The data presented in this study, which has been derived from various CATI-Bus-Surveys made with respect to the population in West Germany, and from a Disk-by-Mail-Survey made with respect to insurance brokers, outlines the expectations and opinions expressed by German insurance customers and insurance brokers towards the European internal market for insurances. The majority of German insurance customers is pleased about the fact that due to this trend "their" insurance companies are faced with a stronger competition. At the same time the majority is relatively loyal towards "their" German insurance companies and has little confidence in foreign insurance companies. The insurance brokers are very confident and optimistic about the liberalization of the German insurance market. They believe that this trend will substantially increase their importance as "the person who guides potential clients through the labyrinth of insurance offers". As regards the insurance customers the broker enjoys a slightly better reputation than the company's agent, however, he is far from being accepted in his function as the so-called guide. Acceptance alone is doomed to failure due to the fact that the majority of the insurance customers does not really know the difference between a company's agent and a broker.
Creativity as a new approach to a problem's solution is a function of the past and the present. Foreign investors therefore need the courage to let local people create the advertising and let them judge the quality of creativity.
After opening of the borders of the Western European Community in 1993 still many differences remain. Where many companies look at Europe as a whole, business -especially retail business- stays a local operation. How can the several retail and industrial partners use market research data to learn about differences between the several countries (areas) to operate effectively? Especially in the markets for electro- technical goods where business shows signs of stagnation.
The paper discusses the role played by nationality in branding. Increasingly, European markets are a battleground for local brands, other European brands, and brands from the USA, Japan, and other countries. It is shown that consumers have strong images of other countries, their people, and the products they are making, and the services they are offering. These images have themselves developed from historical strengths in particular markets, through to the modern era where perceptions of strong brands have driven images of their parent country, according to whether and how they have used their nationality. The images of each of the main European countries, and the USA and Japan, are discussed in detail, and observations are drawn on the future role of nationality in developing international brands.
This paper describes the results of a study about the "Made in ..." phenomenon, conducted in Japan, the United States, France, Germany, Italy and the UK. The first section summarizes the position of country labels in times of increasing international competition for consumer products. It becomes clear that even nowadays in times of increasing liberalization of trade, country labels can still also be a possibility for discriminating activities. The second section describes the product characteristics which consumers are spontaneously associating with certain countries. It shows that quality, reliability and price level are highly influencing the image of countries' products. This spontaneous impression is proved by the results of image profiles for the different countries. They show the clear differences between products of the different countries and the differences between domestic and foreign image. The buying preferences show the strong position of national products when purchasing daily-life goods, but also the success of the Japanese manufacturers in the field of technical appliances. The consumers clearly differentiate the leading companies of various business sectors by countries. Typical brands for nearly all countries are the automotive manufacturers and the consumer electronic industry, especially for Japan.
A proposal for the conceptually desirable Global Marketing Strategy is presented. This effective global strategy which has a standardised pattern across nations should be adapted to national cultures in order to be most efficient. First, the basic strategic framework and the method of identifying market size over dozens of countries is presented. The correlation of GNP per capita and product market size per capita, expressed as logarithms, proves most useful. This finds that the elasticity of any product over GNP explains the character of each product. Having identified the markets, the conceptual framework for introducing global marketing strategy is presented. This covers the sales response theory and in particular, the international application of one of the PIMS principles (market share/profitability correlation). A higher market share in a limited number of major markets is recommended. The second part discusses the cultural environment and its influence on aspects of marketing. The cultural factors are split into two groups. Group I is the cultural factors which relate to the attributes of the people as individuals and has a stronger influence on the product and promotion strategies. Group II consists of the cultural factors which discuss the attributes of the people as a group, such as low/high context, individual/group oriented society. Group II relates more closely to the place (distribution channel) strategy and management of the company. As the conclusion, the actual application of conceptual global marketing strategy and the identification of the cultural factors, particularly Group I, are encouraged.
