to
enlarge the product range for its restaurants in three European countries. In order to work
out which type s) of products to add to their portfolio, secondary research needs to be
conducted. Data can be gathered using various methods.

New product concepts and respective prototypes are therefore developed and tested with
consumers. The company can generally expect to gather useful hints from observing how
potential consumers react to these new products.

EXERCISE

• What is the difference between secondary and primary research? Differentiate

between the two approaches without referring to the actual instruments they
utilize).
• Which internal and external sources of secondary research could be used by
EAT Ltd. to decide which type of products to introduce in their restaurants?
• The fast food chain decides to not only conduct secondary research but also
to survey restaurant guests, inquiring about their basic food habits. What are
the arguments for undertaking a written survey versus a survey interview with
an investigator?
• In the process of initial testing of the prototype with potential customers,
what are the advantages of conducting an observation of consumers versus
conducting a survey?

For this case study, the following secondary research external and internal sources could
be used.

External sources:

• Official national, federal state, municipal, and city statistics e.g. data on societal
changes, eating behavior, health awareness, income, etc. can indicate whether there is
a market for new products)
• Investigation results and reports from market research institutions, associations, cham-
bers of industry and commerce, and universities e.g. research on societal changes)
• Public information on other fast food companies e.g. brochures, annual reports, and
media reports)

55
 Internal sources:

• EAT Ltd.’s own business statistics e.g. sales figures by region, age, sex, etc.)
• Complaints sent to the company “I would like …”, “I was not satisfied with…”)
• Data regarding experiences EAT Ltd. has had with new product launches in other coun-
tries
• Older market research studies conducted by the company

EAT Ltd. could then consider conducting primary research to source additional data that is
more specific to their strategic decision-making. To examine the food habits of their cur-
rent or potential clients, the fast food chain can either conduct a written survey or an in-
person survey interview. The type of survey selected by a company will generally depend
on the individual circumstances and the type of information required. There are argu-
ments for and against both survey types when considering the type of data required, the
survey target group, etc.

In the case of EAT Ltd., the following arguments are in favor of conducting a written sur-
vey:

• It is comparatively easy for the company to conduct a written survey. The question-
naires could easily be handed out in the EAT Ltd. restaurants along with the food
ordered by guests.
• The questionnaire does not have to be extensive as it deals with a relatively limited
range of issues, e.g. food preferences, price preference, etc. n.b. surveys asking about a
range of topics in greater depth are generally better conducted as in-person interviews).
• Given the type of data required by EAT Ltd., it is not necessary to create a controlled
interview situation through a personal survey. A question such as “How many times a
week do you eat meat?” does not require any support or explanation by an interviewer;
an interviewee can easily answer it on their own.
• Respondents consider written surveys to more anonymous. In-person surveys generally
carry a higher risk of interviewees giving false answers than written surveys because
interviewees can be either too ashamed to answer a question honestly or want to
appear at greater advantage in front of an investigator.

In contrast, the following arguments favor conducting an in-person survey:

• Giving out questionnaires in the company’s restaurants means that only existing cus-
tomers will be interviewed, distorting results about “potential” sales.
• In personal surveys, it is easier for the interviewer to control the course of the survey,
ensuring that questions are relevant to specific interviewees and leading them to pro-
vide additional information. For example, if an interviewee states that they often have
vegetarian meals, the interviewer could inquire why this is their preference. This ques-
tion can easily be omitted for interviewees who do not eat vegetarian meals. Such a
control is also possible in written surveys using filter questions such as “If answered no,
proceed with question no. 3 …”), however, this increases the length of the question-
naire, which can potentially cause confusion and disinterest from interviewees particu-
larly if non-customers are included.

56
The next phase of primary market research could involve testing new prototypes with
potential customers. EAT Ltd. would likely conduct a trial of the new products with con-
sumers and observe their behavior. The following arguments are in favor of conducting an
observation over undertaking a survey:

• The behavior of consumers is studied at the time they actually exhibit the behavior,
meaning that their reactions to the taste of the new product are recorded at the same
time as they trial the product rather than asking them to recall their perception of taste
by drawing on their memory.
• Behaviour of consumers that they themselves are not cognizant of can also be recorded
e.g. facial expressions when the experimentees see or taste the product for the first time
indicating skepticism, curiosity, etc.)
• An observation does not rely on the consumers’ willingness or ability to provide infor-
mation e.g. they do not have to verbalize what they taste using precise language, rather
their reactions are interpreted and recorded).

SUMMARY
Quantitative international primary research uses measures that can be
used across different countries or markets and lead to statistical results
representative of a specific population. Qualitative primary research
measures, by contrast, aim to collect data that provide a more indepth
picture of that country or market and information about their specific
attributes.

Market research performs the following functions: stimulation, predic-

tion, evaluation, control, and affirmation. Companies can additionally
analyze segments in terms of their market development, behavior of
market players, and the effects of marketing tools as well as monitor
company-specific marketing factors.

The most common and valuable method for gathering information in

international market research are non-experimental surveys. In such
surveys, respondents are asked to provide their opinion about specific
issues using written or in-person survey tools that cannot be influenced
by the biases of those conducting the research. Non-experimental
observations, by contrast, are used to analyze the actual rather than the
reported) behavior of consumers.

Secondary research complements primary research and involves analyz-

ing pre-existing data. The company may use both internal and external
sources of secondary research.

57
 UNIT 4
INTERNATIONAL MARKETING FOR SPECIFIC
SECTORS

STUDY GOALS

On completion of this unit, you will have learned …

– which specific features of different industries need to be taken into account when mak-
ing marketing decisions.
– which factors lead consumer good producers to prefer vertical integration.
– what are the basic options for wholesale and retail companies when marketing their
product ranges.
– which factors have to be considered when marketing services.
 4. INTERNATIONAL MARKETING FOR
SPECIFIC SECTORS

Introduction
In this unit we will explore the features of international marketing specific to the following
sectors: 1) the industrial goods sector, 2) the consumer goods sector, 3) the wholesale and
retail sector, and 4) the service sector. We will introduce the basic features of each of these
sectors before exploring them in greater depth in this unit.

Firstly, consumers in the industrial goods sector are mostly organizations, which require
specific and targeted marketing approaches across international markets. Most organiza-
tional buying processes are undertaken by multiple people and entire or even multiple
departments. Large parts of the industrial goods sector are characterized by international
business activities: this sector is marked by a strong and ever increasing reliance on the
strategic procurement of resources from international markets.

Secondly, the majority of consumer goods producers face challenges associated with the
fact that they are not in direct contact with their actual consumer target groups. In most
cases, producers sell their products through distribution companies that act as interme-
diaries between producers and consumers. The consequences of specific distribution poli-
cies are the main challenges in international marketing for consumer goods producers.
The relationship that a producer has with their distribution partners is critical for interna-
tional marketing. Two key questions for companies in the consumer sector to address are
1) how to maintain an influence on the market appearance and presence of products and
2) how to control distribution channels.

Thirdly, the wholesale and retail sectors are highly influenced by local market conditions.
The pattern of internationalization of distribution companies also points to this increasing
emphasis on local activity: while their procurement activities have been internationalized
for many decades, international sales activities really only began increasing in the early
1980s. Companies within wholesale and retail sectors pursue many different strategies for
distributing their products internationally; while some simply transfer their retail formats
or product mix policy from one country to the next, others adjust their activities signifi-
cantly with respect to country-specific factors.

Lastly, the provision of services (as compared to physical products) is characterized by 1) a

greater diversity of products, 2) specific factors associated with distributing a non-mate-
rial product, and 3) the integration of external factors. These features mean that “confi-
dence-building measures” are critical to marketing services on an international scale. This
is because consumers of services often have no experience, knowledge of, or access to
services prior to their provision.

60
4.1 Industrial Goods Sector
The industrial goods sector is often called the business-to-business (B2B) sector as in this
sector companies sell to other companies and not to end-consumers or individual custom-
ers. There are many industrial goods producers providing a broad range of products.
Despite the quantity and diversity of producers, they share many common features.

• Marketing industrial goods is characterized by the fact that the consumers are organi-
zations (e.g. industrial companies, public authorities, etc.) rather than individuals. Organizations
• Marketing of industrial goods can be undertaken directly or indirectly through interme- In the industrial goods
sector both consumers
diaries. and suppliers are organi-
• Purchases of industrial products tends to involve multiple people often working across zations rather than indi-
multiple organizations. viduals.

• It is common to see project-specific cooperations (or communities) arising between

industrial goods providers. Such communities often emerge as a result of the sheer
complexity of the product being produced.
• Market development is not directed towards an anonymous market but towards indi-
vidual consumers, which requires a more interactive style of marketing. Business rela-
tionships beyond individual transactions often grow in importance.
• Industrial goods producers operating internationally, even those with a traditionally
strong orientation towards technology, realize the need to consistently optimize bene-
fits to their consumers, given the ever-increasing changes to the market landscape.

Producers within this sector can be categorised according to their business type, however
any analysis of business type should be complemented by a careful assessment of actual
market activities (Backhaus & Voeth, 2010):

• Product: These producers supply prefabricated, standardized products which are pur-
chased by consumers for use at their own discretion. The level of product specificity is
low and consumers are generally not known prior to supply. When marketing such
products, it is useful to select national markets and employ typical exporting strategies.
Which markets to select depends on the locations of potential consumers and the gen-
eral attractiveness of market conditions.
• Investment: These producers supply complex products which are generally sold prior to
manufacture. Customised components are usually assembled into functioning products
at the location of the consumer. These products naturally have a high level of specific-
ity. The option of becoming active in a market may result from previous projects that
the producer can showcase or via the process of tendering. Depending on complexity
and extent of the investment, a “follow the customer strategy” could also be an option
where the components are made according to the consumer’s specifications.
• Systems: These producers supply products designed for either an unknown consumer
or a specific market segment. The products are interlinked and designed to be bought
in gradual succession by consumers. The strategies of “follow the customer” and cus-
tomer segmentation tend to play a significant role for systems producers. Market expan-
sion is often connected to national markets selected by the respective consumer.
• Supply: These producers supply specific products developed for individual customers.
Producers aim to establish long-term business relationships characterized by an ongo-
ing supply of products. Depending on the focus of the producer—directed toward

61
 important customers or general market potential—the “follow the customer” strategy
or active selection of markets with potential for growth may be utilized. The customer-
supplier relationship is usually paramount for this type of producer.

Considering the distribution of potential consumers, industrial goods producers are

increasingly adopting international “area” strategies under which industrial goods are
marketed globally or regionally. In the past three decades especially, industrial goods pro-
ducers have increasingly assessed the potential to become active internationally as an
essential challenge and competitive opportunity that is distinct from their domestic mar-
kets (Hayes, Jenster, & Aaby, 1996).

When contemplating the question “How can we become internationally active?” industrial
goods companies have a myriad of possible strategies to choose from. The consumers of
these products are organizations located worldwide that are increasingly engaging in the
strategic procurement of products on a global scale. Relationships between consumers
and producers in the industrial goods sector are typically ongoing and long-term in
nature, in contrast to other sectors where transactions are often either short-term or non-
recurring. The importance placed on establishing long-term relationships is why interna-
tional relationship marketing is especially important in this sector (Ambler & Styles, 2000).
That said, it is often quite difficult to build relationships internationally owing to greater
geographical distances and differences in language and culture as well as different codes
of conduct and behavioral patterns. Conflict and withdrawing from business relationships
is therefore a common occurence (Dominguez & Zinn, 1994). Careful preparation and con-
sideration of concepts such as the “buying center” can help to direct the relationship
building process.

Case study: Roles in a buying center

You are working as a sales manager for an internationally active packaging materials com-
pany and are about to receive a major order from a cereal producer. Before entering the
critical sales negotiation, you are considering the participants in this negotiation from the
cereal company who will be responsible for decisions making. This is the information
available to you (Homburg, 2011):

• Mr. Paul Smith is the Head of Manufacturing and a respected expert in packaging tech-
nology.
• Dr. Ulrike Jüsten works in the division of Business Affairs and is in charge of handling
important procurement projects. She leads most negotiations.
• Mr. Steve Wyre is Dr. Jüsten’s assistant. He is in regular contact with potential providers
and evaluates offers based on their feasibility and accuracy.
• Dr. Naga Kumar is a member of the managing board and heads the cereal division.

You consult the buying center approach in order to optimize the offer to the negotiation
participants. The buying center approach identifies five key roles involved in the buying
decision process: user, buyer, influencer, gatekeeper, and decider. An important feature is
that one person can play several roles and several people can play the same role at any
one time.

62
As the packaging order is of essential strategic importance for the cereal company, you
expect Dr. Kumar to have the final say. However, he usually lets Dr. Jüsten and Mr. Smith
make the majority of decisions. Who will play which role in this negotiation?

It is anticipated that the distribution of roles will be as follows:

• Mr. Smith: user and influencer

• Dr. Jüsten: buyer
• Mr. Wyre: gatekeeper
• Dr. Kumar: decider, as this is a major order (with Mr. Smith and Dr. Jüsten having only
limited decision-making power)

4.2 Consumer Goods Sector

As the importance of international trade increases, the marketing of consumer goods pro-
ducers is increasingly directed towards both consumers as well as the trade sector. Con-
sumer-oriented marketing measures include the use of sales instruments in the areas of
product, communication, distribution and, to a limited extent, pricing. Trade sector-orien-
ted marketing measures include the coordination of all marketing activities in order to
secure important players within the trade sector who will work with consumer good pro-
ducers to promote their products (Zentes, 1989).

In a vertical marketing system, the main members of a distribution channel—producer, Vertical marketing
wholesaler, and retailer—work together to meet consumer needs. This type of system can Vertical marketing is an
approach where the main
be contrasted with conventional marketing systems, where all members of a distribution members of a distribution
system see themselves as separate businesses that aim to maximize profits. Vertical mar- channel work together to
keting systems can take several forms: one member of the distribution system owns the meet consumer needs.

other members or independent firms are joint by a contract, e.g. a franchising contract.
International vertical marketing mainly focuses on developing relationships between pro-
ducers and intermediaries that are active at an international, or cross-border level. The
respective competitive position of the company is critical for the relationship between a
producer and an intermediary.

The power of the manufacturer’s brand on the respective markets, the question of how
important the sales rates of the individual trading companies are for the producers, the
extent to which the trade sector can choose alternative products, and the contents of
existing contracts are important parameters in this respect. When it comes to the position
of power, the trading companies dominate in many cases. This is supported by the way
that information is distributed in the sales channel. Trading companies realize information
advantages as they are in direct contact with the consumers on the respective markets.
These advantages are further pushed through the establishment of POS systems, loyalty
cards and the like, as such instruments enable the trade sector to collect detailed national
market-related information on the customers (Palmer, 1996).

63
 Distribution policies of producers are increasingly characterized by a tendency towards
verticalization, reflected in the fact that sales activities are often tightly controlled and
coordinated. Vertical sales cooperations of producers can range from loose collaborations
to tight systems. Producers seek to secure their sales channels through controlled distri-
Controlled distribution bution. Controlled distribution concepts significantly contribute to strengthening a brand,
Tight forms of controlled as vertical systems improve the producers’ implementation of sales and marketing strat-
distribution are also
called contract distribu- egies. This is significant, especially in the international context. It is better for a producer
tion. to present its product range in an outlet bound to specific producers than through inde-
pendent retailers, as the former allows for a comprehensive presentation that matches
the companies’ respective strategies. The advantages of international controlled distribu-
tion include (Zentes, Swoboda, & Schramm-Klein, 2010):

• securing the brand image and strengthening the brand

• increasing customer trust
• securing quality at POS (e.g. quality of service, quality of customer advice)
• reducing time to market
• independence of distribution partners (such as traders)
• securing target group congruence of the product and the selling points
• more efficient physical flow of goods

Direct distribution systems (i.e. secured distribution) give producers even more possibili-
ties to enforce their measures. These systems are types of integrative distribution
approaches.

Case study: Mustang’s verticalization strategy

Over the past decades, jeans and denim fabric producer Mustang has both established a
strong manufacturer brand/brand-name products and a reputation for being a reliable
partner in the specialized trade sector. When the trade sector changed in the 1990s result-
ing in disruption to the traditionally specialized fabric sector and shifting of distribution
channels, pressure on the company grew. Mustang countered these sector developments
with guerilla and event marketing measures (such as establishing their own radio and TV
shows and sponsoring measures). Through implementing various “pull” measures direc-
ted towards consumers, Mustang attempted to also influence the trade sector. However,
Mustang soon noticed that such measures only delayed a decline in sales rather than pre-
vented it. This is why the company fundamentally realigned its distribution activities (Zen-
tes, Neidhart, & Schee, 2006).

Mustang’s subsequent vertical orientation can be explained as a retail-partnership and

franchise concept, using vertical cooperative elements that are tools of controlled distri-
bution. The stores that the company runs itself represent integrated distribution channels,
or rather, secured distribution. The retail-partnership concept was introduced to multi-
brand stores in 2004. Within the company, this strategy was called “area cooperation”.
Under the concept, Mustang and the assigned distribution intermediaries entered into
intensive talks regarding the size of a sales area, the anticipated sales, and the trade mar-
gin. Issues such as the share of tops or denim as well as pre-order cycles and the share of
stock in the respective stores were coordinated in these talks. Mustang is in charge of
deciding which products to put onto the sales floor and employees regularly visit the com-

64
mercial partners in the stores. In addition to the area cooperation, Mustang has been
intensifying international expansion, e.g. on the German market, and in Italy and Eastern
Europe, through vertical-cooperative franchising with stand-alone shops since 2005.

4.3 Wholesale and Retail Sector

Business concept, distribution policy, and product range policy are all relevant to market-
ing decisions for wholesale and retail companies. By opting for specific types of business
and distribution formats, these companies essentially shape their business structure,
product portfolio, and market presence. The fundamental question for wholesale and
retail businesses operating internationally is whether or not to standardize or differentiate
their business concept (Müller-Hagedorn & Natter, 2011).

National markets differ in terms of the type of business concepts found within them. There
may be preferences within particular markets for specific types of businesses supplying
different product groups. Product range policy is also an important issue for trading com-
panies. A distinction needs to be drawn between the strategic elements of product range
policy and the actual product ranges selected for different national markets. The strategic
selection of products in this sector is closely connected to the type of business concept
adopted. The following figure shows that product range and business concept can be used
to identify the basic strategy of internationally active trading companies.

Figure 3: Basic Options for Internationally Active Trading Companies

Source: Created on behalf of IU (2016).

65
 Home Country Strategy

This strategy aims to address different markets in a standardized way; a single business
concept and product range is selected for all foreign markets. Under a home country ori-
ented strategy, a company multiplies the wholesale or retail concept utilized for its
domestic market. This standardized strategy not only creates economies of scale, spillover
effects, and image effects, but also enables companies to benefit from synergy effects by
developing and producing standardized store brands or cross-border sales promotion
measures (Zentes & Morschett, 2002).

Multinational Strategy

Under this type of strategy, product range and business concepts are optimized for each
market. They are adjusted according to country-specific consumer needs and accommo-
date for differences in communication, pricing and distribution conditions, and legal
frameworks. Such a differentiated approach seems to make sense for trading companies
that take over local companies that are already well-established and positioned on
respective foreign markets (Zentes & Morschett, 2002).

Differentiated product ranges enable companies to be closer to customers and services

can be adjusted to local needs. This is why the trade sector primarily pursues quality- and
service-oriented formats. A multinational strategy may influence the actual retail brand on
local markets, e.g. by using national or regional store names, which convey the character
of the company in that specific area (Zentes, Swoboda, & Schramm-Klein, 2010).

Global Strategy

Many trading companies pursue mixed strategies, trying to balance the cost advantages of
standardization and the advantages of adjusting the marketing concept to specific
national conditions. Many mixed strategies have been caused by historical developments
or result from takeovers of stronger retail brands on foreign markets. However, they may
also be caused by the need to adjust individual elements to local market conditions. This
is often the case for companies operating in the groceries sector.

