6.4 The international marketing plan  (Page 5/5)

Finally, obtaining payment promptly and in a suitable currency from less developed countries can cause expense and additional difficulties. How should a company deal with selling to countries where there is a risk of nonpayment? How should a company approach selling to countries that have a shortage of hard currency?

Distribution and logistics

Distribution channels are the means by which goods are distributed from the manufacturer to the end user. Logistics , or physical distribution management, is concerned with the planning, implementing, and control of physical flows of materials and final goods from points of origin to points of use to meet customer needs at a profit.

Essentially there are three channel links between the seller and buyer. The first link is the seller's headquarters organization, which is responsible for supervising the channel, and acts as part of the channel itself. Channels between countries represent the second link. They are responsible for getting products to overseas markets and payment in return. Finally, the third link is the channel structure (logistics) within countries, which distributes the products from their point of entry to the final consumer.

Distribution strategies within overseas markets are affected by various uncontrollable factors. First, wholesaling and retailing structure differs widely from one nation to the next. So, too, does the quality of service provided. Differences in the size and nature of retailers are even more pronounced. Retailers more closely reflect the economic conditions and culture of that country; many small retailers dominate most of these countries.

Physical distribution to overseas markets often requires special marketing planning. Many countries have inadequate docking facilities, limited highways, various railroad track gauges, too few vehicles, and too few warehouses. Managing product inventories requires consideration of the availability of suitable warehousing, as well as the costs of shipping in small quantities.

The budget

Marketing mix components must be evaluated as part of an overall marketing strategy. Therefore, the organization must establish a marketing budget based on the required marketing effort to influence consumers. The marketing budget represents a plan to allocate expenditures to each of the components of the marketing mix. For example, the firm must establish an advertising budget as part of the marketing budget and allocate expenditures to various types of advertising media—television, newspapers, magazines. A sales promotion budget should also be determined, allocating money for coupons, product samples, and trade promotions. Similarly, budgets are required for personal selling, distribution, and product development.

How much should be spent? Consider the following example. A common question that marketers frequently ask is, "Are we spending enough (or too much) to promote the sale of our products?" A reasonable answer would revolve around another consideration: "What do we want to accomplish? What are our goals?" The discussion should next turn to the methods for achievement of goals and the removal of obstacles to these goals. This step is often skipped or avoided.

Usually, when the question is asked, "Are we spending enough?" an automatic answer is given, in terms of what others spend. Knowing what others in the same industry spend can be important to an organization whose performance lags behind the competition or to an organization that suspects that its expenditures are higher than they need to be. But generally, knowing what others spend leads to an unproductive "keeping-up-with-the-Joneses" attitude. It also assumes that the others know what they are doing.

Evaluating results

No marketing program is planned and implemented perfectly. Marketing managers will tell you that they experience many surprises during the course of their activities. In an effort to ensure that performance goes according to plans, marketing managers establish controls that allow marketers to evaluate results and identify needs for modifications in marketing strategies and programs. Surprises occur, but marketing managers who have established sound control procedures can react to surprises quickly and effectively.

Marketing control involves a number of decisions. One decision is what function to monitor. Some organizations monitor their entire marketing program, while others choose to monitor only a part of it, such as their sales force or their advertising program. A second set of decisions concerns the establishment of standards for performance; e.g. market share, profitability, or sales. A third set of decisions concerns how to collect information for making comparisons between actual performance and standards. Finally, to the extent that discrepancies exist between actual and planned performance, adjustments in the marketing program or the strategic plan must be made.

Once a plan is put into action, a marketing manager must still gather information related to the effectiveness with which the plan was implemented. Information on sales, profits, reactions of consumers, and reactions of competitors must be collected and analyzed so that a marketing manager can identify new problems and opportunities.