International Marketing & Sales Management

There is a huge variety of corporate publications using the principles of CM/CP. Could you name some examples?

Coca-Cola Journey Ernst and young magazine

What is the difference between brand image and brand identity?

Brand identity - A company's brand identity is how that business wants to be perceived by consumers. Brand image - The impression in the consumers' mind of a brand's total personality (real and imaginary qualities and shortcomings). Brand image is developed over time through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme, and is authenticated through the consumers' direct experience. Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/brand-image.html#ixzz4DRh0zSM3

What is the planning process called 5M?

Mission Money Message Media Measurement

Which advantages have printed customer magazines?

More targeted: specific magazine titles appeal to specific target groups more so than a newspaper advert. Long Life: magazines have a longer "life" than newspapers, they sit about in doctor's waiting rooms, magazine racks and with collectors. - See more at: http://www.emeraldfrog.co.uk/the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-magazine-advertising

Is there a difference between single country marketing and global marketing?

Single-Country Marketing Strategy Target market strategy Marketing-Mix development Product Price Promotion Place Global Marketing Strategy Global market participation Marketing-Mix development: Product adaptation or standardization Price adaptation or standardization Promotion adaptation or standardization Place adaptation or standardization Concentration of marketing activities Coordination of marketing activities Integration of competitive moves

What is the difference between advertising and PR?

advertising - customers PR dealing with all stakeholders

Which elements of culture are important for global marketing programs?

attitude, beliefs, values material life (physical objects) language and communication habits religion education

Do you know typical brand elements or elements of corporate design?

brand name logos and symbols slogan song packaging A corporate design is the official graphical design of the logo and name of a company or institution on letterheads, envelopes, brochures. Elements: logo colour typography and sometimes additional graphical elements

Which product category needs a high level of cultural sensitivity?

food

Global marketing seems to be affected by a paradox. Why?

global marketplace vs. markets are local Think globally, act locally.

What are the main strategic options in international business?

standardization vs adaptation

How could a decision model in global marketing look like?

the decision to internationalize deciding which markets to enter market entry strategies designing the global marketing program implementing and coordinating the global marketing program

Legal framework could affect global marketing. How?

tobacco

How could you prepare for an international sales trip?

Current situation/ mood in country Current economical and political situation in country Current political issues between country and Germany Last relevant headlines in newspapers/ main media in country Positioning of our company in country Competitive situation in country and in our market Our biggest and newest customers in country Trends in business of our customers in country Key opinion leaders in country and in our business

Your company wants to step into a new international market. What market entry options do you have?

Exporting Licensing Contract-manufacturing Joint-venture Equity stake or acquisition

Stages of market development may be interesting. In which way?

High-income countries Upper-middle-income countries Lower-middle-income countries Low-income countries

Name the main opportunities or market segmentation in international business.

Identifies opportunities for new product development Help design effective marketing program Improves allocation of marketing resources

Multinational companies

Multinational companies have investment in other countries, but do not have coordinated product offerings in each country. More focused on adapting their products and service to each individual local market.

Polycentric Approach

A company following this orientation gives an equal importance to every country's domestic market, as there is a belief in uniqueness of every market and its need to be addressed in an individual way. "The plans are devised to operate through individually established businesses, i.e. either by wholly owned subsidiaries or through marketing subsidiaries, separately in each country, allowing complete autonomy to units to operate as separate profit centres independent of head office" (Paul, 2008).When following this approach a company has to be a leader in technological leadership, produce high quality products or its production costs should be very low. It can also concentrate its attention on foreign markets which have similar consumer needs and conditions similar to domestic market. Among disadvantages of this orientation is low possibility of the economies of scale, high prices of products due to high investments in the research of foreign markets and adaptation of products to the needs and wants of particular countries. Examples of companies marketing their brands according to this approach are: Ford Motors, Suzuki, Toyota, General Motors, Nissan, etc. - all these companies adapt their brands to specific needs of each country's consumer.

What is meant by Integrated Marketing Communication?

A concept of marketing communication planning that recognizes the added value of a comprehensive plan. Such a plan evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of marketing communication disciplines - for example, advertising, direct response, sales promotion and public relations - and combines these disciplines to provide clarity, consistency and maximum impact through the seamless integration of messages.

What is the difference between advertising and global advertising?