Case study: Growing with Kipa

The Kipa supermarket in the city of Bodrum, Turkey, was the first one Tesco opened after it
acquired Kipa in 2003. Philip Clarke, International Operations Director at Tesco, said on
the occasion of the opening that Tesco would stick to the name Kipa in order to expand
further in Turkey. The name would be an established brand in the country and Tesco
aimed to operate 35 supermarkets throughout Turkey in the next four years. “[…] We
acquired Kipa in order to expand with this brand in Turkey and we will open new Kipa mar-
kets in Antalya and Canakkale this year. We have spent the last 18 months learning to bet-
ter understand the Turkish market”, said Clarke. Today, Tesco runs 170 Kipa markets in
Turkey, having a staff of 9,600. Tesco is also active in another 10 national markets across
Asia and Europe (Tesco, 2016).

66
 EXERCISE
Which of the basic options (i.e. home country, multinational or global strategy)
has Tesco pursued? Where would you put the company in the figure at the
beginning of this section titled “Basic Options for Internationally Active Trading
Companies?”

4.4 Service Sector

Due to the nature of service provision, the traditional marketing mix concept (drawn from
the consumer goods industry) is often expanded for the marketing of services. Comple-
menting the well known 4 Ps of marketing, three additional instruments can be differen- 4 Ps of marketing
tiated for the services marketing mix. These are human resource policy (“people” or “per- = product, price, promo-
tion, and placement
sonnel”), process policy (“process”), and physical evidence, resulting in the “7 Ps” (Booms
& Bitner, 1981; Magrath, 1986; Morschett, 2002). Each of these additional P’s warrant fur-
ther explanation.

People/Personnel

As employees and customers interact via the purchase of services, company personnel are
an essential element of the marketing mix. Human resource policy is for the most part
about choosing and developing a company’s staff. These tasks are closely connected to
working sales markets, as in services provision staff often directly interact with customers.
Emphasis is placed on factors such as expertise and friendliness, as staff provide sales
incentives and hint at the services offered, which are themselves intangible (Berry & Para-
suraman, 1992). In international marketing, choosing the right staff also raises the ques-
tion of employee nationality. In general, a company could either employ people from its
home country, from the respective national market, or from other countries. In this regard,
a particular issue faced by companies providing services are potential differences in cul-
ture and interaction patterns between staff and customers (Berndt, Fantapié Altobelli, &
Sander, 2005).

Process and Physical Evidence

The process of provision characterizes services to a greater extent than their output. This
process is usually not that important for customers of products but for services, process is
often decisive in any customer assessment of quality. Process management refers to the
actions and/or activities associated with the provision of a service. Customers are integra-
ted into the process of service provision. It is thus particularly important to make the cus-
tomer’s processes transparent (Doole & Lowe, 2004). In an international context, custom-
ers differ in their demands on such service provision processes (e.g. their willingness to
integrate or interact, acceptance of service problems, etc.).

67
 As services are immaterial, it is of utmost importance that the environment of the services,
especially the physical environment, is designed with customer preferences in mind. This
allows companies to convey a positive image of the service provider’s potential using the
visible elements of the services infrastructure (Homburg & Krohmer, 2009).

A service provider’s capacity management is also important in this respect. Capacity man-
agement refers primarily to the provision of staff and resources (e.g. the number of
employees in a call center). Focus is placed on providing an adequate number of employ-
ees for securing service provision at an optimal level of quality while considering cost
effects. Some capacities may be used cross-nationally (e.g. through new information and
communication media), depending on the type of services and the extent customers are
integrated into the provision process.

Physical evidence refers to creating an environment the customers understand quickly

and get an overview of the services offered in a comparatively easy manner. In this
respect, creating the right atmosphere also plays an important role in service provision. It
has to be consistent with the respective service and the specific national requirements
(Homburg & Krohmer, 2009).

In communicating an image of the company through features such as company buildings,

service environment, facilities, number of staff, etc., companies try to make their services
more “tangible” to the customers. These features should serve as an indicator of the qual-
ity of services offered and ideally foster consumer trust. In this context, communication
through the brand plays a very important role in promoting the service.

Case study: Services marketing

You have been running an amusement park abroad for five years. Your first years with the
company were very successful but recently your sales have started to slump. You assign
your Head of Marketing to personally interview a random sample of 100 customers. After
the survey, he summarizes the statements of your customers as follows:

The employees in direct contact with the customers seem to handle the requests and problems
of our visitors in a very bureaucratic way. They can sense immediately that everything has to be
handled by the book. In this way, however, we often lose the personal touch that is so important
to this leisure experience. Furthermore, the customers find our employees very unenthusiastic.
Some of them even seem to give the impression that they are sad. Many customers have also
said that our processes contain errors. One example: our daily program tells the visitors when
our main attraction, a production of ‘Genghis Khan’, starts; however, the production is frequently
delayed and the customers only learn about this from loudspeaker announcements when they
have already been seated. Furthermore, they told me about constant problems with vouchers
that were sent via e-mail that our staff at the register do not accept because the promotion
period has expired. Some clients have also stated that it is difficult to reach our park using public
transportation. Many take a cab from the central station and are then annoyed with the addi-
tional costs.

68
 EXERCISE
List some possible starting points to addres some of these issues, using the
additional elements of the services marketing mix (i.e. personnel policy, process
policy, and physical evidence) to improve the quality of services in your amuse-
ment park (Homburg, 2011)

Possible starting points to improve the quality of services:

• People/personnel: At present, employees in direct contact with visitors cannot quickly

and flexibly respond to the requests and problems reported by customers: they have to
be granted adequate decision-making to be able to do this. The issue of poorly motiva-
ted employees can be addressed through the targeted promotion of service-oriented
behavior by creating adequate incentive and target systems (e.g. rewards for customer
satisfaction). Management can set an example of service-orientation by hiring person-
nel with a strong motivation for providing excellent services, thus creating a desirable
corporate culture.
• Process: Errors in the process of services provision can be addressed by determining
clear responsibilities to employees with regard to the quality of services, defining inter-
nal standards for behavior and quality, and developing a system for describing/docu-
menting the process of providing services to customers. A lack of process flexibility can
be addressed by determining standards regarding deviations from processes in order
for employees to immediately respond to (minor) changes in individual customer pref-
erences.
• Physical evidence: The problem of physical location and lack of transportation options
can be addressed by schemes such as offering regular bus transfers from the central sta-
tion.

SUMMARY
Industrial goods producers have organizations as their customers. Pur-
chasing patterns within this industry involves multiple personnel and
multiple organizations. Project-specific supplier communities com-
monly occur in this sector. Another characteristic of this sector is the fact
that companies often target individual customers rather than an anony-
mous market. Businesses in this sector can be categorized into four
types: product, investment, systems, and supply businesses. Industrial
goods companies often pursue an area strategy when developing mar-
kets. A critical issue for marketing efforts in this sector is the relationship
between producers and clients.

69
 For consumer goods producers, international vertical marketing mainly
focuses on developing the positions of power between the companies
themselves and the trading companies that they are linked with. Distri-
bution policies of producers are increasingly characterized by a ten-
dency towards verticalization. Controlled distribution concepts contrib-
ute to securing the producer’s distribution channels and significantly
strengthen the company brand.

The type of business, distribution policy, and product range policy are
particularly important for retail and wholesale companies making mar-
keting decisions. Companies need to address the question of whether or
not to standardize or differentiate their business concept and product
range. The home country oriented strategy, the multinational strategy,
and the global strategy are the basic options for internationally active
trading companies.

In services marketing, the 4 P’s are complemented by the three addi-

tional marketing instruments: people/personnel, process, and physical
evidence.

70
 UNIT 5
INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTS

STUDY GOALS

On completion of this unit, you will have learned …

– which demands to make on a product’s core benefit and on its additional benefit.
– how to assess a product’s degree of innovation according to each country.
– how to introduce a new product.
– which demands to make on the design of a company’s product mix and when to imple-
ment product standardization.
– how international brand management should be done.
 5. INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTS

Introduction
Case Study
Since entering its first national markets outside of the US in 1967 (with restaurants in
Puerto Rico and Canada), McDonald’s has generally been pursuing a standardized product
policy. It aims to offer the same basic, strictly defined product range all over the world, in
keeping with the “sameness” slogan that Ray Kroc, the company’s founder, established
(Rohleder & Hirzel, 2006). Customers can have a Big Mac, a McChicken, fries, or soda in
almost every McDonald’s restaurant worldwide. The company’s market entry in Japan
showed that this product policy works. Before McDonald’s entered the market in 1971, a
cup of noodles or a miso soup had been what the Japanese understood to be fast food
(Dana, 1999). Many experts thought that the first McDonald’s restaurant in Japan would
not last. Five years later, there were already 100 restaurants in the country. By the end of
2011, this number had increased to 3,302. McDonald’s only expands its product range to
include country-specific foods when a national market shows very specific customer pref-
erences. In Arabic countries, for instance, McDonald’s restaurants serve “halal” menus,
meaning that Islamic rules are observed when preparing these dishes. No ham is served in
Muslim countries, as Islam forbids the consumption of pork. Hinduism does not allow for
eating beef, which is why McDonald’s offers lamb instead. In Japan, the product range
includes rice dishes, teriyaki burgers, and chicken burgers served with soy sauce and gin-
ger. In Australia, the company offers the McOz, which is similar to the Big Mac but served
with beetroot, a popular side dish eaten with hamburgers in this country. In the Philip-
pines, McDonald’s offers McSpaghetti noodles, and customers in Norway can have a
McLak—a tuna filet sandwich (Schneider, 2007).

5.1 Product Policy

Product policy is a pivotal parameter in international marketing. It encompasses all deci-
sions about what products to offer and how to offer them on the respective national mar-
kets. According to Kotler (1967), the benefits provided by products can be divided into
three levels: core benefits, tangible benefits, and augmented benefits. We will now look at
each of these levels.

Core benefit The main benefit of a product to a consumer is its core benefit. This core benefit can be
Core benefit is a product’s very concrete, e.g. a car provides transport for a consumer, or abstract, e.g. lipstick makes
main benefit that makes
it valuable to a consumer. a women feel more attractive. A product can have different core benefits for consumers
but within specific segments of consumers, this core benefit is largely the same, e.g. for
athletes, running shoes are important athletic equipment. Whether or not a product can
be internationalized often depends on whether its core benefit can be transferred onto the
targeted national markets. Even though the core benefit can be transferred in many cases
(as most products satisfy specific consumer needs), country-specific differences may very

72
well emerge. Take, for example, a bicycle—in developing and emerging nations a bicycle is
primarily used for getting from one place to another while in industrial countries it is
mostly used for recreational sporting purposes.

The tangible benefits of a product go beyond its core benefit and can generally be subdi- Product’s tangible
vided into two categories: aesthetic benefit and prestige benefit. Aesthetic benefit means benefits
The extent of a product’s
the satisfaction of one’s needs through a product’s aesthetic features e.g. product design, tangible benefits depends
color, quality, etc. Prestige benefit represents a product’s social appeal. Prestige benefits both on the product and
are higher for products that are considered status symbols and social recognition arises on its status in the respec-
tive countries.
from possession of them. Of all the types of product benefits, prestige benefit is most
closely connected to a product’s branding e.g. possessing a Western brand-name product
is a status symbol especially in developing and emerging countries (Batra, Ramaswamy,
Alden, Steenkamp, & Ramachander, 2000).

A product’s augmented benefits refers to the customer service included with the prod- Product's augmented
uct. It can be classified into the following elements: advice, cost estimates, finance benefits
A product’s augmented
options, assembling, maintenance and repair, delivery, returns and warranties, and train- benefits refer to the asso-
ing. The extent of these augmented or extended benefits primarily depends on the prod- ciated features of a prod-
uct and the features of specific markets. Maintenance and repair services, for instance, are uct, apart from its physi-
cal attritbutes.
more important in countries where products are likely to wear quicker as a result of
extreme climate conditions. For example, Audi offers its customers in Saudi Arabia a
“roadside assistance” service, which is an on-site emergency assistance service for Audi
owners for the lifetime of their vehicle. In an international context, there are numerous
features of individual national markets that have to be considered when setting up cus-
tomer service. These are often independent of a product’s actual characteristics, for
instance, statutory minimum requirements (e.g. return rights) or consumer expectations
(e.g. bagging services at grocery stores in the US).

Apart from product-related aspects, developing different national markets also affects the
product mix policy, which refers to all decisions on innovation, modification, differentia- Product mix policy
tion, and elimination of products within and across national markets. Product mix policy Product mix policy refer
to the number of product
tends to become more complex the more national markets are developed, especially lines offered by a com-
when products have to be adjusted to suit individual markets. pany.

Assessing a product’s degree of innovation relative to a specific national market is a key

element to consider when designing a company’s product policy. There are four dimen-
sions of innovation (Meffert, Burmann, & Becker, 2010):

• Subject dimension: Which consumers will find this product innovative and new? It is
critical to distinguish between products that are new for consumers and products that
are only new for the supplier.
• Intensity dimension: Just how innovative is the product? A product’s degree of innova-
tion can be determined based on the novelty of its technology and the degree of benefit
to consumers when compared with products already on the market.

73
 • Time dimension: When does innovation begin and when does it end? The international
product life cycle concept illustrates that the period in which a product is considered
innovative may vary from country to country.
• Spatial dimension: Where is the product new? A product already sold in one domestic
market may be considered innovative elsewhere.

A significant advantage of international companies (compared to companies supplying to

a domestic market) is that it is less expensive for them to generate ideas for new products.
Generating ideas is the first step companies take when planning new products. An interna-
tionally active company, as compared with a company operating only on a domestic scale,
has greater access to information sources and more channels for generating ideas. While
staff belonging to a centralized management group in Germany may not be able to put
themselves in the position of Zimbabwe’s middle class to fully understand their needs,
local employees working within the country may be able to contribute helpful and realis-
tic ideas. When collating new ideas in the early phase of new product planning, local
meanings should be carefully considered. This will improve the actual evaluation of ideas
and enable the integration of concepts successful in one national market into interna-
tional product planning (e.g. a product idea tailored to meet the needs of consumers in
Zimbabwe after careful consideration of local meaning can then be transferred to other
national markets). A central interface coordinating international exchange and the cooper-
ation of national offices is thus needed within the company to optimize such transfer of
knowledge and ideas.

The process of developing a product tailored to the needs of a developing or emerging

country and then offering it in industrialized countries is called reverse innovation. Take
for instance the multinational cooperation General Electric, which developed a portable
electrocardiogram (ECG) costing 1,000 USD for the Indian market and a portable ultrasonic
device costing 15,000 USD for China. Today, the company offers both these products in the
USA (Immelt, Govindarajan, & Trimble, 2009; Meffert, Burmann, & Becker, 2010).

Case study: Launching a new product

Autobau AG is a global automotive manufacturer that decided, in the light of high gasoline
prices, to produce a car that uses solar power instead of fossil fuels. Thanks to advances in
technology, tiny photovoltaic cells can now generate comparatively large amounts of
energy using even diffused daylight. This solar-powered car performs more or less the
same as a gasoline-powered one. The “Vega” model, utilizing this technology, is soon to
be mass-produced (Bruhn, 2009).

EXERCISE
Describe the measures Autobau AG should consider in order to establish the
Vega as an innovative product on the international market. What steps have to
be taken when introducing the car to the customers? Which groups is this model
designed to target? Why would it be helpful for Autobau AG to approach innova-
tors and early adopters in a different way to the other consumers?

74
To establish the Vega as an innovative product on the international market, different
departments within the company will have to coordinate their actions. Ideally, those
responsible for marketing the Vega will work closely with the research and design (R&D)
and production departments, coordinating the different marketing tasks and timelines.
Network analysis is ideally used to define the related projects, determining all activities
and schedules necessary to move the new product towards market maturity, e.g. the legal
department must secure trademark rights internationally for the brand name “Vega”; the
marketing department has to reserve “advertising space” as early as possible; sales pro-
motion for the Vega should be addressed early, for example, by offering ownership or test
drives in a lottery, or through assigning print orders for multilingual brochures. At the
same time as all these external marketing measures are being planned, it is important to
attend to internal marketing within the company. Attention needs to be paid to those
Autobau AG employees who may be resistant to this type of innovation. Such resistance
has to be anticipated and addressed as early as possible by measures such as involving
these employees in the innovation process.

Strategies to promote the acceptance of the Vega by consumers on the international mar-
ket also have to be developed. Awareness of the consumer adoption process for new prod-
ucts can often play an important role in successful marketing approaches. The five typical
phases for most products are:

• Product awareness: The target consumers notice that Vega is available on the market
but do not have any particular concrete information about it.
• Product interest: The target consumers are interested in Vega and are looking for more
specific information such as price, motor performance, etc.
• Product evaluation: The target consumers examine, compare, and evaluate the Vega
and decide whether they are for or against the new car model.
• Product trial: The target consumers test the Vega, visiting a showroom or taking it for a
test drive.
• Product adoption: The target consumers decide to buy the Vega.

Information is required to discover and analyze the determining factors for consumers to
adopt the Vega as their preferred vehicle. It helps, for instance, to collect information on
the target group’s demographic, socio-economic, and psychological attributes. In the case
of the Vega, the target group is mainly younger people, aged between 20–40, who are envi-
ronmentally aware and embrace eco-friendly technology, have medium to high incomes
and are willing to spend more money on such products, and generally see themselves as
progressive.

The “diffusion of innovation” process refers to the pattern of product adoption over time.
It is advisable to identify and address the needs of so-called “innovators” and “early
adopters”separately to the majority of consumers, as specific attributes of these groups
differie from the majority of other consumers. It makes sense to specifically approach
innovators and early adopters as they can accelerate the diffusion of innovation process.
These two consumer groups are the first to become interested in products and have dis-
tinct information seeking patterns. In this case, innovators and early adopters would likely
be those who are very interested in technological and/or ecological issues and read pro-
fessional journals. These people are especially important for the Vega product, as they are

75
 often considered to be experts and opinion leaders. They support the process of product
adoption through providing good word-of-mouth. As such, a two-step process (addressing
the innovators and early adopters followed by the majority) should be considered a prom-
ising strategy for introducing Vega on the market (Meffert, Burmann, & Becker, 2010).

5.2 Product Mix and Degree of

Standardization
International product mix policy is about determining the respective product range and
deciding upon the number and type of products to be offered in particular national mar-
kets. A portfolio analysis will lead to the development of generic strategies, which are, in
turn, subject to a more detailed profitability analysis. The following are different interna-
tional product mix policy strategies:

• transferring the existing product range onto the foreign markets

• reducing the product range to offer a limited range of products (e.g. only “stars” which
are those products that have a high market share in markets that are expanding), or
reducing the width or the depth of the product range compared to the domestic market
• expanding the product range by adding country-specific products to the existing prod-
uct range or offering product variants that address country-specific differences

Transferring the existing product mix in its entirety from one domestic market onto target
foreign markets will result in a standardized product policy strategy across markets. Such
an approach can only be chosen if the domestic market and the targeted foreign markets
are very similar, especially in terms of legal norms and consumer preferences, needs, and
buying behavior. This approach is possible for companies that:

• are only active in a few, comparatively homogeneous national markets,

• offer products that are not strongly connected to cultural features, and
• whose product mix is relatively limited.

In many cases, a company’s international product range is smaller than its domestic one.
This is especially true for first market entries and for companies with an orientation
towards cultural specificity in their products. Often it is just a small range of successful
products that act as the stimulus for initiating international business activities in the first
place. Some companies even manage to offer only star products in their international pro-
gram, meaning that their international product mix consists of only products with high
competitive advantages in attractive markets (Berndt, Fantapiè Altobelli, & Sander, 2005).
It is obvious that this marketing strategy offers the highest level of standardization. How-
ever, many companies will carry out numerous local product adaptations. Whether and to
what extent products can be standardized depends on both the legal and technical norms
for the market and, of course, consumers’ needs. From a technical point of view, a pro-
duct’s core benefit is seldom adapted (e.g. a Ford Focus is used for transportation both in

76
the USA and Europe irrespective of whether it contains identical components or not). The
core benefit is thus used as the basis for positioning a product within a market and for
developing the other levels of benefit.

