International marketing
Having made a product the problem becomes to find someone who will buy it. It is the responsibility of the marketing department to promote and organise the sale of products to the purchaser. Broadly speaking, activities such as sales promotion, advertising and market research are covered. It would be possible for the factory simply to produce a motor car and then hope that it sells. However, it takes a long time to set up a production line for a car assembly plant and even minor modifications can prove difficult and expensive. It is much better to discover what people are looking for when they buy a car and then try to satisfy their needs. Do car drivers want speed or safety? Are they looking for the power to accelerate or comfort? How important is the price, and the cost of petrol and maintenance? Which designs and colours are preferred? Who is buying the car? Is it a company or an individual? It is questions like these the marketing department will have to answer even before production commences.
It becomes obvious that making and selling are two facets of the same undertaking. The marketing manager and the production manager are two members of the same team, depending on each other in much the same way as the players in a football team. What good does it do if our strikers are scoring goals but our goalkeeper keeps having to pick the ball out of the back of the net? This situation could be compared to the marketing team who make great efforts to find customers for their cars, only to find the cars cannot be delivered on time, or that the cars develop faults as soon as they arrive.
The problem facing any business is that the market for goods -- and services -- is ever changing. Take the case of a company manufacturing cigarettes. Not so long ago the market for cigarettes was assured. Then the medical researchers discovered the link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer and many other diseases. Prospects for further growth evaporated as many people decided both to save money and live longer. The government joined in by restricting advertising and sponsoring their own anti-smoking campaign.
New technologies have an even more devastating effect on the markets. Once upon a time there was a very successful company which made gas mantles. The whole country was lit by gas. Then came electric light. The sales of gas mantles plummeted. Today we look to oil for our energy. Our oil companies prosper, but for how long? The day before yesterday we used typewriters. Yesterday we used electric typewriters. Today we use word processors. And tomorrow?
The rapidly changing world is both a headache and an exciting challenge to those engaged in marketing. If they predict correctly their business will survive and prosper. If they misread the signs the business will fail and, perhaps more importantly for all of us, valuable economic resources will be wasted.
The Four p (Marketing)
Buying, selling, market research, transportation, storage, advertising - these are all a part of the complex area of business known as marketing. In simple terms, marketing means the movement of goods and services from manufacturer to customer in order to satisfy the customer and to achieve the company`s objectives. Marketing can be nodivided into four main elements that are promotion. Each one plays a vital role in the success or failure of the marketing operation.
The product element of marketing refers to the good or service that a company wants to sell. This often involves research and development (R&D) of a new product, research of the potential market, testing of the product to insure quality, and then introduction to the market.
A company next considers the price to charge for its product. There are three pricing options the company may take: above, with, or below the prices that its competitors are charging. For example, if the average price of a pair of women`s leather shoes is $27, a company that charges $23 has priced below the market; a company that charges $27 has priced with the market; and a company that charges $33 has priced above the market. Most companies price with the market and sell their goods or services for average prices established by major producers in the industry. The producers who establish these prices are known as price leaders.
The third element of the marketing process - placement - involves getting the product to the customer. This takes place through the channels of distribution. A common channel of distribution is: manufacturer -> wholesaler -> retailer -> customer.
Wholesalers generally sell large quantities of a product to retailers, and retailers usually sell smaller quantities to customers.
Finally, communication between a buyer and a seller is known as promotion. There are two major ways promotion occurs: through personal selling, as in a department store; and through advertising, as in a newspaper or a magazine.
The four elements of marketing - product, price placement, and promotion - work together to develop a successful marketing operation that satisfies customers and achieves the company`s objectives.
