THEINTERNATIONALMARKETINGPLAN 135lineswithinwhichthefinnoperates. Inthecaseofinternationalmarketing, it isparticu-
larlyimportanttoaddresstheconcernsofthestakeholdersinthehostcompany.
Recall fro mChapter1 thatthesituationanalysisconcernsa thoroughexamination
ofthe factors thatinfluencethebusinesses' abilitytosuccessfullymarketa productorserv-
ic e. The re sults lead to arealisticsetofobjectives.Conductinga situationanalysisinan
internationalsettingis abit moreextensive.Itnotonlyincludesthenormalassessmentof
external environmentalfactorsandresources/capabilities,it alsoincludesa determination
ofthelevelofcommitmentexhibited bythebusiness,aswellaspossiblemethodsofentry.
Theselast twofactorsareinterrelatedinthata company'slevelofcommitmenttointerna-
tionalmarkets willdirectlyinfluencewhet~ertheyemployexporting,a jointventure,or
someothermethodofentry.
In turn,level of commitmentandmethodof entryareinfluencedbytheevaluation
of environmentalfactorsaswellasresources andcapabilities. Thelatterauditsnotonly
theweaknessesofthe company,butalsothestrengthsofthecompany,whichareoftentaken
forgranted.Thisisparticularlyimportantininternationalmarkets;forexample,customer
brandloyaltymaybemuchstrongerincertainmarkecsthanothers, andproductsmaybe
at theendoftheirlifeinthedomestic marketbutmaybeidealforlesssophisticatedmarkets.INTEGRATED MARKETING •
GOINGGLOBALTAKESCOORDINATION
Importingtechnologyand theevolution,ofa global economy
hasmadeglobalmarketinga realityformanyAmericancom-
panies. Largercorporationsarenotaloneintheir pursuitof
businessabroad:theDepartmentofCommercer eportsthat
60%of Americanfirmsex.portingproducts todayhavefewer
than 100 employees.Ameticanbusinesseshaveplentyofrea-
sonstomarket their productsinothercountries.According
toconsultingfirmDeloitteandTouche,about95%ofthe
world'spopulation andtwo-thirdsofitstotalpurchasingpower
arecurrentlylocatedoutsidethe U.S.
Moreover,thedecisiontodistdbuteproductsinothercoun-
triesnotonlyopens new markets, butcanalsogreatlyexpand
a company's business. Forexample,if a U.S. bicyclemanu-
facturerfocusesonlyontheU.S.market, it losestheoppor-
tunitytoincrease revenuesincountries where bicyclesarea
primarymodeoftransportation..
Global 'marketingcan alsobreathelifeintoa fo undering
product,and mayevenextenditslifespan. Additionally,afor-
eignproductoften cancommanda higherprices,implybecause
consumersaroundtheworld expectforeignitemstocostmore.
However, implementing a globalstrategy requiresa great
dealofcoordination.Forexample, manycompaniesthat have
successfully builta strong brandintheU.S.havefoundthat
theirdomesticidentityhaslittle,ifany,impact inmarkets
where they arerelativelyunknown.Anadvertising campaign
isonewaytodeal with this problem.Attaching y.ourcorpo-
rateidentityto aknown, respectedentityinyourtargetmar-
ketis another.WhenFedEx,forexample, wantedtoincrease
itsnamerecognitioninEurope,thecompanyteamedwith
clothingmanufacturerBenetton,anestablishednamethere.
PedExsponsorsoneofBenetton's formula' racingcarsin
Europe.
KarenRogers,managerofkeycustomermarketingat
FedEx,addedthatsponsoringeventsdomesticallyorinter-
nationallyalsogivesa companytheopportunitytomeetwith
perspectivecustomersina socialsettingandaffordsa series
ofspin-offs, suchaspromotions andproductgiveaways.
Indistributingproductsglobally,manyAmericancorpo-
rations teamwithlargemultinationalcompanies thatdonot
offer competitiveproducts buthave theresources and
expertisetodistributeandmarketthosegoods. Thiscanbea
cost-effectivealternativetosettingupoperationsoutsidethe.
U.S.
Manysmallandmid-sizedcompaniesthatareuncertain
whethertoopenoperationsinanothercountryinvestigatethe
pos sibilityof usinganexportmanagementcompany.These
companiestypicallyprovideservices thatrangefromresearch
tonegotiatingcontractswithoverseasdistributors.Sources:DomDelPrete,"WinningStrategiesLeadtoGlobalMar-
ketingSuccess; 'Marketing News,August18, 1997 ,pp.1-2;
FrankRose, "ThinkGlobally,ScriptLocaJiy,"Fortune,Nov. 8,
1999 ,pp.157-161;LambethHochwald,"AreYouSmartEnough
toSellGlobally?"SalesandMarketing Management.July 1998,
pp.53-55;EricaRasmusson, "GlobalWarning,"SalesandMar-
ketingManagement,Nov.2000,p. 17.