Riordan and Global Marketing in Poland for MBAGM 592

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Riordan Global Marketing Week 5

Successful international marketing requires the development and implementation of marketing strategies responsive to different environments. A targeted marketing effort, i.e. concentration on specific market segments within in each country is the preferred option to reach customers in an efficient way. Many opportunities in foreign markets can be explored best through a pioneer strategy. By entering these markets before competitors do, existing, but rapidly shrinking knowledge, technology, and process gaps can yield an advantageous investment position and high payoffs (Czinkota, Gaisbauer, & Springer, 1997).

? Market advantage

As a result of Poland's growth and investment-friendly climate, the country has received over $85 billion in foreign direct investment since 1990, with roughly $7 billion in 2004 alone. According to a recently published report by Ernst and Young, Poland is tied with Germany as the most attractive destination for foreign investment in Europe. The availability of cheap land and a large, relatively skilled labor force are among Polish strengths (US Department of State, 2007).
Goods imports in Poland continue to rise significantly more quickly than exports. In the three months to November 2007 the US dollar value of exports was 25.7% higher than a year earlier, whereas imports rose by 29.1% over the same period and the deficit on income continues to rise, reflecting the high profitability of foreign-owned firms operating in Poland (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2008).
Overall, domestic demand in Poland increased by 9.3% year on year, up from the 8.6% growth rate recorded in the first quarter. As the domestic economy grows, aided by the gradual improvement of conditions in Western Europe, market opportunities in Poland will continue pick up (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2007).
FDI inflows in Poland have expanded significantly in recent years, as foreign-owned companies have reinvested much of the rising flow of profits earned in Poland and new investors have set up in the country, attracted by its large domestic market and good supply of skilled labor. Foreign firms' operations in Poland appear to have been responsible for much of the strong growth in exports over the past few years, which has been the main driver of the present economic growth. The Economist Intelligence Unit expects that inflows of FDI will continue to recover and sees them continuing at around 2% of GDP over the medium term (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2007).

? Branding

The product policy for the markets in Central and Eastern Europe such as Poland is heavily influenced by the technological gap between Western industrialized nations and the former Socialist countries. This gap is largely the result of the export control policy implemented by the West during the period of the Cold War, which was designed to preserve the technological advantage of the West. In spite of today's openness of markets and rapid diffusion of innovation, most firms in the region are still a decade or more behind the technological standard of the West. As a result, product policy decisions for the Poland market can focus on the selection of products from the existing company portfolio for export to or production in the Polish market. In the early years of market opening, concentrated research of user needs and problems in order to find ideas for new products was of secondary importance for initial market entry. However, growing competition from indigenous firms, which are close to their customers, increases the importance of such research. In positioning established products in these markets, branding is a very important tool. So far, brand awareness has been underdeveloped, since most products were sold as generics or local brands. The few international brands which used to be offered only in special restricted shops acquired an aura of very high ...