Contemporary International Marketing Issues - Assignment Example

Running Head: Contemporary International Marketing Issues [Writer’s name] [Institution’s name] Contemporary International Marketing Issues There have observed by many scholars and economist that there have been many changes in the market system and organisation both at the national and at the international level. These changes have been in response to the political, social and economic demands that have occurred with the progress of time and technological management. In this paper there shall be a detailed discussion on one of the components of international marketing, that is the communicative management and the changes that have occurred in this sphere, and how this has affected the management of organizations and companies at the national and international market. These changes that have occurred have helped in the progress of the management policies of organizations for better efficiency and advancement in the production and distribution process that has been in response to the needs and the demand of the market. In this paper there is going to be a close study and analysis report conducted on the marketing communication and the changes that have occurred in this stream, how these changes and developments have changed the management policies and the production processes that are followed by these organizations. (Hagman, Nicholas). Marketing communications generally deal with the media related processes of the companies, firms and organizations. These are usually messages and related media that are used by these to communicate with the market. Traditionally, marketing communication practitioner’s focus on the creation and execution of printed marketing collateral; however, academic and professional research developed the practice to use strategic elements of branding and marketing in order to ensure consistency of message delivery throughout an organization - the same "look & feel". Many trends in business can be attributed to marketing communication; for example: the transition from customer service to customer relations, and the transition from human resources to human solutions.(Donsbach) In branding, opportunities to contact stakeholders are called brand touch points (or points of contact.) Marketing communication is concerned with the general behavior of an organization and the perceptions of the organization that are promoted to stakeholders and prospect clients through these touch points. Marketing communications is focused on product/produce/service as opposed to corporate communications where the focus of communications work is the company/enterprise itself. Marketing communications is primarily concerned with demand generation, product/produce/service positioning while corporate communications deal with issue management, mergers and acquisitions, litigation etc.(World Bank). Marketing communication is the eyes and ears of the company and helps the company become more sensitive to the needs and the requirements of the people and the customers.(Ohio university) Marketing communications set up mechanism to ensure that the company or organization is able to read the changing trends and demands in the market and that it is able to alter itself tom meet these demands, so as to ensure that the value of the company’s produce, products and services are maintained in the market, that their prices are stabilized and to create more demand for these products and services in the market. The marketing communication of any organization of company is dependent on a number of factors no matter what the size of the organization. (Trauth) These are price, place, promotion, and product. These are known as the four Ps of marketing and with the changes that have occurred in the production processes and the economic sphere, there have been additional factors that have started playing an important part in marketing communications of any organization. These factors are people, processes and physical evidences. The marketing communication of the company helps the company organize and design its public face and the image that it will be portraying in the market. This is done on the basis of the marketing research that is conducted by the marketing team which is employed by the individual company.(Dasgupta) They look at the changing trends that are occurring in the market, and help the company device its policies and marketing schemes. Why are marketing communications 'integrated?' Integrated means combine or amalgamate, or put simply the jigsaw pieces that together make a complete picture. This is so that a single message is conveyed by all marketing communications. Different messages confuse your customers and damage brands. So if a TV advert carries a particular logo, images and message, then all newspaper adverts and point-of-sale materials should carry the same logo, images or message, or one that fits the same theme. Coca-Cola uses its familiar red and white logos and retains themes of togetherness and enjoyment throughout its marketing communications. (Overback) Marketing communications has a mix. Elements of the mix are blended in different quantities in a campaign. The marketing communications mix includes many different elements, and the following list is by no means conclusive. It is recognized that there is some cross over between individual elements for example donating computers to schools, by asking shoppers to collect vouchers, public relations or sales promotions. One of the major changes that have been observed is that the four Ps of the marketing strategy have been converted to the four Cs in the globalized market domain. Instead of product, emphasis is being laid on consumer, and it has now been accepted that the requirements of the consumer comes foremost, and one can no longer market any product and has to produce and sell in keeping with the demands of the market. The product characteristics must now match what someone specifically wants to buy. And part of what the consumer is buying is the personal "buying experience." (Journal of Integrated Marketing Communications) The next change that has been observed is in that there has been a transition from Price to Cost, where there is emphasis being laid on understanding the cost purchasive power of the consumer, and what is perceived as the real value of the product in the market, that is, how much are the consumers willing to pay to the producers and the retailers for the products or services.