International Marketing Plan Guide

overt information seeking
Degree of brand awareness and loyalty
Location of product category decision (i.e. home or point of sale)
Sources of product information and current awareness/knowledge levels
Duration of the decision process (repeat, infrequent, new purchase)
Level of buyer interest and involvement in the purchase decision
Risk of uncertainty of negative purchase outcome
Time and location of consumption
What is the major method of procurement in each segment?
Public tender
Purchase in retail outlets
etc.
Who specifies, initiates and influences the purchasing decision in each market segment?
Identify and rank in order of importance the key considerations affecting the purchase decision in each segment and provide a brief explanation of each criterion. These may include:
Product features/benefits
Uniqueness of design
Price
After-sales support
Ease of use/training required
Reliability
Brand/corporate reputation of supplier
Speed of supply/availability
Level of customization
Payment terms
Preference for locally manufactured goods
Personal relationships between buyer and seller
Other
How are customers likely to respond to the company's product/service offerings?
You may also use the 6W model of The Customer Environment Ferrell, O.C. and Hartline, M.D. (2005), Marketing Strategy, 3rd ed., Mason, Ohio: South-Western, p.47 
Who are the current and potential customers?
What do customers do with our products?
Where do customers purchase our products?
When do customers purchase our products?
Why (and how) do customers select our products?
Why do potential customers not purchase our products?
11.1.5 Size and Extent of Demand
What is the size of the market? What are the total sales figures for the relevant product category over the past three years, and projected sales:
By volume (i.e. units)
By value (i.e. $)
What are the major factors influencing any changes in product sales? What is driving these sales trends in this market?
Provide a breakdown of the above historical and forecasted sales figures for each of the major end-user segments (best estimates will suffice if statistical data is not available).
Is the proportion of sales to each of these segments changing? If so, what are the likely reasons for these changes?
What is the size of the import market? Provide import statistics for the past three years, and projected imports:
By volume (i.e. units)
By value (i.e. $)
Is the import market growing/declining/static as a proportion of the total market? Why?
11.1.6 Stage of the Product Life Cycle
For this product group, will the effectiveness of marketing variables differ by stages of the product life cycle?
What is the stage of the product life cycle? What are your reasons for your assessment? Are there apparent changes over time in the types of products demanded? How long has the technology/product been established?
What is the extent and duration of acceptance by end-users?
What is the state of the buyer's knowledge of the product category?
11.1.7 Cost Structure of the Industry
What are the cost factors in production, marketing and distribution in terms of the cost of?
Raw materials or components
Tariffs and other barriers
Land or factory space
Labor
Electrical power
Insurance
Meeting local quality standards and regulations
Packaging
Transport
Warehousing
How do these costs compare to those of foreign suppliers, particularly local suppliers? Are local manufacturers/suppliers at a cost advantage or disadvantage?
What are the average margins and price levels through the distribution channels (i.e. from manufacturer, wholesaler, retailers, etc.)?
11.1.3 Competitor Analysis
What percentage of the market is supplied by:
Locally manufactured products
Imported products?
Is the country a net importer or a net exporter of this product group? Which countries are the major foreign suppliers to the market? What is their market share?
Who are the major competitive manufacturers/suppliers (overseas and locally based) of these products?
Is the competitive environment fragmented or concentrated? What is the number of competitors (5 versus 500)?
Identify and rank in terms of market share the major local and overseas manufacturers/suppliers and provide the following information:
Ownership
Other businesses they are active in
Location of production
Products manufactured (type, strengths/weaknesses, patented features, etc.)
Comparative size (turnover figures)
Market segments they are most active in. Why?
Business strategies employed (basis of differentiation or low cost strategy)
Method of distribution/type and identity of local representatives (agents, distributors direct to end-users, etc.)
Pricing structure (retail, wholesale, distributor margins offered, etc.)
Financial, production and marketing resources and skills
Reputation amongst customers
Assess the relative threat that your company represents to these competitors. 
What will be their likely retaliatory reaction to your market entry? 
Can they neutralize different marketing programs you might develop?
