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Basic of International Trade

Basic of International Trade A country specializes in a specific commodity due to mobility, productivity, and other endowments of economic resources. This stimulates a country to go for international trade. The basis of international trade lies in the diversity of economic resources in different countries. All countries are endowed by nature with the same production … Read more

International Marketing

International Marketing The process of penetrating an international market is a difficult task for most companies in the current international business environment. Most companies, even multinationals, still identify this task as an Achilles’ heel in their global capabilities. Generally in the start-up phase most firms lack experience in sales, marketing infrastructure and knowledge of the … Read more

Experimentation in Innovation

Experimentation in Innovation Experimentation is crucial in the innovation process. It helps in realizing potential faults early, reinforcing new knowledge, reducing costs or preventing fatal errors later. Experimentation is vital for innovation. The systematic testing of ideas enables a company to create and refine its products. An idea is converted to a product through the … Read more

Hybrid Distribution System

Hybrid Distribution System A company must manage a hybrid distribution system to avoid chaos and maximize efficiency. Responsibilities, relationships and compensations among various channel members must be made clear. A company received its distribution system in legacy. The company started its journey with serving a particular type of customers. The company probably targeted big businesses … Read more

Open Market Innovations

Open Market Innovations A large number of companies are using licensing, joint ventures and strategic alliances to increase output from their innovation processes. They are including their customers, vendors and even their competitors in the innovation processes. This open-market innovation approach to innovation improves speed, cost and quality of innovation. It lets companies set realistic … Read more

Factors Affecting Decision Making Process of Consumer

Factors Affecting Decision Making Process of a Consumer Various factors influence the decision-making process of a consumer. Some of these are internal factors or personal influences that are individualistic in nature. These factors are not visible, though they influence the consumer to a great extent. Learning, perception, motivation, attitude, self-concept, etc. are some such factors. … Read more

Stages of Buying Process

Stages of Buying Process The buying process is divided into various stages – Need recognition, Information search, Evaluation of alternatives, Purchase and Post-purchase evaluation of decisions. Below are various stages of buying process: Problem Recognition The decision making process begins with the recognition that a problem exists. The problem may be functional like a slow … Read more

External Factors Affecting Consumer Behaviour

External Affecting Consumer Behavior Besides the internal factors, external factors also Influence consumer behavior. These factors are not individualistic,and are external to the individual. These factors include culture, subculture, social class, reference group and family influences. These factors are associated with the groups that the individual belongs to, and interacts with. Culture Culture refers to … Read more

Customer Portfolio Management

Customer Portfolio Management A company’s marketing strategies ‘should encompass an entire portfolio of customers at different relationship levels. This process is called ‘customer portfolio management.’ ‘Customer portfolio analysis enables managers and researchers to capture a customer’s value contribution to a firm’s portfolio of relationships rather than analyzing a customer’s value to the firm in isolation.’ … Read more

What is Relationship Marketing?

What is Relationship Marketing? Relationship marketing involves the creation of new and mutual value between a supplier and individual customer. Novelty and mutuality deepen, extend and prolong relationships, creating yet more opportunities for customer and supplier to benefit one another. Relationship marketing has been strongly influenced by re-engineering. According to re-engineering theory, organizations should be … Read more

What is Competitive Strategy and Sources of Competitive Strategy

Competitive Strategy Success is achieved by choosing a generic strategy and following it. Below-average performance is associated with failure to achieve any of these generic strategies. The result is no competitive advantage, a stuck-in-the-middle position that results in lower performance. Firms need to understand the genetic basis of their success and resist temptations to blur … Read more

Segmenting Consumer Markets – Behavioral, Psychographic and Profile Variables

Segmenting Consumer Markets Markets can be segmented in many ways. Segmentation variables are the criteria that are used for dividing a market into segments. The chosen criteria should be good predictors of differences in buyer behavior. There are three broad groups of consumer segmentation criteria: Behavioral, Psychographic and Profile variables. Behavioral variables such as benefits … Read more

Steps in Management of the Sales Force

Management of the Sales Force A large proportion of employees of companies are engaged in sales activities. Efficiency and effectiveness of a sales force are very strong determinants of competitiveness of a company. Managing a sales force is an intricate task because most salespeople work away from the direct supervision of their managers. Setting Objectives … Read more

Creating Cost Leadership

Creating Cost Leadership Some of the major cost drivers that determine the behavior of costs in the value chain are: Economies of Scale Scale economies can arise from the use of more efficient methods of production at higher volumes. Scale economies also arise from the less than proportional increase in overhead cost as production volume … Read more

Public Relations and Publicity

Public Relations and Publicity What are Public Relations? Public relations is the management of relationships and communication to establish goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its public. Public relations is more wide ranging than marketing which primarily focuses on markets, distribution channels and customers. Marketers primarily focus on customers and distributors but needs … Read more