(Leininger) The needs and the requirements of the consumer have gained more importance, and the companies are laying more and more emphasis on the consumer’s cost structure while deciding the price of the products. The product price may be only one part of the consumer's cost structure. Often it's the cost of time to drive somewhere, the cost of conscience of what you eat, and the cost of guilt for not treating the kids. The next change that has occurred is in relation to place which has now given way to convince. Earlier there was emphasis laid on the adoption of cost effective methods of delivery. But today this has given way to the theory that the convince of the consumers have to be taken into consideration. The delivery of the products and services should be in such a manner that it is more easily available to the consumer, and that there is easy and quick access to the services and the products. Also there has to be taken into account the fact that today there a number of ways and with technological advancement, there have developed many methods of easy and more efficient and economic delivery which will also add to the value of the product. As briefed by the marketing team of the global leader, Sony Electronics-‘Think convenience of the buying experience and then relate that to a delivery mechanism. Consider all possible definitions of "convenience" as it relates to satisfying the consumer's wants and needs. Convenience may include aspects of the physical or virtual location, access ease, transaction service time and hours of availability.’(Marketing Teacher 2000) Lastly, the factor of promotion has been replaced by the factor by the what is considered by most as the most important and essential tool in the marketing sphere today, Communication. This change has occurred with the belief that promotion of a product is not as successful, and that an organization needs to realize the view point of the customers and that only with the better and clearer understanding of the needs, demands, requirements and perceptions of the consumers can a company provide better services, thus ensuring a greater value for their products.( Olander, Catarina; Sehlin, Christer 2000) This it is believed by most economist and market specialist can only be achieved through communication, and there has been recognized a need to establish communicative system between the two. It is believed that communication helps in ensuring that the company is able to enlighten the consumers about their products and all the marketing teams follow the principal that many mediums working together to present a unified message with a feedback mechanism to make the communication two-way. And be sure to include an understanding of non-traditional mediums, such as word of mouth and how it can influence your position in the consumer's mind. There has been observed that with the advancement of technology and science, there is greater access to information, and this helps the consumer to a certain extent, as it not only ensures that they are aware of their choices but gives them greater exposure to the functions and benefits of the products and services that are provided by the company, organizations, agencies and firms. There have been observed by market sources that the consumers purchase those products that they perceive as important and true, rather that actually following the facts that are established on the solid, rational, economically derived information. To the consumer, perception is truth. A perception may not be correct, but it is what they know, and what they know is all they need to know. This new "sound bite" approach to gathering marketing information demands that a marketer's statements about products or services must be clear, concise, consistent, and comprehensible through all forms of communication or the consumer will simply ignore them. Any minor inconsistency that does not match the existing "mind map" and will be ignored. (INSPEC Archive 1898-1968) There is also the fact that sometimes the consumers may perceive that the products and services provided to be more than what it actually is. This creates dissatisfaction, as the products are unable to stand the test with the consumers and the product looses its value in the market. Thus, the companies and organizations use the communication system to gauze the perception that the consumers have about the product, and try to bridge the gap between the perception and the actual reality that exists.(Business Source Complete) This serves as a two way advantage, as on one hand it allows the company to stand true to the perceptions that the consumers have of the products, and it also helps the company improve the quality of it goods, products and services thus, improving the real value of the product while it serves the consumers in a better and more efficient manner. The most important part of the communication system that a company employs is that of advertisement. This has emerged as the one of the most consequential things in the marketing management of any company or organization. There have been many changes that have been experienced in the market, the coming of the global era, the technological advancement that has been achieved and that is still growing and evolving everyday. These changes have led to the phenomenon which is usually referred to as the ‘shrinking of the world’, that is that there is no part of the world that is inaccessible, and that technology had linked it all together.(Communication Abstract) The coming of the age of the internet, e-shopping, etc have all lead to revolution in the marketing sphere. The companies today have to ensure that they do not alienate any part of the population, and have to also take care that its advertising strategy fits into the cultural and social background of its consumers. This has made advertising an important and integral part of the companies’ strategies and management. Adverting helps the company to communicate directly to the consumers and helps it to establish a more personal connection to the consumers where they are able to relate more closely to the products. With the coming of the global era it has been realized that the strategies and the policies that are adopted have to be more universal in nature, so as to ensure that there is a wide market for the products. Another important factor that adds to the communication marketing of a company is promotional activities that the company might undertake. This helps the company to ensure greater exposure to the costumer base and also ensures that there is the widest possible publicity and coverage given to its products. These promotional activities can be of different kinds, such as giving donations to charity events, national and international conferences, programs, etc. It can also include scholarship programmes for the marginalized classes in helping provide health care, educational facilities, etc. These help in portraying the companies and products in a positive light in the society and in the market. Marketing management has become important with the changing times due to the fact that there has been a growth in the competition levels that each company has to face. There has been growth of companies in the local, national and international levels. With the advancement of technologies there has emerged a more sophisticated and advanced methods of production, and these have increased the amount of competition that products have to face in the market.