Advertising is one element of an IMC. Advertising may be defined as any sponsored, paid message that is communicated in a non personal way. Some advertising messages are designed to communicate with consumers in a single country or market area. Regional or pan-regional advertising is created for audiences across several country markets. Global advertising may be defined as messages whose art and elements have been developed expressly for their worldwide suitability. Global and international advertising are alternative communication strategies that companies employ to drive demand for goods and services in foreign markets. International advertising strategies are tailored to reflect regional, national, and local market cultural differences and preferences. Global advertising embraces standardized strategies in which advertising content is the same worldwide under the premise that the entire world is a single entity.

Financial

An examination of the financial aspects of your market follows the successful development of a market presence. Once you are sure the new market will accept your product, you must look at pricing and the effects of international financial operations. Currency exchange rates, customs duties and local interest rates all play a role in your pricing and profitability in the new market. Your strategy should set targets for sales and buy corresponding futures for exchanging the currency to dollars because you will be paid in local currency.

What is a brand architecture?

Brand architecture is the structure of brands within an organizational entity. It is the way in which the brands within a company's portfolio are related to, and differentiated from, one another. Corporate brand, umbrella brand, and family brand - Examples include Virgin Group and Heinz. These are consumer-facing brands used across all the firm's activities, and this name is how they are known to all their stakeholders - consumers, employees, shareholders, partners, suppliers and other parties. These brands may also be used in conjunction with product descriptions or sub-brands: for example Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup, or Virgin Trains. Endorsed brands, and sub-brands - For example, Nestle KitKat, Cadbury Dairy Milk, Sony PlayStation or Polo by Ralph Lauren. These brands include a parent brand - which may be a corporate brand, an umbrella brand, or a family brand - as an endorsement to a sub-brand or an individual, product brand. The endorsement should add credibility to the endorsed sub-brand in the eyes of consumers. Individual product brand - For example, Procter & Gamble's Pampers or Unilever's Dove. The individual brands are presented to consumers, and the parent company name is given little or no prominence. Other stakeholders, like shareholders or partners, will know the producer by its company name.

Brands have an identity. Which models do you know?

Brand identity A company's brand identity is how that business wants to be perceived by consumers. Brand as a product Brand as organization Brand as person Bran as symbol

Stakeholder Theory: Why should we mention this approach in marketing?

Business can be understood as a set of relationships among groups which have a stake in the activities to make up the business. Business is about how customers, suppliers, employees, financiers (stockholder, banks) communities, and managers interact and create value. To understand a business is to know how these relationships work. And the executive's or entrepreneur's job is to manage and shape these relationships. A stakeholder is any group of individuals who can affect or is affected by the achievement of organization's purpose ans objectives. Primary stakeholders: Communities Customers Employees Suppliers Financiers Secondary stakeholders: Government Media Competitors Special Interest groups Consumer advocate groups

What is Content Marketing (CM) or Corporate Publishing (CP)? How can we recognize CM/CP and what is the difference to advertising?

Content marketing is any marketing that involves the creation and sharing of media and publishing content in order to acquire and retain customers. Content marketing is also defined as a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action. Content marketing can further be characterized as a step from earned to owned media. This means that by establishing own brand channels, brands increasingly act like media companies and fulfil corresponding functions like entertainment, information and social interaction. Ultimately, brands can become their own communication-medium and thereby replace paid-media channels Corporate publishing describes the process and outcome of planning, producing, and organizing corporate publications. The tools of corporate publishing include, but are not limited to, image brochures, environment reports, corporate reports, customer newsletters, employee newsletters, online offerings and business TV.

Content marketing is online communication and corporate publishing is printed communication. Right or wrong?

Content marketing is the process of creating high-quality, valuable content to attract, inform, and engage an audience, while also promoting your brand.

Describe the key tasks of a sales team in international sales.

Definition of market requirements Initiation of business Offer processing Costing Financing Negotiations Agreements/contracts Tracking payments Project support

Think and Act Locally

Despite the allure of global advertising benefits, market variances do exist in terms of cultural differences, differing rates of economic and market development, media availability, and legal restrictions. Many companies, upon producing unwanted results from executing global campaigns, have reverted back to international advertising strategies. For example, Douglas Daft, former Chief Executive Officer of Coca Cola, was quoted: "The world was demanding greater flexibility, responsiveness and local sensitivity, while we were further consolidating decision making and standardizing our practices." Upon assuming the Coke leadership in 2000, Daft introduced a new regime, "think locally and act locally," which is the essence of international advertising. Local market managers were empowered to introduce new products, set pricing, and adapt advertising campaigns to host cultures.

