BUS 343 Week 5 Final Paper

Final Paper

BUS 343 International Marketing

E- Marketing and shopping are one of the fastest growing business platforms that connect the world into one global market and with any business there are opportunities and challenges they face. Based on the article, the following are the challenges and opportunities faced by the e-marketing and e-shoppers.

Describe how this reflects the challenges and opportunities facing the global marketer. Describe at least two strategies for overcoming these challenges, and at least one strategy to seize the opportunities.

“E-shopping can be a shopper’s primary goal, or can occur when a consumer is focusing principally upon other goals (e.g., socializing). So, it occurs not only on sites dedicated to sales/marketing but also on sites focused upon other objectives” (Blake, Hudinski, Neuendorf, LaRosa & Luming, 2015). Even though there has been a tremendous improvement in the communication systems, the internal analysis of campaigns across businesses are a key challenge of global marketers. Since e-shopping can be a consumer’s focus on the primary goals of socializing this occurs on sites that are dedicated to sales and marketing. This makes it hard to coordinate the marketing strategies of a single platform that has different products for its consumers. An example I can think of is my brother is the owner of Microphones.com, he has been hesitant on placing any products he sells on social media because of the type of platform it is. He believes it isn’t as welcoming to consumers and believes that tangible products would not do well on this type of platform but believes he can offer services and market them. With the growth for new technologies from social media, mobile apps, digital stores and mobile payments, these advancements in technology can represent obstacles for senior marketers that aren’t prepared. Let us take the pop-up ads, a passive and targeted advertising that seems very annoying, and some will find it tiresome, but they are very popular and though some may find it annoying, others will actually click on the ad because the service or product offered has caught their attention. There are companies, large and global that have invested in shared infrastructure and although it is an economic leverage for them, the rise of cost can become a problem as the global companies get bigger and more diverse.

Although there are challenges, global marketers have the opportunity for strategic benefits. Social media is a popular digital tool that companies can use to offer non tangible products, credit card readers can be used by any smart media device making selling product or services anywhere and not have to worry about additional machinery or added costs, manufacturer and distributor’s web sites offering tangible products through online marketplaces and the ability to search for absolutely anything via search engines and product information as well as comparable pricing via the comfort of their mobile device. These online tools are a vital and a versatile channel to Millennials. The article states ” In the last two years, an online survey in the U.S. recruited 323 Millennials (18-34), students at two large and one smaller university in the east and midwest. The 776 young Millennials in China were students at one large and three small southwestern schools. Respondents were young; 98 percent of the U.S. and 99 percent of the China samples were 18-25” (Blake, Hudinski, Neuendorf, LaRosa & Luming, 2015). Those numbers are impressive. Millennials, youthful grown-ups in their 20’s and 30’s, are considered to be the twentieth century’s last era and it’s first genuinely computerized one. Therefore, retailers worldwide must consider if they are providing the customer experience this generation demands.

Based on your readings in the textbook and this article, explain how the cultural differences impact the marketing plans and tactics in the United States and China?

Companies are always looking for new opportunities to help their business grow, these opportunities are also sought out by businesses internationally. Values are one of the cultural differences that impact marketing plans in the United States as well as in China. It can dictate what is unacceptable and what is acceptable. The United States, considered socialist and is a melting pot of all forms of nationalities and cultures and operations in the economy is different from that of China. The approaches are different, and the culture is different. Advertisements in China will be different than the United States due to the level of freedom exercised. Culture, language, and behaviors can have an influence on marketing in both the United States and in China and pose a great challenge. If you think about it this way, different cultures teach different values and what may be appropriate in the United States may be offensive or insulting in China. This is why it is very important to understand the culture and style of the country one is marketing in. There are some considerations that need to be taken when marketing like the importance of relationship for business people in China is to develop a relationship with the people they buy and sell to. Whereas with Americans, while they don’t oppose strong relationships, their value of the transaction is first priority (Thompson, 2012). Communication such as language and study of behaviors are an important factor and should be researched along with the differences in culture. In the article “Three Main Differences between the US and China in Consumer Marketing” author Jin Zhang compared three differences in consumer marketing between the US and China. Of the three differences she discussed, the one that stood out to me the most, “Regional Differences vs. Ethnicity Differences”. Zhang pointed out that “Unlike ethnically homogenous China, whose population is 99% Han, the USA is made of many ethnicities: 14% African American, 6% Asian, 15% Hispanics, and 65% Caucasian. Different ethnicities retain their own cultural habits. If we take hair as an example, we observe that Caucasian hair, Asian hair and African American hair are very different in terms of their composition and texture. More importantly, the different ethnicities have their own traditional point of view and ways to care for their hair. So, there are different brands tailor-made for different ethnicities” (Zhang, 2015). What stood out to me the diversities and how marketing for each would differ. This is an important key factor when marketing to different nationalities, ethnicities and cultures whether in the United States or in China. If the marketing strategy is not researched thoroughly and precisely it can decrease any opportunity to sell the product to that targeted audience.

Locate at least one article on current international business news (e.g., Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fortune) about e-shopping and/or international marketing and relate it to the case.

According to Forbes online article, “Five challenges for tomorrow’s global marketing leaders: study” author Freddie Laker explains that global marketing has changed the face of the online business and there are online companies that are struggling to adapt to this world which has changed over the past years. The disruptive digital technology has posed a threat to both consumers and suppliers. Laker also states that “The proliferation of new technologies – from social media and mobile apps to in-store digital experiences and mobile payments – represents a set of obstacles for which senior marketers are ill prepared” (Laker, 2012). Statistics presented in the article that there has been an estimated 15% of senior marketers that feel prepared to deal the rapidly changing consumer whereas 8% of the marketers believe that agencies are succeeding in their support of the global brands that are being produced (Laker, 2012). This is the reason why online marketers have been faced with some challenges that need to be addressed to ensure the business grows along with the rapid changes. “Global consumers are the new class of consumers that are driven by the affordable technology that has changed and affected the marketing rules (Laker, 2012).

