Priciples of Marketing

¶ … Marketing

You work for a successful company that makes household products that it currently markets only in the United States. Your CEO has asked you if your company should expand internationally. What factors do your company need to consider when deciding whether to enter the global marketplace?

When deciding whether to market a successful U.S. product in an international market, the fundamental questions boil down to: what, who, where, and why? The question of 'what' refers to 'what' product or service is being marketed to non-U.S. consumers. A product may be very successful within its domestic context but have little appeal for foreign buyers. The most obvious examples of unappealing American products might be luxury goods that are too expensive to offer abroad in some of the poorer markets of the developing world, or which are inexpensive, but are 'out-priced' by domestic goods of similar price points within the domestic market. But even international products without domestic competitors of a reasonable price point may lack appeal because of cultural differences -- a sophisticated U.S. baby monitor for newborns may have little market in the wealthy European nation of Sweden, for example, where parents may be less paranoid about keeping track of their infant's every burp and breath. Swedes may allow their children to rest in strollers outside of cafes where the parents dine within as a matter of daily practice and find the idea of 24/7 monitoring unnecessary.