In the introductory paragraph, the new business climate in Eastern European countries is seen against the background of the different viewpoints that have characterised the evolution of the East/West relationships. The implications of the dramatic changes which have transformed the centrally planned economies and their relationships between the State and society are briefly discussed. The main part of the paper is concerned with the different ways in which Western companies can enter the Eastern European markets and develop their business relations there. The positive and negative aspects of export/import, collaborative agreements (with special reference to joint-ventures) and wholly owned subsidiaries are analyzed. While the old regulations no longer apply to the economic structures, the new mechanisms are not yet fully in place. This causes a series of problems, and creates a series of opportunities. The last section deals with the conduct of Italian firms. The continuity in responding to local needs, the experience gained in dealing with local environments, and the flexibility of business approaches have been instrumental for the increasing share gained by the Italians in the Eastern markets.
It is very difficult for the headquarters of multinational corporations, for offshore firms without local branches, or for market research institutes without local associates, to evaluate the market research undertaken in the Latin American region, i.e., to know what is done and how it is done. This paper seeks to respond to some of the questions which are often posed by such foreign organisations interested in exploring Latin American markets. The first part is devoted to a reflection on how certain local conditions have an influence upon the way market research is conducted. The second part brings forth examples of complex studies, presenting three cases in which multivariate techniques were used. The paper ends with a reflection on the need for a greater local development of techniques adapted to the local milieu.
The paper describes the development, the structure and the possible contributions of a Data Bank identifying and and characterising in a lot of details numerous Local/Micromarkets. More than 200 autonomous polarisation markets have been defined qualified in terms of Population (size and structure), Professionals, Businesses (size and sector of activity), Housing, attractiveness (popular moves), Income. The resulting data bank is constantly enriched by generating/calculating new variables and/or by acquiring and merging supplementary files (sales of new cars, list of car dealers, banks branches). And it can be used for measuring local market potentials, comparing them to local performance/local clientele, confronting the geographical distributions of demand and offer. Two case stories both related to the markets for financial services are commented, showing which objectives were actually archived.
In recent years there has been much discussion about the globalisation of markets which has resulted from a number of developments in consumption patterns, in supply, in technical progress and the process of competition which greatly influences the international dimensions and relationships of business. This means that globalisation of innovation is an important issue for successful operation. One might wonder to what extent the international "marketeer" is really able to implement an innovative approach to products, services, manufacturing and marketing. An overall determining influence in the analysis of global innovation is that of the mission one uses, the objectives, the time span and the aggregation level. In our branch of the industry transnational thinking is necessary. Is the ultimate aim global brands, uniform products, uniform packaging, uniform sales and service? This has yet to be seen. Standardisation of working methods is undeniable increasing rapidly. It. cannot, be denied that the distribution channels differ considerably from country to country. A tendency to concentration is however applicable in the most important regional markets; similarities can be recognised from types of entrepreneurial behaviour at the level of trade throughout, countries. Trade is organising itself on a more international level. Nevertheless, this instrument is probably the most locally or regionally oriented in the chain of "global marketing". Some characteristics of the international innovation culture of our organisation are dealt with in the following and also some elements are given of the adaptation to local market and trade requirements by our world-wide network of national organisations. Finally, some aspects of the innovation of working methods in marketing are dealt, with.
The world's major brewers, facing static or declining home markets, are seeking markets for their brands outside their home territories. In most cases these overseas markets can only be exploited at the expense of existing local brands, since few significant markets are growing. The most conspicuous success has been achieved by the Australian brewing companies in their assault on the UK market. Their strategy, involving a mixture of brand licensing arrangements, acquisition of local breweries, and committed advertising support, may well be extended to other European and world markets. Growing consumer interest in imported beers, in the USA and other major markets has created favourable conditions for this to occur. The major US and European brewers, while controlling brands with considerable export potential, have so far failed to match the aggressive stance of the Australians. Each national market poses unique problems of marketing and distribution and beer drinking traditions vary greatly from country to country. Marketing and advertising strategies for international brands therefore need to take account of these local variations. Market research has a major role to play assisting brewers strike the correct balance between global branding and adaptation to local market conditions.