Describe the framework of analysis and research approaches that can be used to assess the opportunities presented by e-shopping globally (e.g., segmentation analysis, target market analysis). Then, address the following specific aspects of research:

Conducting a market segment analysis is a key factor for any organization when it comes to marketing efforts. It is the key to the success to any business whether a new business is in motion or a company that has been in business for quite some time. I believe that the demographic market segmentation is one of the most common and important segmenting markets and with online marketing it can help improve strategies by placing the larger markets into segments groups based on age and/or sex. It makes it easier for consumers to locate product a little better, saving time and ability to find other online products and services. For example, Microphones.com focuses on selling all forms of microphones from conferencing microphones for businesses to gaming headsets for personal use. If he wants to target gamers that use all console platforms from PlayStation to Xbox his marketing plan should include “online gaming” in the description as primary in order for the consumer to find microphone headsets for gaming, because only a microphone is needed when playing the game online to communicate with other players. This strategy can be used to improve the e-marketing skills for Micrphones.com or any business. Geographic segmentation is primarily used when targeting a specific region, or specific location. With online marketing, global companies that conduct their business online would end up saving because they have the ability to deliver the same message in their marketing plan. However, it would be wise to customize their marketing to each location. Psychographics is another marketing segmentation that is considered to be a lifestyle segmentation and with so much diversity, and different backgrounds and ethnicities and races companies must ensure they identify consumers based on the individuals likes and preferences along with demographic segmentation for better results. It is important to understand that market segmentation and targeting can be used together to help the company be more selective about who specifically they are targeting. The process of targeting and segmentation are necessary to identify and target specific demographic groups and although it is a lengthy process it ensures the marketer knows exactly which segment will produce the most potential sale for the organization or business. Once the market segmentation has been identified the marketer can target the customer segments through the online marketing strategies that were developed.

The case study used data collected from an online survey.  Review the data and describe alternative modalities for conducting large scale consumer research in today’s international markets.

The goal for data sharing is ensure other researchers can re-use the data. When determining the design system for data, re-using data should always be taken into account. The data presented in the article can be easily re-used. When I worked at the Foster Care Agency, we had to collect data to provide to the CEO which was living in Oklahoma City, OK. There were multiple locations in Oklahoma but only one location in Georgia, therefore the CEO wanted to see the numbers to assuring him the current status of the company. The data collected was useful because this information provided the CEO much information he needed to know how well the company is doing specifically in Valdosta, GA and compare those numbers with the number in Oklahoma City, OK.

What additional method(s) would you recommend to expand on the existing data?  Support your recommendation by providing an article or another case study that uses the method effectively.

There are different types of data collection that can be used to gather information are; census, sample survey, experiment, or observational study. An experiment is a controlled study in which the researcher attempts to understand the cause and effects of some relationships. The study is “controlled” in the sense that the researcher controls (1) how subjects are assigned to groups and (2) which treatments each group receives. The Cause-and-effect relationships can be teased out when subjects are randomly assigned to groups. Therefore, experiments, which allow the researcher to control assignment of subjects to treatment groups, are the best method for investigating causal relationships (Stattrek.com, 2018) Conducing an experiment will allow the marketer to be able to study the data and apply the different segmentations to bring about the desired results and assess the effects of the different marketing strategies that would be applied to their future campaign.

Describe at least one legal consideration that should be addressed when marketing internationally.

When marketing a product internationally, there are legal considerations that should be kept in mind such as who and where will this advertisement target.  Author Cateora stated, “In Canada, the rulings are even more stringent: All claims and statements must be examined to ensure that any representation to the public is not false or misleading. Such representation cannot be made verbally in selling or be contained in or on anything that comes to the attention of the public (such as product labels, inserts in products, or any other form of advertising, including what may be expressed in a sales letter). Courts have been directed by Canadian law to take into account, in determining whether a representation is false or misleading, the “general impression” conveyed by the representation as well as its literal meaning… Yet in China, authorities banned a LeBron James Nike TV ad because “violates regulations that mandate all advertisements in China” (Cateora, 2015).  Therefore, it is imperative that all legal considerations are made prior to marketing this or any product. There are specific laws that affect a business such as licensing and permits

Reference:

Blake, B., Hudinski, K., Neuendorf, K., LaRosa, R., & Luming, Y. (2015, April). Find Market Research Companies, Facilities, Jobs, Articles, More | Quirks.com. Retrieved from https://www.quirks.com/articles/a-look-at-the-e-shopping-habits-of-u-s-and-chinese-millennials

Cateora, Philip, John Graham, Mary Gilly. International Marketing, 17th Edition. McGraw-Hill Learning Solutions, 11/2015. VitalBook file.

Laker, F. (2012, August 21). Five Challenges For Tomorrow’s Global Marketing Leaders: Study. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/onmarketing/2012/08/21/five-challenges-for-tomorrows-global-marketing-leaders-study/#13fe293a484f

Stattrek.com. (2018, January). Data Collection Methods. Retrieved from http://stattrek.com/statistics/data-collection-methods.aspx?Tutorial=AP

Thompson, V. (2012, December 10). American Vs. Chinese Business Culture. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/american-vs-chinese-business-culture-59039.html

Zhang, J. (2015, April 7). Three Main Differences between the US and China in Consumer Marketing. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/three-main-differences-between-us-china-consumer-marketing-jin-zhang

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