Page 65 - DMGT546_INTERNATIONAL_TRADE_PROCEDURE_AND_DOCUMENTATION

International Trade Procedures and Documentation

Notes International marketing is an important aspect of international business. International marketing
is not the same thing as international trade. Only a part of the international trade flows represents
international marketing.
International can be defined as “finding out what customers want around the world and then
satisfying these wants better than other competitors, both domestic and international”. It will
be observed that international marketing has dual aspects, viz. foreign marketing (marketing in
foreign countries) and global marketing (coordinating marketing in multiple markets, in the
face of global competition).
The emergence of a borderless business world or a global market makes the term global
marketing more relevant today than international marketing.
According to Keegan (Warren J. Keegan, Global Marketing Management, Prentice-Hall of India,
New Delhi, 1995, Pages 3-5), “global marketing is the process of focusing is the process of
focusing the resources (people, money and physical assets) and objectives of an organization on
global market opportunities and threats”.

Walsh observes that international marketing is perhaps best regarded as a shorthand expression
for the special international aspects of marketing and defines international marketing as “the
marketing of goods and services across national frontiers, and the marketing operations of an
organization that sells and/or produces within a given country when, the organization is part of
or associated with an enterprise, which also operates in other countries and there is some degree
of influence on or control of the organization’s marketing activities from outside the country in
which it sells and/or it produces”.
Further, Keegan points out, “the first and most fundamental fact about marketing is that it is a
universal discipline. Marketing is a set of concepts, tools, theories, practices and procedures and
experience. Together, these elements constitute teachable and learnable body of knowledge.
Although the marketing disciplines a universal markets and customers are quite differentiated.
This means that marketing practice must vary from country to country. Each person is unique and
each country is unique. This realty of differences means that we cannot always directly apply
experience from one country to another. If the customers competitors channels of distribution and
available media are different, it may be necessary to change our marketing plan”

3.5.1 Problems in International Marketing

The important special problems in international are given below:
1. Political and legal differences: The political and legal environment of foreign markets are
different from that of domestic. The complexity generally increases as more number of
countries are included in the company’s business portfolio.
2. Cultural differences: This is the most difficult area in international marketing. Many
domestic markets, however, are also not free from cultural diversities.
3. Economic differences: The economic environment may change from country to country.
4. Differences in the currency unit: The currency unit varies from country to country. This
may sometimes cause problems of currency convertibility, besides the problems of
exchange rate fluctuations. The monetary system and regulation may also vary.
5. Differences in the language: An international marketer often problems arising out of the
differences in the language. Even when the same language is used in different countries,
the same words or terms may have different meanings or connotations.

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