PMM 3

• Product Management


  Involves the planning, marketing, and forecasting of products throughout their lifecycle
• Product managers


  Focus on guiding every step of a product's lifecycle, from development to positioning and pricing, by prioritizing the needs of the product and its customers
• Global Brands


  Recognized worldwide and employ a unified marketing strategy to support their brand and its development across different markets
• Global Brands


  • Perceived to offer value to consumers through better quality or by enhancing the consumer's self-perception as being cosmopolitan, sophisticated, and modern
  • Internally, global branding involves tightening organizational relationships and sharing best practices in brand management across different regions
  • While global brands may excel in high-profile categories, local brands may still be preferred by consumers for everyday products
• Core Product


  The benefit and service that a customer gets by using the product, satisfying the most basic need of the customer
• Tangible Product


  What the customer can touch and see in order to evaluate and decide depending on what it looks like with regards to the packaging, quality, brand name, and aesthetics
• Intangible Product


  Symbolizes the brand image of the product, positioning and the country of origin
• Augmented Product


  The "extra" of every product, offering additional customer services and benefits
• Alternatives in approaching international markets

  • Selling the product as it is international marketplace
  • Modifying products for different countries or regions
  • Designing new products for foreign markets
  • Incorporating all the differences into one flexible product design and introducing a global product
• Factors affecting adaptation


  • Market Characteristics
  • Cultural Differences
  • Legal and Regulatory Environment
  • Economic Factors
  • Competitive Landscape
  • Technological Factors
  • Brand Image and Reputation
  • Resource Constraints
  • Consumer Behavior and Preferences
  • Organizational Capabilities and Culture
• Goods


  Tangible items that can be seen, touched, and physically possessed
• Services


  Intangible actions or activities performed by one party for another
• Characteristics of services


  • Intangibility, Personalization, and Customization
  • Differentiated Marketing Approach
  • Cross-Border Transfer
  • Customer Transfer and Service Territory
  • Different Approach to Customer Satisfaction
  • Solution Based
• Service-Goods Separation


  Services may complement goods; at other times, goods may complement services. However, services can exist independently without any physical product.
• Czinkota et.al: '"Services may complement goods; at other times, goods may complement services"'
• Services do not always come bundled with goods
• Goods are tangible products that can often be accompanied by services, but services can exist independently without any physical product
• Platforms like Netflix or Spotify


  • Provide streaming services for movies, TV shows, and music without accompanying physical goods
• Customers pay for access to content and the convenience of streaming, without receiving any tangible products
• Customers may use physical devices (such as smartphones or computers) to access these services, but the devices themselves are not directly sold by the service provider and are separate from the service offering
• Service competition


  • Unlike goods, which may compete primarily based on features, quality, and price, services often compete against each other directly
  • In the global market, various service providers offer similar services, leading to intense competition
  • International marketers need to differentiate their services through branding, customer experience, and value-added offerings to stand out in crowded marketplaces and attract customers
• Companies like Uber and Lyft


  • Offer transportation services through their mobile apps, competing directly against each other in the market
  • Customers choose between these services based on factors such as price, availability, and service quality
  • To stand out in the competitive ride-sharing market, companies may offer unique features like carpooling options, premium vehicle choices, or loyalty rewards programs to attract and retain customers and differentiate them
• Intangibility of services


  • Services cannot be seen, touched, or possessed like physical products
  • They involve experiences, actions, or expertise provided to customers
  • This intangible nature poses unique challenges in marketing, as marketers must find creative ways to communicate the value and benefits of services to customers who cannot physically evaluate them before purchase
• Consulting firms


  • Provide expertise, advice, and solutions to clients in various industries, such as management consulting, financial advisory, or IT consulting
  • These services are intangible and primarily involve knowledge transfer and problem-solving rather than physical products
  • Marketing consulting services requires highlighting the expertise and experience of consultants, showcasing successful case studies, and building trust with potential clients through effective communication and branding
• Services can still be dependent on goods in various ways
• A logistics service


  • Relies on transportation vehicles (goods) to deliver goods efficiently
• A software-as-a-service (SaaS) company


  • Requires hardware (goods) to host its software platforms
• 1. commerce platforms like Amazon or Alibaba


  • Offer online marketplaces where sellers can list and sell their products to customers worldwide
  • These platforms provide services such as online storefronts, payment processing, and order fulfillment
  • While e-commerce platforms primarily offer services, they are dependent on physical goods (such as products sold by third-party sellers) for their business model to function
  • Without a wide range of goods available for purchase, these platforms would not attract customers or generate revenue
• Customer involvement in service delivery


  • In the delivery of services, customer involvement is often significant, with production and consumption occurring simultaneously or closely together
  • This process, known as co-production of service, entails customers participating in the service delivery process or even servicing themselves
  • The physical presence of the service provider during delivery becomes crucial, presenting both challenges and opportunities for service providers
• Customer sensitivity in services


  • Services are frequently custom-made and culturally sensitive
  • Delivering a service in a culturally inappropriate manner can lead to failure
  • Understanding and respecting cultural beliefs and preferences are crucial in the services industry
  • Due to cultural differences, international service businesses often develop stand-alone business systems in each country to ensure cultural appropriateness and effectiveness
• In countries with specific dietary restrictions or cultural norms, hotels


  • May offer custom meal options or amenities to ensure guests feel comfortable and respected
• Service consistency


  • Maintaining service consistency is challenging due to the real-time nature of service delivery
  • Errors can occur, and individual influences can affect service outcomes
  • Quality control is essential for fulfilling customer expectations
  • The behavior of customer-contact employees significantly impacts customers' perception of service quality
  • Internal marketing, aimed at employees, is vital to address their skills and ensure proactive handling of complaints
• Fast food chains

  • Strive for service consistency across their locations worldwide
  • They implement standardized processes and training programs to ensure that customers receive the same quality of service and food regardless of the location they visit
• Market transparency for services


  • Unlike goods, services are often heterogeneous and difficult for buyers to observe and evaluate
  • Service quality may vary for each delivery, making it challenging for customers to make informed choices among service providers
  • This heterogeneity arises from the inability to establish production lines for consistent service delivery
• Service provider roles


  • Services may require new forms of distribution, such as direct delivery and short distribution channels, due to their perishability and need for quick delivery
  • The impact of these aspects is heightened for international marketers, who must navigate cultural factors, changing expectations, and varying national regulations
  • International services are particularly sensitive to cultural differences, requiring careful consideration in service delivery
• The general requirements of effective marketing communications apply to global marketers as well as their domestic counterparts
• Increasingly, marketers opt for varying degrees of panregional and integrative approaches to take advantage of similarities in markets they serve
• Communication process


  The transmission of information from a sender to a receiver, with the goal of sharing meaning and understanding
• Key elements of the communication process

  • Sender
  • Message
  • Channel
  • Decoding
  • Receiver
  • Noise
  • Feedback
• Effective communication occurs when the sender's message is accurately encoded, transmitted through an appropriate channel, successfully decoded by the receiver, and followed by feedback that confirms understanding