The Task of an International Marketer
The International Marketer's task is more complicated than that of the domestic marketer because the international marketer must deal with at least two levels of uncontrollable uncertainty instead of one. Discuss. Introduction
Domestic marketing deals with any marketing activities within the boundaries of a nation. This should be directly contrasted with the term International marketing, which refers to all marketing activities that go beyond the confines of a domestic economy. For Zimbabwe, this would be consumers, workers, businesses, and governments that lie beyond the Zimbabwean national boundaries. How both the international marketer and the domestic marketer should know the 4Ps (Product, price, promotion and place) or the 7Ps(Product, price, promotion, place, process, people, and physical environment)
International marketing is important because the world has become globalised - it is becoming increasingly impossible for any country to practice economic isolation. Zimbabwe in particular, because of the relatively small size of its domestic market, is reliant upon trade with international partners. Moreover, Zimbabwe's multi-cultural society reinforces an appreciation of the opportunities and the subtle complexities of doing business in overseas markets.
The opportunities and challenges encountered today by international marketers are greater and more diverse than ever before. The international marketer should therefore be conversant with the dynamics of the various countries and should have an international total marketing strategy. New consumers are appearing in emerging markets globally. Some of these emerging markets have relatively little purchasing power today but hold the promise of being huge markets in the future.
In the more mature markets of the industrialised world, there are also many opportunities and challenges as consumers' tastes become more sophisticated and complex, and as increases in purchasing power provide them with the means
Domestic marketing deals with any marketing activities within the boundaries of a nation. This should be directly contrasted with the term International marketing, which refers to all marketing activities that go beyond the confines of a domestic economy. For Zimbabwe, this would be consumers, workers, businesses, and governments that lie beyond the Zimbabwean national boundaries. How both the international marketer and the domestic marketer should know the 4Ps (Product, price, promotion and place) or the 7Ps(Product, price, promotion, place, process, people, and physical environment)
International marketing is important because the world has become globalised - it is becoming increasingly impossible for any country to practice economic isolation. Zimbabwe in particular, because of the relatively small size of its domestic market, is reliant upon trade with international partners. Moreover, Zimbabwe's multi-cultural society reinforces an appreciation of the opportunities and the subtle complexities of doing business in overseas markets.
The opportunities and challenges encountered today by international marketers are greater and more diverse than ever before. The international marketer should therefore be conversant with the dynamics of the various countries and should have an international total marketing strategy. New consumers are appearing in emerging markets globally. Some of these emerging markets have relatively little purchasing power today but hold the promise of being huge markets in the future.
In the more mature markets of the industrialised world, there are also many opportunities and challenges as consumers' tastes become more sophisticated and complex, and as increases in purchasing power provide them with the means
References: 1. Cateora, P. and J. Graham, International Marketing, Eleventh Edition, New York, N.Y.: Irwin McGraw-Hill, 2002. 2. Levitt, T. "The Globalisation of Markets". Harvard Business Review, May-June 1983, pp 93-94. 3. Isobel Doole & Robin Lowe, International Marketing Strategy: Analysis, Development and Implementation, Amazon. 4. Michael Baye, Michael Baye, Managerial Economics & Business Strategy w/Data Disk, Amazon. 5. Kotler ,P. (1991) Marketing Management (7th edition); Prentice-Hall International Editions, London.