International Marketing

1.The International marketing is defined as performance of business activities including price, promotions, product and distribution decision and then the task of marketing research is to systematically collect data, process it in to valuable information which is vital for marketing decision.

The information of host country on political stability, cultural attributes and geographical characteristic are required for sound for foreign markets. Information on economic general data on level of growth, inflation levels, business cycles and the levels of competition in that particular industry. These directly affect the economic viability of the product, since some of the factors affect profitability.

There are also political, social and cultural climate factors to be considered in foreign markets. These factors have a profound effect on attitude and behavior of the general public, and then affect the choice demand of foreign products. The increasing diversity of the socio-cultural in which research is being conducted, implies that international marketing researchers will need to develop the capability to conduct and co-ordinate research spanning a brand range of environmental contexts and research questions. In essence, researchers will need to be able to tailor research questions, and adapt research instruments and administration procedures to different environments, as well as to interpret or translation questionnaires or research instruments.

Developments in mass communication technology, global and regional media such as MTV, STAR TV, etc. create an environment where certain segments of the population worldwide are developing a common set of expectations, familiarity with a common set of symbols, similar preferences for products and services, and an overall desire to improve their standard of living. Market segments such as teenagers share common interests in clothing fashions, music, films and sports, as new trends and related products are rapidly diffused worldwide through global media. Increasing discretionary expenditures in industrialized markets also expands the range of choice and the role of services in consumer choice decisions.

At the same time, international marketing researchers will need to incorporate the latest technological developments in data collection and dissemination into the research design. These enable researchers to dramatically reduce the time required to collect data across geographic distances as well as substantially enhancing and enriching the type of stimuli that can be used in collecting data from international markets. It is, however, important to recognize that use of sophisticated technological techniques is subject to certain limitations in international markets, due either to the development of the technological infrastructure or the technological sophistication of respondent

The researcher must strive for most accurate and reliable information against all constrains. The research should be systematic following these steps

1. Definition of research problem and establish the research objective.

The aim of research is suppose to be clearly established, terms should be well defined. A problem clearly defined serves time and energy since all efforts would be focused toward a clear goal.

2. Determine the source of information, there are lots of sources of information that might be employed. There pro and cons of such source depending on the use of the information, for instance the primary data is easy to obtain from the statistical office but lacks relevance to the international marketer.

3. Cost and benefit analysis of the research process, secondary research is more detailed to the problem but the cost of making questionnaire and deploying those them at various places. It is the duty of marketing researcher to balance both methods in order to gain market insights.

4. Gathering of information from primary and secondary sources. In collecting data in the primary research the ability to communicate opinions lies on weather the person has used the product before. The prospect might have the knowledge about the particular product but the willingness to respond lies with that person. There are factors such as attitude, culture and level of education which dictates the information one would give to the researcher.

5. Interpretation and analysis of the results

Final step in the research process is the analysis and interpretation of the information. The data collected is subjected to limitation due to interpretation of meaning of words, attitude towards product or service. Marketer should have an in depth analysis and understanding for market in foreign markets, it is important to use a native who understand the local people.

There is a problem of availability of data. In South Africa the government provides the data, but detailed data such as the number of retailers, wholesalers and facilitating services is difficult to get. The marketer has to collect current data of population and income or consult the private agencies. In addition, to developing the capabilities to conduct research spanning diverse environments, international marketing researchers also need to create and make imaginative and thoughtful use of new approaches to understand the changing market place. As qualitative research techniques advance and mature, they offer increasing promise as a means of understanding and interpreting trends in diverse cultural contexts. Qualitative research provides insights and understanding of the consumption and purchase context and the underlying determinants of behavior, as well as a means of interpreting the results of quantitative research and predicting future trends

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Qualitative techniques are especially helpful in probing the contextual embedding of attitudes and behavior, providing deep understanding of situational and contextual factors, and providing inputs user It is also difficult to understand the needs of foreign people if the marker does not understand the language of the foreign people, there is need for a native speaker of foreign language to help the market researcher to gain insights on the needs of the target market

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In addition, besides the lack of data, it is difficult to check on the reliability of the data, source of the secondary data such as the official statistics are biased towards political motives