Companies with successful products in one market may decide to venture into the international arena in order to increase their sales, profit, market share and long-term opportunity for success. The decision to enter new markets should not be undertaken lightly, however, and products which are successful in one market may prove difficult to market in other areas. For those companies who conduct careful studies before entering a market, and for those companies which have the marketing acumen to understand the markets in which they are selling, the rewards from implementing an international marketing program can be substantial. This research examines the factors which companies need to understand before entering the global marketplace.
It is important that a company undertake international marketing with the same care and consideration that it uses when introducing a product domestically. This means that the company needs to understand the key features of the target market. Such features include the size of the market and its anticipated rate of growth, the stage of development that the market is in, the stage of the product lifecycle that the company would be entering (along with the saturation levels of the market), buyer characteristics, social and cultural factors that influence purchases, and the physical environment (Cavusgil, Zou, & Naidu 480). These considerations are especially applicable if the company is considering marketing a product that already is being sold in the market. If the product or similar products is not being sold already, the company needs to consider whether the market has the specific characteristics that would make it a prime market for the product.
Once the company has analyzed the characteristics of the market and determined that the product in question is a viable candidate for entry, it must consider the marketing institutions that are in place in the target market. These vary widely from on...