Institute of Commercial Management | Qualification Subject

International Marketing

ICM Professional Diploma Unit

Introduction to International Marketing

  • The strategic importance of international marketing
  • The international marketing environment
  • Differences between international and domestic marketing
  • International marketing strategies

The International Trading Environment

  • World trading patterns
  • Reasons countries trade
  • Barriers to world trade
  • The development of world institutions to foster international trade
  • The development of world trading groups
  • The European Union
  • The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)
  • The Asian Pacific trading region
  • The Chinese economic area

Social and Cultural Considerations in International Marketing

  • Social and cultural factors
  • What is culture?
  • Culture and consumer behaviour
  • Analysing cultures and the implications for customer behaviour
  • Cross-cultural analysis
  • Social and cultural influences in business-to-business marketing

International Marketing Research and Opportunity Analysis

  • The role of marketing research and opportunity analysis
  • The role of international marketing research
  • Opportunity identification and analysis
  • International marketing segmentation
  • Transnational segmentation
  • Problems of using secondary data
  • Primary research in international markets
  • Research design
  • Survey methods

International Niche Marketing Strategies for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)

  • The SME sector and its role within the global economy
  • The nature of international marketing in SMEs
  • The nature of international development
  • International strategic marketing management in SMEs
  • Ansoff matrix MC Kinsey framework
  • Factors affecting choice of international marketing strategy
  • Management style and international fast growth
  • The future of SME internationalisation

Global Strategies

  • Alternative views of globalisation
  • Alternative strategic responses
  • Multi-domestic strategies
  • International marketing management for global firms
  • Organisational structure for transnational firms

Market Entry Strategies

  • The alternative market entry methods
  • Indirect exporting
  • Domestic purchasing
  • Export houses
  • Piggybacking
  • Trading companies
  • Direct exporting
  • Agents
  • Management contracts
  • Foreign manufacturing strategies without direct investment
  • Contract manufacture
  • Licencing
  • Foreign manufacturing strategies with direct investments
  • Cooperative strategies
  • Joint ventures and strategic alliances

International Product and Service Management

  • Products, services and service marketing
  • The components of the international product offer
  • Factors affecting international product management
  • Standardisation
  • Adaptation
  • Product policy
  • Product strategies
  • Managing products across borders
  • Product life cycle
  • Product portfolio analysis
  • Image, branding and positioning
  • New product development

International Communications

  • The role of marketing communications
  • The fundamental challenges for international marketing communications
  • International marketing communications strategy
  • The marketing communications tools
  • Person selling
  • Exhibitions and trade fairs
  • Advertising
  • Sales promotions
  • Sponsorships
  • Public relations

The Management of International Distribution and Logistics

  • The challenges in managing an international distribution strategy
  • Selecting foreign country market intermediaries
  • Building relationships in foreign market channels
  • Trends in retailing in international markets
  • Internet relating
  • Globalisation of retailing
  • The management of the physical distribution of goods
  • Use of intermediaries
  • Transportation

Pricing for International Markets

  • Domestic vs international pricing decisions
  • The factors affecting international pricing decisions
  • Developing pricing strategies
  • Problems of pricing and financing international transactions
  • Problems in multi-national pricing
  • Problems in managing foreign currency transactions
  • Problems in minimising the risk of non-payment in high risk countries
  • Administrative problems resulting from the cross border transfer of goods

International Marketing Implementation Through Enabling Technologies

  • The enabling technologies
  • The internet websites
  • E-markets and e-marketing
  • International marketing solution integration
  • The impact on international marketing strategy
  • Moving to a customer-led strategy

Example Candidate Response Booklet

Example Candidate Response (ECR) Booklets are a source of crucial information for Centres and Candidates as they use real candidate responses. We ask Senior Examiners to comment on five or more responses in terms of why the mark was awarded with commentary about how to improve the answer (if necessary).

Recommended Reading

Main Text:

International Marketing Strategy – Analysis, Development and Implementation (4th edition) – I. Doole and R. Lowe (Thompson)

Indicative Text:

Alternative Text and Further Reading:

International Marketing – S. J. Paliwoda and M. J. Thomas (Butterworth Heinemann)