Global Branding – Issues, Challenges and Strategies

A global brand is the product or services that bring along their identity (brand) which is available in many nations and, though it may differ from one country to another, the localized versions have a common goal and a similar identity. In other words, global brands carry one brand name or logo together with it. A global brand can carry one name or logo and thus be recognized worldwide, however, the product may not be of the same standard at all. Global branding can be influenced by some the issues like social and culture, the economics of the country, and political condition in a country. Besides, a lot of the marketers in the world are facing the problem of customizing or standardize their products and services. Marketers tend to influence by major challenges before they went for global branding, at the same time, the marketers should also make decisions to Continue reading

Ethnocentrism in International Marketing

International marketing activities are interlinked with a firm’s corporate goals, objectives and strategy. The overall aims, objectives and strategy of a firm has a great impact on international marketing decisions e.g, whether to enter new uncertain markets and how maximum would be risk that the firm is ready to take or the level of control required over international operations. There is no denying in fact that a person’s self reference criterion (SRC) and an associated ethnocentrism are a two primary obstacles to success in international marketing. Self reference criteria is defined as an unconscious reference to one’s own cultural values, experiences and knowledge as a basis for decisions. Ethnocentrism is closely connected to self reference criterion. Ethnocentrism can be defined as the nations that one’s own culture or company knows best how to do things. Ethnocentrism has been seen particularly a problem in the American managers at the beginning of Continue reading

4 C’s of Contemporary Marketing Mix

The contemporary market has developed with the approach of more prominent customer-centric marketing conditions. Companies’ main focus is to work with consumers, identify their needs, and design products according to their needs. We can see a shift towards personalization, interactivity, and genuine, direct discourse with the client. These changes have made way for innovation, customization, and networking. These new methodologies permit marketers not only to build a relationship with the target group but also to recognize the constantly changing consumer behavior. Moreover, it has also enabled the markets to react quickly to their competitors and anticipate future market trends. Hence, all these developments have provoked the advancements of new theoretical approaches that deal with specific rather than general marketing issues and situations. It’s further feasible for companies to interact with and administer the consumer better with the help of digital platforms. Contemporary marketing incorporates the following marketing mix in the Continue reading

What Is Price Perception?

Price perception is one of the leading variables when it comes to consumers buying process. Economists, market researchers have already undergone researches and predict that in buying decision price are the driving forces. Several studies explain and determine and explain the same fact thereby concluding the fact with decision making. The determinants of price perception can be both rational and psychological factors. The other factors may become psychological factors and prestige. The key variable to explore and explain consumers’ price perception is the degree of understanding the psychological process of consumers’ price perception. When a firm has seasonal demand, the discrepancies are observed between the supply and demand. Generally the firm has excess supply at the time of low demand and scarcity when there is high demand. If the firm commercializes goods and faces seasonal demands, it can minimize the effect through good management of production and storage. The problem Continue reading

What is the Difference Between Marketing and Sales?

When thinking of marketing and sales and what the difference is, we tend to scratch our heads. Both activities that go into this topic have the same result, generating an income base for the company. What is the definition of marketing?  Marketing refers to the events that take place in a company connected with buying and selling a product or service. Depending on the size of the company, typically depends on the approach in reaching its audience.  A baker in a small town just starting out may use the newspaper. Whereas a restaurant owner of a major food chain may utilize television, and the internet to reach its clientele.  Before we break down marketing in more detail let us look at the definition of sales.  Sales can be described as a deal between two parties where the buyer receives goods, services, and/or assets in exchange for money. It can also Continue reading

Porter’s Generic Competitive Strategies

In 1985, in his book  Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance,  Michael Porter, outlined a set of generic strategies that could be applied to all products or services.  In coping with the Porters model of   five competitive forces, there are three potentially successful generic strategic approaches (also known as Porter’s Generic Competitive Strategies)  to outperforming other firms in an industry: Overall cost leadership. Differentiation. Focus. Sometimes the firm can successfully pursue more than one approach as its primary target, though this is rarely possible as will be discussed further. Effectively implementing any of these generic strategies usually requires total commitment and supporting organizational arrangements that are diluted if there is more than one primary target. The generic strategies are approaches to outperforming competitors in the industry; in some industries structure will mean that all firms can earn high returns, whereas in others, success with one of the generic Continue reading