INTRODUCTION

Marketing is defined as using all of the resources of the organisation to satisfy customer needs
for a profit. The difference between export marketing and domestic marketing is simply that it
takes place across national borders. This means that you are faced with barriers to trade that you
will not have encountered before, such as differing languages, politics, laws, governments and
cultures. You may need to account for getting the product half-way across the globe to distant
markets and pay the import duties imposed on these products by the importing country. You will
also need to deal with the logistical and documentation problems surrounding exports. These are
just some of the problems you will face.
Export marketing also involves preparing an offering that will entice the foreign buyer and
customer. This offering comprises a product that is offered at a certain price and that is made
available distributed to the foreign customer. At the same time, the offering is communicated
or promoted to the buyer using certain communication or promotion channels. These
elements the product, price, distribution (also referred to as the place) and promotion are
called the marketing mix.
One of the product categories in which export competition has been easy to track in U.S.is
automotive sales. The increasing intensity of competition in export markets is a challenge facing
companies at all stages of involvement in international markets. As markets open up, and
become more integrated, the pace of change accelerates, technology shrinks distances between
markets and reduces the scale advantages of large firms, new sources of competition emerge, and
competitive pressures mount at all levels of the organization. Also, the threat of competition
from companies in countries such as India, China, Malaysia, and Brazil is on the rise, as their
own domestic markets are opening up to foreign competition, stimulating greater awareness of
international market opportunities and of the need to be internationally competitive. Companies
which previously focused on protected domestic markets are entering into markets in other
countries, creating new sources of competition, often targeted to price-sensitive market
segments. Not only is competition intensifying for all firms regardless of their degree of export
market involvement, but the basis for competition is changing. Competition continues to be
market-based and ultimately relies on delivering superior value to consumers. However, success
in export markets depends on knowledge accumulation and deployment




EVOLUTION TO EXPORT MARKETING

Domestic marketing
A marketing restricted to the political boundaries of a country, is called "Domestic Marketing".
A company marketing only within its national boundaries only has to consider domestic
competition. Even if that competition includes companies from foreign markets, it still only has
to focus on the competition that exists in its home market. Products and services are developed
for customers in the home market without thought of how the product or service could be used in
other markets. All marketing decisions are made at headquarters.
The biggest obstacle these marketers face is being blindsided by emerging export marketers.
Because domestic marketers do not generally focus on the changes in the export marketplace,
they may not be aware of a potential competitor who is a market leader on three continents until
they simultaneously open 20 stores in the Northeastern U.S. These marketers can be considered
ethnocentric as they are most concerned with how they are perceived in their home country.

International marketing
If the exporting departments are becoming successful but the costs of doing business from
headquarters plus time differences, language barriers, and cultural ignorance are hindering the
companys competitiveness in the foreign market, then offices could be built in the foreign
countries. Sometimes companies buy firms in the foreign countries to take advantage of
relationships, storefronts, factories, and personnel already in place. These offices still report to
headquarters in the home market but most of the marketing mix decisions are made in the
individual countries since that staff is the most knowledgeable about the target markets. Local
product development is based on the needs of local customers. These marketers are considered
polycentric because they acknowledge that each market/country has different needs. these are
negotiation variables.




ELEMENTS OF THE EXPORT MARKETING MIX
The Four Ps of marketing: product, price, placement, and promotion are all affected as a
company moves through the five evolutionary phases to become a export company. Ultimately,
at the export marketing level, a company trying to speak with one voice is faced with many
challenges when creating a worldwide marketing plan. Unless a company holds the same
position against its competition in all markets (market leader, low cost, etc.) it is impossible to
launch identical marketing plans worldwide. Nisant Chakram(Marketing Management)
PRODUCT
A export company is one that can create a single product and only have to tweak elements for
different markets. For example, Coca-Cola uses two formulas (one with sugar, one with corn
syrup) for all markets. The product packaging in every country incorporates the contour bottle
design and the dynamic ribbon in some way, shape, or form. However, the bottle can also
include the countrys native language and is the same size as other beverage bottles or cans in
that same country.
PRICE
Price will always vary from market to market. Price is affected by many variables: cost of
product development (produced locally or imported), cost of ingredients, cost of delivery
(transportation, tariffs, etc.), and much more. Additionally, the products position in relation to
the competition influences the ultimate profit margin. Whether this product is considered the
high-end, expensive choice, the economical, low-cost choice, or something in-between helps
determine the price point.
PLACEMENT
How the product is distributed is also a country-by-country decision influenced by how the
competition is being offered to the target market. Using Coca-Cola as an example again, not all
cultures use vending machines. In the United States, beverages are sold by the pallet via
warehouse stores. In India, this is not an option. Placement decisions must also consider the
products position in the market place. For example, a high-end product would not want to be
distributed via a dollar store in the United States. Conversely, a product promoted as the low-
cost option in France would find limited success in a pricey boutique.
PROMOTION
After product research, development and creation, promotion (specifically advertising) is
generally the largest line item in a export companys marketing budget. At this stage of a
companys development, integrated marketing is the goal. The export corporation seeks to
reduce costs, minimize redundancies in personnel and work, maximize speed of implementation,
and to speak with one voice. If the goal of a export company is to send the same message
worldwide, then delivering that message in a relevant, engaging, and cost-effective way is the
challenge.
Effective export advertising techniques do exist. The key is testing advertising ideas using a
marketing research system proven to provide results that can be compared across countries. The
ability to identify which elements or moments of an ad are contributing to that success is how
economies of scale are maximized. Market research measures such as Flow of Attention, Flow of
Emotion and branding moments provide insights into what is working in an ad in any country
because the measures are based on visual, not verbal, elements of the ad.

