CHAPTER 2
Elements of the Marketplace IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO — ITALIAN PROVERB
AIM, YOU MUST HIT.
enter the international marketplace directly. For the most part, they move from domestic markets into exports and then into a full-fledged international presence. This applies to both goods and services. It may take decades to reach the international scene or it may be a matter of months. Today, any company that markets itself via the Internet achieves almost instant global access, even when its wares are directed at a domestic market. The process of “testing the waters” locally before jumping into international seas is the same for a small manufacturer as it is for a financial consultancy or even a high-tech “hyper company.” Many of the lessons learned at home will serve the company abroad.
FEW COMPANIES
Elements of Domestic Marketing: Starting at Home Many companies are quite content to operate on a very local scale. Their active marketing may not extend beyond a radius of a few miles. Other companies may expand their horizons to a few cities, a province, or even their entire country. All of this is considered to be domestic marketing. Every company goes through the same planning process, some companies more consciously than others, when entering the domestic or international marketplace. Following is a list of the major elements of marketing. MARKET ASSESSMENT
This is the part of the process where opportunities are initially assessed. It can be as simple as observing that groggy commuters have no place to buy coffee before boarding the morning train or as complex as recognizing the potential demand for satellite TV dishes in remote farming communities. MARKET ORIENTATION
After the initial assessment, a company must set its basic objectives by deciding which products to bring to market at what price and which customers to pursue. At this stage, the company should also consider how much of the market they wish to control and over what period of time. Researching and objectively analyzing the competition is a major part of this process. STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT
Once objectives are set, a strategy must be developed to attain them by the most cost effective means available. Strategy has three subprocesses that must be dealt with.
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