Marketing management

INTERNATIONAL DIMENSIONS OF MARKETING: Vern Terpstra, Lloyd C. Russow; Thomson Asia Pvt. Ltd., Singapore. Price not mentioned.

MARKETING, DEFINED as the activities which connect a firm to its market and determine profitability, includes analysis of market, development of product/services, pricing, distribution and promotion. In other words, marketing is a pre-sales service.

International marketing dimension involves marketing across national borders while multinational marketing dimension emphasises the co-ordination and integration of the firms marketing in diverse foreign environments.

The international marketeer must carefully plan in order to maximise integration and synergy in the global marketing programme while minimising the costs of adopting to each foreign market. An international marketeer's job responsibility will vary according to the way the firm organises for worldwide business.

This small book on marketing management by two eminent authors deals with the entire gamut of international dimensions in marketing. It is divided into eight chapters in about 200 pages, each chapter ending with useful references for further reading and questions that will help students probing the topic, apart from the index, at the end of the book.

The attempt of the authors to present some case studies and useful exhibits in this edition may prove very successful if the changes and improvements suited to the present changed trends and to the culture and ethos of the country to which this book is consigned, is kept in mind in future editions.

A firm cannot be a successful international marketeer if it ignores the non-economic parameters. People and culture are obviously the most important part of the environment. Chapter two provides some of the flavours of environments and suggests how it differs from domestic market.

Focussing on the behaviour of consumers in foreign market, chapter three elaborately deals with ``when, what, why and how'' they buy giving indications of the differences in buying in world market. In chapter four discussing on international market research, the authors bring out the distinctive and salient features of marketing research without much elaboration taking shelter under space constraint.

In product strategies they explain why firms cannot extend merely their domestic products to foreign market and discuss the considerations involved in product adaption, noting how firms try to minimise the amount and costs in modifying products and packaging to suit local needs.

They have also elaborated product development in the firm and discussed how internationalising this activity can lead to more profitable marketing abroad. International distribution strategies are elaborately and well written in chapter six. So also the chapter on pricing. The case studies, particularly the one on Reebok with regard to pricing in India and the advertisement to communicate the arrival of Ben's ice-cream in the Middle East, are very interesting.

The international dimensions in marketing - product, policy, place of distribution, pricing and promotion - are well brought out, particularly the issues on recruitment and training, dealt with in the last chapter.

The fact that it has run into four editions clearly establishes the utility of this handbook at undergraduate level. For those small entrepreneurs wanting to enter into the foray of international business, this primer will be handy.

N. RAMASWAMI

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