BENEFITS OF EXPORT MARKETING
There are many good reasons (or benefits) for exporting. These include the following:
INCREASING SALES
Exporting is one way of increasing your sales potential; it expands the "pie" that you earn money
from, otherwise you are stuck trying to make money only out of the local market. In the case of
South Africa, our market is relatively small in comparison to the markets of North America,
Europe and Asia. While the local market may represent enough sales potential for smaller firms,
for medium and larger companies the local market is just too small and the only way to expand
sales is to export. It should be said, however, if you are not yet selling regionally and nationally,
then you should first aiming at expanding your market share within the local market.
INCREASING PROFITS
Clearly, you are not likely to enter the export market in order to make a loss. Companies
generally strive to make profits and the bigger the profits the better. In many instances, exports
can contribute to increased profits because the average orders from international customers are
often larger than they are from domestic buyers, as importers generally order by the container
instead of by the pallet (thereby affecting both total sales and total profits). Some products -
especially those that are unique or very innovative in nature may also command greater profit
margins abroad than in the local market. Having said this, it is also not uncommon - indeed, it is
highly likely - that you may receive smaller profit margins from your export sales compared with
the local market. The reason for this is the highly competitive nature of export markets that
forces exporters to lower prices, squeeze profits and reduce costs. You may also find that in
some markets you generate higher profit margins, while in other markets your profit margins are
considerably lower.
REDUCING RISK AND BALANCING GROWTH
It is risky being bound to the domestic market alone. Export sales to a variety of diverse foreign
markets can help reduce the risk that the company may be exposed to because of fluctuations in
local (and foreign) business cycles. At any one time, the UK, Australia and Germany will be
enjoying different growth rates. By selling in all of these countries, the risk of low growth in one
or more of these countries will be offset by increased growth in the others, thus resulting in a
balanced portfolio of growth overall. In addition, with the challenging labour conditions that
many firms in South Africa face today, exports may help to create and/or maintain jobs thus
reducing the risk of a labour dispute that could otherwise cripple the company.
LOWER UNIT COSTS
Exports help to put idle production capacity to work. This is generally achieved the more
efficient utilisation of the existing factory, machines and staff. What is more, because you are
now selling more products without increasing total costs to the same extent, this has the effect of
lowering your unit costs which represents a more productive overall operation. Lower unit costs
make a product more competitive in the local marketplace as well as in foreign markets, and/or
can contribute to the firm's overall profitability.
ECONOMIES OF SCALE
Exporting is an excellent way to enjoy pure economies of scale with products that are more
"export" in scope and have a wider range of acceptance around the world (in other words, they
can be used in other parts of the world without much adaptation). This is in contrast to products
that must be adapted for each market, which is expensive and time consuming and requires
more of an investment. The newer the product, the wider range of acceptance in the world,
especially to younger "customers," often referred to as the "export consumer".

With increased export production and sales, you can achieve economies of scale and spread costs
over a larger volume of revenue. You reduce average unit costs and increase overall profitability
and competitiveness. Long-term exports may enable a company to expand its production
facilities in order to achieve an economic level of production. (This should not be confused with
increased throughput on existing capacity, as discussed above.)


