The importance of entering foreign markets for contemporary business organizations

Discuss about the Service Ecosystem Approach for International Market.

Entering in the foreign markets is one of the major strategies for the contemporary business organizations. This is due to the reason that entering in the foreign markets will help the business organizations to increase their market share and opportunities. In addition, it also enables them to enhance their global brand value. Ensis fisheries are one of the leading producer and marketers of canned tuna fish with having their export market around the world (De Mooij 2013). They are mainly known for their fresh chilled tuna in canned form exported to different countries. They are bases in Maldives and are considering making an entry in the Turkish market. However, prior to the entry in the Turkish market, it is important for them to have the clear understanding about the market trend and other factors (Havice and Campling 2013). Canned tuna fish is witnessing increase in demand in the global due to the convenience offered in storing and consuming them.

Turkey is witnessing the growth in demand for seafood in the recent years. Thus they are becoming a potential country for Ensis fisheries in targeting this market. In addition, due to the reason that Turkey is having huge coastal areas, it will also be easy for Ensis fisheries to export their products and also adjusting with the favorable weather condition (www.ensisfisheries.com 2018). Thus, Turkey is having a good untapped market of Tuna fish can. The target market for Ensis fisheries will be the middle aged professionals who are having the need of fresh canned food due to the less availability of time and who will spend a little extra for exquisite items.

This report will discuss about the market entry strategy for Ensis fisheries in the Turkish market along with critically analyzing the concept of counter trade. This will help in identifying the influence that counter trade will have on the business of Ensis fisheries. Moreover, the market communication strategies for Ensis fisheries will also be discussed in this report. However, the major limitation of this report will be the dependence on the secondary data. Thus, authenticity may be an issue.

International market is the process of initiating and implementing the marketing principles being followed by the business organizations in their home countries in the other countries of their operations (Akaka, Vargo and Lusch 2013). Thus, it refers to the process of having same or different marketing principles in different countries. Business organizations having overseas operations are mainly initiates the process of international marketing in order to drive their sales around the world.

The potential for Ensis Fisheries in the Turkish Market

There are number of decisions being taken by the particular organization in taking the decision of international business.

• The first step involved in deciding on international business is evaluating the internal capability of the firm in surviving in the global market. This is due to the reason that operating in the global market will require huge capital and expertise that should be checked prior to the entry (Gnizy, Baker and Grinstein 2014).
• The next step is to evaluate the market and business opportunities of the target country. This is also important due to the business environments will be different between host and home countries. This also includes the competitive analysis in order to have the understanding about the intensity of the competition in the host country (Eriksson et al. 2015). Hence, it is important for the business organization to evaluate the business factors and issues in the host country before making an entry.
• The next step is to take decision about the market entry strategies. It is also important due to the reason that different market entry strategies are applicable and eligible in different business scenarios. Thus the success of the international business is also depended on the chosen market entry strategy (Kang and Montoya 2014).

The first step in taking the international business decision is much important due to the reason that the success and performance of the international business process of the organizations is hugely depended on the internal capability of the firm. This is due to the reason that if the firm is capable enough then only they will be able to compete and survive in the global market and vice versa.

There are number of market entry strategies available for the contemporary business organizations. Market entry strategies are being selected or chosen based on the business sector and pattern of the particular organization. The following sections will discuss about number of direct and indirect market entry strategies.

• Direct exporting: direct exporting refers to the process of exporting the goods by the business organizations to the target country to any third party retailers or traders. In this case, the entire responsibility of exporting the goods is with the manufacturing organization. This enables them to have the major control over the export process (Gubik and karajz 2014).
• Indirect exporting: this process refers to the involvement of third party intermediaries in the export process. Thus, exporting activities are being looked after by the intermediaries and the manufacturing companies are not responsible (McCann 2013). Thus, it helps the business organizations in having less risk and complexities managing the exporting activities.
• Foreign direct investment: This is another form of direct market entry strategy and this refers to setting up of own manufacturing facilities in the host country. Thus, the cost involved in terms if tariffs and taxes in exporting can be prevented (Blonigen and Piger 2014).
• Joint venture: This is another form of foreign investments but with having partnership with a local firm from the host country (Beamish 2013). Thus, joint venture is the process of having partnership between the foreign and the domestic company. This helps both the partners in having less financial risk and responsibilities.