Products may have to be adapted due to legal regulations e.g. when the alcohol content of
a drink or the composition of a medicine is subject to country-specific rules. Safety regula-
tions and standards differ from country to country as well, e.g. fitting of vehicles with seat
belts or airbags (Kapferer, 2005). In order to optimize the tangible benefit of the product
for local consumers, the respective product should be optimized to cater for the cultural
and socio-demographic characteristics of individual national markets. For example, disre-
garding cultural matters, such as the kosher preparation of food or limited types of meat
permitted by specific religions, may in the worst case, destroy overall consumer benefit.
Similarly, a vehicle in South America is driven in warm, humid conditions and thus
requires a different type of cooling system. High horsepower sportcars perform well on
European motorways but less so on the dirt roads of central India. Failure to account for
these market characteristics will be extremely detrimental to achieving market penetra-
tion.

The prestige benefits that arise from possessing or using a product are mainly based on
the reactions of others within a consumer’s social environment and the consumer’s own
culturally determined identity. Differences between countries in cultural characteristics
such as power distance and individualism particularly influence prestige benefits. This
results in different foci when it comes to designing products. The prestige benefit of a car
can be increased, for instance, by adding chrome detailing or placing logos in prominent
locations in cultures characterized by great power distance where products serve as status
symbols (e.g. Russia, India, and China). Contrast this with cultures that have a strong
emphasis on personal safety; prestige benefits can be increased by equipping cars with
additional safety systems such as airbags or distinct components to improve the protec-
tion of children (Stolle, 2010).

Depending on the cultural characteristics of consumers, the physical features of a product

can be either standardized, modified, or differentiated to optimize the product benefits.
Please read the following case studies and identify which type of product standardization
has been used and suggest why this type of international product mix policy has been
adopted.

Case studies: Product standardization

1. Producers of electrical devices face the challenge that many national power networks
have different voltages and/or access specifications. Users of electrical devices are
thus asked to adjust their devices to match the respective characteristics of the
national power network (e.g. 110 V or 220 V) using a designated switch. Some produc-
ers of electrical devices are incorporating adaptive technology into the product design
that enables users to connect their device to a power outlet irrespective of the
national grid specifications (Backhaus & Voeth, 2010).
2. Consumer goods companies Unilever and Procter & Gamble offer different products
internationally. Both firms sell, for instance, different types of washing agents on the
respective national markets. This results, in part, from cultural differences in behav-

77
 ior: French consumers use hot water for washing their clothes whereas Australians use
cold water. The ingredients of the washing agents sold in these two countries thus
differ to match consumer preferences (Doole & Lowe, 2004).
3. In the automotive industry, a basic product is adapted to specific national markets
through changes in its assembly. For example, the height of the bumper varies in
accordance with different national norms and the position of the driver seat is adjus-
ted to accommodate for left-hand or right-hand driving.
4. Beiersdorf offers self-tanning products under the brand name “Nivea Sun Touch” on
European markets and whitening products such as Nivea Body UV Whitening in Asian
countries. The Asian ideal of beauty includes a light, almost white skin, contrary to
what Europeans consider to be beautiful; in Asia, tanned skin reflects poverty and dif-
ficult, manual work in an outdoors environment (Ergenzinger & Krulis-Randa, 2007).
5. PC producers sell identical computer monitors, USB flash drives, hard disks, mice,
webcams, etc., worldwide. There is no adjustment required for these products to suit
different national markets.

The first case study illustrates a type of in-built flexibility. In this case, an advanced level of
standardization can be assumed. The product can be used in different technological envi-
ronments, as the design allows for necessary adjustments to be made; a standardization
model can thus be distributed without modification of the actual product. The adjustment
is transferred to the consumer, who then has to execute the actual adaptation process.

The second and fourth case studies refer to differentiated products: the product mix poli-
cies of these companies are characterized by a high degree of country-specific adaptation.
For such products, there are no standardization efforts at all, neither for the actual prod-
uct nor for associated features.

A modular design approach can be used when consumers in different countries more or
less have the same requirements for a given product, as seen in the third case study. Spe-
cific product components are altered for each country only when technical or legal
requirements make this necessary. In such cases, a core product already offered on one
national market can be adjusted to another specific national environment by separately
assembling specific components.

Standardized products, as seen in the fifth case study, are identical products offered by a
company all over the world. The company does so because it either has no possibility or
no incentive to differentiate the products. Such unmodified marketing has been observed
in the consumer goods markets for products such as watches and cameras since the
1980s.

78
5.3 Brand Policy
International brand policy or brand management is a critical component of international
product policy. In an international context, this specific area of policy refers to brand
range, brand positioning, and brand architecture. International brand policy focuses on
the long-term, consistent, logical, holistic, and coordinated configuration of all branding
elements in an international context (Linxweiler, 2004).

Decisions regarding a brand’s range refer to the extent of the geographic region that the
brand is designed for and how it is used in this region. The range of a brand can either
extend to parts of a country (regional brand), an entire country (national brand), or several
national markets (international brand). Brands addressing the consumers in the world-
wide market or large parts of it are often called global brands (Schuiling & Kapferer, 2004).

Brand positioning refers to a brand’s position on a respective market. The most important
aspect of brand positioning is the consumers’ actual perception of the brand. Factual/
functional features (e.g., durability and functionality) or emotional features (exclusive-
ness, fun, etc.) can be used as starting points for positioning a specific brand. It can
involve both positioning new brands and also changing the positioning of existing brands
(repositioning).

However, the positioning of a product relates not only to consumer perceptions but also
the position of competing products. There are two basic types of positioning (Keller, 2008;
Esch, 2011):

• Point of difference positioning (differentiation strategy) focuses on what distinguishes

the brand from its competitors and what makes it special.
• Point of parity positioning (similarity strategy) focuses what is the same or similar rela-
tive to competing brands, benefitting from the spillover of consumers from strong
brands.

It is important to not only consider these brand positioning alternatives for the respective
national market, but also to take into account the relationships and interdependencies
between different national markets and alternative products. When positioning a brand
internationally, a company can either aim to position it differently on each national mar-
ket or position it similarly (in a standardized way) in the different countries.

Brand architecture refers to the different roles of products associated with a company’s
brand and the relationship between these products. Internationally active companies
have to make decisions about the structure of their brand portfolio or brand architecture.
There are four basic “traditional” brand strategies (Meffert & Bolz, 1998; Douglas, Craig, &
Nijssen, 2001; Doole & Lowe, 2004; Meffert, Burmann, & Kirchgeorg, 2008):

79
 • Single-brand strategy: A distinct brand is created for each product. These brands each
target specific market segments and the company name plays a less significant role
(e.g. the confectionary company Ferrero brands Ferrero Rocher, Kinder Surprise,
Nutella, and Raffaello).
• Multi-brand strategy (also called parallel branding or multi-branding): One product sec-
tor has several brands operating within them and all of them are on the market simulta-
neously. Each brand addresses a specific market segment (e.g. in the clothes washing
detergent market, Persil, Spee, and Terra Activ are all brands supplied by Henkel, and
Dash and Ariel are brands supplied by Procter & Gamble).
• Umbrella brand strategy (also called corporate branding or umbrella branding): All com-
pany products are bundled under one brand (e.g. BMW vehicles, Microsoft products). An
established umbrella brand is characterized by brand affinity and in this way supports
the products offered under it.
• Family brand strategy (also called product line branding or range branding): Several
products are offered under a consistent brand (e.g., Nivea and Dove body care prod-
ucts). This strategy is a hybrid of the single-brand and the umbrella brand strategy.

The following table illustrates the advantages and disadvantages of these strategy options
in an international context (Zentes, et al., 2010).

Table 8: Advantages and Disadvantages of Traditional Brand Strategies

Advantages Disadvantages

Single-brand strategy • specific positioning • one product bears costs for

• potential for a global/regional the brand
brand • greater need for coordination
• few negative spillover effects between countries
on other brands • low flexibility regarding coun-
• few coordination needs try-specific product life cycles
between the brands • amortization problems when
• market share and economies product life cycles are short
of scale effects

Multi-brand strategy • high market exploitation • risk of oversegmentation

• possible to keep consumers • cannibalization
who may consider changing • low market share and econo-
brands mies of scale effects
• covering a lot of shelf space
• weak negative spillover
effects
• possibilities to differentiate
across countries
• protecting other products
through introducing a
“fighter brand”

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 Advantages Disadvantages

Umbrella brand strategy • new target groups are • more difficult to achieve
addressed by market expan- unambiguous brand recogni-
sion tion
• allows for country-specific • negative spillover effects
differentiation between brands/national
• risk of failure is decreased markets
• strong acceptance in trade • many brand-specific coordi-
sector nation needs
• products share costs for the • risk of substitutions
brand • risk of “inflating” the
umbrella brand product
range across countries

Family brand strategy • high brand exploitation • risk of negative spillover

• risk of failure goes down effects when using different
• strong acceptance in trade marketing mix strategies
sector • many coordination needs
• transferring brand affinity • similar disadvantages of
• similar advantages of umbrella brand strategy
umbrella brand strategy

Source: Zentes, Swoboda, &Schramm-Klein, 2010.

In many cases, internationally active companies do not use these simple brand architec-
ture types, choosing instead much more complex structures. Examples of these structures
include brand alliances or complex brand architectures, which combine several brands in
different hierarchical levels (e.g. company brand, product brand). British-Dutch company
Unilever, for instance, offers the “Heartbrand” brand of frozen desserts in more than 40
countries, maintaining a local brand name in each of the countries it operates in. These
include “Langnese” in Germany, “Streets” in Australia, “Inmarko” in Russia, etc. The
“Heartbrand” brand operates on the hierarchical level right below the company brand,
which in turn carries subordinate brands such as “Magnum” and “Cornetto”. These brands
are arranged in an ambiguous hierarchy (Esch, Bräutigam, Möll, & Nentwich, 2004; Esch &
Bräutigam, 2005).

Branding, in general, includes all measures for making a product stand out from the crowd
and enabling the benefits of a product to be atrributed to a specific brand (Esch, Bräuti-
gam, Möll, & Nentwich, 2004). Determining the brand name and the trademark are two of
the most important elements of branding. The brand name is the linguistic marker of a Brand name
brand, e.g., Schweppes or Toyota. Naming is especially complex in international branding, A brand name links a
product with its producer.
as cultural and language differences can result in unintended variations in understanding.
Phonetic, semantic, and morphological differences in languages means that the brand
name can be interpreted very differently across linguistic groups. The trademark is Trademark
strongly linked to the brand name. Trademark refers to the typographic design (logo) A trademark is a sign or
design associated with a
and/or visual design of the brand name e.g. the cursive script and red colour of Coca-Cola. product, service, or brand
Again, national and cultural differences have to be taken into account when designing name.
trademarks as a result of the different meanings of colors and symbols.

International branding is the foundation for a brand’s image and thus for the brand’s
assertiveness in the respective target markets. The following aspects are essential consid-
erations in international branding (Zentes, Swoboda, & Schramm-Klein, 2010):

81
 1. Branding should contribute to the desired positioning of products both across coun-
tries and on the individual national markets.
2. The brand name and the trade mark should employ good design principles, i.e. they
should be simple and unique. This should make it easier to memorize the trademark
and push brand recognition.
3. The brand name and the trademark should contribute to a differentiation from com-
petitors. Furthermore, they should be designed in such a way as to avoid the confu-
sion of this brand with competing brands.
4. The brand name should be easy to pronounce in all languages.
5. The brand name and the trademark have to be interpreted correctly, understood, and
accepted in all relevant languages and cultures. Furthermore, they must comply with
international trademarking requirements.

EXERCISE

1. When choosing the name for a car, the automotive industry has to be care-
ful that it does not elicit unhelpful associations in the different countries.
Why was the Porsche vehicle “Cayenne” the wrong choice for the French
market? Why were the Fiat vehicles “Regata” for Sweden and “Uno” for Fin-
land as well as the Mitsubishi vehicle “Pajero” for Spain equally unsuitable?
2. Other industries also experience such difficulties when choosing product
names. A Chinese brand manufacturer tried to market a lipstick under the
brand name ‘Fang Fang’ in Europe. In Chinese, this word is associated with
beauty and a pleasant fragrance. Why was this name inappropriate for the
British market?
3. Trying to tap the German market with the Irish whiskey ‘Irish Mist’ sparked
unfavorable associations among the consumers, even though the word was
very popular at the English company. Why?

In France, the name Porsche “Cayenne” did not elicit the association with fiery cayenne
pepper but with the Cayenne labor camp in French Guiana. In Sweden, Fiat “Regata”
translates into grumbler; in Finland, Fiat “Uno” means fool. When opting for Mitsubishi
“Pajero”, the company missed that “Pajero” in Spanish means softie. Due to this transla-
tion problem, the car was then sold under the label “Montero”.

In the case of the “Fang Fang” lipstick marketed in Europe, the Chinese word “Fang” trans-
lates into poison or carnassial (i.e. long, sharp tooth of a carnivore) and the customers did
not buy this product. The company wanting to sell the whiskey “Irish Mist” also did not

82
think about the German translation (dung or manure). Another example of difficulties
associated with this word as a brand name was when Clairol brought a curling iron named
“Mist Stick” onto the German market.

SUMMARY
Product policy is one of the most critical tasks of international market-
ing. The key value derived from a product is its core benefit. The tangible
benefits goes beyond the core benefit and can be subdivided into aes-
thetic benefits and prestige benefits. A product’s augmented benefits
first and foremost refer to the level of customer service attached to a
product. Assessing a product’s degree of innovation by country is
another essential element to consider when designing a company’s
product policy. There are four main dimensions of innovation: subject,
intensity, time, and space. A significant advantage of international com-
panies is that it is less expensive for them to generate ideas for new
products.

International product mix policy is about determining the respective

product range. There are several options for establishing an interna-
tional product mix policy: chiefly, transferring, reducing, or expanding
the existing product range. Transferring the existing product mix in its
entirety from one domestic market onto target foreign markets will
result in a standardized product policy strategy across markets. In many
cases, a company’s international product range will be smaller than its
domestic one. Products may have to be adapted due to legal regulations
and cultural and sociodemographic characteristics of the target market.

International brand policy is a critical component of international prod-

uct policy. Decisions regarding a brand’s range refer to the question of
the geographical area that the brand is designed for and how it is used in
this region. Brand positioning refers to a brand’s position on a relevant
market. There are two basic types of positioning: point of difference
positioning and point of parity positioning. Brand architecture refers to
the roles of products associated with a company’s brand and the rela-
tionship between these products. There are four basic “traditional”
brand strategies: single-brand, multi-brand, umbrella brand, and family
brand. In many cases, internationally active companies do not primarily
use these brand architecture types, choosing instead much more com-
plex structures. Branding includes all measures for making a product
stand out from the crowd and enabling the benefits of a product to be
attributed to a specific brand.

83
 UNIT 6
INTERNATIONAL PRICING AND TERMS OF
SALES POLICIES

STUDY GOALS

On completion of this unit, you will have learned …

– the different approaches for pricing.

– the types of price discrimination utilized by companies.
– which demand- and supply-related factors affect price discrimination.
– the different ways companies design their discount policy.
 6. INTERNATIONAL PRICING AND TERMS OF
SALES POLICIES

Introduction
International Price Difference
Simon and Fassnacht (2009) examined international price discrimination (also called price
differentiation) by analyzing different industries. They provided some excellent examples
of how prices can differ across markets, reporting, for instance, that prices for rental cars
in European cities vary between 75.4 % and 137.9 % from the average: while a compact car
costs €247 per week in Berlin and €292 in Paris, it costs nearly double in Warsaw at €452
per week. Another example reported by Simon/Fassnacht relates to the tobacco industry.
The price for a pack of Marlboro cigarettes differs drastically throughout Europe: the price
in Norway (€8.38) is 63 % higher than the average price, while the price in Poland (€1.78) is
65.4 % lower than the average. The comparison of prices for a bar of Ritter Sport chocolate
showed that major international price differences also exist in the confectionery industry:
while a 100g bar costs €0.75 in Berlin, it amounts to €1.19 in Madrid and €1.58 in Sydney.

International price discrimination or differentiation occurs not only in the consumer

goods sector, but also in the industrial goods sector, where international procurement is
possible as a result of improved communication, greater opportunities to gather specific
information, and comparatively low transportation costs. Major costs savings can be real-
ized through global sourcing, as in many cases the least expensive offer can either be
accepted or used to apply pressure in the course of price negotiations. Price differences
between Europe and Asia in the business-to-business (B2B) sector can amount to as much
as 300 % when comparing the price of a product from the most expensive European coun-
try to that of the least expensive Asian country (Mühlmeyer & Belz, 2000).

6.1 Pricing on International Markets

Determining the price of products for international markets is always a major decision,
especially for companies introducing new products. However, questions of pricing also
have to be resolved when products that are already established in one national market are
being introduced to a new one. A company’s basic international price strategy is the start-
ing point for making pricing decisions. This strategy is created by defining the general
price bracket for respective national markets and determining the difference between pri-
ces for a company’s different product lines. How to design the price structure within a
product line, meaning the prices for the individual products or product variants, also has
to be determined as part of this strategy formation (Homburg & Krohmer, 2009). The target
price positioning on the respective national markets is a critical area of decision-making,
as it determines basic specifications for fixing individual prices. Price-performance (also
called cost-performance or cost-benefit) considerations often take priority in this process

86
of determining price as well as product-price positioning, which considers prices in rela-
tion to service. Both the price and the service components are then analyzed in relation to
competition.

Figure 4: Product Price Positioning

Source: Created on behalf of IU (2016).

The various positions in this figure are known as consistent positions, as they are fixed by
relative price and relative service. Companies will often choose one of these positions and
vary price and service to maintain their consistent position. A premium price position is
part of a consumer preference strategy, which focuses on consumers paying more for
high-quality services. Low price positions, by contrast, realize lower prices but need rela-
tively lower levels of service.

It is not only important to position a product in relation to its competitors, but also in rela-
tion to the overall product range offered by a company. Economies of scale need to be Economies of scale
considered as they often occur in an international context. As such, you have to keep in Economies of scale are
the cost advantages that
mind that individual products cannot be analyzed individually without considering the arise from increasing the
company’s entire product range. If there are economies of scale or spillover effects in a size, output, and/or scale
product range, determining the price for a product may also affect sales of other products of production, with cost
per unit of output
of the company (either positively or negatively). Determining prices for the product range decreasing as fixed costs
is also referred to as developing a price lining (also known as product line) policy (Diller, are spread over more
units of output.
2008). Price lining policy is when products within a product line are set at different price
points, e.g. a specific vehicle is available as three models: a value model, a standard
model, and a limited edition model.

In an international context, the price structure for the targeted national markets has to be
determined according to the desired positioning of the product or product range. A com- Desired positioning
pany may choose to either target a consistent position or develop a strategy that takes Determining the price
structure depends on the
into account economies of scale or feedback effects. The latter is especially important for desired positioning on
products in transparent markets where prices are visible to consumers who may adapt the national market.

87
 their behavior based on price comparisons. Mixed calculation strategies are of major
importance for companies and can be especially complex in international price manage-
ment. Strategic calculations may be employed, as in the case where companies deliber-
ately accept insufficient profits or even losses for specific products in order to promote the
sales of other company products—losses for one product are then compensated with prof-
its generated by the other products. This enables a company to “finance” their entry into
strategically important markets or strengthen their presence on such markets, thereby
improving the company’s position in international competition.

International pricing policy is principally based on the same approach for pricing in a
national context. However, international pricing is characterized by additional costs and
risks that are only emerge when doing business on an international scale (Becker, 2001;
Diller, 2008).

• Overcoming barriers to international trade entails additional procurement and distribu-

tion costs, e.g. export licenses, country-specific quality standards, accompanying export
documents, etc.
• Processing and fulfilling orders as part of foreign business usually entails higher costs,
e.g. skilled employees with experience in foreign transactions usually receive higher
financial compensation.
• Specific logistic or contractual requirements (such as transportation, packaging, etc.) as
well as specific liability or warranty claims may also cause additional costs.
• Further additional costs can result from necessary product modifications.
• Specific foreign trade risks and protecting the company against them (e.g. transport or
warehouse insurance) may entail additional costs.
• Additional costs may be incurred because of changes in exchange rates or necessary
hedging activities. High inflation rates are also a common risk in an international con-
text.

