Text A: International marketing.

International marketing

'The world's youth prefer Coke to tea, trainers to sandals,' wrote one marketing specialist recently.
This implies that tastes everywhere are becoming similar and homogeneous. But the watchword
should still be Think global, act local. Acting local means having local market knowledge: there are
still wide variations in taste, customs, behavior and expectations between consumers in different
markets, even markets that from the outside look very similar, such as those in Europe or Latin
America. It means, for example, recognizing attachments to local brands, how business is done in
each place and so on.

Of course, these are issues that a company with a global presence has to address. But even
companies that seem as if they have been global forever had to start from a home base. For
example, it took Marlboro 30 years and McDonald's 20 years to become truly global organizations.

How to enter overseas markets in the first place? Philip Kotler enumerates the various methods.

 Indirect export. Exporters use an intermediary, such as an export agent, to deal with
buyers in the overseas market.
 Direct export. Companies handle their own exports, for example by setting up overseas
sales offices.
o Licensing. Companies sell the rights to use a manufacturing process,
trademark or patent for a fee or royalty. In services such as hotels, the company
may negotiate a management contract with a local business to run the hotels on its
behalf.
o Joint ventures. Two companies, for example an overseas firm and a local one, may
work together to develop a particular market.
o Direct investment. The company buys a local firm, or sets up its own manufacturing
subsidiaries.

Of course, these different arrangements require different levels of commitment, investment and
risk. Kotler talks about the internationalisation process, where firms move (hopefully) through
these stages:

 no regular export activities;

 export via independent representatives / agents;
 establishment of overseas sales subsidiaries;
 establishment of production facilities abroad.
This process will help them to progress towards global thinking and local action as they expand
internationally. At different stages, companies will have different levels of understanding of the
markets where they are trying to develop. Each step in the process requires different levels and
types of support.

Text B

Having made a product, the problem becomes to find someone who will buy it. It is the re-
sponsibility of the marketing department to promote and organize the sale of products to the
purchaser. Broadly speaking, activities such as sales promotion, advertising and market research
are covered. It would be possible for the factory simply to produce a motor car and then hope that
it sells. However, it takes a long time to set up a production line for a car assembly plant and even
minor modifications can prove difficult and expensive. It is much better to discover what people
are looking for when they buy a car and then try to satisfy their needs. Do car drivers want speed -
or safety? Are they looking for the power to accelerate - or comfort? Is their aim to impress their
neighbours and other road users, or are they just concerned with getting from A to B and back?
How important is the price, and the cost of petrol and maintenance? Which designs and colours
are preferred? Who is buying the car? Is it a company or an individual? It is questions like these the
marketing department will have to answer even before production commences.

It becomes obvious that making and selling are two facets of the same undertaking. The
marketing manager and the production manager are two members of the same team, depending
on each other in much the same way as the players in the Liverpool football team. What good does
it do if our strikers are scoring goals but our goalkeeper keeps having to pick the ball out of the
back of the net? This situation could be compared to the marketing team who make great efforts
to find customers for their cars, only to find the cars cannot be delivered on time, or that the cars
develop faults as soon as they arrive.

The problem facing any business is that the market for goods - and services - is ever changing. Take
the case of a company manufacturing cigarettes. Not so long ago the market for cigarettes was
assured. Then the medical researchers discovered the link between cigarette smoking and lung
cancer and many other diseases. Prospects for further growth evaporated as many people decided
both to save money and live longer to spend it. The government joined in by restricting advertising
and sponsoring their own anti-smoking campaign. The government is also understandably involved
in campaigns to discourage drinking and driving, much to the chagrin of the breweries whose sales
of wines and spirits are thereby reduced.

New technologies have an even more devastating effect on the markets. Once upon a time there
was a very successful company which made gas mantles. The whole country was lit by gas. Then
came electric light. The sales of gas mantles plummeted. Today we look to oil for our energy. Our
oil companies prosper, but for how long? The day before yesterday we used typewriters. Yesterday
we used electric typewriters. Today we use word processors. And tomorrow?
The rapidly changing world is both a headache and an exciting challenge to those engaged in
marketing. If they predict correctly their business will survive and prosper. If they misread the signs
the business will fail and, perhaps more importantly for all of us, valuable economic resources will
be wasted.

Text C: Office
A question of organization

A
fter a hectic day at work, Valerie's desk looks as if it has been hit by a bomb. So before she leaves
the office, she gathers up all the papers and documents, then sorts them and puts each in the
proper place. She places documents she still has to work on in her in trav. She punches holes in the
margins of the documents she is finished with and files them in ring binders that she keeps in
a cabinet. If she has papers that she wants to keep together, she puts them into transparent plastic
pocket files, or she joins them with staples or paper clips. Valerie keeps confidential documents
and reports in hanging files in the filing cabinet next to her desk. She throws away the pages that
she no longer needs or runs them through the shredder. Pens, along with the scissors, the ruler
and pencils, belong in the desk organizer.

It is getting late, and if Valerie doesn't hurry, she'll miss happy hour at the pub. She quickly checks
her e-mails one last time. In the morning, she has to go and see a client, so she makes sure that she
has the correct time and the client's address in her PDA, and the presentation and the
other files she'll need on her notebook. She then turns it off and packs it in its bag along with the
adapter and the mouse.

As soon as she gets back from the client, Valerie will have to organize a conference call with the
London office. With such important appointments ahead, being well-prepared is essential. She has
made a list of things she has to do the next day, but she also writes herself a reminder and the
phone numbers that she'll need on a Post-it that she sticks on to her phone. Valerie also re-
members to check the fax machine and printer in the next room. There is hardly any paper left in
the printer, so she goes to the storeroom to get more. Satisfied, she closes the cabinets, and has a
last look around the office. It's now quarter past seven and Valerie is looking forward to a well-
earned drink and to spending the evening with her friends.