Chapter Discussion

Discuss environmental analysis and two types of market screening.
A complete market analysis and assessment as described in this chapter would be made by a firm that either is contemplating entering the foreign market for the first time or already is a multinational but wants to monitor world markets systematically to avoid overlooking marketing opportunities and threats. Many of the data requirements for a foreign decision are the same as those of a similar domestic decision, though it is likely that additional information about some of the international and foreign environmental forces will be needed.

Essentially, the screening process consists of examining the various forces in succession and eliminating countries at each step. The sequence of screening based on (1) basic need potential, (2) financial and economic forces, (3) political and legal forces, (4) sociocultural forces, (5) competitive forces, and (6) personal visits is ordered so as to have a successively smaller number of prospects to consider at each of the succeedingly more difficult and expensive stages.

Explain market indicators and market forces.
Market indicators are economic data used to measure relative market strengths of countries or geographic areas. Market factors are economic data that correlate highly with the market demand for a product.

Describe some statistical techniques for estimating market demand and grouping similar markets.
Some statistical techniques for estimating market demand and grouping similar markets are trend analysis and cluster analysis.

Appreciate the value to businesspeople of trade missions and trade fairs.
Trade missions and trade fairs enable businesspeople to visit a market inexpensively, make sales, obtain overseas representation, and observe competitors’ activities.

Discuss some of the problems market researchers encounter in foreign markets.
Cultural problems, such as a low level of literacy and distrust of strangers, complicate the data-gathering process, as do technical difficulties, such as a lack of maps, telephone directories, and adequate mail service. These hindrances to marketing research do not prevent the work from being done. There is a tendency in many markets, however, to do less research and use simpler techniques.

Understand the difference between country screening and segment screening.
If we utilize country screening, we assume that countries are homogeneous units (that is, “everyone living in Mexico or Chad is essentially the same”). In segment screening, we focus our attention not on the nation as a homogeneous unit but on groups of people with similar wants and desires (market segments) across as well as within countries.

Identify the sources of information for the screening process.
The sources of information for the screening process are the environmental forces.

Appreciate the utility of the Internet as a source of market research data.
Both the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and the Worldview articles in this chapter offer insights into how the Internet is used—or may be used—to generate information. However, in many countries the Internet is used only by relatively well-to-do and well-educated persons. What are the implications for our ability to do market research directly with potential consumers on the Internet?