Table of Contents
Introduction
International marketing entails extending local marketing strategies across borders or overseas. It is a way to increase production, since, relying on the domestic market alone does not give a company the competitive edge it requires. It is one of the outcome of the fast-paced globalization in the modern market and business area. Mexican footwear comprises mainly of the companies which are broadened to the international trade arena. Most countries, have women occupying the greater percentage of their population. There are different segmentation in the market for women’s dress-shoes and boots in Mexico. Women customers’ preference and choices depend on interests, lifestyle, and status in society. Many women have similar characteristics, therefore, it improves client services in companies when the market is segmented into different sections. Additionally, firms can identify their target markets and make the right decision about the market improvement.
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The market of women’s apparel is segmented into demographic and psychographics subdivision. The reason for selecting demographic segmentation is due to age diversity in the market. The advantage of this subdivision helps to group the market, according to ethnicity, education, income, gender and race religion. Through the subdivision, the market can target its customer base accurately through categorizing the consumer’s needs. Another advantage of this market segmentation in Mexico, is to maintain customer loyalty and build a good relationship (McDonald, 2012). When they receive excellent services, most customers often refer a friend and family members to the retail stores or companies which increase the market share of the business.
McDonald (2012) states that psychographic segmentation involves dividing the market according to lifestyles, personality traits of the women, interests, and values. Women in Mexico, have various interests, traits, and attitude. Some women are more concerned with the environment. Dress-shoes and boots have different designs, and the choices and preference in women customers depend on the environment and their personal interests. Some women customers always want shoes which make them feel classy, while, others need to have shoe designs that fit in the environment (McDonald, 2012). Therefore, this type of segmentation is important in identifying taste and needs of women customers in Mexico.
According to McDonald (2012), the target market that demographic segmentation appeals for the young, youth and adult females. Also, the subdivision targets women with high income and low income; respectively the Guadalajara City has a significant population of women with high income. Therefore, the needs of the customer with a good education are able to be met through demographic segmentation. Psychographic segmentation targets the city of Mexico because the women clients in this region in have a different attitude and interest. The goals to be achieved by the organization through shoe importation into Mexico market include, increasing market share, enhancing the brand image and increases total sales for the group (Kotler & Armstrong, 2013). Improvement of the market share will provide the competitive advantage of the firm. The brand image is critical for any organization because it helps win a broad customer base. Importing shoes to Mexico will create a bigger market for the company to purchase the shoe products. Kotler and Armstrong (2013) hold the view that technology advancement has made it easier to ship products to global market. However, the approach has greater risk due to high competition. Therefore, a firm requires a good comprehensive product marketing plan to conquer the market entry barriers. The market plan that is suitable for the shoe business should involve, producing, planning, promotion and placing the products of the company in the new market. The appropriate marketing program I prefer for the company is alliances with a distributor in the Mexican market. The action plan will involve supplying different designs of shoes that suit the market segmentation to the distributor. Then, a lower retail price will be selected to improve competition and penetrate the market easily. The rationale for choosing an alliance program is to use the already existing market and penetrate Mexico.
Pricing is an essential tool in designing a marketing plan since it is a determining factor in the number of clients the company has. Settling on it before launching a product, reduces the possibility of having products which do not realize any profits in the market. The most preferred pricing policy is pricing for market penetrations. It entails, having the products at a lower cost compared to the available competitors (Terpstra, 2012). The reason behind the choice of the policy is, regardless of the fact that it can realize losses at the beginning of business, it increases popularity, attracts more clients and thus increased profit margins. Besides, the policy adopts price increment after the company has gained a deep penetration; a strategy to reflect its commanding position in the market.
The marketing channel that suits the organization, is social media and wholesale outlets. A large number of women in Mexico can access the internet through personal phones and other devices (Kotler & Armstrong, 2013). Therefore, the channel will help the company to reach a broader market share in Mexico. Wholesale outlets are important avenues to improve the supply chain of the company because the products can reach the end user at the appropriate time.
A new entity oughts to choose excellent sales promotion techniques for easier market penetration. The particular company will utilize such strategies as special pricing (Terpstra, 2012). It is a method which reduces prices of specific products in order to attract customers. Even though some clients believe that cheap is expensive, the target market comprises women of different social classes; thus there are those who will purchase. Secondly, it will use the free gifts as a bonus for every purchase since it can attract more consumers. The company prefers the use of sales agents since they are well established and also due to the incorporation of joint ventures. The sales agents are part of the joint venture and thus are likely to make the penetration successful.
- Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2013). Principles of Marketing 15th global edition. Pearson.
- McDonald, M. (2012). Market Segmentation. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
- Terpstra, V., Foley, J., & Sarathy, R. (2012). International marketing. Naper Press.