2. Define the problems
One of the more important roles of marketing research is to help to define the marketing problems. Only when the problem is accurately defined can research be designed to provide relevant information.
This is when the problem is found and from this the company will know its objectives. The main problems of Day Chocolate Company is how it can keep its brands growing, and which strategy should be followed by the company to develop internationally, and by which method can be used to enter and deliver its message to new countries in order to grow up and build a strong base in new markets with different customers and cultures. This point highlighted the important of collection of information that might help to solve the problems and to reach the company’s objectives.
Information is the key element in developing successful marketing strategy and avoiding major marketing mistakes. Therefore, the company must have accurate information about the market size, customer’s attitudes and behaviours; competition and other related information that can aid to build a comprehensive picture of the market whiten the potential countries.
3. Sources of information
Often the information which company may need already exists in the form of secondary data, or data that have already been collected for some purpose. If the company itself does not have the required information, it may be readily available from a good business library, in form of government statistics or trade association reports.
Although the company must pay for such information, the cost is usually less than the cost of an original study in the form of primary data. In any case, for reasons of both cost and time, collecting the required information should always look first at existing sources of data.
3.1 Secondary data
This is information found from internal and external sources that will help with the research plan. The internal data could be sales figures, existing data or pervious marketing plan. The Day Chocolate Company has developed its products within the UK market and both core products of the company (Divine & Dubble) created to a quality standard, and the result was very good in term of sales, it did so after studying the market and recognized customers wants and needs, so these kind of information and knowledge can make initial point to start from and can provide some ideas and could be easy to employ it in other countries.
Other source of secondary data could be external, and this could come from sources such as the Mintel reports or Emerald library. These resources provide the company with the current status of the market and help to identify the competitors, size of the market and purchases power.
Some reports may show what competitors did in latest years and what their products and how they developed them.
Also another type of external data that the company could use would be local and national press to keep an eye on the current economics state and customers of the potential countries. This point is important, as it will give the company a good indication of how the customers of potential country are spending. In addition, it will have an affect on the type of product that company produces especially the price, and to what extend customers aware of ingredients and source of the product.
3.2 Primary data
The primary data would be the data about the customers wants founded from complaint forms of questionnaires or surveys. It is data collected for the first time with a specific purpose of the particular product. Thus, to complete the Day Chocolate Company study, it may conduct research looking at what types of chocolate the customers want. It may be found that customers want more milk chocolate or it may be want more black or white chocolate.
The process of primary data collection such as survey questionnaire or a focus group must be done with multiple markets in mind, and the effort should be made to capture the appropriate environmental variables.
4. Analyse and interpret the information
This is when the company review the data and information gathered. It also needs to evaluate meanings of the problems and objectives and how can be used to solve the problems. This stage usually means taking the information from a variety of sources and using it as a model to know how the potential market works.
This means looking at the demand for the product, and analysis the market size, growth characteristics and buying trends. It is also analysis the competitors in the market that the company wants to compete in, what are their strengths, weakness and what the opportunities are there. It analyse the customers in the potential market and how they make their buy decision.
Marketing strategy plan based on the company capabilities, it is also include product positioning, pricing, distribution channel and advertising.
5. Market segmentation
Marketing segmentation is vital to understand the customers’ behaviour; it is the classification of groups of people that have similarities in characteristics or needs who are likely to reveal similar purchase behaviour. The overall objective of using a market segmentation strategy is to improve the company’s competitive position and better serve the needs of customers.
Global market segmentation can be viewed as the process of identifying segments whether they are country groups or individual buyer groups of potential customers with homogeneous attributes.
There are different approaches for global segmentation:
- Identifying clusters of countries that demand similar product.
- Targeting different segments in different countries with the same product.
- Identifying segments present in many countries.
Of the three segmentation approaches, universal segmentation is agreed to be the most innovative and give the company a significant competitive advantage, because product can be standardised and transferred among countries. This gives the brand a reputation and position which is internationally reinforced, so as a result it end with a product that is as standardised as possible recognizing that in different countries there are some local condition which the company be aware of it.
5.1 Selecting target market
The first stage of the selection process is to use macro variables to discriminate between markets that represent good opportunities and those that offer little or no opportunities or involve risk.
Macro variables describe the total market in terms of economic, social, geographic and political information. Those factors reflect the market size, growth and condition. The second stage of selection process focus on micro level consideration such as competitors, ease of entry, cost of entry and profit potential.
5.2 Market size and growth
The greater the potential demand for the product in a market, the more attractive that market for the company. Measures of market size and growth can be made be macro variables such as geographic indicators to know the size of the country in terms of geographic area, and demographic characteristics to know the total of population and age distribution, it is also allows the company to know the total gross national product, per-capita gross national product, per-capita income and household disposable income.
5.3 Political condition
No company, domestic or international, large or small can conduct business without considering the influence of the political environment within which it will operate. Governments can control and restrict a company’s activities by encouraging and offering support or by discouraging and banning or restricting its activities.
5.4 Competitors analysis
The Day Chocolate Company Success depending on its ability to understand its competitors and response to them. Keeping track of the company’s competitors is an important.
First, the company must determine who its competitors are. It is important to know domestic and foreign companies who operate in the same field. It should be aware of their sales and market share, their operations, what type of products and the level of quality of their products. It is also important to know their future intentions and their new product development.
6. Recommendation
We are living in a time of unprecedented globalisation, and companies recognize that strong brands are the key to wining international consumers and market. Global brand creates several advantages such as improver efficiency in cost and create revenues globally and not just in one market or two. The recommendation below is about the product of the Day Chocolate Company, and the enter method that is appropriate for the company.
6.1 Product position
Brand positioning is the most important decision that the company face in the global marketplace. The identification of physical product configuration assists in the determination of global marketing strategy.
The strategy of the company needs to be integrated in the overall global strategy of the company. This process occurs in a competitive environment with other product that seek to satisfy buyer desires.
The product needs to be as universal product where the physical product sold in potential countries is identical except for labelling and the company’s product would be in a position that universally recognizes and build a good reputation and image in customers’ minds.
6.2 Entry method
The Day Chocolate Company should be careful in selection of the countries that wish to enter, and make sure to start in country that has some similarity with the UK market and customers because the company already has experience and knowledge to understand customers and the market in general. Thus, the suitable suggestion is to start in the USA and Western Europe markets due to the similarity in some way with the British customers in their behaviour and altitudes to such product and, the high level of income. Moreover, those countries have large market and potential growth, and information about those countries in term of market and customers are available from wide range of resources. In my opinion it will be easier for the Day Chocolate Company to make a good and successful marketing planning there.
The method of market entry is an important strategic due to the mode of entry effects the company’s entire marketing mix and its control over the mix elements. The suggestion is to use exporting method because it easy, cheap and commonly used route into a new foreign market. The benefit is that exporting is able to concentrate production in a single location, giving economics of scale and consistency of product quality. However, exporting requires investment in the market research, strategy formulation and careful implantation of the marketing mix.
7. Conclusion
To sum up, entering new market is an important decision that a company make, and should be made carefully due to any mistake can cause problems that would need some times to be solved and in some cases can end the business completely. The Day Chocolate Company should put its effort to learn from others and collect the right information and choice the right market to enter in the right time to avoid missing any opportunities.
(1992 words) Mark 65%
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