International Marketing Channels

1
International Marketing Channels

• Goalgetting the right product to the right place
  in the right quantities at the right time and at
  the right price
• Forging a reliable and aggressive distribution
  channel may be the most challenging international
  marketing task
• Every market contains a distribution network with
  many channel choices
• Competitive advantage will reside with the
  marketer best able to build the most efficient
  distribution channel

2
International Channel-of- Distribution
Alternatives
3
Home-Country Middlemen

• Home-country middlemen (domestic middlemen)
  provide marketing services from a domestic base
  assist in finding foreign markets for products
  made by local (domestic) manufacturers
• Frequently used types of domestic intermediaries
• Manufacturers Retail Stores Global Retailers
• Export Management Companies Trading Companies
• U.S. Export Trading Companies Complementary
  Marketers
• Manufacturers Export Agent Home-Country Brokers
  
• Buying Offices Selling Groups
• Foreign Sales Corporation Export Merchants
• Export Jobbers
• Webb-Pomerene Export Associations

4
Types of Home-Country Middlemen

• Global Retailers retailers with stores in many
  countries
• Export Management Company an agent that
  functions as a low cost independent marketing
  department
• Trading Companies firms that accumulate and
  distribute a wide variety of goods from many
  countries
• U.S. Export Trading Companies joint ventures
  organized to handle export activities and share
  costs and risks
• Complementary Marketers firms that export their
  goods and desire to take on additional products
  or lines from others
• Manufacturer's Export Agent an individual or
  firm that covers a small area and does business
  under its own name

5
Foreign-Country Middlemen

• Middlemen located in foreign markets that seek
  goods from manufacturers outside their home
  country for importation and distribution in their
  home country
• Common Types of Foreign-Country Middlemen
  Manufacturers Representatives
  Distributors
  Foreign-Country Brokers
  Managing
  Agents/Compradors
  Dealers
  Import Jobbers,
  Wholesalers, and Retailers

6
Locating Middlemen

• Commercially published directories
• Foreign consulates
• Chamber-of-commerce groups located abroad
• Other manufacturers producing similar but
  noncompetitive goods
• Middlemen associations
• Business publications
• Management consultants
• U.S. Department of Commerce

7
Selecting Middlemen

• Screening Criteria
  
• Reputation Creditworthiness
  Markets served
  Products carried Number
  of stores Store size
• Screening Tools
  Personal
  Interviews Telephone Interviews
  
  Reference Checks Directory Information
  Questionnaire

8
Motivating Middlemen

• There is a clear correlation between a
  middlemans motivation and sales volume
• Motivational Techniques
  Financial rewards/incentives
  Psychological rewards
  Frequent
  communications Company
  support
  Corporate rapport

9
E-commerceexpands or facilitates international
distribution

• The Internet is an important distribution method
  for multinational companies
• E-commerce growth in international
  business-to-business marketing has outpaced
  growth in international consumer sales
• Important Considerations
  Cultural
  Preferences
  Adaptation (especially of
  language)
  Local contact information
  Payment form
  
  Delivery methods and terms
  
  Promotion regulations

10
Alternative Market Entry Strategies

• Licensingyou grant the right to a foreign
  manufacturer or distributor to legally use your
  patent, trademark, or process
• Franchisingyou license a standard system of
  products and processes to a buyer (franchisee) in
  perpetuity for a fee
• Joint Venturestwo or more companies share in the
  cost of a business venture
• Consortiaa large number of partners pool their
  resources to operate a venture