2    Consider the Company, Government, and Environment
   What are the company’s core competencies
   How much local content is required?
   Is local manufacturing possible? Advisable?
   How sophisticated is local manufacturing?
   Affects market entry decisions:  export, licensing, franchising, joint ventures, subsidiaries
   What percent of ownership is required? desired?
 

3    Certifications of quality
  ISO 9000: European certification
  US: Baldridge Quality Award
   Certification standards
 

4    Product Components
   Core: what is the physical product
   Often useful to develop a common core platform/customizing other features
   Japanese cereals - fish and rice typical breakfast - flavored with seaweed,
              carrots, zucchini
   Packaging: package, trademark, logo, price, quality
   Support services:  repair, installation, instructions, spare parts…
 

5    Characteristics of an Innovation
   Relative advantage:  how is it better than the other alternatives?
   Compatibility:  does it fit within the lives of the customers, usage patterns, customary ways
               of thinking about the product or need
   Complexity:  how hard is it to understand?
   Trialability:  Can the customer try it out? How risky is it to try?
   Expensive? Breakable?
   Observability:  Can the customer see others using it? Reference group use?

6    What Would a Barbie Doll be like in Other Countries?
   Marketing to children must be done with care
   Toys may represent cultural values
   Some countries feel that the Barbie doll does not represent their value system
   Sara and Dara was developed for the market in Iran - Wears long, flowing clothings, or Iranian national costumes
   Barbie dolls may be considered anti-Islamic; importing them is prohibited
http://www.barbie.com/Sister_Sites/world.asp
 

7    What are the Degrees of Newness of a Product?
   We are considering changes in behavior - consumers tend to resist changes
               from their typical habits
   Congruent innovations:  no disruption of behaviors, like adding another
               flavor or size
   Continuous innovations:  some slight change in behavior is likely, product
               is improved: vitamin C cigarettes
 

8    What are the Degrees of Newness of a Product?
  Dynamically continuous innovations:  old behaviors must change, more
              improvement:  electric toothbrush, cellular phone
  Discontinuous innovations: a total break with what is known, a previously
              unknown product:  robots for the home
  Careful! Sometimes the product is old in your market, but brand-new in the
             foreign market
 

9    Standardization vs. Adaptation
   Old product/old use:  same promo, language changes
   Old product/new use: education explanation, Vicks
   New product/old use:  old version washing machine, going back on PLC
   New product/new use:  detergent for Japanese non-flush toilets
  Is Coca Cola consumed similarly ?
http://www2.Coca-Cola.com/ourcompany/aroundworld.html
 
 

10    International Product Life Cycle
   Products from different parts of the PLC will be marketed in different
              countries, depending on their levels of development and need
   Volkswagen Beetle is still made and sold in Latin American countries
   NCR:  hand-cranked cash register for countries with unreliable electricity
   Stages of demand growth, staggered across countries
 
 

11   Franchising:  A System based on Standardization
   Selling your way of doing business, your product, your advertising, your
               methods, etc.
   Are all these allowable by law? product approval? ad clearance? protection
               issues
   Are all these compatible with consumer preferences?
   Infrastructural bottlenecks
   Will consumers in Country X want to change your product?
   Reliability, quality of suppliers
 

12   Branding and Brand Equity
   Brand = a name, term, sign, symbol or design or a combination of them,
               intended to identify the goods or services or one seller form those of
               competitors
   Local Brands - any equities from remaining local?
   Acquiring a Local Brand
   Regional Brands
   National Brands - Georgia Coffee Beverage, made by Coca Cola in Japan
   International Brands - Gerber, Coca Cola
  http://www.sanex.net/
 

13   Country Effect and Quality
   Country of Origin vs. Country of Ownership vs. Country of Residence vs.
   Country of Manufacture - electronics made in Japan vs. Columbian coffee
   How are countries associated with quality?
 

14   Pros and Cons of Branding
   Better identification and awareness
   Added expense
   Protection risks
   Personality of the product
   Local: meaningful names, recognizable figures and logos
 

15   Some Examples
   Levis in Japan: a new scale of sizes and cuts
   Sears:  smaller refrigerator, little freezer
   Ore-Ida:  scaled down packages for smaller freezer, lowered salt content,
               use of toaster oven
 

16   Campbell Soup:
http://www.campbellsoupcompany.com/around_the_world.asp
   testing in Hong Kong:
   average consumption is one bowl of soup a day
   starts with basic meat or chicken broth, asks what consumers add to it
   dog soup and shark’s fin soup rejected

17    Campbell Soups:
   Poland: chicken noodle soup
   China:  watercress, duck-gizzard soup
  Argentina:  split pea with ham, do not like chicken noodle
  Mexico:  Creama de Chile Pablano soup
 

18   Labeling - what do shoppers need and expect?
   Multilingual: which languages?
   Instructions:  pictures, words?
  What do people need to know to use the product safely?
  Functional literacy, consumer literacy, numeracy - can consumers understand
              what they need to be good shoppers?
   Legal requirements
   Warranties and ways to contact the company
   This is what your product assignment is about
 

19   Packaging
   Recycling
   Protection of product:  Shelf life, climate, storage, transportation
   Display and regulations
   Size:  what is usage rate? How much can they afford?
   What kind of containers are people used to?
 

20   What’s Different About Industrial Products?
http://www.caterpillar.com/services/shared/parts_n_service/parts_n_service.html
   Product must be designed with the service and the user in mind - realistic!
   Is it possible to sell people a product which is of “too high” quality? Too
               complex?
   Suppose that regular maintenance is unknown?  Who will do it?
   Suppose that people need the most basic product, with little repair needed?
   Suppose that your customer has never had to think about maintenance before?
 

21   The Importance of Post-Sale Service
   What is customary usage?
   What is the frequency of breakdowns?
   What needs to go into a spare parts kit?
   Where should service facilities and repair personnel be located?
               are there specific conditions in the home office which need to be part of
               training?
   How is product liability handled?
 

22   Should Warranties be Standardized? - Pro
   Is the good sold in many markets?
   Will customers find your product in several countries?
   Is safety a factor - everyone must be protected in the same way
   Is there worldwide service?
   Should Warranties be Standardized? - Con
   Expensive
   Production in many countries may mean different levels of quality
   Different usage conditions - what is customary care?
   Government requirements may differ
   Will service levels differ?

23 Should Warranties be Stadardized? - Con
   Expensive
   Production in many countries may mean different levels of quality
   Different usage conditions - what is customary care?
   Government requirements may differ
   Will service levels differ?

 

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