What substitute products are in use and which companies supply them?
11.1.3.1 Competition Analysis
We can categorize four basic types of competition:
Brand competitors
Product competitors
Generic competitors
Total budget competitors Ferrell and Hartline, 2005
APPENDIX 11.2 SWOT ANALYSIS
A tool that is commonly used to assess the market opportunities in relation to the likely barriers to market entry or expansion is the "SWOT" analysis. This is a business assessment made from a review of the overseas market (external factors) and the company (internal factors).
The SWOT refers to the:
11.2.1 Strengths and Weaknesses of your firm and its products/services (in comparison to competitors), and an analysis of:
11.2.2 Opportunities and Threats in the overseas marketplace.
Figure 1 in the Main Report considers the main elements of the SWOT analysis.
11.2.3 Implications of SWOT Analysis
Based on the company and market investigations, provide an assessment of the firm's likelihood of success, taking into account the opportunities and problems highlighted by the SWOT.
You must answer the question: should the company attempt to enter or expand its activities in the targeted country?
The critical issue is whether a profitable business can be established and maintained in the targeted international market.
This is dependent on whether the company has, or can develop, a competitive advantage that is sustainable in that market.
SWOT analysis must be customer-focused. 
How do the identified strengths enable the company (industry) to meet customer’s needs? How do these strengths differentiate the industry from competitors?
How do any weaknesses prevent the company (industry) from meeting customers' needs? How do these weaknesses negatively differentiate the company from competitors?
Assessment of opportunities will answer the questions:
1. How are these opportunities related to serving customer needs?
2. How can the company catch and keep the opportunities?
How are these threats related to serving customer needs? 
How can the company (industry) prevent these threats from limiting its capabilities? See Ferrell, O.C. and Hartline, M.D. (2005) Marketing Strategy 3rd edition, Mason, Ohio: South-Western.
SWOT MATRIX
After the elementary study of SWOT analysis, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats can be identified. The next step is to study how to convert the bad side to the good one. In this step of the SWOT analysis, strengths of companies should be used to match opportunities, weaknesses should be converted to strengths, and threats should be transformed to opportunities. The figure below illustrates the theory proposed by Ferrell and Hartline (2005).
SWOT Matrix
(Source: Ferrell and Hartline, 2005)
11.2.4 Summary flow of analytical frameworks.
The main analytical frameworks used are PEST, Situation, and SWOT Analyses. PEST analysis emphasizes the macro- environment of the target market, which studies four aspects, Political, Economic, Social, and Technological factors. The situation analysis provide a clear background of the company stated as internal analysis, customer environment, as well as external analysis. SWOT analysis is used to assess strengths and weaknesses of the company and its products and services, and opportunities and threats in the marketplace. All three analytical frameworks together provide comparatively comprehensive understanding and perspectives to the manager and fully examine the feasibility from the internal environment to external, from customers to the company, from weaknesses to strengths.APPENDIX 11.3: EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVE MARKETING STRATEGIES
A thorough examination of all marketing strategies that should be considered by the organization is included in this section. Each of these strategies needs to be evaluated in terms of advantages and disadvantages, leading to a recommendation of either accepting or rejecting the strategy. The main focus in the main body of the report will, of course, be on the recommended strategy(ies).
Many companies attempt to extend their domestic (i.e. Local country) strategy to international markets. This may or may not be successful, depending on the similarities of customers at home and abroad, as well as similarities in competitive offerings.
Appendices 11.4, 11.5, 11.6 Put here if applicable
APPENDIX 11.7: RECORD OF CONTACT AND ACTIVITIES, AND PROJECT PLAN
(NB: This section is not applicable for MARK368)
The following appendices must be completed in the Progress Report as fully as possible as they may be used as a measurement of individual involvement in the project and therefore considered in the individual's final project mark:
PROGRESS RECORD OF CONTACTS AND ACTIVITIES
PROGRESS INTERNATIONAL MARKETING PROJECT PLANNING CHART WITH FORECASTS FOR ACTIVITIES TO BE COMPLETED IN THE PROJECT