At the operational level, international pricing approaches can be subdivided into cost-
based, demand-based, and competition-based pricing approaches:

• Under a cost-based pricing approach, prices are based on cost accounting information.
This means that prices are based on the cost of production plus a fixed amount or per-
centage profit. Such calculation methods are mainly used for determining lower price
limits (Zentes, 2002). They are easy to apply and thus primarily used for export busi-
ness, where companies do not need any differentiated information on the environment
in the individual countries and can generally do without extensive market research
activities. This approach is therefore quite inexpensive.
• Demand-based pricing means determining prices based on observing customers. In
most cases, the primary question is at what price will buyers in the respective national
markets purchase the product. The most important models informing demand-based
pricing are Jacob’s (1971) price threshold approach, the price corridor approach of
Simon and Fassnacht (2009), and Sander’s (1997) microeconomic approach.
• Competition-based pricing occurs when prices are based for the most part on the pric-
ing strategies of competitors. Prices are primarily determined against the backdrop of a
country’s competitive situation or by assessing cross-country competition. A company
can either aim to deliberately adjust their prices according to the behavior of competi-

88
 tors (e.g. as part of a defensive pricing strategy) or deliberately opt for an alternative
strategy to its competitors (e.g., as part of an aggressive market development strategy
that includes significantly undercutting competitive prices).

Case study: The US luxury car market

In the US, BMW and Mercedes developed into status symbols characteristic of the “extrav-
agant” 1980s; BMWs were even termed “yuppie cars” by some. Eventually, both automo-
tive manufacturers became aware that they had neglected a basic principle of pricing for
too long, that is, wherever the price range is great, competitors will inevitably join the
market. And this is exactly what happened. From 1985, Japanese luxury cars started to
enter the market, supplying models that cost about 10,000 to 20,000 US dollars less than
the BMW and Mercedes models. Keep in mind that a 190 Mercedes cost over $30,000 US at
that time. However, this only lasted for the period of time that the economy was booming.

Mercedes and BMW sold the best quality cars for the highest prices in the US market. Back
then, quality of cars in the US was unbalanced with the average sedan costing about
$15,000. In May of 1992, BMW introduced its 318i sports sedan for $22,900, compared to
the Mercedes 190 E2.3 costing $28,950. In the next price class, customers had to pay
$38,600 for a BMW 525i, whereas a Mercedes 300 TE cost $53,900. Porsche sold its new 968
sports coupé for $39,850, replacing the 944, which cost $3,500 less. A 10 % tax had to be
added to all these prices, as this is added when the labeled price exceeds $30,000. In 1991,
buyers of these German manufactured vehicles paid about 85 % of the $220 million the US
government took in that year.

EXERCISE
Considering the information presented here, how would you describe the mar-
ket for luxury cars? What strategy did the German automotive manufacturers
pursue on this market and what pricing mechanism did they build their strategy
on? What do you think Porsche was trying to do by offering the 968 at a consid-
erably lower price than the preceding model? In what way have the changes in
exchange rate influenced the US market?

6.2 Types of Price Discrimination

Pricing policy is another area in which companies expanding into international markets
have to decide whether to opt for standardization or differentiation; that is, whether and
to what extent should prices be differentiated or standardized in different international
markets. Price discrimination is a strategy that acknowledges differences in national mar-
kets and adjusts the prices accordingly in order to benefit from the fact that customers on
the different markets are willing to pay different prices (Meffert & Bolz, 1998). This
approach is based on determining the approximate national demand for each product,
which is done with the help of expert evaluations, customer surveys using conjoint anal-

89
 Customer surveys using ysis, and analyses of historical market data. This type of price determination, however,
conjoint analysis can only be implemented when there are no strong interdependencies between estab-
Customer surveys using
conjoint analysis measure lished national markets and consumer-related factors.
the value that the market
places on a product and However, price discrimination also has its limits. In industrial goods markets in particular,
predicts the value of any
trade-off between fea- high market transparency means that companies are rarely able to charge different prices
tures. for identical products/services on different national markets. The ever increasing use of
the Internet has also resulted in a greater price transparency on the consumer goods mar-
kets, so that companies now have to be careful when using a differentiated pricing strat-
egy.

A number of factors influence the extent of price discrimination and standardization.

These include supplier-, competition- and consumer-related factors as well as environ-
mental conditions, as outlined in the following section (Backhaus & Voeth, 2010).

Consumer-Related Factors

• Image: Price discrimination can affect the image of the product. It may irritate consum-
ers to discover that a company is offering the same service on different national mar-
kets at significantly different prices. If a company does not either succeed in either hid-
ing these prices differences or reasonably explaining them to consumers, customer
perception of the brand may change to the detriment of the company (Channon & Jal-
land, 1979).
• Levels of buying power in targeted countries: Standardizing prices may turn out to be a
problem for companies intending to address similar customer segments in different
international markets that actually have large variations in their degrees of buying
power. Country-specific levels of buying power have to be considered when determin-
ing the level of price discrimination.
• Similarity of buyers’ preferences: Analyzing only buyers’ willingness to pay for a product
without considering their actual buying power is problematic, as is analyzing the
buyers’ buying power without considering their willingness to pay. Considering both
these factors in association will result in different recommendations for price discrimi-
nation.
• Arbitrage tendency: A consumers’ tendency toward arbitrage is the subjective tendency
of the buyers to procure a product from an alternate source (from a so-called “gray mar-
ket”) instead of through the producer’s regular, national distribution channels if this
offers a certain arbitrage profit (arbitrage profit = price difference – transaction costs).
The arbitrage tendency of consumers does not only depend on individual price sensitiv-
ity, but whether there is a need for product clarification and whether the product qual-
ity can be assured. Arbitrage tendency can be identified by analyzing historical market
data or the results of (direct or indirect) expert and customer surveys.

Supplier-Related Factors

• Company costs: The main argument for price discrimination abroad is that higher prices
have to be charged in international market because transport costs account for a com-
paratively high share of the overall costs. Distribution channels are available to varying

90
 extents and there may be major differences in local trade margins leading to price dis-
crimination across national markets. However, if the company establishes a local pro-
duction site, it does not have any reason to pursue a policy of country-specific pricing.

Competition-Related Factors

• Competitive situation: The degree of competition present in various national markets

also influences the extent of economically reasonable price discrimination. As a rule of
thumb, the more different the competitive situations on the individual national mar-
kets, the stronger the tendency towards price discrimination.
• Existence of re-imports: The larger the price differences and the greater the estimated Re-imports
tendency for consumer arbitrage, the more attractive it is for a company to act as a re- Re-imports are imported
goods that were actually
importer. The existence of re-importers is affected by re-import or arbitrage costs as initially exported from a
well as the actual extent of prices discrimination and the consumer arbitrage tendency. country.

Environmental Factors

• Inflation and currency effects: The influence of these parameters on pricing should not
be underestimated. On one hand, the profit generated by a company operating in for-
eign markets may depend on the exchange rates, with one currency fairing favourably in
comparison with another. On the other hand, currency hedging can present a problem
for transactions in foreign currencies when there is a time lag between an agreement
and the actual date of payment. Fluctuating exchange rates will also directly affect the
price differences arbitragers seek to take advantage of and thus affect their decisions to
purchase products for a specific price.
• Tax differences: The tax systems and calculation rules may differ significantly between
individual countries. Different tax rates or additional taxes, e.g. specific luxury taxes,
force companies to establish differentiated prices. However, this will enable arbitragers
to take advantage of net price differences. When buying a product in a country with high
additional taxes, purchasers are refunded when the product is designated for export
meaning the arbitrager usually only has to pay the net price in the country of supply.
Local (sales) taxes have to be paid when importing the product into the target country
but generally they are lower.
• Sales channel differences: The eventual price for a product paid by the consumer is usu-
ally influenced not only by the producer, but also by the sales channels. As only few pro-
ducers have the power to affect local trade margins within existing sales channels, they
have to consider them for their own pricing policy.

Case study: Price discrimination on the mineral oil market

You are working for a large mineral oil group where you are responsible for the gasoline
prices in Germany and Switzerland. The market research division has determined the fol-
lowing demand functions for the two countries (sales volume x in million liters per day;
price p in €):

Germany (G): xG pG = 3 . 6 − 1 . 8 pG

Switzerland (S): xS pS = 0 . 6 − 0 . 2 pS

91
 The gasoline for both countries is produced in the same refinery. The following costs are
incurred:

• fixed costs of €245,000

• variable costs of €0.40/l

EXERCISE

1. Determine a consistent gasoline price for the two countries. Identify the
profit-optimized price, the sales volumes for both countries, and the overall
profit. Round your results to two decimals.
2. Consider now differentiating the prices for gasoline in the two countries.
One issue to consider is whether you can charge a higher gasoline price in
Switzerland than in Germany. However, you must keep in the following in
mind: if the price in Switzerland is higher than in Germany, some Swiss cus-
tomers will drive across the border to Germany to get gasoline but German
customers will obviously not go to Switzerland for gasoline. When consider-
ing customers travelling from Switzerland to Germany, you are aware of the
following connection:
• A price difference of 10 cents makes 2:70 of the sales you have generated
in Switzerland with the consistent price migrate to Germany.
• This share increases to 4:70 of the sales when the price difference
amounts to 20 cents. Assume this correlation to be linear.

What is your overall profit when you fix a higher price for gasoline in Switzerland
than in Germany? Which price do you determine and how many liters of gasoline
will you sell per country per day? Does this strategy make sense when compared
to the consistent price strategy? Round your results to two decimals (Homburg,
2011).

The profit-optimized consistent price is calculated by using the common demand func-
tion:

x p = 4 . 20 − 2p

Using the Cournot price (for the profit-optimized price in a monopoly, with linear demand
function x = a – b · p and variable costs k.

• p = 1/2 (a + k) = 1/2 (4.2/2 + 0.4) = 0.5 · 2.5 = 1.25

• xD = 1,350,000 liters
• xS = 350,000 liters
• (€1.25/l – €0.40/l) · 1,700,000 l – €245,000 = €1,200,000

Calculating the overall profit with price discrimination:

92
Demand functions considering migration movement:

2
xD pD = 3 . 6 − 1 . 8pD + pS − pD · 10 · 70
· 0 . 35 = 3 . 6 − 1 . 9pD

+ 0 . 1pS

2
xS pS =0 . 6 − 0 . 2pS − pS − pD · 10 · 70
· 0 . 35 = 0 . 6 − 0 . 3pS + 0

. 1pD

The migration movement is calculated with the term

2
pS − pD · 10 · 70
· 0 . 35

0.35 represents the sales volume of 350,000 liters, which is realized in Switzerland when a
consistent price was determined. 10 · 2/70 stands for 2:70 of the sales volume, based on a
price difference of €1.

• pD* = 1/2 (a/b + k) = 1/2 ((3.6 + 0.1 pS)/1.9 + 0.4)

• I: pD* = 1.1475 + 0.0265pS
• pS* = 1/2 (a/b + k) = 1/2 ((0.6 + 0.1 pD)0.3 + 0.4)
• II: pS* = 1.2 + 0.16667pD

Insert II into I and solve for pD:

• pD = €1.18
• pS = €1.40
• xD = 1.498 million liters
• xS = 0.298 million liters
• G (total) = 1,168,440 + 298,000 – 245,000 = €1,221,440

The profit is higher in this second calculation. A price discrimination between the two
countries thus makes sense.

6.3 Credit and Discount Policy

International credit policy is closely connected to the actual receipt of payment for a prod-
uct(s), as the respective methods of payment may, depending on their design, also include
credit functions. Credit policy focuses on financing goods and services. Payments upon
order completion tend to be an exception, especially in industrial goods businesses and
for large-scale projects, owing to the size and duration e.g. investment projects. Financing
instruments are thus critical marketing measures in international business (Backhaus &
Voeth, 2010). However, financial instruments also play an important role in the transac-
tions between a company and consumers. Financing offers at reduced rates of interest or
prolonged payment deadlines (e.g. slogans such as “Buy now, pay later!”) can reduce the
initial financial burden for the customers and stimulate sales. Such consumer credits are

93
 especially important in the trade sector, in particular for the mail order business, where
clients are more anonymous (Kotler, Keller, & Bliemel, 2007). Apart from national transac-
tions on the respective foreign markets, foreign trade financing is of great significance.

There are different instruments for short-term as well as medium- and long-term foreign
trade financing.

• Short-term foreign trade financing:

◦ Export financing: pre-payments, bank credit, draft credit, letters of credit, and export
factoring
◦ Import financing: down payments, draft credit, trade credit, letter of credit, and inter-
national credits
• Medium- and long-term foreign trade financing:
◦ Export leasing, forfaiting, credits from an export credit company or investment insur-
ance agency, and other financing options of national and international institutions

In foreign trade financing, minimizing financing costs is the most important issue for both
transaction partners; however, risk policy considerations for formulating credit policy
goals must also be taken into account (Zentes, Swoboda, & Schramm-Klein, 2010).

International discount policy mainly focuses on designing discount policies for the respec-
tive countries and developing cross-country discount systems. Companies utilise dis-
counts to achieve a variety of different goals. First and foremost, discounts can be lever-
aged for their psychological effects; customers receiving discounts generally feel that they
are receiving better treatment than other market participants (Lichtenstein, Netemeyer, &
Burton, 1995). Companies aim at specific discount policy targets, such as percentage of
sales, customer loyalty, image targets, or a temporal allocation of contracts (e.g. for the
purpose of streamlining production). In addition, price discrimination between different
buying groups or country markets can be implemented through discretionary discounts
(meaning that the basic price does not have to be changed between markets but different
pricing structures can effectively be achieved) (Berndt, Fantapié Altobelli, & Sander, 2005).
This can reduce and even eliminate problems such as issues of credibility or arbitrage.

Discount policies may be subject to different country-specific regulations. Price and terms
of sale negotiations will often vary between countries as well. The degree of regulation can
often relate to whether allowing discounts is common place in that market. Additionally,
alternative types of discounts as well as the actual rates of discount given to the custom-
ers will also vary in the international context.

SUMMARY
A company’s basic international price strategy is the starting point for
concrete pricing decisions. This strategy defines the general price level
and the structure of prices within a product line. The targeted price posi-
tioning on the respective national markets is a major decision field, as it
determines basic specifications for fixing individual prices. Mixed calcu-

94
lation concepts are of major importance and especially complex in inter-
national price management. International pricing is furthermore charac-
terized by additional costs and risks that are only emerging when doing
international business. At the operational level, international pricing
approaches can be subdivided into cost-based, demand-based, and
competition-based pricing approaches.

Price discrimination recognizes the specific features of each national

market and adjusts prices for each different country in an effort to bene-
fit from the fact that customers on the different markets will have a dif-
ferent willingness to pay. A number of factors influence the extent of
economically wise price discrimination and standardization respec-
tively, including supplier-, competition- and consumer-related factors as
well as environmental conditions such as inflation and currency effects.

International credit policy focuses on financing goods and services.

There are different instruments for short-term as well as medium- and
long-term foreign trade financing. International discount policy mainly
focuses on designing discount policies in the respective countries and
on developing cross-country discount systems respectively. Companies
aim at specific discount policy targets, such as sales targets, customer
loyalty, image targets, or a temporal allocation of contracts. It has to be
considered that discount policy may be subject to different country-spe-
cific regulations.

95
 UNIT 7
INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION

STUDY GOALS

On completion of this unit, you will have learned …

– the extent to which promotion policy strategies and measures have to be standardized
or differentiated.
– the role of “below the line” advertising techniques in international marketing.
– how to design an international promotion mix.
– how to use social media for international marketing.
– how to implement direct marketing.
 7. INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION

Introduction
Case Study
In many cases, companies can only purchase expensive advertising spots when pooling
the advertising budgets of several national offices. For instance, Swiss company Nestlé
Nespresso AG was only able to create and launch a number of TV commercials by central-
izing advertising budgets. The commercials featured famous actors such as George Cloo-
ney and John Malkovich, famous directors such as Robert Rodriguez and Guy Ritchie as
well as Oscar-nominated cameraman Rodrigo Prieto. The fee for George Clooney alone is
estimated to have been 6 million CHF per commercial (Glüsing & Klawitter, 2010). How-
ever, it seems that these investments have paid off. In 2006, when George Clooney started
to promote the brand, he generated additional sales of 85 million CHF for Nestlé
Nespresso AG for that calendar year. In 2008, the company’s sales exceeded 2 billion CHF
and it is, with an average annual growth rate of 30 %, the fastest growing division within
the Nestlé Group (Griese, 2010).

7.1 International Promotion

When entering a new country market, international companies are faced with the ques-
tion of whether and to what extent they can develop distinct promotion goals, strategies,
and measures in this market. Promotion policy does not have to be strictly designed in a
country-specific way. Other options are to adopt promotion policy elements already in use
on other national markets or to coordinate promotion policies for existing and new
national markets. As such, companies need to decide whether they will opt for differentia-
tion or standardization when designing their promotion policy.

The main objective of international promotion policy is to influence the knowledge levels,
expectations, and consequently the behavior of the target audience in such a way that the
company can pursue its goals. Marketing communication focuses on current and potential
customers as the target audience for promotional campaigns, however individuals and
organizations that influence the buying processes of these targets also need to be consid-
ered. These can include media providers, promoters, opinion leaders, etc. (de Mooij,
2004).

Marketing communication always aims to reach a level of congruence between the inten-
ded message from the sender and the message actually understood by the receiver. In
general, difficulties can arise that jeopardize this congruence, but particularly so when
communicating internationally. When launching promotions in an international context,
the use of signs and symbols is often problematic. Country- or culture-specific differences
in syntax, semantics, and pragmatics of signs may result in different interpretations. This
can in turn interfere with the achievement of promotional goals, e.g. specific advertising
effects or certain buying behaviors (de Mooij, 2004). Problems can occur especially when

98
the company and target audience are from different countries and there are different lan-
guages involved, when they have different cultural backgrounds, or when there is greater
diversity in the targeted audience (such as several target groups or entire national mar-
kets).

The dilemma of standardization or differentiation is a central question in international

promotion policy development; to what extent should promotion policy strategies and
measures be standardized or differentiated? This question needs to be answered while at
the same time considering the often conflicting issues of costs and desired outcomes.
When considering cost, standardizing promotion policy tools can be advantageous when
this reduces the costs of developing international markets. Developing a single promotion
policy for several countries means that costs are limited to a single process of conceptuali-
zation, production, and controlling. A single promotion policy generally requires only one
testing phase, executed in a single country, which also reduces promotion costs (Backhaus
& Voeth, 2010). However, there are limits to the potential for cost-savings. At many interna-
tional companies, conceptualization costs are less than 10 % of the overall promotion
expenses (Merkle, 1984).

While standardizing promotion policy is advantageous with respect to limiting costs, it can
also be the best strategy to achieve promotional outcomes. Companies achieve excellent
results with a standardized promotion policy by using in-house transnational creative
expertise, bundling financial resources, using international media, and/or capitalizing on
spillover effects (Backhaus & Voeth, 2010):

• Using transnational creative expertise: Standardized promotion policy can be improved

by utilizing the in-house creative know-how of staff working in different countries. Val-
uable marketing knowledge and skills present in the individual branch offices in differ-
ent countries can be brought together through international working groups to achieve
higher quality promotion efforts.
• Bundling financial resources: Pursuing distinct, country-specific promotional activities
means that each national market only gets a respective share of the overall promotion
budget. More complex marketing campaigns cannot be realized as they would exceed
the individual countries’ budgets. Bundling resources can often lead to more ambitious,
complex, or widespread campaigns.
• Using international media: Standardizing promotion policy enables companies to
approach international media. This is significant, given the growing importance of inter-
national media, particularly global data networks and satellite TV programs.
• Spillover effects: The impact of promotional efforts can be improved by taking advant-
age of so-called spillover effects. For example, national TV stations can be easily
watched in neighboring countries; an advertisement in one national market may be
viewed by consumers in another who are already familiar with this particular promo-
tional campaign. This will result in repeated exposure to the advertising materials,
anchoring the brand and reinforcing the intended effect of the promotional materials. A
differentiated promotion policy, in contrast, will not have this reinforcing or cumulative
effect and may even irritate or confuse consumers.

