Developing International Marketing through Stakeholder Collaboration

International start-ups rely on more than rudimentary resource allocation as they inherently require collaborative efforts for effective monetization. Entrepreneurial use of social and business networks to improve the chances of success is not something new and is part of the process of pushing innovation. Research by Evers, et. al (2012) brings forward a model of how stakeholders interact in international marketing development. 

The model requires the shifting from market oriented to stakeholder oriented developmental trajectories. By using the power of stakeholders it is possible to better understand the market, business performance, and overall effectiveness through enhanced knowledge management and innovative solutions. Working in collaboration with key market stakeholders can raise the possibilities of developing stronger market penetration. 

The type of stakeholder groups are as follows: 

Neutral Stakeholders: Companies and industry experts that have their own goals but often share knowledge with each other for individual development. General knowledge is converted to specific firm use. It is considered single loop learning. 

Cooperative Stakeholders: Cooperative stakeholders that work together for general improvement and know enough of each other to be effective. They are separate entities that have their own goals but will collaborate when it is beneficial. It is considered secondary loop learning. 

Allied Stakeholders: Allied stakeholders are highly motivated businesses and industry stakeholders that work together to create new products, services and opportunities. They are engage in triple-loop learning that leads to regenerative possibilities. 

Each stakeholder group has different information to offer that contributes to the developmental process. Many markets are made of neutral stakeholders that try and understand their market from various non-aligned parties that provide relevant information. When companies begin to collaborate around market problems they are able to focus the genre more closely on business needs. 

As companies make a significant commitment with each other and share tight resources that deliver products/services they are engaged in allied activities that raise innovative knowledge. We can see this exist when companies team with suppliers to develop better supply chain platforms for international delivery or Internet entities that work tightly with other virtual suppliers to create more effective campaigns. 

International marketing development doesn’t work in a vacuum and requires interested stakeholders to work together to create something new. Knowledge diffusion and innovation occurs when companies bring their current capabilities to collaborate with other companies to develop higher level outputs. The more focused companies are on defined outcomes the more likely they are able to orientate their efforts.

Evers, N. et. al. (2012). Stakeholders and marketing capabilities in international new ventures: evidence from Ireland, Sweden, and Denmark. Journal of International Marketing, 20 (4).

 

Using Social Media to Converse with Customers

Relationship marketing is still a new concept that hasn’t  yet been explored to its fullest extent. The purpose of relationship marketing is to ensure customer retention and satisfaction by fostering conversations about products and services. A paper by Jung, et. al. (2013) discusses how relationship marketing can improve upon value and retention by augmenting traditional advertising methods through the use of informal conversation.

Relationship marketing is still a somewhat unstructured approach lacking a cohesive theoretical model. Those models are in the process of development. The goal is to improve customer satisfaction, improve relationships and foster an important message but how that is done in an effective manner is difficult to define. 

Getting right into the middle of people’s online conversations certainly has its advantages in changing the nature of those conversations. It is a direct focus tactic that provides a level of debate and discussion about the products and services to help raise social awareness. What people say and believe about products impacts its value. 

People are rightfully distrustful of companies that engage in their conversations using social media as their spin is nearly always pro company and pro buy more products. Consumers don’t always respond well to misinformation and may retaliate through argumentation, spreading misinformation, giving negative feedback that spreads. 

Where I have seen this successfully work is on topics related to auto parts where many options are available. The marketer may not be selling a specific product but could be selling a solution to a problem. For example, your car won’t start and you need a battery cable. A marketer could join the discussion and point out different brands of cables and where they can be bought. Solving a customer problem. 

Others may open up Facebook and Twitter pages and allow customers to ask questions and debate related topics. As the customer becomes engage it is possible for the business to help them become aware of the options and offers. They build a rapport and conversation around particular topics and issues. 

The authors found that the positive benefits of relationship marketing far outweighed the detractors. They acknowledge that the use in the hotel industry is more pronounced than other industries and offers unique opportunities to connect with customers. Multiple channels can be used in sequence to engage customers more often. Academic theories are still developing and growing and are in more need as the Internet speeds up connectivity and social media sites that can connect customers with companies. 

Jung, et. al. (2013). Online social networking: relationship marketing in UK hotels. Journal of Marketing Management, 29 (3/4)

Using Behavioral Marketing to Link to Your Customer

Behavioral marketing is the “Holy Grail” of marketing attracting highly motivated customers to increase purchase rates.  Research by Chen and Stallaert (2014) help show how small advertisers are better off with targeted marketing while larger advertisers are not yet able to fully capitalize on the benefits. The study has implications for marketing investment and where they are dollars are likely to be most fruitful. 

Behavioral marketing seeks to use technology to better understand the online behavior of consumers and reach those most open to purchase. The information is collected from webpage cookies, search terms, forums, and other behavior to build a marketing profile of customers and then display ads that are relevant to their needs. 

Businesses seek to attract customers in the most cost effective manner possible. The further the marketing reach with the least amount of investment the higher return on investment (ROI). Small businesses have limited capital to spend and target niche customers while larger companies have a broader profile to attract customers through mass marketing campaigns. 

The study helps show that small advertisers find significant value in behavioral marketing while large companies may not realize this same value.  Market leaders are able to use a wide enough net to capture a high volume of interested customers that produces a higher pay off.  

To effectively develop behavioral marketing it is necessary to find an appropriate algorithm and then collect information while updating customer profiles. It is a lot of information to handle, analyze and move. Therefore, popular channels of advertisement often do better with behavioral marketing while less popular sites do better with mass marketing. 

The study helps us think of how mass marketing attempts to reach a broad range of customers by economizing its efforts. This is still a popular and cost effective method. Even these large advertisers are realizing the benefit of incorporating features of behavioral marketing to focus their advertising dollars. The closer you can align your approach to your target market the higher your chances of successful campaigns.  

Chen, J. & Stallaert, J. (2014). An economic analysis of online advertising using behavioral targeting. MIS Quarterly, 38 (2).