Research Project Part 2

The marketing mix variables (product, place, promotion and pricing) lie at the core of any marketing operation, whether it be domestic or international, and can be controlled by the company.  In international marketing, these variables may need modifying to take account of uncontrollable variables in both the local and overseas markets as you discussed in Part 1.

In this section you will translate the analysis that you did in Part 1 into practical international marketing mix strategies.  The marketing mix strategy you suggest should not be just a repetition of methods, but should be customised to your product, company and country.  Show why your suggested strategies are better than others, and relate them clearly to your company’s situation.  You should provide evidence to support your evaluation based on the situation analysis that you did in Part 1.

The reasons why you recommend particular international marketing mix strategies (the 4Ps) are just as important as what you recommend.  Your claims and assertions must be supported by evidence and logical arguments demonstrating a sound understanding of the issues.

Here are some comments on the strategic issues to cover in your Part 2 assignment:

Product strategy – Product adaptations necessary to make your product acceptable to buyers in your overseas market, any changes to its use or the benefits it offers, comparisons with competitors’ products in the foreign market.

Place strategy – Specific channel choices, channel management strategies, considerations of physical delivery (such as a cold chain for refrigerated goods), costs associated with establishing and maintaining distribution channels.

Promotion strategy – Your communication strategy, media selection, other promotional activities, the costs of them, what outcomes your company is seeking by using these, if its domestic Australian promotional strategies work overseas or need adaptation.

Pricing strategy – Your firm’s price positioning, price comparisons with competitors, an assessment of additional costs incurred by supplying internationally, foreign currency conversion, an estimate of the likely level of price competitiveness for your product overseas.

The key to a high mark in Part 2 – again – is to (1) research well – widely and deeply – so that you understand what you’re writing about; and (2) apply it directly to your company and product, so that what you write and recommend is realistic and relevant to your chosen subject company.

Agricultural, manufacturing, environmental equipment or technology:  Australia has a robust manufacturing sector which produces advanced engineering products and equipment for many industries, including mining and agriculture.  Most business actually is B2B rather than B2C, so you are likely on graduation finding yourself working in this type of marketing.  Quite a few of these Australian firms have become export award winners.  Here’s an example, SVS mining vehicles http://svs-group.com.au/about/.  Naturally SVS like others will service companies that do the mining in foreign countries, so they’ll be interested in market factors like the country’s resources, the size of its mining industry, and whether the commodity for which it makes machinery is mined there (eg hard rock mining for SVS’s vehicles), as well as B2B forms of promotion and industry promotion when it comes to Part 2 of your Research Exercise.  For these industrial products therefore you need to identify the industry your company is involved in and research this in your target country.  However B2B marketing is quite different from consumer marketing, and the B2B nature of such products means that if you haven’t done the Marketing unit ‘B2B Marketing’, then as a first step you should go to the Library and find any book titled ‘B2B Marketing’ and read about the essential differences between consumer and industrial marketing, so you can apply these in your RE2.