Which framework could be helpful to identify and describe different marketing orientations?

Different attitudes towards company's involvement with international marketing process are called international marketing orientations. The Perlmutter's EPRG framework consists of 4 stages in the international operations' evolution. The EPRG framework includes: 1. Ethnocentric approach; 2. Polycentric approach; 3. Regiocentric approach; 4. Geocentric approach;

We know paid, earned and owned media. What is the difference? Is there a trend?

Earned media - If owned media sites are the destination then earned media is the vehicle that helps people get there. What good is a website or social media site if no one is seeing or interacting with it? That's where earned media comes in. Earned media is essentially online word of mouth, usually seen in the form of 'viral' tendencies, mentions, shares, reposts, reviews, recommendations, or content picked up by 3rd party sites. One of the most effective driving forces of earned media is usually a combined result of strong organic rankings on the Search Engines, and content distributed by the brand. First page rankings and good content are typically the biggest drivers. Rankings on the first page of the search engines place your owned media sites and content links in a position to receive higher engagement and shares, which is why a good SEO strategy is crucial. When it comes to brand content, interesting, informative content can come in all shapes and sizes. Whether it be a blog, infographic, video, press release, webinar or e-book, the bottom line is that the content has to be worthwhile in order to receive the valuable earned media; which is why a great content strategy is also important. Owned media - Owned media is any web property that you can control and is unique to your brand. One of the most common examples is a website, although blog sites and social media channels are other examples of owned media properties too. Channels like social media and blogs are extensions of your website, and all three are extensions of your brand as a whole. The more owned media you have, the more chances you have to extend your brand presence in the digital sphere. Paid media - Paid media is a good way to promote content in order to drive earned media, as well as direct traffic to owned media properties. Paying to promote content can help get the ball rolling and create more exposure. Social Media sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn offer advertising that could potentially help boost your content as well as your website. Another way to gain more exposure for your content is to pay influencers to tweet or share your links, impacting the reach and recognition your pieces receive. Using retargeting, Pay Per Click and display ads is an effective and more direct way to drive searchers to your owned media sites like your website, to help increase traffic and/or conversions. Key Takeaways •All three elements, owned, earned and paid are important to a digital strategy. It's up to you to evaluate these three themes and decide where to allocate your resources to make the most sense for your brand. •Owned media sites are an extension of your brand and create additional avenues for people to interact with your brand. When it comes to owned media, as long as you can keep up with the maintenance, the more the merrier. •Earned media is the equivalent of online word of mouth and is the vehicle that drives traffic, engagement and sentiment around a brand. While there are different ways a brand can garner earned media, good SEO and content strategies are the most controlled and effective. •Paid media is a great way to promote content in order to generate more earned media and can also be used to drive traffic directly to your owned media properties. While each element has its own role, using all three together will make your digital media strategy that much more effective.

Describe the main advantages of global marketing activities.

Economies of scale in production and distribution Lower marketing costs Power and scope Consistency in brand image Ability to leverage good ideas quickly and efficiently Uniformity of marketing practices Helps to establish relationships outside of the "political arena"

Ethnocentric Approach

Ethnocentric approach underlines host countries superiority. In other words, it is associated with orientation directed first of all at the home country management, "the home country knows best culture is applied" . Overseas operations are considered only as an additional extension of the local market. Paul pinpoints that in this approach "management philosophy, domestic technology, strategies and even personnel are far more superior to foreign operations and are a perfect fit for foreign operations as well". Companies oriented on ethnocentric approach are distinct with their complex structure in home country, while structure in other countries stays very simple. Such companies do not adapt their products to the needs and wants of other countries where they have operations. Ranchhod and Marandi (2006) come up with a good summary of ethnocentric approach, saying that this international marketing orientation "tends to ignore much of the opportunities outside the domestic market while those that venture outside tend to operate on the basis of "standardized" or "extension approach" marketing and do not engage in adaptation of any noticeable degree". On one hand this approach sometimes can work as advantage for the company when it views foreign markets as "a means of disposing of surplus domestic production" (Vasudeva, 2006). On the other hand, the company may experience a lot of difficulties to survive in foreign markets as its brands will not be accepted by consumers of that country due to cultural differences as they are completely ignored by the headquarters. In this case the company still will have two choices: to continue its operations only in its domestic market; or change its international marketing orientation to a more appropriate one according to nowadays requirements of the international brands' consumers. The example of such change is NISSAN which in the first years of its existence on international arena was following ethnocentric approach by selling its cars abroad exactly as they were sold in their domestic market in Japan, after several years of its international trading the company realized that ethnocentric international marketing orientation is no longer relevant for some industries including automobile industry in which they were operating and changed its approach to polycentric. Vasudeva (2006) concludes that in today's international business world ethnocentric approach appears to be one of the biggest threats for international organizations.