99
 On the other hand, standardizing promotion policy can also have some negative effects.
Implementing a consistent strategy in different national markets inevitably means that
country-specific factors cannot be considered in a way that a differentiated promotion
policy could. A promotion strategy designed for several countries using the same promo-
tion tools can potentially reduce sales if consumers do not feel that they are being
addressed by the company’s non-specific communication and choose instead to purchase
products from local firms. The standardized use of promotional tools (e.g. cross-country
slogans or the use of the same pictures for commercials) may limit the effects of the adver-
tising. This can certainly be the case when a company uses distinct visual information
from their domestic market for the advertising materials in foreign markets. This visual
information can evoke other associations for the potential customers, potentially reduc-
ing the positive effects of the promotion.

Case study: Mazda’s “Defy Convention” campaign

In 2011, Japanese automaker Mazda launched its first Europe-wide umbrella brand cam-
paign. To date, it had only promoted individual models in a country-specific approach.
The new campaign focused on the company and its staff, from the CEO to the engineers.
The 360-degree campaign was based on several 60-second TV commercials broadcast in
20 European countries and distributed via social networks. The advertisements were
shown in Japanese with subtitles. What could Mazda expect from this cross-country cam-
paign?

Using transnational creative expertise, Mazda presented its brand in an authentic way and
referencing a number of functional and emotional features of the brand without referring
to individual products. In the automotive market especially, customers will base their
decision to buy a product not only on its functional features but also on the respective
brand. Most of the funding needed for producing the TV commercials could be bundled, as
the individual subtitles are the only necessary country-specific adjustments. Thanks to its
new focus (i.e. Mazda as a Japanese manufacturer instead of individual products on
respective national markets) and the multinational nature of the promotional concept (i.e.
subtitles, one advertisement for all countries), the campaign facilitated an approach to
international media and spillover effects.

7.2 International Promotion Mix

The tools used to implement international promotion policies are basically the same as
those used for national promotion efforts.

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Table 9: Promotion Policy Tools

Direct (face to face) Indirect (mediated)

Unilateral Bilateral Unilateral Bilateral

• Direct advertising • Personal communi- • Traditional medial • Public relations

• Sales promotion cation advertising • Call centers
• POS/point of pur- • Event marketing • Public relations • Direct response
chase advertising • Fairs/exhibitions • Sponsoring measures
• Public relations • Sales promotion • Product placement • Coupons in print
• Public relations • Kiosk terminals media
• Customer maga- • Web 2.0
zines
• New media advertis-
ing

Source: Created on behalf of IU (2016).

Marketing communication measures are often subdivided into “above the line” and Above the line
“below the line” activities. In international marketing, budgets are increasingly spent on “Above the line” market-
ing techniques broadcast
below the line measures, as they have the potential to overcome the growing problem of advertising to a mass
information overload experienced by consumers, and focus the attention of the potential audience.
consumer on the actual advertisement. The field of below the line marketing measures is Below the line
“Below the line” market-
developing in a dynamic fashion with new forms of communication being added continu-
ing techniques advertise
ously, e.g. online communities, advertising in computer games, mobile marketing, etc. towards a niche audience.

International advertisement is the international promotion policy tool that the majority of
literature pays the greatest attention to. Apart from the advertising objectives and adver-
tisement timing, the main parameters of international advertisement are designing the
advertising message, choosing the advertising medium, and selecting the types of adver-
tising materials (Thieme, 2000).

Advertising Message

Designing an advertising message means developing a clear message to communicate

and planning its technical components (e.g. tone, images, colors, music, and advertising
text). The values that the advertising message seeks to appeal to as well as the actual
information and symbols included in the advertisement are of utmost importance in inter-
national marketing, as they may be perceived differently in different cultures or countries
(Müller & Gelbrich, 2004).

When considering different countries and cultures, the actual information or content of
the advertising materials will have different effects on consumers depending on the level
of the information (e.g. detailed versus simple, descriptive or analytical) and the type of
information featured (e.g. quality, price, appearance, and composition/ingredients of
advertised object). In an international context, it goes without saying that advertising
texts and slogans should not be used in their original form everywhere as customers in
different markets will likely speak different languages. The information contained in the

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 advertisement should vary in different countries as it will likely evoke differing associa-
tions and interpretations due to differences in comprehension and perception (de Moojo,
2004).

Advertising Medium

Choosing the medium of advertising is closely connected to selecting the actual type of
advertising. Commercials are typically found on television or in the cinema, advertise-
ments are run in print media, and banner advertisements are published on the Internet.
The selection of the advertising medium will strongly depend on cultural or regional dif-
ferences. On the one hand, the selection of the appropriate advertising medium will
depend on how the target groups in that country perceive and interpret the features or
design elements of advertising media. Different perceptions of image communication or
text-related advertising are often cited as examples of such differences. On the other hand,
legal limitations may restrict the use of specific advertising mediums or types of advertis-
ing (Harker, 1998; Taylor & Raymond, 2000).

Advertising Media Type

Selecting the type of advertising (or media type) means choosing the right type of adver-
tising within a medium. While traditional advertising focuses on “conventional” types of
media, advertising in new media is characterized by multimodality, digital integration,
and interactivity, often in the form of dialogue components such as comments or “likes”.
Important vehicles that may be used for multimedia advertising include (Bruhn, 2007):

• online platforms
• mobile storage media (e.g. CD-ROMS, USB flash drives)
• kiosk systems (e.g. point of information terminals, POS terminals, point of fun termi-
nals)
• mobile communication media

Example: Ford “Kuga”

The following example explores how the use of different online communities supported
the international launch of the Ford “Kuga”. A MySpace profile (a social networking plat-
form predating Facebook) with the last name “Kuga” was created. This was then augmen-
ted with the personal data and interests of the consumer profile “James”. People visiting
the MySpace profile could add the virtual personality “Kuga” to their friends lists and fol-
low its blog entries. Another Kuga profile was created on Last.fm, where playlists with
music that matched the brand’s personality were made. Users of the portal worldwide
could listen to these playlists at no cost. Pictures and videos of the car were also published
on the online communities Flickr and YouTube.

International Public Relations

Public relations are the extension of a company’s communication tools and aim at pro-
moting the company as a whole. This field of international promotion policy has grown
greatly in importance over the past years. An important goal of international public rela-

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tions is to minimize the potential for conflicts between the company and its targeted coun-
tries. While advertising is primarily used to shape the image of products, product groups,
or services, public relations aim to cultivate a specific, favourable image of the company.
Specific public relation objectives of international companies include (Perlitz, 2004):

• identification with the interests of the countries of potential consumers

• contributing to the development of said countries
• establishing good contacts with government offices
• respecting cultural and social differences
• promoting the company image
• emphasizing the independence of foreign branch offices relative to the headquarters

External channels such as newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, and the Internet are espe-
cially important for public relations activities in an international context. Through these
channels, media representatives spread information on or from the company. The role of
public relations is to achieve widespread media coverage about the company that is gen-
erally as positive as possible. However, it is sometimes the case that editorial coverage in
some of these media sources also contains negative information about the company,
brands, or products. It is the responsibility of the PR division to react to this coverage,
implementing strategies to avoid any or further damage to the reputation of the company,
product, or brand (Freimüller & Schober, 2001). It must be taken into account that the
media in general play many different roles and the various media outlets have different
levels of credibility in an international context.

International Sales Promotion

Sales promotion measures are short-term, temporal instruments that are usually designed
specifically for a local context. Such measures include (Gedenk, 2001):

• direct sales assistance (e.g. sales manuals, computer-aided selling systems, leaflets,
catalogues, and support measures aiming at providing further information, such as
training and professional literature)
• personal incentive schemes (e.g. sales competitions)
• maintaining contact at the individual level (e.g. product presentation, visits, gifts)

Country-specific legal regulations, the attitude of the local distributor towards a coopera-
tive promotion of sales, and the attitude of the customers towards such tools are some of
the challenges for sales promotion in an international context. As sales promotion meas-
ures are short-term instruments, companies may consider standardizing them via their
own distribution system so that they can maintain complete control over the process (Mef-
fert & Bolz, 1998; Berndt, Fantapié Altobelli, & Sander, 2005).

International Direct Marketing

International direct marketing, as previously mentioned, is a marketing approach that has

developed in an especially dynamic manner, largely due to the progress of information
and communication technology and efforts to individualize marketing approaches. Indus-

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 trial goods companies often focus their activities on international direct marketing; how-
ever, such tools have also become increasingly important for addressing consumers.
There are three types of direct marketing (Bruhn, 2007):

• Passive direct marketing: The attention of the consumer is drawn to the company’s
service offer without the medium itself establishing customer contact (e.g. advertising
letters, catalogues, generic mail material).
• Direct response marketing: After being approached, the consumer has the opportunity
to react (e.g. mail order packages with business reply cards, direct response advertis-
ing).
• Interactive direct marketing: The company enters into a direct dialogue with the con-
sumer (e.g. telemarketing, e-mail communication).

The main reasons to conduct direct marketing activities include information brokerage,
increasing consumer interest, and obviously, the eventual acquisition of new customers.
In an international context, all direct marketing measures cannot be realized in the same
form and intensity. Apart from objective reasons for this (e.g. literacy rate, available con-
sumer contact information, media consumption habits, costs differences of direct commu-
nication, etc.), variation in the application of direct marketing measures is the result of
cultural differences in terms of acceptance, credibility, or the general perception of such
marketing tools.

Case study: Direct marketing

The company “Hole in One” offers a large range of golf products to international custom-
ers. Two thirds of total sales occur via selected retail stores, and the remaining third
through direct sales via mail order or purchases from the multilingual online shop. In
recent months, the firm has been struggling with declining sales. On one hand, this
decrease is the result of declining revenue figures from the retail businesses. On the other
hand, sales of the direct business are stagnating as the customers spend less per capita
and many regular customers have left the company. The company is considering trying to
counteract the downward sales trends by using direct marketing measures.

EXERCISE

a) Define appropriate marketing goals for the case study, differentiating goals
for existing direct sale customers, former direct sale customers, existing
retail sale customers, and potential new customers.
b) Explain which forms of direct marketing qualify for each of these individual
target groups and specify concrete direct marketing measures for each tar-
get group.
c) How do you assess the use of a direct marketing approach for dealing with
this problem? (Bruhn, 2009)

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Subtask a)

Addressing the target groups with direct marketing measures aims to achieve the follow-
ing goals:

• Target group: existing direct sale customers. Bond existing direct sale customers to the
company on a long-term basis and induce them to enter cross-selling deals.
• Target group: former direct sale customers. Analyze the reasons why the former direct
sales customers turned away from the company. Try to win them back.
• Target group: existing retail sale customers. Bond existing retail sale customers to the
company on a long-term basis and induce them to enter cross-selling deals.
• Target group: potential new customers. Draw the attention of potential new customers
to the products and services that Hole in One offers. Encourage first-time buyers
through the Internet, via mail order, or in retail stores. As a second step, bond these cus-
tomers to the company on a long-term basis.

Subtask b)

With regard to the individual target groups and the different goals pursued for each of
these target groups, the following direct marketing forms and measures can be recom-
mended:

• Target group: existing direct sale customers. These customers buy their products on the
Internet or via mail order. The company knows the names of these customers and most
likely has a lot of other information about them (e.g. former purchases, sales volumes,
date of purchase). The main goal with this groups of consumers is to bond them to the
company on a long-term basis. To do so, the company must try to enter into an ongoing
dialogue with the customers using tools of interactive direct marketing. By means of a
long-term communication exchange, the company maintains contact with customers
and may be able to anticipate any intention of theirs to buy elsewhere as well as satisfy
their individual needs in terms of interaction and demand. Possible concrete individual
measures could include the following:
◦ Contact customers by phone to present them with specific offers (such as “10 % dis-
count on your next purchase” or “Buy one article, get one free”).
◦ Mail letters to customers with specific offer and attached means of responding (e.g.
business reply card with envelope).
◦ Contact customers with an invitation to join a customer club. By joining the club, cus-
tomers receive specific benefits (e.g. reduced fees when reaching a certain sales vol-
ume, regular delivery of a free customer magazine, invitation to events, etc.).
◦ Conduct a survey on customer satisfaction by phone or letter with business reply
card.
• Target group: former direct sale customers. The company has detailed information
about these customers as well, as they purchased their goods on the Internet or via mail
order. Direct response marketing measures are recommended as they provide the com-
pany an opportunity to enter into a dialogue with their former customers. Examples of
such measures could include the following:

105
 ◦ Mail letters with a business reply card and questionnaire about the reasons for no
longer buying from the company (e.g. no further demand, stopped playing golf, unsa-
tisfied with price-performance ratio, etc.).
◦ Contact former customers via e-mail with a link to a customized website with spe-
cific, individualized offers.
◦ Send a letter to former customers, drawing their attention to any aspets of the prod-
uct range that have changed since their last contact with the company.
• Target group: existing retail sale customers. To reach the goal of bonding existing retail
sale customers to the company on a long-term basis and inducing them to enter cross-
selling deals, the company should enter into an ongoing dialogue with the customers.
In contrast to direct sales customers, the company has a lot less information about
retail buyers. Direct response marketing measures are recommended to involve these
customers in more of a dialogue with the company. Instruments such as direct response
ads or using interactive media can be used to directly engage these customers. These
tools address currently unidentified members of the target group, inviting them to enter
into a communication with the company and give up their anonymity. As a second step,
the company may choose to directly contact customers. The following individual meas-
ures are examples of such efforts:
◦ Run TV commercials showing the telephone number for contacting the company (e.g.
combined with a sweepstake).
◦ Run ads pointing to specific campaigns requiring the customers to get in contact with
the company (e.g. 10 % discount for ordering in the online shop).
◦ Run Internet banners with a link to the company’s online shop.
◦ Run ads with a reply coupon to order the company’s catalogue (maybe connected
with a small bonus for initial orders, e.g. 10 % discount).
• Target group: potential new customers. The main goal for these customers is to draw
their attention to the products and services that Hole in One offers and encourage initial
orders on the Internet, via mail order, or in retail stores. As establishing a dialogue with
these customers is initially not important, passive direct marketing measures can be
utilized and can include the following:
◦ Distributing flyers indicating new products in the company’s portfolio.
◦ Publishing leaflets as supplements in daily newspapers.

Subtask c)

Direct marketing has the advantage of establishing direct contact with target groups and
target consumers, which reduces redundancy and enables companies to involve consum-
ers in a dialogue. Such measures are easy to monitor and allow a company to develop a
customized database of customer data. Furthermore, direct marketing can be linked to
other promotion tools. Such advantages support the use of direct marketing measures by
Hole in One, especially against the backdrop of declining sales figures. A possible disad-
vantage could be a potential backlash from the target groups leading to a paradoxical
decrease in sales (e.g. due to over-saturation, lack of interest, or feelings of being har-
assed). It should also be noted that direct marketing measures are generally less suitable
for the task of increasing and sustaining an awareness of the brand. This is why direct mar-
keting is also used as a supporting instrument. Hole in One should complement direct
marketing strategies with other mass impact promotion tools such as media advertising.

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7.3 Optimal Standardization
When defining the level of differentiation/standardization to adopt in a promotion policy,
it is important to determine the point at which the marginal cost savings of a standardiza-
tion approach intersect with a loss in effectiveness (and subsequent decrease in reve-
nues).

Figure 5: Level of Differentiation/Standardization

Source: Created on behalf of IU (2016).

When determining the international company’s level of differentiation/standardization for

the respective national markets, alternative promotion policy measures and strategies
(using different levels of differentiation/standardization) need to be considered. Cost and
effectiveness (i.e. the degree to which the promotion strategies lead to increases in sales)
are two parameters to be measured and compared for different promotion tools. e.g.
international press advertising.

While it is relatively easy to determine costs, it is difficult to measure effectiveness. The

reason for the complexity assosciated with determining effects of promotional strategies
on actual revenue is twofold. Firstly, it is often difficult to measure the level of standardiza-
tion of promotion policy tools relative to their effect. Secondly, it is difficult to match
effects with revenue-related parameters (e.g. while a promotion activity may have a good
effect on consumer brand awareness and affinity, it is difficult to measure the related
effect on actual sales). It is already difficult to draw these conclusions in a national con-
text, let alone in international one. When entering a new market, companies do not have
the option to review historical data, which is why the impact of standardized/differenti-
ated promotional approaches on revenues can often only be assessed qualitatively. Com-

107
 panies are only able to determine a hypothetical “optimal level of standardization” for
promotion policy measures in the respective markets. Companies may thus not necessa-
rily find the optimal differentiation/standardization level but they will often find at least a
plausible level regarding the maximum difference between possible cost savings and
added revenue-related effect losses (Backhaus & Voeth, 2010).

Case study: Parameters for comparing marketing effects in an international context

The cellphone service provider “Zilona” has one of the largest market shares. In order to
remain competitive, the company considers reducing call rates in the long term and
potentially standardizing them acroos national markets. This will only be possible if dras-
tic savings are made within the company, which is why management intends to signifi-
cantly reduce spending on marketing communication. You are responsible for promotion
and consider this cut in spending as a threat to overall revenue creation. In your opinion,
reducing and standardizing promotion efforts will result in a significant loss to current and
future revenue.

You need to empirically prove the relationship between promotional activities and reve-
nue creation. In order to do so, you need to identify performance parameters which will
allow you to measure the contribution of marketing activities to overall revenue.

While there are a number of effective evaluation tools for monitoring pre-economic and
psychological effects of promotion, suitable tools for measuring the contribution of pro-
motional activities to revenue creation are still lacking. However, it should be kept in mind
that promotion efforts aim to not only create short-term increases in revenue, but also
long-term potential for success, thus contributing to sustained value creation.

Given the backdrop of competitive conditions, it will become increasingly important to

expand the monitoring of pre-economic successes (e.g. consumer interest, website views,
etc.) to include the measurement of strategic, economic outcomes—with the goal to
measure all promotion-related effects. For proving the contribution of promotion to value
creation in the company Zilona, promotion efforts have to be directly related to long-term,
strategic performance parameters. These parameters can be divided into consumer-rela-
ted and company-related parameters.

Consumer-related and • The consumer-related performance parameters are long-term parameters that meas-
company-related ure the effect of promotion activities of the consumer perspective of brand value (e.g.
Strategic consumer-rela-
ted and company-related brand awareness, image, satisfaction, trust, and commitment).
performance parameters • The consumer-related performance parameters are the foundation for realizing com-
inform promotion efforts. pany-related performance parameters, which include factors indicating customer loy-
alty (e.g. customer intention to make repeat purchases, tendency of consumers to rec-
ommend the company to others, and the customer willingness pay increased prices).
Such behaviors are directly connected to economic success parameters such as sales,
profit contribution, market share, shareholder value, etc.

108
To demonstrate the importance of promotional activities for increasing value, promotion-
related data (e.g. advertising impact and quality) have to be connected to consumer- and
company-related performance parameters.

SUMMARY
The main objective of international promotion policy is to influence the
addressees’ knowledge, expectations, and consequently their behavior
in a way that the company can pursue its goals. Communication aims to
reach a level of congruence between the intent and receipt of communi-
cation. The question of standardization or differentiation is relevant to
international promotion policy. While standardizing promotion policy is
for the most part advantageous regarding cost savings, standardization
results in very different effects and can reduce the impact of promo-
tional activities.

The tools used in international promotion policies are essentially those

used under national promotion policy approaches. International adver-
tisement is the international promotion policy tool that usually receives
the greatest attention. Apart from the advertising objectives and adver-
tisement timing, the main elements determining the success of interna-
tional advertisements are the design of the advertising message and
choice of advertising media and vehicles. Public relations are the exten-
sion of a company’s communication tools and aim at promoting the
company as a whole. Sales promotion measures are short-term, tempo-
ral instruments that are usually designed specifically for a local context.
Industrial goods companies often focus their activities on international
direct marketing, however, such tools are becoming increasingly impor-
tant for addressing consumers.

When defining the level of differentiation/standardization within promo-

tion policy, it is the goal to determine the level at which marginal cost
savings of standardization correlate with the simultaneously occurring
losses of effects and revenues.

