Globalization of Markets

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New Jersey Institute Of Technology *

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MRKT631

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Marketing

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Feb 20, 2024

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docx

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Uploaded by ChefAardvarkMaster1048

1.Levitt’s “Globalization of Markets” is considered to be a seminal article in international marketing a. Summary of Levitt's Article and Factors Leading to Globalization: Levitt’s article argues that the global markets are homogenized because of various factors. Mentiones below are some of the key factors. Levitt argues that the world is moving towards a standardized market. The products and services follow a trend where the preferences and needs of the customers are accepted worldwide. Technology and Communications play a very important role in the globalization of markets. The advancements in technology has made the convergence of consumer preferences across the world very convenient. Standardizing the goods and services globally can help reduce cost and improve the quality and efficiency which can help achieve the economies of scale. Levitt focused on adapting to global marketing where he thinks that products and marketing strategies should not be any region specific rather it should be common to all the consumer needs. b. Meaning and advantages of standardization: According to Levitt, Standardization is having products and services that remain same across different markets which helps in creating an efficiency in marketing of products and services. Advantages: A product which is standardized throughout the world would be able to create a global brand image. It can also lead to cost savings as production can be possible on a larger scale. Meaning, advantages and disadvantages of Customization: Customization is tailoring the products and services as per the customer needs and preferences. Advantages: Customization helps meet the specific needs of customers which provides an advantage in competitive market. Tailoring the products with customer needs can help improve customer satisfaction. Disadvantages: Customization may sometimes increase production costs. On a large scale, managing the preferences on a personal basis can be challenging. c. Relevance of Levitt's Premise Today:

The advancement in technologies, cultural diversities can influence the effects of global marketing. The advancement in technologies increases the rate of global markets. It has become easier for brands to maintain a global image. On the other hand, the customization of products as per customer needs enables consumers from around the world to tailor their products which is challenging for the businesses. 2. The Most Common Mistakes Companies Make with Global Marketing” a. Summarize the article in detail As per Kelly’s Article, usually the marketing team is responsible for carrying out the market research. Market research helps to understand how the company should expand and in what ways the organization can attract the customers. Kelly specifies some challenges which the companies face while expanding globally. Not Specifying Countries: It is important to conduct market research and break down the markets into individual countries. Understand the cultural norms, laws and local competitors is necessary. Not paying enough attention to internal data: It is important to use the internal data and understand market opportunities. Not adapting Sales and Marketing Channels: Understanding the cultural preferences while sales and marketing of products and services is necessary. Not adapting the product offering: It is important to align the features and prices of products and services as per the country basis. b. Agreement or Disagreement: Recognizing and adapting to the local preferences and leveraging internal data can be some effective strategies to globalize the markets. c. Additional Strategies for Successful Global Expansion: The advancements in technologies can help in the global expansion of markets in various ways. Building partnerships with local businesses, investing in cultural intelligence among the teams and understanding cultural diversity can help. Businesses can conduct agile market testing and implement digital marketing campaigns.

Proactively seeking customer feedback on a regular basis can help improve product or service quality and ensure customer satisfaction. The silence was beginning to become uncomfortable as you searched for words to answer the question from your chief executive officer (CEO). The boardroom had never looked so big, and it seemed as if her words were still echoing: “How could it get to this? You sat here telling us how this new software program would dramatically improve our marketing efficiencies and customers’ repurchase frequency. It has been over two months, and the bloody thing isn’t even working!” As you searched for the right way to respond, the events leading up to this moment flashed through your mind. It was more than two months ago when you sold the board on the benefits of a new sales force automation tool. You had just been promoted to vice president of marketing, taking over from Tom Vecchio. Tom was an oldfashioned salesperson, with a huge personality and an incredible memory. He was employee number four when the company launched back in 1982, and he had been instrumental in its early growth via personal networking—phone calls, rounds of golf, and birthday calls. He had surrounded himself with very similar people. You understood that culture, you had been one of the young guns a few years ago, and now you had replaced the master. But things had changed in your industry, competition was much tougher, and markets were now global. “How could a firm the size of this one run sales and marketing without any IT support?” you wondered once promoted. How ironic that you’d be the one to usher in the “new IT- enabled world.” You had managed to never concern yourself with all that techie computer stuff. You were a pretty good user: e-mail, web, Word, PowerPoint, some Excel . . . the usual. But now your bonus depended on the performance of the whole function, not just the number of contracts you closed, and it seemed as if you had been getting all the heat about efficiencies that they could not put on Tom . . . they could scream all they wanted—he was untouchable. But you weren’t! It all seemed to have fallen into place when you went to the National Convention of the Sales Executives Association. At one of the booths, you had seen VelcroSoft and the sales force automation product VelcroSFA. There was a lot of buzz around the product both at the conference and in the press. The attendant at the booth told you about all the great features of VelcroSFA: automated recording of information at each stage in the sales process, automated escalation and approval, contact management, lead sharing for team selling, and in- depth reporting. It could even integrate with human resource systems for immediate computation of commissions, reduced data entry, and increased speed. After you returned to the office, you read some more material about VelcroSFA and called a couple of friends who had implemented it in their organizations. It seemed to be the right application. You showed the website demo to some of the bestperforming salespeople. They did not seem impressed, and they raised a bunch of issues. Joe, one of the old-timers, said, “The Rolodex did wonders for me throughout my career; what do I need a computer for?” Joe never liked you anyway since you had taken Tom’s spot, you thought. Amanda, a younger associate, seemed more positive: “I’m willing to give it a shot, but it seems quite convoluted. I’m not sure I need all those functionalities.” You recall thinking that they would change their minds once they saw their commissions go up because the software would allow them to spend more time with customers. You did not like computers, after all, but you liked the software more as you found out more about it. They would, too. Jenny Cantera, the IT director, had pledged her help with the implementation and, after looking at the brochure, had said, “Should take a weekend to have