Are there political risk/ elements to take care of in global marketing?

Global Marketing activities take place within the political environment of governmental institutions, political parties, and organizations through which a country's people and rulers exercise power. Each nation has a unique culture that reflects its society. Each nation also has a political culture, which reflects the relative importance of the government and legal system and provides a context within which individuals and corporations understand their relationship to the political system. Any company doing business outside its home country should carefully study the political culture in the target country and analyze salient issues arising from the political environment. These include the governing party's attitude toward sovereignty, political risk, taxes, the threat of equity dilution and expropriation.

Global companies

Global companies have invested and are present in many countries. They market their products through the use of the same coordinated image/brand in all markets. Generally one corporate office that is responsible for global strategy. Emphasis on volume, cost management and efficiency.

Standardizing Advertising

Globalism as a concept in marketing and advertising was first introduced by the late Ted Levitt, marketing professor at Harvard Business School. In a 1983 "Harvard Business Journal" article entitled "The Globalization of Markets," Levitt observed that despite deep-rooted cultural differences, people were becoming globally homogenized. In consequence, he proposed a new paradigm: standardize products and advertise globally to take advantage of what he saw as huge economies of scale. Companies would gain sales volume and market shares. Consumers would enjoy lower prices. Levitt foresaw globalization as giving companies economies of scale in both production and distribution. Centralized marketing command and control would simplify the coordination and execution of marketing and advertising programs to decrease costs while delivering a consistent brand or company message worldwide.

Regiocentric Approach

In this approach segmentation of the markets is fulfilled on the basis of similarities in terms of regions. A company finds economic, cultural or political similarities among regions in order to cover the similar needs of potential consumers. For example, countries of former USSR can form one group as needs and tastes of consumers of these countries are very similar as they were representatives of one nation not so long ago. The same products and strategies can be used in such set of countries like Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden or Pakistan, Bangladesh and India as they possess a strong regional identity and belong to the same cultural dimensions. Pepsi and Coca-Cola are examples of international companies which are successfully using this international marketing orientation.

Which benefits of brands do you know. Why should we count on brands?

Increased margins. Let's get to the bottom line first: Positive brand equity allows you to charge more for your product or service, because people will be willing to pay a premium for your name Customer loyalty. Customers are not only willing to pay more for a product with strong brand equity; they're also willing to stay loyal to a company over years and years, coming back to buy there again and again. Expansion opportunities. Positive brand equity can facilitate a company's long-term growth. By leveraging the value of your brand, you can more easily add new products to your line and people will more willingly try your new product. You can expand into new markets and geographies, and people there will recognize your brand, make an instant positive connection, and follow you. Negotiating power. Positive brand equity can give you a considerable advantage in negotiating with vendors, manufacturers and distributors. When suppliers recognize that consumers are enthusiastically seeking and buying products that bear your name, they'll want to work with you. And that, of course, puts you in an enviable bargaining position that can lower your cost of goods sold. Competitive advantage. Do you know who won't be too happy about your company's strong brand equity? Your competitors. When customers are willing to pay a premium price for your products or services...when customers will try your new product sight unseen, just because it has your logo on it...when customers in a new market flock to you simply because of the reputation you've built elsewhere...when you can get better pricing from the same vendors your competition is using (and thus undersell your competition)... that can mean very good things for your business and not-so-good things for your competition.

What is meant by Integrated Marketing?

Integrated Marketing is an approach to creating a unified and seamless experience for consumers to interact with the brand/enterprise; it attempts to meld all aspects of marketing communication such as advertising, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing, and social media, through their respective mix of tactics, methods, channels, media, and activities, so that all work together as a unified force. It is a process designed to ensure that all messaging and communications strategies are consistent across all channels and are centered on the customer.

International companies

International companies are importers and exporters, they have no investment outside of their home country.