Currently, Ensis fisheries are having their operation in number of countries. It is identified that they are involved direct exporting strategy. However, there are number of natural reasons behind the initiation of this strategy. One of the major reasons is the type of their product. They market canned tuna fish. Thus, they are having the requirement of fresh tuna supply for their business and not all the countries around the world are having the tuna cultivation. Thus, they are forced to initiate the strategy of direct exporting (Sandberg 2013). On the other hand, Ensis fisheries are having specific farming process that enables them to maintain the right quality and taste. Thus, their exporting countries may have the same weather and natural conditions for their process and practices. It can be concluded that based on the product type and their business factors, direct exporting is the most effective one for Ensis fisheries.

Counter trade is the process of the exchanging goods or services over the currency in the international business. In the major cases of the global trade, goods are being exported and imported in exchange of currency value (Martin 2014). However, in case of the counter trade, goods in abundance in two countries are being exchanged for same value. Currently, Maldives and Turkey are not having the concept of counter trade. This is mainly due to the reason that goods that are available in abundance one of these countries and not in other one is less. Therefore, chances of initiating counter trade are also less.

• One of the major benefits of counter trade is easy access to some particular market. This is due to the reason that some countries may have demand for particular goods but they do not have the access higher foreign reserves (Nassimbeni, Sartor and Orzes 2014). Thus, goods cannot get exported to these potential countries. In this case, counter trade will help in tapping these markets in exchange of some goods that are scare in the home country.
• This process is full proof against fluctuations of the currency due to the reason that valuation of goods will not differ as much as the currency. Thus, this will help in maintaining the exact value of the goods to be exchanged.
• Credit issues in the international business can also be mitigated with the help of counter trade. This is due to the reason that currency is not involved in the counter trade process and risk of credit will also be lower. Counter trade is being done in real time and thus there is less chance of emergence of credit.

• One of the major shortcomings of counter trade is difficulty in negotiations. This is due to the reason that physical goods are involved in the process and thus it is difficult to determine and measure the actual valuation of the goods for exchange.
• Difficulty in finding out the exact goods for exchanging is also difficult. This is due to the fact that counter trade will only be successful when both the countries are having the same requirement of goods that are available in abundance in opposite countries (Geromichalos et al. 2016). However, in major cases, one country may have the requirement and other one is not having any.
• Logistical issue is another problem in the counter trade process because it is difficult in transporting different goods in less time. However, in the case of counter trade, both the countries should have to transport their exporting products in exact time.

Marketing communication is the process of reaching out to the maximum target customers and promoting the particular product or service. This refers to creating of awareness among the target customers about the presence of the particular product or service in the market (Fletcher and Crawford 2013). Thus the sales revenue for the organization is heavily depended on the effectiveness of the marketing communication.

The need for a market entry strategy

There are number of tools or platforms available for the contemporary business organizations in international marketing communication. This is mainly due to the reason that in the current time, there are number of mediums including the traditional and online mediums are being introduced in the market. Some of the major online platforms are the social media, online marketing, SEO marketing and mobile marketing (Fishkin and Hogenhaven 2013). In addition, some of the new marketing communication trends are co-branding and content marketing. On the other hand, traditional media such as print media, electronic media and sales promotion are also present. Thus, for the contemporary business organizations such as Ensis fisheries, there is diverse range of communicating options available to reach out to maximum number of customers.

There are number of online and internet based marketing communication mediums are available in the Turkish market. In addition, effectively initiating the online communication program will also further help Ensis fisheries to have favorable brand awareness in the host country. This is due to the reason that Turkey is one of the major markets with having higher penetration of online and social media. The following sections will discuss about the major internet based communicating services.

The most basic criteria in using the internet based communication devices is availability and usage of internet in the target country. Thus, prior to identifying the online communicating tools to be used in Turkey, it is important to evaluate internet penetration in the country.

Figure: 1

Internet usage in Turkey

Source: (Amin 2018)

According to the reports, more than 69 percent of the population of Turkey are using internet for checking news and online publications. Thus, there is huge potentiality of using the online medium in reaching out to the customers in Turkey. In this case, blogs and online marketing will be effective. Blogs refer to the content given in the online media about the quality, features and specification of a particular product. The more people will check out news through online portal, the more will be the exposure of the brand in the Turkish market. This is the due to the reason that surfing through the online portal will lead the customers to check the content shared through blogs. According to the above data, it is also reported that more than 65 percent of the total population of Turkey are using the internet and online mediums to check the information about different products. In this case, mobile marketing will be effective. Mobile marketing refers to the concept of advertising and promoting through mobile devices. Thus sharing information about the products through the mobile marketing will help to target this 65 percent of the population and effectively reaching out to them.

