The scope and challenge of international marketing.docx

1、The scope and challenge of international marketingThe Scope And Challenge Of International Marketing一 PrefaceGlobal commerce thrives during peacetime.We should understand the role that trade and international marketing play in producing peace.A global economic boom,unprecedented in modern economic h

2、istory,has been under way as the drive for efficiency,productivity,and open,unregulated markets sweeps the world.Powerful eonomic,technological,industrial,political,and demographic forces are converging to build the foundation of a new global economic order on which the structure of a one-world econ

3、omic and market system will be built.All the activity associated with the development,production,and marketing of commercial aircraft and space vehicles requires millions of people form around the world to work together.Moreover,no company does more to enable teation and commerce.All this interactio

4、n yields not just the mutual gain associated with business relationships but also personal relationships and mutual understanding.The latter are the foundation of global peace and prosperity. International marketing is hard work.Making sales calls is no vacation.But international marketing is import

5、ant work.It can enrich you,your family,your company and your country.And ultimately,when international marketing is done well,by large companies or small,be needs and wants of customers in other lands are well understood,and prosperity and peace are promoted along the way.International marketing is

6、affected by and affected all these things.For the first time in history,McDonalds has pulled out of international markets in both Latin America and the Middle East.Of all the events and trends affecting global business today,four stand out as the most dynamic,the ones that will influence the shape o

7、f international business beyond todays “bumpy roads” and far into the future:(1) the rapid growth of the World Trade Organization and regional free trade areas such as the North American Free Trade Area ang European Union;(2) the trend toward the accertance of the free market system among developing

8、 countries in Latin America,Asia,and eastern Europe;(3) the burgoning impact of the Internet,mobile phones,and other global media on the dissolution of national borders;(4) the mandate to manage the resources and global environment properly for the generations to come.Today most business activities

9、are global in scope.Technology,research,capital investment,and production,as well as marketing,distribution,and communications networks all have global dimensions.Every business must be prepared to compete in an increasingly interdependent global economic and physical environment,and all businesspeo

10、ple must be aware of the effets of thes trends when managing either a domestic company that exports or a multinational conglomerate. 二 International Marketing DefinedThe challenge of international marketing is to develop strategic plans that are competitive in these intensifying global markets.For a

11、 growing number of companies being international is no longer a luxury but a nesessity for economic survival.International marketing is the performance of business activities designed to pian,price,promote,and direct the flow of a companys goods and services to consumers or users in more than one na

12、tion for a profit.The only diffrernce between the definitions of domestic marketing and international marketing is that in the latter case,marketing activities take place in more than one countiy.This apparently minor difference,in more than one country,accounts for the complexity and diversity foun

13、d in international marketing operations.Marketing concepts,processes,and principles are universally applicable,and the marketers task is the asme,whether doing business in Dimebox,Texas,orDar es Salssm,Tanzania.Businesss goal is to make a profit by promoting,pricing,and distributing products for whi

14、ch there is a market.The difference lies not with different concepts of marketing but with the environment within which marketing plans must be implemented.The uniqueness of foreign marketing comes from the range of unfamiliar problems and the variety of strategies necessary to cope with different l

15、evels of uncertainty encountered in foreign markets.Competition,legal restraints,government controls,weather,fickle consuners,and any number of other uncontrollable elements can,and frequently do,affect the profitable outcome of good,sound marketing plans.Generally speaking,the marketer cannot contr

16、ol or influence these uncontrollable elements but instead must adjust or adapt to them in a manner consistent with a successful outcome.What makes marketing interesting is the challenge of molding the controllable elements of marketing decisions within the framework of the uncontrollable elements of

17、 the marketplace in such a way that marketing objectives and achieved.Even though marketing principles and concepts are universally applicable,the environment within which the marketer must implement marketing plans can change dramatically from county to county or region to region.三 International Ma

18、rketing TaskThe international marketers task is more complicated than that of the domestic marketer bacause the international marketer must deal with at least two levels of uncontrollable uncertainty instead of one.Uncertainty is created by the uncontrollable elements of all business environments, b

19、ut each foreign country in which a company operates adds its own unique set of uncontrollable factors.A business operating in its home country undoubtedly feels comfortable in forecasting the business climate and adjusting business decisions to these elements.The process of evaluating the uncontroll

20、able elements in an international marketing program,however,often involves substantial does of cultural,political,and economic shock.A business operating in a number of foreign countries might find polar extremes in political stability,class structure,and economic climatecritical elements in busines

21、s decisions.The dynamic upheavals in some countries further illustrate the problems of dramatic change in cultural,political,and economic climate over relatively short periods of time.A case in point is china,which has moved from a socialist legal system in which all business was done with the state

22、 to a transition period while a commercial legal system develops.In this transitional phase,new laes are passes but left to be interpreted by local authorities,and confusion prevails about which rules are still in force and which rules are no longer applicable.The uncertainty of different foreign bu

23、siness environments creates the need for a close study of the uncontrollable elements within each new country.Thus a strategy successful in one country can be rendered ineffdctive in another by difference in political climate,stages of economic development,level of technology,or other cultural varia

24、tions.(一)Environmental Adaptation NeededTo adjust and adapt a marketing program to foreign markets,marketers must ba able to interpret effectively the influence and impact of each of the uncontrollable environmental elements on the marketing plan for each foreign market in which they hope to do busi

25、ness.In a broad sense,the uncontrollable elements constitute the culture;the difficulty facing the market in adjusting to the culture lies in recognizing their impact.In a domestic market,the reaction to much of the environments impact on the marketers activities is automatic;the various cultural in

26、fluences that fill our lives are simply a part of our socialization,and we react in a manner acceptable to our society without consciously thinking about it.The task of cultural sdjustment,however,is the most challenging and important one confronting international marketers;they must sdjust their ms

27、rketing efforts to cultures to which they are not attuned.In dealing with unfamiliar markets,marketers must be aware of the frames of refrernce they are using in making their decisions or evaluating the potential of a market,bacause judgments are derived from experience that is the result of accultu

28、ration in the home country.Once a frame of reference is established ,it bacomes an importantfactor in deteemining or modifying a marketers reaction to situationssocial and even nonsocial.But,cultural conditioning is like an icebergwe are not aware of nine-tenths of it.In any study of the market syst

29、ems of different peoples,their political and economic structures,religions,and other elements of culture,foreign marketers must constantly guard against measuring and assessing the markets against the fixed values and assumptions of their own cultures.They must take specific steps to make themselves

30、 aware of the home cultural reference in their analyses and decision making.（二）The Self-reference Criterion And Ethnocentrism:Major ObstaclesThe key to successful international marketing is adaptation to environmental differences from one market to another.Adaptation is a conscious effort on the par

31、t of the international marketer to anticipate the influences of both the foreign and domestic uncontrollable factors on a marketing mix and then to adjust the marketing mix to minimize the effects.The primary obstacles to success in international marketing are a persons self-reference criterion (SRC

32、) and an associated ethnocentrism.The SRC is an unconscious reference to ones own cultural values,experiences,and knowledge as a basis for decisions. Closely connected is ethnocentrism,that is,the notion that people in ones own company,culture,or country knows best how to do things.Ethnocentrism is

33、particularly a problem for American managers at the beginning of the 21 st century bacause of Americas dominance in the world economy during the late 1990S .Ethnocentrism is generally a problem when managers from affluent countrism work with managers and markets in less affluent countries.Both the SRC and ethnocentrism impede the a