Introduction
Globalization is regarded as a process wherein domestic companies establish their business in the overseas market for expanding business internationally. It helps entrepreneurs to maximize their turnover, market share and competitive position in the global marketplace. With the liberalization, there are various factors that encourage businesses to expand their operations in various countries i.e. increased connectedness due to information and communication technology development, high level of competition, social and political reforms and others.
Marketing plays an inevitable role in the successful expansion and international marketing is a process of exchanging goods and services across the globe in order to satisfy the varied needs and wants of people. The present case study is based on international marketing strategy, Marks and Spencer case study is taken into consideration. It is one of the top leading supermarkets in the UK it has offered a wide range of services to the customers at affordable prices. This case study mainly concerned with the effective development of international marketing strategy in terms of the marketing mix and market entry strategies. In this, various theories i.e. product mix decision, product life cycle, communication theory, and others will be examined for the successful global operations of M&S.
Task 1
International communication theory
Communication is extremely important for global marketers to expand and establish their business in another external market. According to P. Kotler, international communication is regarded as a process of exchanging information about products and services at a global level. In other words, communication across cross-country boundaries is referred to as global communication. Being a multinational enterprise, M&S can use various modes of global communication i.e. mass-media, telecommunication, cross-cultural communication, online advertisement, and others to interact globally.
In the modernized period, M&S must put focus upon advanced & latest technologies to promote their business in different nations of the world such as internet marketing, mass media, and others. In the current times, with the emergence of web2.0 technology, many companies are focusing on SMM wherein they advertise their products through social sites. Referring UK, there is a huge proportion of the population are internet users, therefore, it is considered really as an effective communication channel for M&S to promote their sales through SMM.
It helps to interact with people all over the world and deliver the necessary information about M&S’s product portfolio. Attract & innovative advertisement assists business to generate larger audiences and motivate them to purchase the offerings to satisfy their needs, which in turn, the company will be able to maximize their turnover and profitability and run a business successfully.
Opportunities and challenges:
International Marketing Mix
The international marketing strategy can be defined as marketing of goods and services outside the firm's home country. It indicates the integration and coordination of marketing activities across varied markets. Marketing strategy always is identical and build their brand and services according to the business environment of the foreign market.
Product: Standardization of product helps to achieve economies of scale along with the establishment of a consistent image across the market. Standardization of a product helps to satisfy consumers and helps to achieve success overseas.
Price: Price is the value that M&S charges from the product users in return for the product and service supplied. It must be decided in accordance with the consumer’s willingness and capability to pay. Affordable price policy is founded superior so that customer will be desire to consume the offered goods as it is available at reasonable prices. Mark and Spencer retail supermarket product prices are economical and customer approachable.
Place: Companies uses various modes of distribution channel for delivering the product and services. Every company has their own way of distribution. Marks and Spencer uses straight distribution channel towards the end user which are economical and fast. It provide various range of product it targets every age group of customers. Place of the distribution of product and services which can be its branches and home delivery services (Bertoli, 2013). All these mode of channel are economically convenient and suitable for all of the customers.
Promotion: Advertising of a product at the International level is the most critical task because it depends on the country culture, intense competition and other factors affects the company operations and profitability. Under the marketing strategy same brand of product and services are promote all over the world. Some of multinational companies are come up with theme based advertising approach which helps in extensive global customer research.
Global theme of advertisement are to be used when target customers have same taste and preference across the world. The purpose of international marketing i.e. online advertisement helps to reach and communicate to mass audience in more than one country. Target audience emotional sentiments, perception and interpretation level of symbol and stimuli is differ from country to country (Gilligan,and Hird, 2012).
Identical advertising tools to be used due to the multiple cultures that vary in terms of communication style, values and consumption pattern and helps in expanding the revenue and create sustainable image across the global market. In context to M&S, where wide range of product and services are to be offered so that it uses internet marketing where customers have ease access to the information about the various product line along with their prices. It is a convenient process towards the customer approach where all the products and services are executed on the same platform.
Product life cycle
Life of product depends on the stages, from when it is launched in international marketing. M&S every time before launching new product try to maximize its growth stage of product life cycle which is as follows:
Introduction Stage: In this stage, a new commodity is launched in the international market by the company. Buyers who appreciate products and knows about it will buy it at higher prices if the company offering good quality products.
