This assignment will show that you are able to:
- Analyse critically the differences between contemporary international marketing environments, in particular the importance of cultural differences and consumer behaviour
- Critically evaluate the foreign market entry strategy process
- Evaluate critically a suitable international marketing mix strategy for a new international/global target market
Context:
You are an International Brand Manager of a company of your choice which is considering market expansion into a new international market. Ensure the chosen company is not currently operating in the chosen country. Choose an international market (country) to research for potential entry (make this country DIFFERENT to your own personal nationality to learn about a new national culture).
Task:
You are to produce a 4000 word academic portfolio for your marketing team which offers a critical international marketing analysis of the potential country and target customer.
The main aim of the portfolio is to identify and assess the attractiveness and risks in that international market and at customer level, in terms of cross-cultural issues. This will help inform potential market entry strategy and international marketing mix strategy decision making for your product context.
So, your team now requires key market and customer insights of that international market in relation related decision making and what strategic international marketing mix adaptations might be needed (with justifications) to market their product or product range there. Your portfolio should be supported by Appendices at the end which contain relevant supporting evidence of appropriate research into the international market environment and cross-cultural analysis to support the discussion within the Main body.
Specific Guidance
The organisation needs specific market insights which your portfolio should professionally present. How you structure this is your choice. The following is guidance only. Your portfolio will contain sections with logical subheadings to help guide your marketing team (reader) effectively through the content. You will use Appendices (not part of the word limit) for supporting evidence and analysis. Anything appended should be referred to in the main body to avoid merely ‘parking’ content there.
- Introduction [approx. 100 words]
Introduce the context and purpose of the portfolio. Remember the readers already know about the organisation. Manage your word limit wisely here.
- A short background to the organisation and product to provide context (consider key internal factors such as company size; international experience, brand power etc).
- Clearly identify the intended international market (country).
- International Market research and country analysis / Market Entry Strategy [approx 1400 words]
You will need to assess the international market environment using appropriate online resources to identify and critically evaluate any important contemporary marketing related risks and opportunities. Use these researched insights and wider academic reading to inform discussion into the organisation’s market entry strategy, clearly analysing two international market entry method choices and recommendations.
- Use credible online sources (use the UoC e-library and online resources) to research the international target market environment. Critically analyse the key issues. How attractive is that market?
- Evaluate the impact of the above issues on the various market entry related decisions required by the international marketer, when selecting and entering that new international market.
- You should identify analyse and justify the most suitable market entry method based on the assessment of at least 2 different market entry methods.
- Underpin your discussion using relevant academic reading around market entry strategy.
- Support your recommendations with suitable industry examples
- Keep a customer (not HR/staff) focus.
Customer level cross-cultural research and analysis
As well as any macro level challenges and opportunities, your team also requires an in-depth customer level analysis. This should identify the ideal target customer for the product there and help your team to understand the impact of relevant cross-cultural issues that the company may face in that new international market, compared to its home market (or one of its existing ones). Application of relevant customer-oriented cross-cultural theory will help you to frame this.
- Identify key cross-cultural differences and similarities relevant to the product in evaluating marketing opportunities and challenges.
- Apply relevant customer-oriented cultural theory to frame your cultural analysis of your chosen target country/customer (eg. Hofstede; Trompenaar; Schwartz; Sarathy & Terpstra’s Cultural Framework; Hall & Hall, etc…). This will demonstrate conceptual and theoretical knowledge and understanding adding credibility to your report.
- Do not use HR/organisational cultural theory or this will impact on your grade!
- Ensure your ideas are marketing-orientedrather than taking a broader business focus.
- Your portfolio should clearly identify a target customer profile.
- Impact of cross cultural issues on international marketing mix strategy
Apply your market and customer level cultural and behavioural insights to critically analyse their impact on the international marketing mix strategy of your product there to justify strategic adaptation recommendations regarding the marketing mix elements.
- Critically apply relevant academic literature and marketing mix related theory to demonstrate your conceptual knowledge and understanding.
- Justify ideas using researched cultural evidence
- Support your recommendations with suitable industry examples
- You should use Appendices for supporting analysis.
- Do not mechanically go through each ‘P’ merely describing operational suggestions. This part should apply your researched insights to justify longer term strategic ideas regarding adaptation of international marketing mix strategy.
- Thinking strategically. You may find the following guidance helpful:
- International Promotion Strategy –which theory might help frame your analysis? Consider the cultural impacts on the brand message and how it should be positioned in the target country. Should the message be encoded differently? Should the same mix of marcom methods be used? Why?
- International Place Strategy - show the link between your cultural findings and specific place strategy decisions. Where should the product be sold, and is this distribution channel different to the home market? How available should it be made? Might this affect the product positioning?
- International Product Strategy – Show academic reading around product concept. Consider the various ‘layers’ to the product offer (Kotler?) to help frame your analysis of any adaptations needed due to cultural issues.
International Pricing strategy – what approach should be taken in how you might price the product offer there? Is your target customer’s attitude to prices (price sensitivity) relevant? What is the connection with price and positioning? product choice; impact on costs, etc. ?