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this application running and write the interface to the HR system. I’m busy with the implementation of the new accounting system for the next three or four weeks, but I should be able to do this afterward.” You had some doubts about Jenny. She was very smart and technically gifted, but she was the very first IT director in your firm, and she had little experience in the position. The board had been sold pretty easily on the purchase, even though at $55,000 it was a sizable investment for your firm. You had used the return-on-investment (ROI) calculations provided by VelcroSoft. Granted, VelcroSoft personnel were very aggressive with assumptions underlying their calculations, but with a bit of effort on everyone’s part, you truly believed you could achieve strong results. As soon as you got the go-ahead, you contacted the vendor and obtained the installation package. Everything had gone perfectly up to that point, but your fortune seemed to turn right after. First, you had the software license codes sitting on your desk for more than a month. Jenny was running into unexpected trouble with the accounting application. Once she finally got around to implementing your product, she took one weekend to complete the implementation and created the user accounts. The interface to the HR application was not operational yet—something about an “XML parser,” which you did not quite understand. However, you pressed on. Over the following week, you had encouraged your sales rep to “play around with the applications.” You had even sent an e-mail with the subject line “Up and running in the brave new world of sales force automation!” But the response had been cool at best. Only a few accounts had been accessed, and overall, the people you spoke to said they were too busy and would look at the software once the quarter closed. Last weekend, when Jenny wrote the interface to the HR systems, all hell broke loose. On Monday (yesterday), the HR database was locked, and the HR system was down. Jenny was scrambling to bring it back up, and she was now saying she might have to reinitialize the software. She had already removed VelcroSFA, and at this point, it looked like the application would not be a priority for a while. You did not really mind; you had bigger fish to fry . . . you were concerned about getting fired. 1. Who do you think is to blame for the current state of affairs? In any given project, the responsibility for the success or failure is shared by various stakeholders. Below are some perspectives about each of them: Vice President of Marketing: Being the responsible person for implementation of VelcroSFA, addressing the concerns during the initial stages could have help prevent certain issues. A better decision making process and following a specific timeline for the tasks to be done could have resulted in successful implementation. As mentioned, he had an initial doubt regarding the IT Director, so he could have set clear expectations and timelines in the initial phase which would have prevented future delays. Having additional manpower, and recruiting people who have the correct knowledge and expertise could have helped. Jenny Canter (IT Director): She was not able to meet the promised deadline due to accounting application which could have been avoided. Instead of keeping it as a subsequent project to the prior, she could have assigned a new team to the project. Also, taking into consideration the potential issues like the impact on HR system due to implementation could have helped to save time. Board of Directors: Reading the above case, it appears that the Board of Directors made a quick decision to implement a new software without examining the potential

issues and possible delays. A deeper study of risks and challenges would have resulted in a successful implementation. 2. What do you think is the most critical mistake you made over the last two months? What were the principal mistakes made by others involved? The most critical mistake I believe was lack of planning, there were no milestones to the projects. Manpower and expertise were not taken into consideration, relying on a single IT director who was new to the systems was not the best decision. The concerns of people were not resolved, which could have made them reluctant to adapt the software in their work. Principle mistakes made by others: Jenny Cantera: Not understanding the potential challenges which may arise in the implementation process like compatibility with the existing systems. Sales Team and other users: Denying the need of software without understanding or using it. Board of Directors: Approving the purchase and implementation without assessing the risks and challenges, especially with a new Vice president and a first-time IT director. 3. How could these mistakes have been avoided, if at all? The following measures could have helped:  Assessment: Before approving the product, the challenges, risks and uses should have been taken into consideration. The whole team should be involved in the decision making process and any concerns should be resolved to ensure that everyone is on the same page.  Implementing a plan with timelines and milestones.  Not depending on one single IT personal and instead dividing the work within a team.  Comparing the software with other available software in the market would have helped pick a software which was compatible with the existing systems and something that everyone finds useful. 4. Should you take this opportunity to say good-bye to everyone and resign now? If not, what should you say in response to the CEO’s question? Leaving a company on account of one unsuccessful implementation would not be a wise decision. Instead it’s necessary to learn from the mistakes and take them into consideration in future. Efforts should be taken to rectify the situation in as many ways as possible. And if not, need to give a confidence to the organization that you abide by the company values and will try to give your best in the coming future.

Globalization of Markets

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