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MARKETING MANAGEMENT
(5565)
Executive MBA/MPA (Col)
DOMESTIC AND
INTERNATIONAL
MARKETING CHALLENGES
ZAHID NAZIR
Roll.No. AB523655
Semester:Autumn 2008
DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL MARKETING
CHALLENGES
In the first part of this century, organizations found more and more ways to
automate. European and North American companies typically focused on
ways to improve the production of goods, because this is how they were able
to keep a competitive advantage. Manufacturers concentrated on producing
goods, believing the products would sell themselves; this was the production
era. During this era, producers operated in a seller's market -- one where
demand for products outstrips the supply.
In the decades that have passed since the beginning of the marketing era,
competition has intensified. Technological advances have enabled
organizations to serve much larger geographical areas, so that companies
now share the local markets along with many foreign firms. Government
deregulation have increased the number of companies working in the
industries, intensifying competition. Information explosion has made today's
buyers more sophisticated and more demanding. As a result, more and more
organizations are finding it necessary to move beyond the marketing era to
an emphasis on quality and customer value.
From mass marketing in the heydays of fifties and sixties, segmentation and
line extension in seventies and intensified niche marketing in he eighties,
total quality management blended with the marketing concept in late
eighties, broadening the traditional marketing concept to involve all
members of the organization in striving to improve quality in order to satisfy
customers. In an organization applying the total quality concept, various
functions of the organization (marketing, technical and operations) work
together to decide what the buyer needs and how the seller will meet those
needs; they act as partners to get the needs met. The goods and services are
produced right the first time, the whole process is faster, and the customers
and the suppliers are both satisfied with the result. In effect, practicing total
quality management enables the organization truly to put the marketing
concept into practice.
In 1980, Alvin Toffler coined the word demassification in his book, The Third
Wave, where he describes how and why the mass society created by the
industrial revolution in splintering more and more into a demassified
society. Mass markets had split into ever-multiplying, ever-changing sets of
mini-markets that demanded a continually expanding range of options,
models, types, sizes, colours, and customization. Moving in the 21st century,
the trend towards customization and micro marketing would continue to
intensify. Customers would choose from at least 70 types of ice creams
within the same brand, 50 models of cars from the same automobile
manufacturer, and may be over a 1000 perfumes in a single superstore.
The population of Pakistan grew at a compounded rate of 2.7 per cent to 139
million in 1998, compared to 155 million in 1997. Estimations show growth in
population of urban areas, and a decline in the rural areas, suggesting an
urban movement. The per capita income went up to $ 386 in 1998 from $352
in 1997. Growth in population and income, and urban migration also shows
an increasing trend of working women. It cannot be said to what extentthese
demographic changes will continue to be reflected by the next census. But
periodically we are hit by startling new members that dramatize the
accelerating change in the society both for consumers and marketers.
The 21st century will be the times of massive consumer database. A great
many consumer marketing companies and almost all business-to-business
marketers now maintain some form of detailed prospect and customer
profile using geographic, demographic and psychographic characteristics,
and purchase history. Keeping track of the customers personal
characteristics, preference, and purchase in a relational marketing database,
and pushing a customer-focused marketing strategy, together represent the
single most significant development of modem-day and future marketing.
The abundance of information through the electronic and print media has
given rise to advertising clutter, a problem and an opportunity for the
marketers and customers. The increase in local television channels, the dish-
syndrome and now the cable-syndrome have left the marketers perplexed.
Local and foreign magazines and newspapers have already flooded the
market. Advertising on the World Wide Web has seen a tremendous boom.
The real issue is -- as it has always been -- how do you connect most
effectively and affordably with your target market. And if you have been
dependent on one form of advertising medium, where do you now turn to
gain market share?
Any company is faced with marketing challenges, even the market leaders.
Many of these challenges rely upon perception of the market. Thus
Marketing is required. In most of these cases advertising helps, but that is
the most expensive method.
