From the place or distribution standpoint, Cincom relies on a direct sales force for the majority of its sales. This translates into the sales force for Cincom visiting the companies who are interested in purchasing their solutions and providing conference room pilots or demos of their software. Cincom also concentrates on creating demos that match to the needs of their customers exactly, by first evaluating the process workflows and procedures that are most in need of improvement within a customers' business. Cincom will model a customers' entire business to provide insights into how their software can streamline the overall production process.
Finally on the promotional aspect of their marketing mix for CONTROL, Cincom relies primarily on customer references and a series of videos of customers sharing how the ERP system has helped to streamline their overall operations. There is also a series of brochures and data sheets, and self-running demos so customers can learn more about the system. Cincom uses customer references more than any other approach to gain new customers and instill trust in their ERP system.
International Marketing Strategies
Cincom has for over a decade sold into the Chinese market (Asia Computer Weekly, 1998). Starting first with the Cincom CONTROL ERP system and later with Acquire, Cincom has continually invested in this region of the world as the pace of manufacturing growth has been far above the rest of the world. As a result, Cincom has had significant success.
One of the factors that has also helped Cincom move into the Chinese market is the remarkable number of ERP system failures by its competitors. It is well-known that the majority of ERP implementations within China fail due to a lack of culture fit or consistency (Xue, Liang, Boulton, Snyder, 2005). Cincom uses a variety of strategies for ensuring success in China,...
Cincom also relies on the Hofstede model (Hofstede, McCrae, 2004) and other comparable cultural frameworks to gain greater understanding of core markets. Using the Hofstede Model of Cultural Dimensions, the cultures of the U.S. And China are compared in the figure to the right.
Source: http://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_dimensions.php?culture1=95&culture2=18#compare
The Hofstede Model of Cultural Dimensions shows that the Chinese have a significantly greater tolerance non -- the Personal Distance Index (PDI) meaning they tolerate hierarchical organizations and their role in them much more than Americans do. The Long-Term Orientation (LTO) of the Chinese is also significantly greater, showing how time itself is perceived completely differently by this nation relative to the U.S. All of these factors are taken into account in how Cincom chooses a Joint Venture partner and addresses An emerging market.
References
Cincom acquires a foothold in China. (1998, July). Asia Computer Weekly,1.
Tony Baer. (2002, March). Apps vendors take sides. MSI, 20(3), 16-19.
Geert Hofstede, & Robert R. McCrae. (2004). Personality and Culture Revisited: Linking Traits and Dimensions of Culture. Cross - Cultural Research, 38(1), 52-88.
Don Klaiss. (2008, May). Open source ERP. Industrial Distribution, 97(5), 20.
United States Information Technology Report - Q1 2011. (2011, January). United States Information Technology Report,1-67.
Yajiong Xue, Huigang Liang, Wiliam R. Boulton, & Charles A Snyder. (2005). ERP implementation failures in China: Case studies with implications for ERP vendors. International Journal of Production Economics, 97(3), 279-295.