(Career Builder) Also there has been a break in the barriers that used to exist in the various countries that used top protect the companies and organizations of the countries in their respective markets, but with these gone, there has been seen an increase in the amount of foreign investment, and no organization can function alone. It has to take into account the changes in the global economy. Thus, with these advancement and changes, there has been observed that the cost competitiveness has fallen away, and there has been a marked reduction in the quality competitiveness that earlier existed in the markets. Thus, the only area where these companies and organizations can compete is in the information, communication and marketing sphere, and it is important that they establish efficient, economical and effective marketing strategies and policies for better sales and also to maintain the value of their products in the market. (Creative and Live) There has thus been seen a shift from a production and product based system to a system which is more consumer oriented. The companies thus compete with each other to establish their products in the market, and to ensure that their products are able to carve out a separate identity for it selves in the market. The companies spend millions of dollars in credit, money and other resources to come up with effective and innovative marketing strategies to ensure that they are able to grab the attention of the consumers and is able to capture their attention, so a to leave an impact on the consumers, so that they are able to create demand for their products in the market. The implementation of these policies and strategies can be observed in various companies, especially national and international companies. For example, if we look at the food industry as a whole and McDonalds as a specific case study, it can bee seen that the organization ahs changed its marketing strategies and policies over the years to ensure that there is better management and greater efficiency. (Environmental Defense Fund 2003) The first and most important thing that can be observed is the trademark of the company, the big yellow M, which has become a familiar sight. It has become as the key identity of the company. Then, there is the mascot of the organization which the people associate exclusively with the company. The company has adopted the various changes that have occurred in the global economic, technological and social era which have helped the company in not only gradually expanding its market and customer base but has also helped in ensuring that the company becomes one of the world’s leader in the fast food restaurant industry.(Junk Food News) The company has been come to be associated with reliability, quality, quick and efficient services, and this image has been cultivated by the company with great care and it has managed to do so only with the help of the marketing strategy that it has adopted and evolved over the years. McDonalds has changed its slogan in 2004 to I’m Lovin’ It, and it has been observed that this new strategy that was adopted by the company was a success, and studies have shown that people were able to relate more to the slogan as it helped the company portray the simple lives that people lead, and that it makes a connection at a more personal level. The new design was meant to put across to the consumers the quality of the McDonald food. (The Deadline) It also helped the organization create a global design that helped in creating the global and all encompassing image of the organization, while at the same time it allowed for creation, blending and customization of the design into the local preferences and culture. McDonalds places the consumer at the core of its business activity and makes a commitment to the consumers for providing services promised, to give back to the community and also to ensure that there is continuous growth and development so as to improve the already existing system. Employees engage in a two way communication, where the represent the company’s ideas to the customers and take their feedback to the management. (Twitter). The management looks into the existing communicating system, and try to improve on this through strategies, communication councils, tactics so as to ensure that there is development of greater leadership priorities, programs, etc. The management should also train the employees of the company in communicating with the consumers, so that there is greater satisfaction and also that data can be gathered on the requirements and demands of the consumers which can then be communicated to the management which would then develop strategies to accommodate these demands so that the company grows and changes with the changing needs and also to ensure that the objectives of the company are fulfilled and achieved. Thus, through the paper, the importance of the marketing communication has been observed, discussed and analysed and it has been seen that it has emerged as an important concept in the global international economic sphere in ensuring that the companies are able to establish themselves in the economy and the market. It is one of the international marketing concepts that have gained importance wit the growth in the technological and information departments. Reference: Business Source Complete, accessed on Thursday, 13 August 2009 athttps://www.library.ohiou.edu/cgi-bin/redir_athensonly.pl?http://reference.igi-online.com/content/terms.asp. Career Builder: McDonald’s Company, accessed on Thursday, 13 August 2009 at http://www.careerbuilder.com/JobSeeker/Jobs/JobDetails.aspx?job_did=J3G41Q78SCGTXCP11WN&cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=39693104b2104d6cbd4b72118bcabeb0-302528369-wv-6. 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