MINIMISING THE EFFECT OF SEASONAL FLUCTUATIONS IN SALES
Being in the Southern Hemisphere, South Africa has seasons that are opposite to those in the
Northern Hemisphere. For companies that sell seasonal goods such as fruit growers, and
swimwear or suntan lotion manufacturers, being able to sell these goods in the Northern
Hemisphere when our season ends, helps achieve a longer and more stable sales pattern. This
increases the sales potential for these goods and also helps reduce risk.
SMALL AND/OR SATURATED DOMESTIC MARKETS
One good reason to begin exporting is when the local market is too small to support a firm's
output or when the market becomes saturated. For companies that produce heavy industrial
machinery or that have invested in large factories, they need to be able to sell enough of their
manufactured goods to justify the investment and to insure that the unit price of goods are kept
acceptably low. With relatively small markets such as South Africa, it is usually not long before
the local market becomes saturated and offers limited additional opportunities for sales. Many of
South Africa's larger manufacturers have had to turn to foreign markets to justify their existence.
Examples include most of the motor vehicle manufacturers such as Opel, VW and BMW; the
paper producers such as Mondi and Sappi; and mining houses such as Anglo-American and De
Beers. The same is true of international firms such as Volvo, Philips and Roche. They only way
firms such as these can justify their investment is to sell abroad because their respective local
markets are just too small.
OVERCOMING LOW GROWTH IN THE HOME MARKET
It is not uncommon for a recession in the local market to act as a spur for companies to enter
export markets that may offer greater opportunities for sales. While this may have the benefit of
offering ongoing sales potential for the firm in question, the danger with this approach is that
when the local market improves, these companies abandon their export markets to focus on the
now buoyant local market. Overseas importers become disillusioned with this type of exporter
and often see all firms from South African being the same and will want nothing more to do with
South African exporters, even if they are serious.
EXTENDING THE PRODUCT LIFE-CYCLE
All products go through a product life-cycle. In the beginning they are novel and sales increase
quite dramatically, then sales level off and they become what is referred to as mature products
and eventually sales start to decrease and the product goes into decline. Now, a product that has
entered its decline stage may have a life elsewhere in the world and by finding a market where
this product could be sold anew, you are essentially extending the life-cycle of the product.
Alternatively, even if it is a fairly common product, it may also be nearing the end of its life
cycle in other overseas markets (particularly in bigger markets such as Germany, the UK and the
US) and they may decide to discontinue the product. Although the market may have declined to
a point that makes it uneconomical for these companies to continue manufacturing the product in
question, the market may still be big enough for you to supply the declining market. This has the
effect of making more efficient use of the existing factory infrastructure and other investment
spent on producing the product. This extends sales, lowers the unit costs even further and may
allow for higher margins to be generated. When you have a product that is nearing its life cycle,
you should always strive to see if you can find a market for the product abroad.
IMPROVING EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCT QUALITY
The export market is a highly competitive place and by participating in this marketplace, you
need to become equally efficient and quality conscious. It is generally the case that successful
exporters are also very successful in their home markets because of their heightened efficiency
and focus on product quality.
UNTAPPED MARKETS
A company may have a very unique product that is not yet available elsewhere in the world. In
this instance, these untapped markets are likely to drive the firm's export activities. Other firms
may want to take advantage of high-volume purchases in large markets overseas, such as in the
US, Europe and Asia.
ADDRESSING CUSTOMER, COMPETITOR AND COST FACTORS
The more formal theory of internationalisation discusses customer, competitor and cost factors
that drive the internationalisation process. The theory argues that in some cases companies may
go export in response to their customers moving abroad. Alternatively, they may follow their
competitors abroad, or may decide to enter a particular foreign market in order to attack an
overseas competitor that has entered the firm's domestic market, in the competitor's own home
market. Finally, companies may go international to take advantage of lower labour costs, skilled
workers or other cost factors (such as lower telecommunication or energy costs) that are much
better in a particular foreign market. For example, expanding into India to take advantage of
programming skills and lower salaries could translate into a major advantage for a local software
development firm. It should be said, however, that these factors are more likely to be relevant to
larger firms, instead of small scale export operations.



DRAWBACKS OF EXPORT MARKETING
Of course, there are also potential pitfalls in exporting and it is important for prospective
exporters to know what these are. They include the following:
Management may need to devote a considerable amount of time to the start-up
procedures and decisions involved in exporting
Key personnel or other critical resources may have to be diverted from domestic
responsibilities to help with the company's export activities
Additional plant facilities may be needed to cope with increased sales through exports
Catalogues, brochures and other sales promotion material, as well as packaging and
labelling, may need to be translated into a foreign language
The product may need to be modified to meet foreign market criteria
Credit terms may need to be extended because of competition, local custom or transit
time
Exporting, although rewarding, is generally an expensive activity and will require
additional financial resources