Even if you are recognized as a vendor, buyers and decision makers don’t see
the benefit or the differentiating features or functions. Thus they don’t put
you on the short-list. What to do:
- Publish comparison charts
- Create awareness with industry analysts and bloggers
The solutions of the market leader are selling at a high price tag. Decision
makers and buyers have the perception of expensive solutions.
Due to a number of reasons (less marketing, less overhead, better design,
improved production methods) your sales price is much lower.
Still people don’t take your solution into consideration as they think it
will be also too expensive. What to do:
Somehow the solutions of your company are considered as “cheap”. Still you
are offering good quality for a decent price. Not “cheap low quality”.
What to do:
The market leader offers a complex solution that is difficult and costly to
deploy and install, whereas your solution is simple and straightforward. Still
it can be used by 80% of the market.
People don’t even think of looking for a solution for this problem as they are
afraid of the difficulties and costs involved of implementation.
What to do:
- Distinguish from the market leader by explaining the lesser complexity and
ease of use
- Addressing this message of the difference to industry analysts and bloggers
You have a solution that has many more features or functionalities or is just
more efficient to solve the problem than the well-known brand name.
What to do:
You might have the best solution at the best price / quality; however people
don’t buy from you as your country of origin has a lesser reputation in
quality or support.
What to do:
- Use all references you have abroad - avoid your country references
- Get a certification for your solution or production process
- Set up a local office for sales and support
- Hire local sales people for each local market
- Have all your marketing material available in the local language
- Use competitive pricing, but don’t become low cost or cheap
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MARKETING ISSUES IN PAKISTAN
Pakistan is a land with a staggering population of a 160 million and a market
that has largely remained untapped. It falls under the umbrella of emerging
markets and offers its own set of challenges to marketers. It may even prove
evasive to conventional marketing wisdom. Major corporations have their
eyes set on developing nations and they have a monumental task ahead of
them. They need to realize that the G8 nations comprise a fraction of the
world’s population. These nations might be rich, but their inhabitants are
aging fast and this in my opinion is indicative of a stagnant market. In
contrast, developing nations such as India, Pakistan and the “other 86%” of
the world present a plethora of opportunities in the form of a prodigious
consumer base of more than 4.5 billion plus. These consumers are more
aware and are demanding their share of the consumer pie.
The following are some of the marketing issues that are pertinent to the
market:
13. Law and order situation. This is an external factor but important to
the notion of marketing.
90% of small businesses don't even have a marketing plan. It's difficult to
reach your destination if you don't know where you're going!
If you're a small business owner looking for ease, focus and marketing
success, we recommend that you focus on just 4 tactics:
Who wants and needs what you have to offer? The only wrong answer is
"everyone." If you're a pediatrician, you may see infants and children. Are
they your target audience? No! They are your patients, but it's the
parents you need to connect with to get the kids in your door. And it's
not just any parents - it's a definite group of parents.
In marketing, you get a lot more "bang for your buck" if you focus your
spending on a well-defined group of people that you enjoy working with.
The better you define this group, the more effective your marketing can
be.
80% of all purchase decisions are based on emotion. It's your job as a
marketer to know how your customers want to feel and to get them to
visualize how your services can meet their needs. People want to know,
"What's in it for me?" Tap into the emotion and create offerings that
touch your customers.
Since 90% of small business owners do not have a plan, you'll have a leg
up on your competition by crafting your personal, workable marketing
plan to ensure that you reach your business goals.
Following these 4 criteria will transform any small business into a money-
making machine guaranteed to grow your client list, sales and profits. The
upfront work is the secret to a million-dollar business, literally and
figuratively.
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PRACTICAL STUDY
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MARKETING CHALLENGES TO PHARMA INDUSTRY IN PAKISTAN
Most of the doctors in Pakistan instead of giving ticket to health to the poor
patients prescribe those medicines that give them ticket to Caribbean Cruise,
Video cassettes, Microwave Oven, Television, Family Entertainment Show
etc.
