Page 178 - GLOBAL STRATEGIC MARKETING

7 International Product and Service Strategies

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this unit you should be able to:

• To evaluate the various elements of an international product/service
policy.

• To discuss the advantages and disadvantages of standardisation /
adaptation.

• To discuss the concept of branding.

7.1 Introduction

A marketing mix is defined as the combination of factors that need to be

considered when forming an effective marketing strategy. Conventional
analysis of the marketing mix focuses on the four Ps: product, price,

promotion and place (Harrison et al., 2000, p. 480). This unit starts with a
review of international segmentation, and then discusses international
product policy, including the components of the international product offer,

product strategy, managing the product life cycle overseas, product
analysis, and factors that affect international products. It is essential that

international marketers make the right strategic decisions as the product
is one of the most important elements of the marketing mix.

7.2 International segmentation

There is no one way to segment a market, so marketers will try different
ways to view the market structure. According to Kotler and Armstrong

(2004), there are few companies that have the resources and/or the will to
operate in all or most of the countries that cover the globe. They will have

to pay attention to differences in economic, cultural and political concepts,
and therefore they need to group markets into segments with distinct
buying needs and behaviours. The criteria for effective segmentation are

as follows: