The action the competitors and the developing capabilities the firm

The country
notebook—a guide for developing a
marketing plan

4 Preliminary marketing plan

5 Steps for success in international markets

These guidelines suggest the kinds of information a marketer can gather to enhance planning.

602

Information in this analysis must be more than a collection of facts. Whoever is responsible for the preparation of this material should attempt to interpret the meaning of cultural information. That is, how does the information help in understanding the effect on the market? For example, the fact that almost all the populations of Italy and Mexico are Catholic is an interesting statistic but not nearly as useful as understanding the effect of Catholicism on values, beliefs and other aspects of market behaviour. Furthermore, even though both countries are predominantly Catholic, the influence of their individual and unique interpretation and practice of Catholicism can result in important differences in market behaviour.

Guideline
I Introduction
Include short profiles of the company, the product to be exported and the country with which you wish to trade.

3 Participation in patents, trademarks and other conventions E Social organisations
1 Group behaviour
2 Social classes
3 Clubs, other organisations
4 Race, ethnicity and subcultures
F Business customs and practices
V Religion and aesthetics
A Religion and other belief systems
1 Orthodox doctrines and structures
2 Relationship with the people
3 Which religions are prominent?

4 Membership of each religion
5 Any powerful or influential cults?

THE COUNTRY NOTEBOOK a guide for developing a marketing plan 605

VII Language
A Official language(s)
B Spoken versus written language(s)
C Dialects
VIII Executive summary
After completing all of the other sections, prepare a two-page (maximum length) summary of the major points and place it at the front of the report. The purpose of an executive summary is to give the reader a brief glance at the critical points of your report. Those aspects of the culture a reader should know to do business in the country but would not be expected to know or would find different based on his or her SRC should be included in this summary.

606 PART 5 Supplementary material

b Recent trends
4 Exchange rates
a Single or multiple exchange rates?

b Current rate of exchange
c Trends
L Trade restrictions
1 Embargoes
2 Quotas
3 Import taxes
4 Tariffs
5 Licensing
6 Customs duties
M Extent of economic activity not included in cash income activities
1 Countertrades
a Products generally offered for countertrading
b Types of countertrades requested (i.e barter, counterpurchase, etc.) 2 Foreign aid received

A Availability of media
B Costs
1 Television
2 Radio
3 Print
4 Other media (cinema, outdoor, etc.)
C Agency assistance
D Coverage of various media
E Percentage of population reached by each medium
VII Executive summary
After completing the research for this report, prepare a two-page (maximum) summary of the major economic points and place it at the front.

VIII Sources of information
IX Appendixes

data in this guideline are brand specific and are used to determine competitive market conditions and market potential.

Two different components of the planning process are reflected in this guideline. Information in the two preceeding guidelines 1 and 2, Cultural analysis and Economic analysis, serve as the basis for an evaluation of the product or brand in a specific country market. Information in this guideline provides an estimate of market potential and an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of competitive marketing efforts. The data generated in this step are used to determine the extent of adaptation of the company’s marketing mix necessary for successful market entry and to develop the final step, the action plan.

b Features
c Package
2 Competitor’s prices
3 Competitor’s promotion and advertising methods
4 Competitor’s distribution channels
C Market size
1 Estimated industry sales for the planning year
2 Estimated sales for your company for the planning year
D Government participation in the marketplace
1 Agencies that can help you
2 Regulations you must follow
IV Executive summary
Based on your analysis of the market, briefly summarise (two-page maximum) the major problems and opportunities requiring attention in your marketing mix, and place the summary at the front of the report.

V Sources of information
VI Appendixes

610 PART 5 Supplementary material

a Objectives
b Coupons
c Premiums
d Costs
3 Personal selling
4 Other promotional methods
D Distribution: from origin to destination
1 Port selection
a Origin port
b Destination port
2 Mode selection: advantages/disadvantages of each mode a Railroads
b Air carriers
c Ocean carriers
d Motor carriers
3 Packing
a Marking and labelling regulations
b Containerisation
c Costs
4 Documentation required
a Bill of lading
b Dock receipt
c Air bill
d Commercial invoice
e Pro forma invoice

THE COUNTRY NOTEBOOK a guide for developing a marketing plan 611

3 Import/export agents
4 Warehousing
a Type
b Location
F Price determination
1 Cost of the shipment of goods
2 Transportation costs
3 Handling expenses
a Pier charges
b Wharfage fees
c Loading and unloading charges
4 Insurance costs
5 Customs duties
6 Import taxes and value-added tax
7 Wholesale and retail mark-ups and discounts
8 Company’s gross margins
9 Retail price
G Terms of sale
1 EX works, FOB, FAS, C&F, CIF
2 Advantages/disadvantages of each
H Methods of payment
1 Cash in advance
2 Open accounts
3 Consignment sales
4 Sight, time or date drafts
5 Letters of credit
II Pro forma financial statements and budgets
A Marketing budget
1 Selling expense
2 Advertising/promotion expense
3 Distribution expense
4 Product cost
5 Other costs
B Pro forma annual profit and loss statement (first year and fifth year)
III Resource requirements
A Finances
B Personnel
C Production capacity
IV Executive summary
After completing the research for this report, prepare a two-page (maximum) summary of the major points of your successful marketing plan, and place it at the front of the report.

demand for information. When operating in foreign markets, the need for thorough information as a substitute for uninformed opinion is equally important as it is in domestic marketing. Sources of information needed to develop the country notebook and answer other marketing questions are discussed in Chapter 7 and its appendix.

5 Steps for success in international markets

Source: JR Darling & HT Seritso, ‘Key Steps for Success in Export Markets: A New Paradigm for Strategic Decision Making’, European Business Review, 16:1, 2004, pp. 28–43.

Some international strategies do not rely simply or exclusively on exporting. For example, a firm may enter into a contract manufacturing relationship with another firm that manufactures Australian- or New Zealand-designed products which are then exported to third markets. Other international marketing plans are those developed for market entry via master franchising or those where firms enter foreign markets first (‘born global’ firms) and only later enter the domestic Australian or New Zealand markets.

Each of these and other, more elaborate or advanced international strategic plans can still be developed by adapting and extending the ‘basic essentials’ in the five guidelines of this Country notebook section.

multiplied. Company objectives may vary from market to market and from time to time; the

structure of international markets also changes periodically and from country to country;