The Economy of Great Britain
Great Britain is one of the world's leading industrialized nations. It has achieved this position despite the lack of most raw materials needed for industry. Great Britain also must import about 40% of its food supplies. Thus the country's prosperity is heavily dependent upon the export of manufactured goods in exchange for raw materials and foodstuffs. In 1999, manufacturing industries accounted for about a quarter of the gross domestic product, followed by financial industries, trade, transportation and communications, services, construction, mining and public utilities, and agriculture. Service industries employed about 60% of the workforce, while manufacturing accounted for just over 25%. Within the manufacturing sector itself, the largest industries include machine tools; electric power, automation, and railroad equipment; ships; motor vehicles and parts; aircraft; electronic and communications equipment; metals; chemicals; petroleum; coal; food processing; paper and printing; textile; and clothing. During the 1970s and 80s, nearly 3.5 million manufacturing jobs were lost. However, over 3.5 million jobs were created in service-related industries. This trend reflects a shift in Great Britain's economic base, which has benefited the southeast, southwest, and Midlands regions of Great Britain. Other areas, such as northern England and Northern Ireland have been hard hit by the changing economy. In the mid and late 1980s, the overall economy grew and unemployment decreased, but economic conditions again worsened in the early 1990s, with unemployment rising to 9.4% by 1992. The country's chief exports are manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, chemicals, semifinished goods, and transport equipment. The chief imports are manufactured goods, machinery, semifinished and consumer goods, and foodstuffs. Since the early 1970s Great Britain's trade focus has shifted from the United States to the European Community, which now accounts for over 50% of Britain's trade. In addition, Commonwealth nations account for 11% of Great Britain's trade. Germany, the United States, France, and the Netherlands are Britain's main export markets. The country accounts for 6% of the world's total exports. The main industrial and commercial areas of Great Britain are the great conurbations, where about one third of the country's population lives. The administrative and financial centre and most important port is Greater London, which also has various manufacturing industries. London remains an important international financial centre, and is now Europe's foremost financial city. Metal goods, vehicles, aircraft, synthetic fibers, and electronic equipment are made in the West Midlands conurbation, which with the addition of Coventry roughly corresponds to the metropolitan county of West Midlands. The Black Country and the city of Birmingham are in the West Midlands. Greater Manchester has cotton and synthetic textiles, coal, and chemical industries and is transportation and warehousing centre. Liverpool, Britain's second port, along with Southport and Saint Helens are in Merseyside County. West Yorkshire County includes Leeds and Bradford and is Britain's main centre of woollen, worsted, and other textile production. Tyne and Wear county, with Newcastle upon Tyne as its centre and Durham as a main city, has coal mines and steel, electrical engineering, chemical, and shipbuilding and repair industries. The South Wales conurbation, with the ports of Swansea, Cardiff, and Newport (respectively in the counties of West Glamorgan, South Glamorgan, and Gwent), was traditionally a centre of coal mining and steel manufacturing, industries that have declined sharply in many parts of the region. Current important industries include oil refining, metals production (lead, zinc, nickel, aluminium), synthetic fibers, and electronics. In Scotland, the Strathclyde region, including Glasgow, is noted for shipbuilding, marine engineering, and printing as well as textile, food, and chemicals production. The Belfast area in Northern Ireland is a shipbuilding, textile, and food products centre. Great Britain has abundant supplies of coal, oil, and natural gas. Production of oil from offshore wells in the North Sea began in 1975, and by the end of the 1970s the country was self-sufficient in petroleum. Great Britain's other mineral resources include iron ore, tin, limestone, salt, china clay, oil shale, gypsum, and lead. Almost 30% of Britain's land is arable, and almost half is suitable for meadows and pastures. Its agriculture is highly mechanized and extremely productive, with some of the highest crop yields of grains, sugar beets, fruits, and vegetables. The widespread dairy industry makes the country self-sufficient in milk, and nearly all the eggs needed are also home-produced. The UK, a leading trading power and financial center, deploys an essentially capitalistic economy. Over the past two decades the government has greatly reduced public ownership and contained the growth of social welfare programs. Services, particularly banking, insurance, and business services, account by far for the largest proportion of GDP while industry continues to decline in importance. As Britain has an open economy, in which international trade plays a vital role in the life of the country, it is necessary for the country to produce and export more on the international market than what it buys and imports into the economy. However, traditionally the country imports more than it txports, which in turn leads to a dificit in the balance of payments. This deficit in the balance of payments is usually covered by transactions on the international market, which reflect Britain’s position as a major financial center of the world.