The decision facing any company that wishes to survive and prosper in today's turbulent global village is not whether to enter the international game but rather how to enter it. Once a mode of entry has been selected, a means of penetrating and maintaining the markets must be devised. The latter task is the domain of international marketing.
International marketing decisions are strategic decisions in that they affect the entire organization, require substantial organizational resources, are made by top management, and are not easily reversed. Figure 14.2 presents the phases in designing and implementing an international marketing strategy. The international marketing process is a sequential one. It begins with Phase A, identification of markets/ countries. The main objective here is to develop a panoramic view of the global market for the company's product or service. If the global market is deemed substantial in terms of size and volatile in terms of growth patterns, management may decide to devote organizational resources to in-depth marketing research (Phase B). If the result of the marketing research is favorable, the firm will move into Phase C, designing and managing a marketing mix to penetrate the market. Finally, in Phase D, the firm must devise systems to keep and control the market.
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