Basic Marketing: A Global Managerial Approach

Perreault−McCarthy: Basic

Marketing: A

Global−Managerial

Approach, 14/e

21. Developing Innovative
    Marketing Plans

Text © The McGraw−Hill

Companies, 2002

628 Chapter 21

When developing a plan for international markets, marketing managers must

decide how involved the firm will be. We will discuss six basic kinds of involve-

ment: exporting, licensing, contract manufacturing, management contracting, joint

venturing, and wholly owned subsidiaries.

Some companies get into international marketing just by exporting—selling

some of what the firm produces to foreign markets. Some firms start exporting just

to get rid of surplus output. For others, exporting comes from a real effort to look

for new opportunities.

Some firms try exporting without doing much planning. They don’t change the

product or even the service or instruction manuals! As a result, some early efforts

are not very satisfying—to buyers or sellers.^9

Specialists can help develop the plan

Exporting does require knowledge about the foreign market. But managers who

don’t have enough knowledge to plan the details of a program can often get expert

help from middlemen specialists. As we discussed in Chapter 13, export agents can

handle the arrangements as products are shipped outside the country. Then agents

or merchant wholesalers can handle the importing details. Even large producers with

many foreign operations turn to international middlemen for some products or mar-

kets. Such middlemen know how to handle the sometimes confusing formalities and

specialized functions. A manager trying to develop a plan alone can make a small

mistake that ties products up at national borders for days or months.^10

Exporting doesn’t have to involve permanent relationships. Of course, channel

relationships take time to build and shouldn’t be treated lightly—sales reps’ con-

tacts in foreign countries are investments. But it’s relatively easy to cut back on

these relationships, or even drop them, if the plan doesn’t work.

Marketers need to develop
detailed marketing plans for each
strategy, but most firms have
multiple products and strategies
that need to work together as
part of an overall marketing
program.

Exporting often
comes first

Planning for Involvement in International Marketing