CHAPTER 9
The (Almost) Blunder-Proof International Marketing Plan NOW THAT YOU’VE MADE IT THIS FAR,
an obvious question jumps off the page: “Is there a foolproof way to avoid the kinds of mistakes made by the companies chronicled in this book?” The answer is no, as there is not now, nor will there ever be, a foolproof way to do anything. Without putting too fine a philosophical point on it, anything devised by human beings is inherently flawed; that is an immutable truth. It’s almost laughable to consider that one would need to convince mature and experienced businesspeople of the advantage—not to say the criticality—of taking a long, hard look at a potential overseas market before making the decision whether to do business there. But, alas, the examples in this book have shown otherwise. Suffice it to say, though, that if one approaches an international business deal—whether the first or fiftieth—after having studiously followed a clearheaded course of action, the possibility of committing the kinds of mistakes and blunders—big and small, innocent and almost deliberate—mentioned in this book will be proportionally reduced. Study hard, do your homework, ask questions—and take the answers to heart. Then, while everything may not go according to plan, at least you will have developed the kind of mindset to take it all in stride, follow with whatever corrective measures are necessary, and not lose sight of your ultimate goal. Quite literally, hundreds of schematic marketing plans have laid out, to a greater or lesser degree, the elements of a successful international marketing strategy. And while all of them differ in many ways, they orbit around the same core formed by a few immutable truths. That is, they may differ in detail, but almost all are identical in approach. This chapter builds on what a company anywhere and at any time can do to apply with practicality the lessons outlined in the preceding chapters.
“Country Books” and Research Sources The first step in constructing an international marketing plan free from the blunders that have stopped so many companies dead in their tracks is to make a detailed country or regional analysis. The basic information you need to create such an analysis includes three elements: (1) an evaluation of the target market’s potential; (2) the identification of any problems or issues that might possibly eliminate the potential market from consideration; and (3) an evaluation to see whether any adaptation of your product or service is necessary to make it marketable.
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