Growth Stage: Survey of the international market is carried out to evaluate the demand for the commodity. And in this stage demand for commodities increases rapidly and the company earns a maximum profit.
Maturity Stage: In this stage, demand for commodity increases but slowly so the M&S offers products at a discounted price in order to increase sales.
Saturation Stage: At this stage, Demand for commodity reaches its maximum and the product has no further potential to increase. After this, the company need to decide and plan for a new commodity
Decline Stage: the Last stage for commodity, in this the product sales come to an end and it gets discontinued from the international market.
Product Adaptation
In this, the company modifies the existing product in order to attract more and more buyers of the internal national market. For this process M&S research market factors like:
Size: Size at which buyers are comfortable buying a particular commodity. This also includes the quantity of the product.
Packaging: This is the key point for every retailer because packaging of product attracts consumers and also lay a good impact in
international market.
Market entry strategy
A market entry strategy is a planned method of delivering goods and services to the target market. There are a variety of ways companies can enter a foreign market. Direct exporting is one of the most appropriate strategies in entering one market where agents and distributors help to represent their product in that market. Licensing is another way where the firm transfers their rights to another firm. It basically useful when a purchaser of a license exists in the large market share in which the company wants to enter. It can use for marketing as well as production. Franchising is a tool for rapid market expansion where a firm’s products easily transferred into other markets. Franchising of a product and services are to be identical and unique along with the strong brand, In another way, it creates strong competition among their franchisee.
Partnering is necessary when a company wants to enter foreign markets where culture and their social factors are different so that partnering helps in to promote their own product and services in front of other country customers. Joint ventures are a particular form of partnership that involves the third independent managed company where two companies agree to work together in a particular either product or geographic and create a third company to undertake this. In this type of ventures profit and risk are normally shared equally or on the basis of their contribution. Acquiring and buying an existing company is to be the best strategy for entering other markets.
Through this company can capture substantial market share and receive direct competition from the existing firm in the new market. Greenfield investment is one of the most appropriate modes for entering in the new market. It's a self-dependent mode where a company buys the land, builds the facility and operates the business on an ongoing basis in a foreign market. Opportunities and threats are basically correlated factors which are examined with reference to marketing mix elements and market entering strategy.
Opportunities can be capture when a joint venture of the market entering a strategy to be adopted because it covers a wider market region and has the opportunity to serve its services to mass customers. The company also gains a competitive advantage in the new market in order to larger revenue. Under this risk and profits are shared equally. Advertisement of product and service marketing strategy is another key factor for profit generation and mass target and suitable technique for representing their product and services across the world. Internet advertising provides a wider platform to access the information regarding product and its price along with they can analyze their substitute and competitive product which are offered by their competitors.
Task 2
Evaluation the major drivers of globalization
Globalization provides the same entry-level to all countries and no barriers for trade. Primary drivers of globalization are the rapid advancements in technology, culture and political environment. Advancements in transportation technology enable intercontinental trade, and it leads to the exchange of goods, ideas and cultural factors which influence the large portion of the planet (Berthon, Pitt, Plangger, and Shapiro, 2012). Telecommunication technology allows for the instantaneous exchange of information around the world through the use of telephone, emails and video conferencing. Multinational companies use freight trains, ships and planes for the transfer of products and services.
Social and political factors affect the globalization process by the enormous growth in population and facilitate cooperative development of commercial opportunities. Major proportion of the world population is fluent in English so that many of these countries could communicate with the West effectively as well as they can effectively understand the technical and financial aspects of the West form of capitalism. Globalization factors makes greater impact when the company wants to enter in an emerging market. Like McDonald's it gives franchisee to different dealers for expanding their business and product line across the globe. Drivers of globalization are advancement in technology which helps in to ordering the food and services online along with home delivery services.
Transportation structure
The companies have designed a distribution network in order to minimize time span and to give security to its buyers shopping on the web. Multinational companies also focus on low fuel emitting vehicles. This depends on production storage and direct shipping, distribution channels, distributor storage and carrier delivery, distributor storage, and last-mile delivery. Like M&S is selling its services globally it takes minimum time to reach its buyers and also keep updating them about the shipping of products, consumers can even track orders to know the location and time to arrival of products. Trading online and technological up-gradation became key drivers for globalization which leads to encouraging international trading in the corporate market.