Glocal Advertising

Many multinational marketers embrace a compromise between global and international advertising, which is often called "glocal" advertising. Glocal advertising is best captured in the phrase, "think global and act local." Glocal marketers standardize certain core elements of the advertising strategy while incorporating local cultural influences into advertising executions. According to Wind, Sthanunathan and Malcolm in their "Harvard Business Review" article, "Great Advertising Is Both Local and Global," an effective glocal strategy requires a global appeal that inspires universal motivation, a brand vision "that respects local nuances," and an organizational structure that encourages collaboration between the global advertising strategists and local implementers.

What are the main steps within an international sales process/cycle?

Market analysis - analysis of new customers, determine possible demands Pre sales Sales - offer, negotiation Implementation - product delivery after sales - customer loyalty Market analysis - new projects

Market segmentation

Market segmentation is a marketing strategy which involves dividing a broad target market into subsets of consumers, businesses, or countries that have, or are perceived to have, common needs, interests, and priorities, and then designing and implementing strategies to target them. Splitting the world market into sub-markets. Approach: Formation of country segments based on specific country criteria: socio-economic (GDP, Purchasing Power Parity) political-legal (economic system, country risk) natural-technical (climate, infrastructure) socio-cultural (language, religion, value system)

When Global Advertising Works

Marketers generally agree that global advertising can work under certain conditions. Philip Kotler, marketing professor at Northwestern University, says that global strategies work best in categories where the trend toward global integration is strong and local cultural influences are weak, such as the consumer electronics market. According to an international marketing study guide from Villanova University, global advertising may be appropriate for brands that use image campaigns with universal appeals based on similar tastes, interests, needs and values.

There are several cultural dimensions. Could you name them?

Power distance Individualism vs collectivism uncertainty avoidance masculinity vs femininity long-term vs short-term orientation

Name primary external stakeholders for your entry into a new country market.

Primary stakeholders: Communities Customers Employees Suppliers Financiers

Do you know the biggest spenders and the biggest advertising agencies?

Spenders: USA, China, Japan, UK, Germany Agencies: WPP Omnicom Publicis Interpublic Dentsu

What is the difference between a house of brands and a branded house?

The "Branded House" - In this methodology, the company is the brand. All products and services within that company will be subsets of the primary brand. A good example of a branded house is Apple. They use a singular name across all of their activities. To all of their stakeholders they are know simply as "Apple". They may have different categories/divisions (iPod, Mac, iTunes, iPhone, etc...) but they all have to fall under the scrutiny of existing branding strategies and standards. The "House of Brands" - This architecture focuses of the branding of multiple sub-brands while the primary brand gets little or no attention. Proctor & Gamble is a perfect example. Under P&G there are dozens of brands, including Pampers, Duracell, Gillette, and Tide just to name a few. However, P&G gets very little prominence of itself, and adds no real credibility to any of it's products.

Culture

The first stage of international market development is choosing the areas in which to market your products, exploring the social and cultural differences. If your company has not developed a foreign market previously, you may be more successful if you choose countries with some similarities to your home market. Begin by creating a presence for your brand and differentiating it from local products in a positive way. Your promotion and advertising have to fit in with local practices, customs, manners and standards.

Legal

The legal stage of international market development includes setting up your foreign presence, and you may need to get local help to navigate the intricacies of local legislation. Your presence can vary from creating a website aimed at the specific local market and shipping from a local supplier or warehouse to a full-fledged local operation that does some manufacturing or assembly. Ensuring that you adhere to all local legislation is critical to avoiding problems.

Geocentric Approach

This orientation favours neither home country nor foreign countries where the company operates. It is also called a global approach the main idea of which is to target "global consumers" who have similar tastes. The main idea of this orientation is to borrow from every country what is best. The limitation is that it fully depends on constant global market research, which requires a lot of investment and time. This approach is for companies with an impressive capital that want "to become world leaders"... , in this quest "...manufacturers offer homogeneous, identifiable and often interchangeable services and products in order to integrate them for worldwide operational efficiency" (Paul, 2008). The European Silicon Structures is a pure example of geocentric international marketing orientation: the company is incorporated in Luxembourg, its headquarter was established in Munich, research facilities are in England, and France has its factory; the company went even further by assigning its eight directors from seven different countries.

Transnational companies

Transnational companies are much more complex organizations. They have invested in foreign operations, have a central corporate facility but give decision-making, R&D and marketing powers to each individual foreign market.