The concept of counter trade and its potential influence on Ensis Fisheries

 

Figure: 2

Social media scenario of Turkey

Source: (Datt 2018)

Social media is one of the most popular and emerging online mediums being used in the current time. Social media is currently having huge active subscriptions across the world and Turkey is no exception. Thus, advertising through social media is one of the major and most potential options available for the business organizations. According to the above figure, facebook is the mostly used social media in Turkey. Thus, it is recommended that facebook should be targeted over the other social media platforms. In addition, Facebook is having options for the corporate advertisements that will enable the business organizations to reach to huge active subscriptions in the social media platforms.

The above figure also shows that YouTube is the fourth most used social media platform in Turkey. Thus, it is also recommended that online video content can also be used as a promotional tool in reaching out to the customers. Video marketing contains the specification and features of the products that are being communicated and advertised. Video marketing is having more effectiveness compared to the content marketing due to the reason that promotion through video enables the customers to have more clear understanding about the products.

Though there are number of online mediums available for the business organizations for promoting their products in the Turkish market, but still it is important for Ensis fisheries to have a strategic approach in using different types of online communication mediums. It is recommended that Ensis fisheries should use the social media platforms for more extensive and basic step of promotion while they should use the content marketing for more personalized mode of promotion (Kaur 2016). This is due to the reason that social media is having billions of active subscribers and using it extensively will enable Ensis fisheries to create their brand identity more effectively and quickly in the Turkish market. It is also recommended that Ensis fisheries should use social media platforms to initiate two ways communication. This is due to the reason that in the current time, two ways communication is important in order to have effective relationship with the customers (Ashley and Tuten 2015). In the current era of marketing orientation, it is also important for the business organizations to determine the need and requirement of the customers along with identifying the change in the market trend. Social media marketing will help Ensis fisheries to gain the feedback of the customers regarding their products. Hence, this will also help them to identify the requirement in the Turkish market and change their product strategy accordingly.

Market communication strategies for Ensis Fisheries

On the other hand, it is also suggested that content marketing should be used for more personalized and next step of the social media marketing. This is due to the fact that content marketing will not cover as many customers as social media platforms can. Furthermore, content marketing targets more niche class of customers with having more specific requirements about the products. Therefore, Ensis fisheries should use the content market strategy in order to meet the demand of the niche customers (Vinerean et al. 2013). Another reason of recommending content marketing as the second step of social media marketing is changing the approach of the content marketing in accordance to the feedback gained from the social media marketing. Therefore, it is recommended that effective and strategic usage of the online communicating tools will help Ensis fisheries to have the maximum benefits from the online marketing communication medium.

• One of the major advantages of using online technologies is more market coverage. This is due to the reason that online media is not having any geographical boundaries and thus Ensis fisheries will be able to cover the maximum market area (Vinerean et al. 2013).
• Online technology is low cost affairs due to the reason that traditional promotional strategies are having number of infrastructural elements while online media will only require the content and the proper media platform. Thus, the cost is also lower compared to the traditional media channels.
• Online technology also helps in better customer engagement because as discussed earlier, online media enable to initiate two ways communication process. Thus customers also feel more engaged when they are being able to participate in the promotional process of the company (Wirtz et al. 2013). Ensis fisheries will get benefited from the initiation of online mediums by having more engaged customers. Higher level of engagement among the customers will ensure higher level of satisfaction and increases sales volume.
• Online media is also helpful in specifically targeting the customers. This is due to the reason that with the help of the online media, customers can be communicated in personalized manner (Ceron 2015). Thus, the effectiveness of the marketing activities will be more with the help of the online technology.

Conclusion

Thus, it can be concluded that entering in the Turkish market will help Ensis fisheries to have more market opportunities and will also help them in enhancing their global presence. This report discussed about the available market entry strategies that will help Ensis fisheries to effectively enter the Turkish market. In addition, the concept of counter trade is also being evaluated along with identifying the advantages and disadvantages. The concept of international marketing communication and the utility of online media are also being discussed in this report. This report recommended that Ensis fisheries should take the route of direct exporting in marketing their products in Turkey. In addition, it is also recommended that they should use the currency valuation system over the counter trade due to the reason that selecting proper goods for exchange will be difficult for Ensis fisheries. Furthermore, Ensis fisheries should implement the strategic approach of online communication process in order to have the maximum return from the market.

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