Telecommunication technology creates the world nearer and inaccessible manner. Country culture and their norms force the company to change its product line and their serving methods, various countries has different cultural and social norms which affects the company operations and their productivity. Basically McDonald's provides non-vegetarian food products which are acceptable in some country but some of country refuses this due to their culture and against their norms so that company exchange and modification in the company existing product line according to their customer taste and preferences of a particular country.
Marks and Spencer's globalization success is depended and linked with the numerous key drivers of the overall process. The first beneficial factor is a technological innovation which helps in to rapidly globalize their supermarket, due to this company has been able to manage, reproduce and standardize their product across the world. Technology such as video conferencing and emailing with suppliers and visually check their product quality. Through this company can easily communicate with their employees worldwide and evaluate the need of training in order to coordinate all the globally oriented activities.
Another major driver of globalization is the efficient development of the transportation system, which allow to quick and affordable migration of their product across the globe. Company utilize freight trains, ship and planes for transferring their product's to their different supermarkets. Every organization can establish their business globally with minimal efforts. Company product line and services to offered according to the country culture and believes so that different product line is to be used in different country in order to meet its customer’s varied demand and wants. Modification in the product line is sophisticated and regular according to customer demand. All the globalization drivers provide a supportive background in establishing and expanding the business across the world.
Social factors are different in different country so that product line to be designed according to the country norms and welfare of society. Advancement in technology and communication channels spread the network across the world so that all the operations and activities are to be coordinated and manage at a single level. After the globalization business organization expand their business through the use of FDI and Greenfield investment it provides various opportunities to build and expand their business effectively. Expansion and establishment of business are depend on the level of competition and five forces porter model which are differ from country to country so that marketing strategy are differ according to the country environment and changes with the changes in the environmental factors. Globalization factors are flexible in nature because it varies according to time and changes in certain circumstances.
Trade at the international level also influenced by the fluctuation in the exchange rate of country currency, interest rate and other factors that affects the business operations (Yang, Su, and Fam, 20120. Use of various tools and techniques which are universally accepted by the world which reduces the barriers for trade in other countries. The globally diversified organization provides various protection tool and other strategy in order to expand and sustain their business. Brand loyalty creates trust among the customers and retains the customers for a longer time period. Globalization reduces the communication gap between the countries and maintain the relation with each other and have rights to acquire others country technology and strategy towards the effective accomplishment of business objective. Joint ventures and acquisition by the other firm is the strategic tool for the growth of a business because it has its own competitive strategy and know about the market structure to compete effectively and long survival in the market place.
Conclusion
From the above carried out report, it can be concluded that marketing plays an important role in the growth and success of an organization. Along with this, it can be also inferred that the role of marketing is to gain information about changing customer needs and demand. From the above carried out report, it can be concluded that Marks and Spencer and McDonald's had adopted different marketing strategies in different countries of the world. It can also be inferred that effective marketing practices have helped the brand in attaining higher market share and growth.
Marketing mix strategy and market entry strategy make a great impact on the success of an organization (Gilligan, and Hird, 20120. Internet advertising provides a wider platform to access the information regarding product and its price along with they can analyze their substitute and competitive product which are offered by their competitors. Globalization is the key driver for the establishment and expansion of business in other countries and affects these drivers when a company wants to enter an emerging market. It reduces barriers for International trade and provides a strategic tool for long survival in the global market.
References
- Berthon, P.R. and et.al., 2012. Marketing meets Web 2.0, social media, and creative consumers: Implications for international marketing strategy. Business horizons.
- Bertoli, G., 2013. International marketing and the country of origin effect: the global impact of'made in Italy'. Edward Elgar Publishing.
- Cadogan, J.W., 2012. International marketing, strategic orientations, and business success: reflections on the path ahead. International Marketing Review.
- Cavusgil, S.T. and Cavusgil, E., 2012. Reflections on international marketing: destructive regeneration and multinational firms. Journal of the
- Academy of Marketing Science.
- Douglas, S.P. and Samuel Craig, C., 2011. The role of context in assessing international marketing opportunities. International Marketing Review.
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