Today’s highly competitive business world demands a business understanding of global marketing and management that encompasses present and future aspirations. Successful managers use qualitative and quantitative strategies to gain a foothold in particular businesses. The best managers can be successful in any setting by using particular strategies in the most appropriate situations. However, a manager’s journey through global business includes being prepared to adapt skills and experiences to suit unforeseen situations. As confusion and uncertainty have increased in the global market over the last three years, success is elusive and the global market is unforgiving. As the old saying goes: “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Therefore, managers must be willing to plan, research, and execute as efficiently as possible.
First and foremost, management and marketing strategies must be identified that make the most of market opportunities and the company’s core competencies. Charles Hill (2013) recommends: “Maximize the value of the company by applying strategies that increase the company’s profitability and its earnings growth rate” (p. 418). Then, the market to which the product will be introduced must be analyzed. Philip Kotler and Kevin Keller (2011) recommend studying what influences consumer behavior, such as culture, reference groups, family, roles/status, age/life cycle stage, occupation, and economic circumstances. (p.151-156). In addition, it will be helpful to determine where the product will fit into psychological processes such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs or Herzberg’s Theory. Each of these theories is equally important and can be used to determine what psychological factors influence consumer behavior. In addition, The Five-Stage Model of the Buying Decision Process lays out the above topics and uses a basic process to help determine how and where key decisions in the buying process are made. By analyzing behavioral factors, theory, and decision-making processes, managers can make informed projections about how successful products may or may not be.
Once the market for the product has been recognized and the strategies implemented, the next logical step is to build brand equity. There are three widely recognized brand equity models that can be used. The first is Brandasset® Valuator, which focuses on four key components: Energized Differentiation, Relevance, Esteem, and Insight. The second is the BrandZ model and places customers in the BrandDynamics Pyramid based on how they respond to a set of questions. Lastly, the brand resonance model is similar to the BrandZ model in that it uses top-down, bottom-up steps. However, the brand resonance model uses six brand building blocks to emphasize the duality of brands. The duality in the brand resonance model refers to the rational and emotional routes that consumers can choose to achieve the highest level of resonance with the brand (Kotler & Keller, 2011, p. 245-249). Each of these brand equity models places special emphasis on the steps that must be implemented to generate brand influence. Having these tools is great for markets, but there also needs to be a way to measure brand equity to determine the level of success. Therefore, marketers can use brand value chain, brand audit, and brand tracking studies to collect quantitative data from target customers.
Finally, effective marketing communications are essential to conveying important product and business messages to customers. Many international companies focus on building a strong global network to support country-specific marketing efforts (Hill, 2013, p. 426). In today’s digital media-centric environment, businesses make heavy use of email lists, Facebook pages, and Twitter accounts. The communications mix is important because it allows marketers and managers to choose the best avenues to reach their customers and prospects. If the product is targeted at a niche market, the best methods of advertising may be through events, direct marketing, or interactive marketing. Managers must also determine which management strategy will best fit the product. For example, a localization strategy may be best used in situations where goods or services can be tailored to the tastes and preferences of a country or region. On the other hand, a global standardization strategy tries to use economies of scale to create low-cost products that are marketable throughout the world (Hill, 2013, p. 436-437). The best method for new products is not always clear-cut, and it often takes time to determine the most effective modes of communication.
Using and displaying these general management and marketing techniques in a global business environment allows companies to tap into their business niche and differentiate themselves. Clearly, there are many different strategies that can be implemented in certain situations, and managers must be prepared to remain flexible and agile throughout the process. Marketing is both experimental and logical, and when one formula doesn’t work, another can be added to change the outcome. When managers lay the right groundwork early on regarding the marketing and management of a product, the success rate will be higher than those who initially neglected it.
References
Hill, C.W.L. (2013). International business: compete in the global market. (Ed. 9). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
Kotler, P., Keller, K.L. (2011). Marketing Management (14th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.