Appendices to CBI Export Planner - crecer

CBI Export PlannerIn order to “arouse attention”, your message should be striking. To “create interest”, yourmessage should be informative, giving facts. To “stimulate desire”, your message must beappealing to intelligence as well as emotions. To “provoke the action” of purchasing,your message should be convincing. And to secure repeat-orders your after-sales serviceshould be reliable.You already have one great advantage: you know the preferences and buying motives ofyour potential customers in export markets. That’s what Chapter II.4. was all about.But you do not know in what manner to approach him. You don’t know his language, norhis cultural and social habits. In “talking” to him almost face-to-face, you will feel a vastdistance between you and him, which is hard to bridge. This is, in fact, what makesinternational marketing so difficult.Fortunately, you will have a strong ally: your trade partner (see Chapter V) is going tohelp you. He has market knowledge - or knows which market research will get that, heknows his compatriots and can judge the right approach. Together with your trade partnerabroad you are going to find the right form of your message. The right words, the righttone of voice, the strongest arguments for sale, the correct psychological approach. Theright instruments to draw attention and to penetrate into the customer’s scope of interest.Selection of media“Media” are the actual message carriers. These (advertizing) media can be papers ormagazines (“print”), radio, television, brochures, instruction manuals, direct mailings,E(lectronic)-mailings etc. Even point-of-purchase materials like posters, display-boxes oryour own outercarton as well as your product packaging can be message-carriers.Which medium should you use to bring your message across depends on: a. your type ofproduct, b. your target group, c. the availability and the costs of media.If you sell an industrial product, your media selection is easier. You actually know whoyour buyers are by name, by address. You have that advantage over suppliers of consumergoods for whom the market is basically a group of anonymous buyers, known only by thefact they share the same needs and wants.So you will be able to concentrate your communication efforts on individual buyerswhom you know where to find. You choose any medium which relates directly with thesebuyers. This can be Internet, or direct-mail or professional magazines. Or productbrochures and manuals to point out the advantages and benefits of your product.Figure 3.4.2E-CommerceInternet has very quickly developed into a highlypopular medium for business, not only forconsumers but especially for industrial buyers andsuppliers (‘B2B’), allowing them ‘virtualshopping, fast communication and payment andlow-cost promotion. This industry, called ‘E-Commerce’, is growing rapidly, in spite of theshake-out amongst its pioneers.48 III - The export marketing mix