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 UNIT 8
INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION

STUDY GOALS

On completion of this unit, you will have learned …

– which distribution channels, intermediaries, and marketing organizations are involved

in international distribution.
– whether multi-channel strategies are important.
– which organizational structures are suitable for developing international markets.
– which critical success factors are linked to the Internet.
– which standardization are provided by international distribution policy.
 8. INTERNATIONAL DISTRIBUTION

Introduction
Distribution Policy Decisions
Different market development strategies will lead to different transaction costs. Transac-
tion costs include all costs for initiating, securing, and controlling the transactions
required to tap into a national market. Companies can choose between different types of
development, each differing in equity share and/or level of integration. Markets can be
entered completely via company-owned institutions (a process known as integration) or in
cooperatation with third party institutions (i.e. external partners). Companies will typically
select the type of development that minimizes their production and transaction costs.
Companies will choose a path of internationalization (i.e. establishing subsidiaries, man-
aging direct exports through general agencies, licensing, etc.) when intra-company trans-
actions are the most economically viable means of entering the market. Alternatively, a
partner will be used to enter the market (i.e. via indirect export or licensing) when this is
the least expensive option. Intermediate forms that integrate only some transactions may
also be chosen; joint ventures, for example, with some type of equity participation com-
bine elements of integration and cooperation. We will explore each of these options in this
course.

8.1 Distribution Channels,

Intermediaries, and Distribution Schemes
Internationally active firms have significantly more differentiated and complex options for
designing their distribution policy than those companies just operating nationally. The fol-
Distribution channels lowing steps need to be followed when designing distribution channels (also known as
Distribution channels are distribution chains) (Zentes & Neidhart, 2006):
the means by which
goods and services
received by the consumer 1. Select the institutions to be used in a distribution channel (e.g. direct sale, retail,
and exchanged for pay- wholesale, importer). This process is referred to as vertical selection. Companies can
ment.
choose either direct or indirect distribution (also called intermediary distribution).
2. Determine the number of distribution institutions to be utilized in the individual
stages of production and trade respectively, either single-channel distribution or
multi-channel distribution. This process is referred to as horizontal selection. A com-
pany can choose to sell to as many intermediaries as it wants as often more interme-
diaries selling the product equates to more opportunities for sales.
3. Make appropriate contractual arrangements that determine the organization and
intensity of the cooperation with the institutions in the distribution channel.

Traditionally, a distinction has been made between direct and indirect distribution chan-
nels or schemes. When using direct distribution schemes, producers enter into direct
transactional relationships with the final customers. An essential feature of such schemes

112
is that producers are able to direct the use of marketing tools to the level of the final cus-
tomers. Usually, this entails the use of company-owned distribution institutions such as
sales staff, sales divisions, or sales offices. Indirect distribution schemes involve assigning
external intermediaries or sales partners. External distribution institutions include whole-
salers and retailers in collaboration with sales representatives, agents, and commission
agents, and it is these institutions and groups who are in direct transactional relationships
with the final customers. However, indirect schemes do not necessarily preclude the
establishment of any relationship between the producer and the final customers; market-
ing approaches such as direct marketing measures can be utilized alongside indirect dis-
tribution channels (Zentes, Swoboda, & Morschett, 2004).

When choosing the distribution channels, companies need to decide whether to apply a
“single-track” distribution strategy, i.e. use one distribution channel, or establish a multi-
channel system under which several distribution channels are used simultaneously. A
multi-channel approach can be useful when trying to satisfy different national and
regional conditions, as it allows for different segments and target groups to be treated
differently. However, multi-channel strategies may also result in conflicts between com-
peting distribution channels. Thus in designing the distribution channel, it is important to
clarify whether a universal, selective, or exclusive system is to be adopted.

Basic options for a company’s distribution policy can be further classified according to the
industrial organization types: “market cooperation” vs “integration/hierarchy”. Direct dis-
tribution schemes are considered integrative, as they establish a straight-forward hierar-
chy between producer and consumer. Indirect distribution systems, using legally and eco-
nomically autonomous intermediaries, can be classified as market cooperations if the
intermediaries’ contracts with the producers do not go beyond sales (i.e. they are not in
any other contractual relationships with producers). Between these two types of transac-
tions, there exists a broad range of vertical cooperation models for distribution.

Vertical integration (in the sense of expanding the depth of added value while focusing on
the sales market) is one feature of integrative distribution systems. The producers are not
only in direct contact with the final customers in terms of communication but also in
terms of distribution. In an international context, this can have positive effects when a
company wants to guarantee a certain image in foreign markets, its products or services
need explanation, the company wants to avoid knowledge drain, or intends to locally real-
ize specific services. Indirect distribution systems may initially help to save costs, however,
they may also entail losses of control and dependencies on intermediaries. Furthermore,
the company is not very close to the local customers, which is especially problematic
when the sales markets are far away, either geographically or culturally (Meffert & Bolz,
1998).

In an international context, cooperative distribution strategies provide the opportunity to

increase a company’s influence on the final customers and realize cost advantages in the
distribution channels. Such strategies focus on the cooperation between producers and
distribution partners, pursuing goals such as strengthening business relationships, cost-
related or efficiency-related objectives (synergy effects in supply chain management or
market cultivation) or increasing customer loyalty on each of the domestic markets
(strengthening the brand locally).

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 Case study: Sunshine GmbH

You work for the company Sunshine GmbH that produces alternative heating systems and
has recently been granted a patent for a revolutionary Scandinavian-designed heating
system that requires only one fifth of the energy used by a conventional system. Manage-
ment is now considering how to introduce the new product “Skandisun” into selected
international markets (Bruhn, 2009). You need to determine what type of distribution and
which distribution channels should be used for this product as well as what level of verti-
cal and horizontal integration is optimal.

EXERCISE
Consider the following options that Sunshine GmbH faces.

• Management have discussed the option of directly distributing the Skandi-

sun. What would a policy of direct distribution mean for this product and
what advantages /disadvantages would you expect this policy to have for the
company?
• The alternate option is indirect distribution, which would involve deciding
whether to use retailers and/or wholesalers to sell the product. What advan-
tages/disadvantages would you expect this strategy to have for Sunshine
GmbH?
• Management have also discussed a multi-channel strategy. What would this
mean for the Skandisun? Which assessment tools would you recommend
using for evaluating the suitability of these different distribution policies?

Determining the vertical distribution structure for Skandisun means defining the number
of stages in the distribution process, whereas horizontal selection entails deciding on the
number and type of intermediaries for each of these stages. Horizontal selection may,
depending on the number of intermediaries for Skandisun, result in a universal distribu-
tion system (whereby the company accepts every intermediary), selective distribution
(where selected intermediaries are engaged), or exclusive distribution (where only a few
intermediaries are selected according to strict criteria). Determining the vertical distribu-
tion structure generally involves opting between direct and indirect distribution channels.

When adopting a direct distribution policy, the company is in direct contact with consum-
ers and sells their products straight to their customers.

For the Skandisun, the advantages of this policy include the following:

114
• Each sale is personalized and the direct contact with the customer helps to ensure a
predefined level of customer service. This argument is particularly relevant for the com-
pany Sunshine because the Skandisun heating system is a product that needs extensive
explanation.
• Sunshine can easily identify the problems and requests of the customers early on,
which is a critical advantage for a company that relies on supplying cutting-edge or
technologically advanced products.

The disadvantages of this policy include the following:

• The company has to deal with many small clients that result in comparatively low sales
volumes.
• Sunshine needs comprehensive distribution institutions (e.g. field service, shippers,
etc.).
• The product range might have to be expanded to include external complementary prod-
ucts.
• The company itself is responsible for advertising the Skandisun.

Such disadvantages clearly indicate that Sunshine would have to spend a considerable
amount of time and money if they choose to adopt a policy of direct distribution.

When adopting an indirect distribution policy, the company sells its products to interme-
diaries such as wholesalers and retailers. There are two options here: the company either
directly delivers its product to retailers who sell the product to consumers or it delivers its
product to wholesalers who in turn distribute the product to retailers.

For the Skandisun, the advantages of this policy include the following:

• Sunshine benefits from the trade sector’s distinct market knowledge and the retailers
handle some of the advertising.
• The company has to deal with fewer clients (i.e. the retailers and wholesalers instead of
each consumer) who are then responsible for generating sales.
• Field service only has to be developed to a limited extent.

The advantages of indirect distribution through wholesalers are even greater than indirect
distribution through retailers because the wholesaler handles advertising completely as
well as the major part of distribution.

The disadvantages of this policy include the following:

• As a result of limited contact with the actual consumers and limited market presence,
Sunshine GmbH might not be aware of relevant changes in the market affecting the
company or its products (e.g. when and why consumers turn to specific forms of
energy).
• There is also a risk that one or several retailers demand an exclusive license to sell the
product, in the sense of exclusive supply contracts. This would create a considerable
dependency for Sunshine on a few companies, to the extent where Sunshine could
become no more than a basic supplier.

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 Multi-channel strategies are very common today. Under such a strategy, the Skandisun
would be sold both directly and also through various different indirect distribution chan-
nels.

While we will not go into detail here about these approaches, useful assessment tools for
choosing a distribution scheme include cost-utility analysis, SWOT analysis, gain and loss
analyses, portfolio analyses, and capital budgeting approaches.

8.2 Organizational Forms for

International Market Development
Companies can choose between various organizational forms for entering and developing
foreign markets. Indirect export, direct export, license or franchise agreements, joint ven-
tures, subsidiaries, and contract manufacturing are among the traditional modes of mar-
ket entry. In real life, however, businesses apply diverse variants of these organizational
forms. These variants can be compared (and thus evaluated) according to the following
criteria (Berndt, Fantapié Altobelli, & Sander, 2005; Perlitz & Seger, 2000):

• Control: To what extent can the company influence the activities of intermediaries and
distribution partners on the national markets?
• Transfer and contribution of capital: To what extent is capital transferred to the national
markets?
• Focus of value added: When the organization for distribution is transferred abroad, is
the focus of value added transferred as well?
• Transaction costs: To what extent are costs associated with transactions?

One of the primary advantages of using indirect export methods to distribute products is
that initiating customer contact, order acquisition, and supply are carried out by interme-
diary third parties who are, in essence, legally and economically separate from the com-
pany. However, the strategy of marketing products via an intermediary, who is often work-
ing for several different companies, entails the risk that the quality of customer consulting
and service decreases, as the intermediary naturally operates according to their own pri-
orities. Different types of distribution agents may be engaged as intermediaries such as
domestic export trading companies or branch offices for domestic trading firms (e.g. gen-
eral trading firms). Often, these companies can offer distinct knowledge of the market and
the industry.

By contrast, direct export means that the exporting company sells its products on foreign
markets without engaging intermediaries. Direct export has the following advantages in
comparison to indirect export: 1) the company is able to ensure that its own concept of
quality is delivered and 2) the company is in a better position to protect its immaterial
assets (Root, 1994). Not engaging an intermediary, however, may be more expensive if the
internationalizing company decides to directly invest into distribution infrastructure on
the foreign market.

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In the following cases, companies export directly but do not invest directly.

• The company delivers its products directly to consumers abroad.

• The company delivers its products to a foreign importer who then sells the products to
customers.

Companies exporting directly and opting for direct investments on the foreign country
markets, may choose one of the following organizational forms for their operations:

• In most cases, representative offices involve only a low level of direct investment in the
foreign markets. Individual company employees represent the company’s concerns
abroad, monitor the market, initiate and maintain business contacts, and carry out
acquisition activities.
• Branch offices often evolve from representative offices and usually have more extensive
decision-making powers.
• Sales offices are the most capital-intensive type of direct exporting, as they store the
goods sold on the foreign markets and carry out maintenance and service features.

When an international company grants a license for a specific foreign market, the foreign
license holder pays a fee for the right to use patents, utility models, registered designs,
trademarks, and expertise (Berndt, Fantapié Altobelli, & Sander, 2005). Compared to direct
export, this is often a less expensive option for the company. As a company within the tar-
geted market is involved in this type of market entry, the problem of cultural differences
can almost be completely resolved. However, this approach also has a major deficit: the
transferring of specific knowledge about products and processes to the licensee carries
with it the risk of imitation.

Franchising has a lot in common with licensing. The pivotal difference is that the franchi-
sor is granted an extensive, stipulated right of direction and control. While franchising is
similar to licensing in terms of probability of success and transactional parameters, it is
linked to tighter control mechanisms.

Joint ventures are an organizational form that many industries favor when conducting
international business. There are different types of joint ventures. In extreme cases, joint
ventures encompass all activities of a company, which leads to significant capital needs.
However, joint ventures do not only necessitate investments in physical, capital, and
human resources, but also result in major coordination efforts, which again require
resources. In international business, many markets are tapped through joint ventures.
One important reason for this is that many countries only tolerate and support activities of
foreign companies when they do so in the form of a joint venture. However, especially in
the case of developing and emerging countries, engaging in joint ventures carries the risk
that the foreign partners entering a national market will consider the joint venture as an
opportunity to tap production and process know-how for their own subsequent use.

Another option is to found a subsidiary in the foreign market. Subsidiaries are legally con-
sidered autonomous and thus liable for the capital invested abroad. In the case of branch
offices, the mother company can be held liable (Berndt, Fantapié Altobelli, & Sander,
2005). Founding a subsidiary is the most capital-intensive way of entering into and devel-

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 oping international markets; however, it also ensures sustained control over foreign busi-
ness activities. A subsidiary may either be newly founded or acquired. Acquisitions usually
result in much higher costs but have two fundamental advantages (Kutschker & Schmid,
2008):

• Market entry is quicker.

• Market development is more efficient and more effective as the company can fall back
on an existing network of relationships.

Contract manufacturing means that an international company tasks a foreign partner with
managing specific parts of the overall production process. The foreign partner is provided
with information on the type, quality, and technical procedure of the production steps to
be completed. Usually, the international company reserves the right to market the pro-
duced goods.

Case study: Internationalization strategies

A confectionery producer with two production sites in France wants to internationalize its
business as part of its long-term marketing strategy. To reach the overall objective of
establishing two 100 %-owned subsidiaries in Asia and Eastern Europe, a multi-stage mar-
ket entry strategy needs to be developed, taking into account the dimensions of “time”,
“risk”, and “control” for the long-term development.

Given the international context, three to four successive steps can be identified as part of
an exemplary market entry strategy. The development towards a 100 %-owned subsidiary
may happen through different organizational forms, depending on the dimensions of risk
and control (Macharzina & Wolf, 2010). The following figure illustrates these steps in mar-
ket entry.

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Figure 6: Multi-Stage Model for an International Market Entry Strategy

Source: Macharzina & Wolf, 2010.

In stage one, goods are indirectly exported on a sporadic basis. Relationships to the for-
eign market are weak and plans to develop the foreign market are not established within
the company’s organizational structure.

In stage two, the company seeking to internationalize its business attempts to penetrate
the foreign market via direct, active exports, often by assigning intermediaries abroad.
Exports are usually accompanied by licensing or franchising agreements. In many cases,
national and international business remain separate at this stage; the export division of
the company takes care of international business.

In stage three, the company enters international joint ventures for manufacturing abroad
and in this way improves market penetration. This market entry strategy is complemented
by further types of contracts. In this phase, the organizational structure is adjusted by
establishing an international division, which replaces the export division and has full
responsibility for foreign business. Another important feature of the third stage is that the
activities pertaining to different foreign markets are only coordinated to a limited extent.

In stage four, the many foreign markets are handled by different, worldwide goods and
services units, constituting an extensive network of delivery, services, and information
relationships that, as a whole, manage all international and national activities. The domi-
nant role of the domestic market as the focus of company activities is reduced to the point
that it disappears completely. Many companies undertake a process of reorganization at

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 this point to ensure the smooth integration of national and international business, where
a structure oriented towards regional or individual product matters replaces the interna-
tional division.

Innovative organizational forms for international market development shift their focus
from managing the involvement of local intermediaries and methods of realizing capital
transactions. They aim at reducing the number of capital-related activities in an interna-
tional context whilst facilitating and accelerating critical transactions. Cooperations and
networks as well as e-commerce are examples of innovative organizational forms.

Given that small and medium-sized companies often reach their limits very early in the
internationalization processes, innovative organizational forms for international market
development are usually based on a cooperative approach. The companies jointly tap for-
eign markets with one or several partners. Such cooperation often serves to close resource
gaps. In this regard, cooperation is not only a type of market entry but also an approach
that provides the resources needed for internationalization. Cooperation can thus be con-
sidered an instrument for facilitating and accelerating the development of new national
markets. Another advantage of cooperation is that while the cooperation is often kept flex-
ible, the partners nevertheless share the business risk (Bühner, 2004). However, the non-
binding element of the cooperation also entails disadvantages: the quality of the coopera-
tion strongly depends on the commitment of the individual members to focus on their
individual core competencies (Kutschker & Schmid, 2008).

Cooperatively tapping foreign markets broadens the strategic focus of the companies
involved in this type of partnership, as not only is the position of the individual partners
important but also the network’s positioning on the market. The competitive position of
the cooperation is, at times, more important for success than the role of each of the indi-
vidual members of the network as partnered companies can only reach their objectives
when their cooperation is successful.

The Role of the Internet

Any discussion of distribution would be incomplete without mentioning the role that the
Internet has played (and continues to play) in the ability of companies to get their goods
and services to consumers. The Internet fulfills two key functions in international market-
ing:

• It is a marketing tool with constantly evolving means for communicating and interacting
with customers. In this respect, companies can use Internet platforms for directly
addressing and engaging in ongoing dialogues with individual consumers.
• It is not only used for initiating business but is also a distinct virtual market place for
goods that can be delivered directly through the Internet.

The Internet is increasingly influencing interactions between suppliers and consumers

which directly affect decisions related to international distribution. Almost every region of
the world can be reached through the Internet; as an instrument, it provides highly effi-
cient, simultaneous access to almost all national markets which is especially advanta-
geous for small and medium-sized enterprises.

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Using the Internet successfully for international distribution depends on several critical
success factors: Critical success factors
Critical success factors for
using the Internet for
• Accessibility: Target customers have to be able to access the Internet and have the skills international distribution
to effectively navigate this technology. These opportunities differ considerably in the include accessibility.
different countries.
• Cultural influences: These influences will strongly influence the acceptability of Internet
use in purchasing behavior. Research has shown that the popularity of teleshopping
and mail orders varies according to different cultural groups; the role of the Internet is
not unlimited in this respect.
• Negative feedback within the distribution system: Using the Internet may result in nega-
tive feedback if the company’s foreign distribution partners are afraid that they may be
replaced by online distribution channels in the medium term. This can easily occur
when the Internet is used parallel to a traditional distribution system and their spheres
of action (e.g. target groups, products) overlap.
• Market transparency: Taking advantage of regional or national differences on interde-
pendent markets is a major challenge of international marketing. Using the Internet can
cause severe problems in that regard. One feature of the Internet is that everybody has
universal access to information. By providing information about their goods and serv-
ices, companies inadvertently contribute to increasing market transparency; consumers
are able to gather a lot of information as they have access to the offers of many alterna-
tive suppliers. This market transparency supports external pressure to differentiate pri-
ces.
• Mobile applications: Even when companies do not use the Internet as an instrument for
internationalization, consumers are increasingly able to exchange information and
opinions about products using social media applications. The development of the Inter-
net into more interactive forms has taken away companies’ exclusive control over prod-
uct and price information. Consumers do not necessarily need information from com-
panies as they get, and many times prefer, relevant data from other consumers. This
serves also to increase market transparency and puts pressure on producers to ade-
quately respond to the preferences of consumers.
• Costs: An economic analysis of using the Internet as a distribution channel must con-
sider both positive revenue-related effects and also the costs of maintaining a competi-
tive website. These costs are often grossly inferior in contrast with the costs of develop-
ing a traditional distribution and partner network with comparable market coverage.
However, an economic analysis shows that websites have to be planned, implemented,
and controlled in a systematic fashion, just as with any other marketing tool.

8.3 Potential for Standardization

Standardization in distribution policy mainly refers to the design of distribution channels.
In terms of branding, the goal is to pursue an internationally consistent brand presence at
all brand touch points. To reach this goal, in all leadership and controlling decisions, the
company needs to consider any possible implications for the cross-national target posi-
tioning of the brand. In real life, distribution policy is adjusted to the greatest extent out of
all available marketing instruments (Powers & Loyka, 2010).

