International Marketing
International marketing involves the analyses of the scope, dynamics and business practices that determines the success or failure of the business at a global scale. Depending on the strategies adopted by business in relation to international marking, the business may either fail or succeed. In order to have a deep understanding of international marketing, we look into some of the businesses that have succeeded and those that have failed in relation to the international market. Some of the companies that have succeeded in international marketing include; Coca cola, Cadbury Schweppes and BIC and those that that have failed include Big Box store chain, Mc Donald and Starbucks.
Successful marketing solutions by Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company have managed to market its brands in every corner of the world making it an ideal company that can be recognized as one of the company that have managed to succeed In international marketing. The strategy that the company uses includes simplicity, socialization, experience and personalization. Coca-cola have simple slogans which it has used in its campaigns which includes enjoy and happiness (Cateora, Gilly, & Graham, 2013). The company has also managed to indentify and address the needs of the customers at a personal level. This can be termed as a localized strategy and this has made it possible for the company to expand its operations to over 50 nations globally. The company has also embraced the rising numbers of social media users. Social media marketing is an effective tool that has enabled the company to reach customers at a global level. The recent share a coke campaign has greatly boosted the company’s brands across the globe. In the united state, the campaign received over 125,000 posts in a month after its launch. The company ensures that it does not sell the beverages only but also customer experience and lifestyle. The company upholds the values of happiness and friendship, which helps in boosting the sale of its brands.
Successful Marketing Solutions by Cadbury Company
Cadbury is a multinational company with its headquarters based in London, United Kingdom. The business deals in confectionery. The company has managed to extend its operations to more than 50 countries globally. Some of its renowned brands include the Cocoa Essence, Dairy milk and Flake. The company has managed to penetrate the international market through acquisition and offering the customer a variety of products including beverages and confectionery (International, 2013). The major goal of the company is to introduce into the market products that people love. The company has heavily invested in programs that are aimed at meeting the customers taste and preferences. In boosting the company’s name, the company engages in corporate social responsibility programs across the world. These activities relate to the environment, healthcare, welfare, education, and the enterprise goals. The company has managed to capture 9.9% of the confectionary industry. The company is also clear in recognizing company’s threats and also in the identification of the company’s opportunities. The major company threats include increasing cost of energy, social changes, and transport and supply chain management challenges.
Successful Marketing Solutions by BIC Company
BIC Company has its headquarters based in Clichy, France. The company is renowned for the production and supply of ballpoints across the globe. The company has also expanded its choice of brands to include razors, printed papers and lighters (Kotabe, 2014). The major marketing strategy used by the company is the production of quality, easy to use and affordable products. The products have been able to reach approximately 3.2 million retail outlets across the globe and in over 160 nations. The company is also committed to excellence service, creativity and innovation.
Unsuccessful Marketing Solutions by Big Box chain stores
The Big box chain store was successful in implementing its marketing solution in the local American market. In its strategies to penetrate the global market, the company failed due to it poor international marketing strategy. In the European market, the company failed due to due to the fact that most Europeans prefer small shops to large stores (Kotabe & Helsen, 2015). The company even closed some of its branches situated in Turkey and in China. The company also failed to differentiate its line of products and did not take time to understand these markets in terms of customer preferences. Poor positioning of the stores also played a major role towards its failure.
Unsuccessful Marketing Solutions by Mc Donald
Mc Donald is a renowned company specializing in staple fast foods. The company have made major successes in the international arena but has failed to penetrate the Caribbean market. The major challenges that it experienced in relation to international marketing were barriers of running a franchise and the slowness of the economy. The company even closed some of its branches in Barbados, Tobago and Trinidad. The major reason that forced the company to exit these markets was low sales.
Unsuccessful Marketing Solutions by Starbucks
Starbucks is an internationally recognized chain of stores dealing in coffee. The company however had challenges in accessing the Australian market. The main reason for the unsuccessful international marketing strategy was competition from local stores and lack of acceptance among the coffee drinkers. The company also suffered some operational challenge in accessing the Israel market which oversaw the close down of six of its stores.
Principles of International Marketing
It is clear from the analysis of the success and failures by companies in relation to international marketing that marketers needs to be fully equipped with the marketing strategies. Some of these strategies include market segmentation and efficient distribution strategy (Sutton-Brady & Czinkota, 2014). The analysis of the political, economic, social, technological, legal and ecological environment of the target market is also vital to the success of the marketing strategy.
Conclusion
There are various factors that marketers needs to consider before implementing a strategy to penetrate the international market which includes; political environment, cultural environment, competition , emerging business practices and the legal environment. International marketers and business people should thus understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that are associated to international markets before venturing into it.
References
Cateora, P., Gilly, M., & Graham, J. (2013). International Marketing. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
International, E. (2013). International Marketing Data and Statistics 2014. London: Euromonitor International Ltd.
Kotabe, M. (2014). International Marketing. Milton: John Wiley and Sons Australia.
Kotabe, M., & Helsen, K. (2015). International Marketing. Singapore: Wiley.
Sutton-Brady, C., & Czinkota, M. (2014). International Marketing. South Melbourne: Cengage Learning.