This is one of the many stories which reveal the dubious side of marketing in
the Pharmaceutical industry. In 2006, one company offered a brand New
Toyota Carrola car to a doctor and said if you stop prescribing our brands we
will get this car from you.
Another company offered fridges and dinning room furniture to the doctors
who prescribe their medicines.
Off course, Pharmaceutical companies must keep their competitive edge, but
one should do ethical marketing not this type of financial gain to the doctor.
“Med Reps are trained not to mere sample distributors and goodwill
ambassador. From offering cash deals and flight tickets to the baby sitting
and taxi services, the spectrum of task a med rep has to perform in serving
doctors is as broad as the medrep and doctors want it to be”.
In Pakistan, patients can pick up leaflets which help them diagnose their
own depression. If they are persuaded they can simply buy the Prozac over
the counter and start consuming one day. Advertisements with Slogans like
“Extra Strength” “Clinically Proven” 24 hour relief or nothing is stronger are
common.
So one should keep in mind these problems in mind while speaking about
Promotion of Drugs in Pakistan.
The Pharmaceutical industry has shown remarkably strong growth over the
past several years. But now this industry is moving towards a more mature
business model.
In reality the low rates being advertised come with many conditions. To
figure it out one has to read the fine print carefully. I think this is unfair to
the consumers and we need to criticize this trend which some may
characterize as deceptive marketing.
Over the years mobile service packages have become difficult to understand.
It used to be pre-pay & postpay and in-network & out-of-network. Now
there is the option of lower price for pre-defined numbers (usually in-
network) such as family and friends. Then there is the billing duration which
used to be 1 minute in good old days. Not anymore. The rates advertised are
usually based on lowest billing duration (say 30 seconds) and may only be
valid during certain times (e.g. Paktel’s Power Hours are 7 pm – 10 pm).
The billing duration for the same package can vary for in-network and out of
network calls!
The mobile companies in many regions of the world do not enjoy the
subscriber growth witnessed today in Pakistan. Therefore they have to work
on new strategies to spur the growth and increase the revenue per
subscriber. A recent paper in Alcatel Telecommunications Review
summarized the challenges of high growth mobile markets and provided
some suggestions to increase revenue. The paper “Innovating to maintain
momentum in mobile penetration” is available at Alcatel’s site. In this post
I’ll share a few key points and figures from their paper.
Figure 1 is a summary of key challenges. The mobile companies in Pakistan
will soon face many of these challenges.
RECOMMENDATION
Here are the 14 solid tips for getting started in the global marketplace.
Tip1
Determine how much you can afford to invest in your international
expansion efforts.
Tip2
Plan at least a two-year lead time for world market penetration.
Tip3
Pick a product or service to take or source overseas.
Tip4
Conduct market research to identify your prime target markets.
Tip5
Research the data to predict how your product will sell in a specific
geographic location.
Tip6
Find cross-border customers.
Tip7
Establish a direct or indirect method of export.
Tip8
Hire a good lawyer, a savvy banker, a knowledgeable accountant and a
seasoned transport specialist, each of whom specializes in
international transactions.
Tip9
Prepare pricing, and determine landed costs.
Tip10
Set up terms, conditions and other financing options.
Tip11
Brush up on documentation and export licensing procedures.
Tip12
Make personal contact with your new targets.
Tip13
Explore cross-border alliances and partnerships.
Tip14
Enjoy the journey
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Reference
www.ecommercetimes.com
www.docstoc.com/docs
marketing.about.com/od/marketingplanandstrategy
www.pragmaticmarketing.com/publications
www.map.org.pk
bx.businessweek.com/marketing-challenges
www.pharmabiz.com/article
findarticles.com/p/articles/
www.paki.biz/dir/pakistan-marketing
www.scribd.com
www.pta.gov.pk
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