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 Touch point Given the relationship between distribution and branding, the basic distribution channel
A touch point refers to the structure should be standardized as much as possible on international markets. This is
interface between the
brand and consumers or important in part because any significant differentiation has the potential to cause confu-
other stakeholders, i.e. sion regarding the brand image. When a company sells high-quality fashion items only in
any point of contact that exclusive boutiques on its domestic market, both internal and external target groups will
consumers have with the
company or its products. perceive this type of distribution as consistent with an upscale brand. If the company
expanded their distribution channels abroad to include department stores, there is a pos-
sibility that the upscale image of the brand would not be transferred to the foreign mar-
kets. The use of different intermediaries could lead to a brand identity conflict between
employees on the domestic market and in the foreign branch office. The two perceptions
—exclusive fashion brand vs. compartment store brand—are not compatible and have the
potential to disrupt consistent communication and coherent behavior between staff
groups.

Producers have the greatest influence over brand management when establishing direct
distribution in both national and international markets. There will be potential to stand-
ardize distribution channels internationally if the national markets to be developed are
comparatively homogenous. In the example of the fashion brand, distribution channels
could be relatively standardized by designing brand-specific stores and then employing
and training staff according to specific criteria. However, if the countries are quite differ-
ent, opportunities for standardizing distribution can be quite limited. Added to this, dis-
tinct local expertise is needed for choosing store locations and designing stores to appeal
to a specific market. Without in-depth knowledge of the urban centers and settlement
structures of the foreign market, it can be difficult to find and develop the right retail loca-
tions.

Authorized dealer systems also have great potential for standardization in international
distribution policy. Under these systems, authorized dealers are contractually obliged to
design distribution policy instruments as defined by the producer. The authorized dealer
buys and sells the goods under his own name and on his own account but is often obliged
to purchase certain minimum quantities of products. In contrast to franchising, authorized
dealers are allowed to choose their own design for their company and combine this with
the name and the trademark of the producer. Authorized dealer systems are often used in
the automotive industry (Meffert, Burmann, & Kirchgeorg, 2008).

E-commerce E-commerce is another type of distribution that has become increasingly important in
E-commerce refers to past years for business-to-business transactions (e.g. CISCO), business-to-consumer (e.g.
business conducted
through electronic Amazon), and even consumer-to-consumer transactions (e.g. eBay). The website used to
means. By and large, it sell goods over the Internet may be standardized extensively across markets in terms of
refers to business conduc- functionality, design, and product presentation. However, it should be adjusted to cater
ted over the Internet.
for country-specific conditions e.g. language, types of payment, and legal information.
Amazon, for instance, offers different types of payment on its individual national plat-
forms (e.g. customers in Japan can only choose “cash on delivery” payment). However,
considerable price discrimination has to be viewed critically. As the consumers in e-com-
merce have access to the offers on all national markets, they can easily compare the differ-
ent prices and, if prices differ significantly, they can also order goods in the least expensive
country (Meffert, Burmann, & Becker, 2010).

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Standardizing a company’s distribution policy often has a positive influence on branding
and the profits of a company. A precondition for such an outcome is a strong match
between the type of distribution channels and the positioning of the brand. A differenti-
ated international distribution policy that ignores aspects that are relevant to brand posi-
tioning such as the selection of stores may have negative results.

However, various factors limit the development of internationally consistent distribution

channels. The structure of national distribution networks has often evolved over decades.
In the Middle East, for instance, it is still common to buy convenience goods on bazaars
and markets whereas consumers in the Western industrial countries source almost all
these goods from retail stores.

Finally, the potential for standardizing the personal sale of goods and services also has to
be viewed critically in an international context. Personal sales are closely connected to a
national market’s cultural characteristics. “Silent language” aspects are especially impor-
tant in this respect. These aspects refer to communication signals that are not based on
linguistic expressions but on spatial factors (e.g. the size of an office as a symbol of hierar-
chic position) or temporal factors (e.g. different perceptions of punctuality in Scandinavia
and Africa or South America). Infringing on “silent language” norms in meetings or nego-
tiations will usually result in unsatisfactory results. Employees thus have to know the
meaning of conventions and traditions in order to ensure congruency between the sender
and receiver of messages (Birnik & Bowman, 2007).

Case study: International comparison of sales concept standardization

An American producer of electric cars has been successfully in US and European market
for years. The company itself is characterized by an open culture of communication as well
as sophisticated and strongly standardized sales and service guidelines. This approach
has resulted the company being held in high esteem by its customers and being known for
its capacity to innovate.

Backed by such successes, the company entered the Russian market three years ago. To
consider the new market’s specific cultural and economic features right from the start,
management teams in the target country were mainly staffed by domestic experts who
were assigned to implement the successful concepts of the mother company in Russia.
Unfortunately, so far the company is far from reaching previously determined objectives,
despite all employees making great efforts to try and achieve their objectives. Neverthe-
less, mistakes or problems cooperating with the Russians are regularly reported at a later
stage or not at all. Furthermore, the new foreign branch office continues to show poor
process quality.

Repeated requests for optimization proposals and a joint workshop of Americans and Rus-
sians have not resulted in noteworthy improvements. The company begins exploring pos-
sible causes for this lack of progress.

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 A careful analysis revealed that the concepts established for conducting personal sales
and the suggestions aimed at generating innovation could not be used on the Russian
market. The situation could not be improved, neither with the help of local experts nor in
the joint workshop, because the perceptions of leadership and negotiations differed so
considerably.

Table 10: How Western and Russian Managers Perceive Leadership

Perception of leadership of Western managers Perception of leadership of Russian managers

• Proactive employees who introduce their own • Employees are expected to focus on the defined
suggestions are welcomed and even expected. task according to their job description.
• Mistakes are seen as opportunities to improve, • Mistakes are forbidden and should be sanc-
are reported where necessary, and should not be tioned.
repeated. • One’s own actions should not influence the job
• Long-term, strategic thinking is a critical part of of other employees.
the company.

Source: Created on behalf of IU (2016).

SUMMARY
Internationally active firms have significantly more differentiated and
complex options for designing distribution policy than companies oper-
ating nationally. The traditional differentiation in distribution policy is to
distinguish between direct and indirect distribution channels or
schemes.

A multi-channel system may be necessary in international distribution

systems as it allows for a differentiated handling of different segments
and target groups. An extensive verticalization of the producers (in the
sense of expanding the depth of added value while focusing on the sales
market) is one feature of integrative distribution systems. The producers
are then not only in direct contact with the final customers in terms of
communication but also in terms of distribution.

In an international context, cooperative distribution strategies provide

the opportunity to simultaneously increase a company’s influence on
the final customers and realize cost advantages in the distribution chan-
nels.

Companies may choose between various alternative organizational

forms for tapping foreign target markets such as indirect export, direct
export, license or franchise agreements, joint ventures, subsidiaries, and
contract manufacturing.

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The Internet fulfills two functions in international marketing. Firstly, it is
a marketing tool, developing new ways of communicating and interact-
ing with customers. Secondly, it is a distinct virtual market place for
goods that can be delivered directly through the Internet.

Standardization in distribution policy mainly refers to a standardized

design of distribution channel structure. Producers have the greatest
influence through direct distribution, both nationally and internation-
ally. Authorized dealer systems also allow for a high standardization
potential in international distribution policy to be realized.

E-commerce is another type of distribution that has become increas-

ingly important in the past years. The site used to sell goods over the
Internet can be standardized extensively in terms of functionality,
design, and product presentation.

The respective positive contributions of standardization have to be con-

sidered, as they have the potential to counteract possible obstacles
resulting from each national market’s historical structures.

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 UNIT 9
INTERNATIONAL MARKETING MIX

STUDY GOALS

On completion of this unit, you will have learned …

– how to design marketing measures with a domestic market orientation.

– what needs to be considered for marketing measures with a global orientation.
– how to adjust the marketing mix to match local conditions.
– why “dumping” is a particular problem for companies with a multinational orientation.
 9. INTERNATIONAL MARKETING MIX

Introduction
The specific design of the international marketing mix essentially depends on a compa-
ny’s basic orientation. The main issues for companies to address are whether marketing
instruments should be adjusted to the country-specific conditions of new markets and to
what extent similar or even identical measures should be used on each market. Each com-
pany has to determine their own respective level of differentiation or standardization for
each instrument and these decisions must be based on their underlying orientation.

“Home country orientation” (associated with an “ethnocentric” approach) and “global ori-
entation” (associated with a “geocentric” approach) are both characterized by the use of
highly standardized marketing tools. Companies with home country orientation focus on
their domestic markets as the starting point for standardization and then transfer the
established marketing concepts to the foreign markets, adjusting these to only a minor
degree for each national market. Companies with a global orientation focus on the global
market as their starting point. They base their selection and use of marketing tools on the
commonalities between national markets. Thus global orientation has a solid interna-
tional basis whereas home country orientation is characterized by a strong national start-
ing point. By contrast, “multinational orientation” (associated with a “polycentric”
approach) entails a greatly differentiated marketing mix, which includes the development
of national marketing strategies that are adjusted to the respective specific conditions of
the individual countries.

9.1 Home Country Orientation

Companies with a home country orientation transfer the marketing mix they have devel-
oped for their home market to foreign markets. Under a so-called lead country approach,
the concepts utilized for market development on the domestic market (“lead country”) are
implemented on all markets abroad.

A pivotal feature of home country orientation is that companies hardly adapt their market-
ing policy to accommodate features of international markets. In many cases, the only
exceptions are adjustments made for legal reasons or as a result of different technical
standards. The home country orientation, with its underlying ethnocentric philosophy, is
usually based either on the assumption that concepts implemented in the home country
will have positive effects on international markets or that foreign business is not impor-
tant enough to further adjust or adapt marketing measures.

An approach based on home country orientation can usually only be used when the char-
acteristics of the foreign markets such as communication requirements, distribution struc-
tures, possible use of products, etc., are for the most part the same as the home market. If
this is not the case, implementing a home country orientation approach for market devel-

128
opment needs to be reconsidered (de Mooij, 2004). We will now explore the features of
international product, pricing, promotion, and distribution policy for companies with a
home country orientation.

Home Country Orientation: International Product Policy

Companies with a home country orientation transfer their largely unmodified products
from their domestic markets onto other markets. Such a transfer is based on the underly-
ing attitude that it is not necessary or desirable to adjust to foreign markets. This is also
referred to as “ethnocentric standardization” of product policy (Bolz, 1992). Companies
will often aim to not only standardize the core features of a product but also all additional
components such as packaging, marking, and product-related services. However, changes
may have to be made if there are significant language differences, different legal provi-
sions, or deviating technological standards. If there are components that need to undergo
major changes before being brought to international markets, companies with home
country orientation will often opt to not develop these markets, as this type of orientation
is most often linked to realizing economy of scale effects (which are especially relevant in
international product policy).

Case study: Built-in flexibility of mobile devices

The cellphone market is a good example of a market where products cannot be globally
standardized owing to differences in local technical restrictions. American GSM networks
work at frequency ranges of around 850 or 1,900 MHz whereas typical frequency ranges in
Europe are around 900 or 1,800 MHz. Mobile device producers have solved this problem by
developing triband or quadband phones with built-in flexibility, meaning that they work
at both the US and European frequency ranges. Users just have to switch between the
different modes. Apart from the major advantage for companies, who can now standard-
ize their products, customers benefit considerably from the capacity to use the same
mobile device on different continents.

Brand policy is another important issue. Companies with a home country orientation
standardize their brand policy across countries, taking the domestic market appearance of
the brand (i.e. brand name or trademark) and transferring it to foreign markets. In doing
so, they have to consider aspects such as linguistic or visual differences that may entail
small adjustments even when a home country-related approach is pursued (Zentes, Swo-
boda, & Schramm-Klein, 2010). A commonly cited example is expansion of the fast-food
chain KFC “Kentucky Fried Chicken”. As a result of strict laws in Quebec, Canada require
businesses with an English name to create a French equivalent, and thus in cities such as
Montreal, KFC is known as PFK, “Poulet Frit Kentucky”.

Home Country Orientation: International Pricing Policy

Of all the different marketing mix instruments, pricing policy is perhaps the most influ-
enced by local factors. While price discrimination recognizes the different economic fea-
tures of each national market and adjusts the prices per country in an attempt to take
advantage of consumer willingness to pay different prices, a home country orientation
results in an international standardization of prices. This can be done by determining a

129
 Ex works consistent net price ex works, regardless of where the products will be sold eventually.
Ex works is an interna- Costs for transport, customs, insurance, or local services then have to be added at the
tional trade term used
when a producer makes a buyer’s expense and risk. This approach of “cost-related pricing” corresponds to a dual
product available to the pricing strategy. However, the focus on determining net prices may lead to the problem
consumer at the site of that prices on foreign markets are significantly higher than on the home market. This is
their business but all
other costs associated also called “price escalation”. Home country-oriented pricing policy is characterized by
with transport are at the the fact that it is neither geared towards consistent net prices nor towards completely
buyers expense.
standardized retail prices. It is rather geared towards price orientation or price levels on
the domestic market.

Home Country Orientation: International Promotion Policy

International promotion policy for companies with a home country orientation is based
on the promotion strategy already realized on the domestic market. In general, the same
communication messages and media are used on all markets (Pepels, 2001). A precondi-
tion for such an approach is that the message communicated in promotional activities can
both be understood and evoke positive associations on international markets.

Such a standardized promotion policy entails cost advantages, e.g. the possibility to avoid
spending money on international promotion policies more than once. Another essential
advantage of a standardized approach is that companies may develop an internationally
consistent image. In this way, the image remains distinct and the company can utilize syn-
ergies that occur through the overlapping of international media (Doole & Lowe, 2004).
However, there are disadvantages to standardized promotion policies, resulting from
ignoring cultural- and country-specific considerations.

Case study: Ethnocentric promotion policy

US brands such as Polo Ralph Lauren or Tommy Hilfiger utilize standardized ethnocentric
promotion strategies. The companies clearly emphasize that the brands come from the
USA through the product design (e.g. red, white, and blue colors or integrating/printing
the USA flag onto the products) and when designing communication media and mes-
sages.

Home Country Orientation: International Distribution Policy

International distribution for companies with a home country orientation involves trans-
ferring the distribution strategy from the domestic market onto foreign markets. However,
the concepts realized on the home market are only the starting point for determining the
distribution strategy; the international distribution policy often entails the development
of a more specific distribution system, i.e. establishing “more direct” distribution channels
on the markets abroad. Apart from establishing their own distribution institutions such as
field service and sales offices (which is often especially important for companies with a
home country orientation), the development of contractual distribution systems also
plays a major role in establishing distribution channels.

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Transferring the home market concept entails one major advantage; that is, the company
can use their previous experience to inform policy decisions. The option to develop a
standardized (and centralized) distribution system and potentially coordinate distribution
across multiple market can result in other advantages. However, to realize such advan-
tages, the internationally active company has to balance potential opportunities (such as
market position on the targeted markets and transfer of experience for managing distribu-
tion channels) with risks (e.g. dependency on intermediaries) in determining whether a
home country distribution policy will work on a foreign market. The company has to
decide whether cooperating with the same intermediaries as on the domestic market is a
good strategy as well; a standardized approach that falls back on the same intermediaries
on different country markets may facilitate and accelerate the access to the new market
but it also has the potential to inhibit it.

9.2 Global Orientation

Global orientation, just like home country orientation, is characterized by an extensive
standardization of marketing tools, i.e. largely identical product lines, global brands,
widely consistent advertising and sales promotion measures, standardized distribution
structures, and high levels of international integration. However, this type of standardiza-
tion is not based on the unmodified transfer of domestic market concepts. Rather, it is
designed, right from the start, to cater for the global market (Townsend, Yeniyurt, & Talay,
2009).

As is for home country orientation, country-of-origin aspects may play a role in the degree
of standardization. However, country-of-origin effects (also known as “made-in image”) Country-of-origin
are more important for companies with a global orientation than home country orienta- effects
Country-of-origin effects
tion strategies (Zentes, Swoboda, & Morschett, 2004). Shifting production to foreign mar- refer to the change in con-
kets may result in a “blurring” of the products’ original image because the products are no sumer attitude towards a
longer necessarily produced in the country in which the brand was created. Internation- product when it is label-
led with the country it
ally active companies with global orientation thus have to decide to what extent they can was “made-in” or “made-
and want to be perceived as “made-in” their country of production. Depending on the by”.
country, the “made-in” association may have positive or negative connotations. When
value creation across borders is strong, companies tend to detach their brand from a
national image and no longer label the products with “made in”, but with “made by”
(Pries, 1999). Such a made-by orientation only works with strong brands and, in most
cases, is still connected to a certain image of the respective home country.

Case study: Made-in versus made-by effects

Why does promoting a brand with the label “made by” not always lead to significant
effects? The significance of “made by” strongly depends on the respective industry. Volks-
wagen uses the expressions “Made by Volkswagen” or “Engineered by Volkswagen” in
order to transfer the same values inherent in the label “Made in Germany” to all Volkswa-
gen products, regardless of where in the world they are actually produced. “Made by Mer-
cedes” has also been used for years, focusing on the brand instead of the specific produc-
tion site. In the automotive industry, however, more than simply using the label “made

131
 by” has to be done in order to distinguish the brands. While the “made by” label is very
important, consumers still perceive a brand’s home country as extremely significant. For
other industries, “made by” is the only relevant factor. This holds especially true for the
textile industry. Companies such as Adidas or Nike no longer manufacture their products
in the brands’ home countries, but mostly in East Asia. Though consumers are generally
aware of this situation and may have some reservations about their clothing being manu-
factured in these countries, they accept it often because the focus is placed on the brand:
the “made by” effect (Brandmeyer, Wittig, & Haller, 2003).

Let’s look now at features of international product, pricing, promotion, and distribution
policy for companies with a global orientation.

Global Orientation: Product Policy

Global orientation entails extensive product standardization. Products are designed to

address an international target group and companies do not plan to make any adjust-
ments to accommodate for specific national conditions. Products are developed in such a
way to allow for a consistent range of use and are only adapted in the face of specific tech-
nical or legal regulations in each national market. Built-in flexibility (such as in the case of
mobile phones) can be one strategy to realize this type of standardization.

Global products are designed to satisfy the demands of the global market. One option for
such conceptual designs is to consider cross-country commonalities (the “common
denominator approach”) to create a standardized product (the “premium prototype
approach”) (Walters & Toyne, 1989). This approach is more frequently seen with expensive
products, as “wealthier” consumer segments show very strong tendencies towards con-
Premium prototype vergence across markets. Using a premium prototype approach, products are tailored to
approach a high-end consumer segment and then sold worldwide in a standardized form (Bolz,
A premium prototype
approach is when a com- 1992). Products that are not oriented towards a specific culture such as luxury, invest-
pany identifies the most ment, and high-tech goods are especially suitable for such global strategies.
essential features or
demanding customers or
conditions of use and Case study: Barbie goes around the world
designs a standardized
product to meet these
Large toy manufacturers have abandoned one of their fundamental beliefs: that children
conditions.
of different nationalities want different kinds of toys. This has had far-reaching conse-
quences, both for children and companies. In the past, major toy manufacturers such as
Mattel, Hasbro, and Lego varied their products from country to country. Today, they are
essentially developing and selling the same toys in all countries. This has stimulated wide-
spread marketing campaigns, in which boys and girls around the globe are introduced to
masses of identical dolls, cars, and other toys. Mattel, for instance, brought their “Barbie
as Rapunzel” doll onto 59 national markets simultaneously in 2002. In 12 months, the US
company generated sales of about 200 million US-dollar with the Barbie doll and the con-
nected merchandising products, almost 50 % of which was generated from abroad. In
many countries, the doll made it onto the list of the 10 best-selling toys, among them the
UK, the US, Italy, Spain, France, and Germany. And the doll also become a moneymaker in
Asia, prompting Mattel to stop the production of dolls with Asian features (Der Tagesspie-
gel, 2003).

