Global and multinational business structures

Marketing

Global and Multinational 5 #2

Selecting and preparing a good for export requires not only merchandise knowledge but also familiarity with the exclusive characteristics of each market that is being targeted. Market research should be conducted and foreign representatives should be contacted in order to give a company an idea of what goods can be sold and where. Yet, before the sale can take place, the company may need to adjust a particular product to please consumer tastes or needs in foreign markets. The degree to which the company will adapt products sold in export markets is a main policy issue that has to be looked at by management. Some exporters think the domestic good can be exported without considerable changes, while others seek to deliberately develop standardized products that are acceptable in all markets (Preparing Your Product for Export, 2008).

If a company makes more than one good or offers many forms of a single product, it should begin with the one best matched with the targeted market. Preferably, the company should pick one or two products that fit the market without key design or engineering alterations. This works best when the company:

Deals with global consumers that have the same demographic make up or the same provisions for manufactured goods

Supplies parts for U.S. goods that are sold to foreign countries without alterations

Produces an exclusive good that is sold on the base of its rank or foreign appeal or makes a product that has few or no unique features and that is sold nearly completely on a commodity or price foundation (Preparing Your Product for Export, 2008).

One area that companies often have to be wary of when packaging products to see in different countries is with their use of color. It is important for a company to understand what the impact of color use will have on the targeted group. Therefore it is not only important to understand its meanings but also to find easily applicable rules for translating them. In the Internet age these differences are particularly relevant to online advertisers since color is often the first thing that one notices on a web site or banner, even before you can understand which language is being used or what the message says (De Bortoli & Maroto, 2001). In the region of India there are two colors in particular that should be avoided in international product packaging. These are orange and black. In this country orange represents death and rebellion, while black represents laziness, anger and intolerance (De Bortoli & Maroto, 2001).