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Global Orientation: International Pricing and Terms Policy

A standardized pricing policy approach is another feature of global orientation. As with

home country orientated companies, companies with a global orientation aim to establish
a consistent price level on different foreign markets. However, in contrast to the ethnocen-
tric approach, prices are not determined by transferring a lead country’s price level to
other foreign markets, but rather by determining a level that can be realized on all foreign
markets (Doole & Lowe, 2004).

Standardizing prices under a global orientation approach mainly refers to price levels and
price positioning. Implementing a consistent price level depends particularly on whether
the target groups in the different countries have a similar capacity and willingness to pay.
The degree to which markets are related to one another (otherwise known as the level of
integration), whereby activity on one market affects activity on another, also plays a key
role in price standardization as shown in the following table.

Table 11: Factors Influencing Price Standardization on Non Integrated and Integrated
Markets

Factors Non integrated markets Integrated markets

Price discrimination may cause Comparatively unproblematic Problematic due to ongoing and
image problems as information transparency is frequent exchange of informa-
low tion

Level of buying power in target Varying Converging

countries

Preferences of consumers Varying Converging

Tendency towards arbitrage Very low High

Cost situation Generally differs Tends to be similar

Existence of re-importers Rather isolated More common

Inflation and currency risks May be significant Generally low; nonexistent in

monetary unions (e.g. Eurozone)

Source: Created on behalf of IU (2016).

Globally oriented companies often address whole global segments as target groups, and
these target groups are often characterized by a high level of international transparency.
Thus any attempt at price discrimination has the potential to damage the company image
and increase uncertainty among consumers. This can in turn increase the risk of grey mar-
kets or re-imports (Bradley, 2005).

Case study: European pricing policy of automanufacturers triggers grey markets

Within the EU, almost all car manufacturers pursue differentiated pricing policies, while
implementing a high level of standardization in their models. Such an approach makes
sense because the willingness to pay for specific cars differs across Europe. This is based

133
 on different earning capacities and variations in consumer use (e.g. transportation, lei-
sure, prestige) but it is also connected to different control systems and assemblies in the
EU countries. Reduced prices on some markets may result in larger market share and
profit growth for these markets but at the same time lead to declining profits on markets
with quite high prices. This leads us to the issue of gray markets.

Gray market On gray markets, goods are legally sold while circumventing private-law agreements, rec-
A gray market is a market ognized commercial practices, or fiscal regulations. This circumvention is possible
where a product is
bought and sold outside because traders or consumers use regional price differences. In this way, individual mar-
of a company’s regular ket participants try to gain advantages. Types of gray markets include (Simon & Wiese,
distribution channels. 1992; Diller, 2008; Markus & Chen, 2002):

• Parallel imports: These are non-authorized exports from the product’s home country.
Parallel imports happen when the price in the home country is lower than in the coun-
try where the exports are headed.
• Re-imports: These are non-authorized returns of products to their home country. This
practice makes economic sense when the prices in other markets are lower than in the
home country.
• Lateral gray markets: This term refers to the non-authorized flow of goods between dif-
ferent countries (independent of the home country). When the home country exports to
a second country, the products may be sold on from this second country to a third
country where higher prices can be realized. Lateral gray markets are the most difficult
to manage for producers.

Global Orientation: International Promotion Policy

Globally oriented promotion strategies involve the worldwide standardization of commu-

nication messages and instruments. They usually address a global target group and are
not attached to a specific geographical area. The communicated message and the overall
appearance of promotional efforts are geared towards cross-country target groups and
implemented in a standardized fashion throughout the world. Standardizing promotion
policy entails many advantages, in particular, benefits associated with economies of scale
(i.e. fixed costs for promotional activities from conceptualization right through to rolling
out the international strategy are lower per unit).

Developing a consistent image internationally is one of the essential objectives of a pro-

motion policy. However, standardized approaches are especially problematic when it
comes to communication policies. Globally oriented approaches have to consider differ-
ences in cultures, languages, and legal regulations (such as advertising bans, constraints
regarding the use of specific sales promotion instruments, etc.). This is why, from the very
outset of conceptualizing the product and brand, it must be kept in mind that promotion
strategies have to be used globally. Companies often respond to this challenge by limiting
or avoiding linguistic elements so that the marketing instruments may be used through-
out the world. If linguistic elements have to be used, one common approach is to use Eng-
lish as this language is relevant and accepted in many countries. Using English is an exam-
ple of the common denominator strategy.

134
In many countries, different types of communication media are available and used to
varying extents by the different target groups. Such variety in media consumption and
availability is especially important for global promotion policies, even if promotion activi-
ties are focusing on converging segments with similar features and behaviors (Czinkota &
Ronkainen, 2004). Apart from country-specific media, cross-country media also plays a
role for globally oriented promotion strategies, especially as many households have satel-
lite or cable TV, and younger populations are increasingly consuming television via the
Internet. Public relations are a major challenge for companies with a global orientation;
not only are local target groups are important for international public relations, but the
role of cross-country and “global” interest groups continues to grow, and specific instru-
ments need to be used to access these groups.

Global Orientation: International Distribution Policy

Companies with global orientation also standardize their international distribution poli-
cies to a large extent. Vertical distribution channels can especially affect the global
appearance of the brand. For companies with global orientation, consideration of this
effect often result in efforts to develop independent distribution systems. Strategies used
to realize these systems are controlled distribution and secured distribution while using
own or contractual/cooperative distribution channels.

Case study: EvoBus

Since it was founded in 1995, EvoBus GmbH has been responsible for the European distri-
bution of the bus brands Setra and Mercedes-Benz, companies that both belong to the
Daimler Group. Today, the company has its own sales companies in 20 European national
markets which also distribute the bus brands, all of them controlled by the central head-
quarters in Stuttgart. This is almost a standardized distribution system; the form of the
European sales companies, which are 100 %-owned subsidiaries, is an integral precondi-
tion for implementing such a centralized and standardized approach. The main advan-
tages of this distribution structure are that the company can get in direct contact with its
international customers and maintain control over the entire distribution process from
production to sales (EvoBus GmbH, 2016).

Logistics are closely connected to the selection and design of distribution channels. Com-
panies with global orientation often standardize their logistics system as well. Realizing
consistent logistics entails advantages such as cost savings (e.g. due to learning curve
effects, economies of scale, etc.). However, country-specific conditions must be taken into
account with logistics systems, e.g. the number and density or geographical distribution of
the customers and suppliers, or different topographical or infrastructural conditions (Zen-
tes, Swoboda, & Morshett, 2004).

135
 9.3 Multinational Orientation
An essential feature of multinational orientation is adjusting the marketing mix to local
conditions to the maximum extent possible. This involves country-specific or regional dif-
ferentiation of the marketing tools. Contrary to the cost efficiencies associated with stand-
ardization under home country orientation or global orientation, multinational
approaches have comparatively high costs for processes such as market research, product
development and manufacturing, and promotion. The main criticisms of adopting a multi-
national orientation are potential duplication of processes and costs, intensive focus on
local conditions at the expense of global growth, and limited capacity to utilize home
country expertise and experience.

The following aspects are advantages of multinational orientation (Müller & Gelbrich,
2004):

• Developing markets in a differentiated way facilitates a better understanding of the

local markets which improves the company’s ability to react to local market require-
ments (e.g. when consumer behavior or competitive conditions change).
• Differentiation allows for increasing market shares and sales on the foreign markets as
market development is more intense as a result of adopting targeted and individualized
approaches. Local customers may feel more connected to the brand if considering
country-specific conditions leads to the development of “local images” for products.

Multinational Orientation: International Product Policy

Product policy of companies with multinational orientation focuses on adapting products

and services to the conditions and demands of local markets. The starting point for such
country-specific adaptations is the basic conceptualization of the product mix for foreign
markets. Whereas under standardized strategies, existing concepts are multiplied on the
respective markets, multinational approaches entail adjusting the product mix to specific
countries. This can either be done by diversifying the width or depth of the existing prod-
uct mix or by using a completely different product mix on new markets.

Product differentiation Product differentiation does not necessarily have to be based on countries but may also
Product differentiation be done at the following levels (Berndt, Fantapié Altobelli, & Sander, 2005):
refers to the process of
changing the features of a
product to develop it for a • product variants for each country segment
specific target group. • country-specific product variants in every target country
• a limited number of product variants for comparatively homogeneous country groups
• several product variants for cross-country target groups that have similar needs regard-
less of where consumers live

Differentiating the core of a product can make international products similar or com-
pletely different, depending on the level of modification. When looking at the different
types of goods, consumer goods, and foods in particular, generally tend to have a greater
level of differentiation than industrial goods (de Mooij, 2004).

136
Packaging is differentiated due to technical requirements (e.g. due to climatic conditions)
as well as legal and societal framework conditions (e.g. regulations about information on
ingredients or ecological considerations) which may all vary according to country. Such
adaptations often take into account cultural, historical, and linguistic differences, which
can be addressed by diversifying the colors, shapes, symbolism, and labeling of not only
the product by also the packaging (Homburg & Krohmer, 2009).

Branding policy of companies with multinational orientation is characterized by a differ-

entiated approach for designing trademarks and brand names. In this regard, multina-
tional strategies mean “local brand strategies” or “regional brand strategies”, entailing the
design of trademark and/or brand name by country or regions (Schuiling & Kapferer,
2004).

Differentiation efforts are the greatest when it comes to service components, i.e. customer
service. Such service features play an important role in the investment goods sector. While
clients perceive customer service, spare parts service, training, and the like (all compo-
nents of aftersales service) as equally important, the service features provided during the
sales process also need to be differentiated to a large extent, e.g. product descriptions
have to be written in several languages and customer consulting has to be adjusted to
specific cultural factors.

Multinational Orientation: International Pricing and Terms Policy

In order to take advantage of the different level of willingness to pay, companies with mul-
tinational orientation gear their pricing towards the individual national markets. Many
local factors affect the differentiation of pricing policy.

Prices may be determined based on competition, costs, or demand. Different factors in

each of the national markets will affect pricing policy in different ways. That said, a multi-
national price strategy may also lead to largely similar pricing structures on multiple mar-
kets if they have similar characteristics. From a macroeconomic or societal view, the fol-
lowing factors lead to different prices (Zentes, Swoboda, & Schramm-Klein, 2010):

• Economic development and buying power of a national market: In order to reach a criti-
cal mass of buyers, prices may have to be kept low on some markets. This may result in
international price differences.
• Political and currency risks: Companies may have to safeguard themselves against such
risks which will be reflected in pricing.
• Rate of inflation: This factor may necessitate differentiated pricing, especially in coun-
tries with high levels of inflation.
• Legal framework: This can affect the price range (such as maximum prices defined by
the state or price intervals for specific products) or possibilities for vertical price fixing
(which is illegal in many countries).
• State influence: International differences between prices may result from tax policies,
customs, fees, or consumer protection and producer protection regulations. Multina-
tional pricing policy furthermore has to consider cultural influences and the cultural
background of the customers (Müller & Gelbrich, 2004):

137
 • The role of prices and money in society: The attitudes towards money vary in the differ-
ent cultures. While money is a taboo in some countries, money and wealth are proudly
emphasized in others. Many cultures vary regarding the importance of the price level
(i.e. saving money vs. ostentatious consumption).
• The role of price as a key stimulus: Prices can be perceived as indicators for product
quality or brands. The extent to which this correlation exists depends on the different
cultures.
• Perception and assessment of prices: Price perception varies according to culture.
• Willingness to pay: In different cultures, products correspond to specific values and
moral concepts and the willingness to pay for them varies accordingly.

Dumping A significant issue in international context is the problem of dumping. Dumping is a form
Dumping is the act of geographical price discrimination. Under dumping strategies, prices for a specific,
exporting a product to a
country at a price lower standardized good that come from sources abroad are considerably lower than in the
than the standard price home country. However, even if such a price discrimination is justified (e.g. due to differ-
charged for that product ent market or competitive conditions), it is against international guidelines and illegal in
or at a price lower than
the cost of production. many countries. It is widely considered an unfair and harmful practice, as it threatens the
viability of local producers. Many countries implement quotas and tariffs to reduce the
potential for dumping. The following article is an example of a long-standing issue with
the dumping of steel products in the UK.

CASE STUDY: STEEL IMPORTS FROM CHINA INVESTIGATED BY

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
The European Commission is opening three investigations into steel products
made in China as cheap imports add to the woes of the UK industry.

It said it would not allow “unfair competition” to threaten Europe.

Producers of steel in the UK have laid off thousands recently and there have
been warnings of more to come.

It is the latest probe into cheap imports from non-EU countries. There are nine
other anti-dumping investigations already under way.

The EC said it was investigating steel products including seamless pipes, heavy
plates, and hot-rolled flat steel.

Europe also brought in provisional anti-dumping duties on cold-rolled flat steel

from China and Russia.

Recent months have been marked by a slew of job loss announcements from the
UK’s remaining steel producers, most of which is foreign-owned these days. […]

138
 EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said in a statement: “We cannot
allow unfair competition from artificially cheap imports to threaten our industry.
I am determined to use all means possible to ensure that our trading partners
play by the rules.” […]

Last month, the steel industry warned of more job losses as a result of the EU’s
failure to impose high import tariffs.

UK Steel said that Chinese companies have taken more than 45 % of one part of
the market, the UK rebar market, having had none of it four years ago. […]

Demand for steel worldwide has not returned to pre-financial crash levels. With
economies—particularly China’s—still seeing weak growth, global demand for
steel is set to remain sluggish, falling by 1.7 % in 2015 and rising by 0.7 % in
2016. […]

At the same time, global steel prices have fallen sharply. Meanwhile, China’s own
economic slowdown has led Chinese producers to seek export markets as their
home demand has stalled.

As a result, UK imports of Chinese steel have increased dramatically. In 2014 the

UK imported 687,000 tonnes of steel from China compared to 303,000 tonnes
the year before.

Source:Bowler, 2016.

There are different types of dumping, depending on the respective objective being pur-
sued. Such goals include a quick entry of foreign markets (penetration dumping), super-
seding potential competitors (defensive dumping), or compensating cyclical fluctuations
in demand (cyclical dumping). However, dumping may also result from market-related
forms of pricing (unintentional dumping) (Czinkoita & Ronkainen, 2004; Diller, 2008; Kos-
tecki, 1991).

Multinational Orientation: International Promotion Policy

Multinational orientation implies that international promotion policy is adjusted to suit

the local conditions (e.g. at regional or country level). Both the communication message
and communication media should be adapted locally. The following list includes some of
the parameters to be considered when designing international promotion policy (Papa-
vassiliou & Stathakopoulus, 1997):

• Level of product and brand differentiation: Decisions to be made as part of a promotion

policy are based on the design of product and branding policy respectively.
• Promotion policy targets and strategies: These can be geared towards country-specific
goals or higher-ranking product life cycle phases.

139
 • Structure of target groups and product range: These essentially determine the way cus-
tomers are addressed through promotion measures and may eventually also determine
the segment-specific buying and decision behaviors both in an individual-psychological
sense and a collective sense (e.g. role allocation for shopping).
• Cultural influences and behavior patterns: These impacts vary according to country and
target groups in the individual countries respectively.
• Linguistic aspects: In many cases it is not possible to use consistent linguistic elements.
Translations do not often work for communicating the same message as the original
marketing message.
• Availability of media: Relevant parameters are the types of media, journalistic formats,
or broadcasting times.
• Legal frameworks, laws, and regulations: These are relevant to questions of compara-
tive advertising, superlative advertising, or product-specific advertising bans, but also
in terms of voluntary self-restriction measures such as advertising restrictions for spe-
cific products or target groups (e.g. tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, pharmaceut-
ical products, etc.).

Not only the message but also the media to be used have to be adjusted to local condi-
tions, taking into consideration that alternative communication tools may have different
effects. The following table shows areas in which the outcome of communication may be
different from the intent due to cultural differences.

Table 12: Culturally Determined Differences in Communication

Consequences for the commu-

Instrument Culture influences nicator

Advertising • Attitudes towards advertising • Problematic due to the

• Decoding of ads exchange of information

Sponsoring • Acceptance of private, non- • Has to decide whether spon-

profit activities soring makes sense in the first
• Binding character of contracts place
• Cultural matching of sponsors • Legal vs. social commitment
and those receiving sponsor- • Analysis of cultural backdrop
ship of players

Public relations • To what extent public opinion • Targeted choice of culturally

can be influenced adequate strategies
• Role of the media (for cover-
age of companies)

Sales promotion • Effects of incentive systems • Using specific incentives

Source: Created on behalf of IU (2016).

Multinational Orientation: International Distribution Policy

As part of multinational orientation, country-specific distribution strategies are “custom-

ized” strategies. Adjusting to the conditions on the respective markets may even lead to
distribution strategies being tailored to specific clients, e.g. in investment goods compa-
nies.

140
In distribution policy, decisions have to be made about both vertical and horizontal distri-
bution, i.e. how many stages distribution should involve and how many players should
become active in each of these stages. Distribution structures for multinational oriented
companies are affected by some of the following factors (Meffert & Bolz, 1998):

• Product-related factors: the explanation required to use the product, product storage,
stability, and transportability, etc.
• Consumer-related factors: market volumes, geographical distribution, buying habits,
open-mindedness towards new distribution approaches, etc.
• Competition-related factors: type and number of competitors and competing products,
distribution channels of the competitors, competitive pressure, etc.
• Intermediary-related factors: size, financial power, strategic importance of the country
market, etc.
• Societal and legal factors: public opinion, moral concepts, existing distribution relation-
ships, distribution excepted for specific intermediaries, etc.

These parameters not only impact the distribution channel structure but also the market-
ing logistics. Multinational orientation is characterized by adjusting transportation and
storage structures to local conditions (e.g. different types of infrastructure, longer trans-
portation routes, climatic differences, etc.), which may entail the use of different means of
transportation or a peripheral storage location structure in order to meet these conditions
(Zentes, Swoboda, & Schramm-Klein, 2010).

SUMMARY
The marketing mix of companies active in international markets
depends on their fundamental orientation: home country, global, or
multinational.

Companies with a home country orientation transfer the marketing mix

they have developed for their home market onto foreign markets.
National products in the home market are transferred in a largely
unmodified fashion onto other markets. International promotion policy
for these companies is based on the promotion strategy realized on the
domestic market. In general, the same communication messages and
media are used on all markets. In distribution policy, consistent distribu-
tion channels are created by transferring the domestic market’s distribu-
tion strategy to the foreign markets.

Similar to companies with a home country orientation, those with a

global orientation are characterized by an extensive standardization of
marketing tools. Global orientation leads to an extensive standardiza-
tion of products, which are geared towards an international target group
and thus not adjusted to local conditions in any way. In pricing policy,
companies aim at realizing a consistent price level on different foreign
markets. Globally oriented promotion strategies involve standardized

141
 communication messages and instruments worldwide. In distribution
policy, particularly the vertical distribution channel structure assist in
establishing a global appearance/brand.

The essential feature of multinational orientation is adjusting the mar-

keting mix to local conditions to the greatest extent possible. Product
policy of companies with multinational orientation focuses on adapting
products and services to the conditions and demands of the local mar-
kets. Price determination is geared towards the individuality of the
country markets. International promotion policy too is adjusted to local
situations (e.g. at regional or country level). Country-specific distribu-
tion strategies are “customized” strategies.

142
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 LIST OF TABLES AND
FIGURES
Table 1: Assessment of Country Risks and Their Development Based on the BERI Index . 23

Figure 1: Portfolio Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Table 2: Evaluation of Portfolio Structure (A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Table 3: Evaluation of Portfolio Structure (B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Table 4: Evaluation Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Table 5: Qualitative Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Figure 2: Classifying National Markets in the Portfolio Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Table 6: Market Entry Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Table 7: Evaluation Criteria and Questions Regarding the Market Entry Strategy . . . . . . . 43

Figure 3: Basic Options for Internationally Active Trading Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Table 8: Advantages and Disadvantages of Traditional Brand Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Figure 4: Product Price Positioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Table 9: Promotion Policy Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Figure 5: Level of Differentiation/Standardization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Figure 6: Multi-Stage Model for an International Market Entry Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Table 10: How Western and Russian Managers Perceive Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Table 11: Factors Influencing Price Standardization on Non Integrated and Integrated Mar-
kets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Table 12: Culturally Determined Differences in Communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

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