International and Strategic Marketing: Teejays Case Study

Company Analysis

Teejays is a Customer Care Training and Consultancy Organization that is based in London, UK. The organization has a large clientele with majority being businesses. It provides effective and excellent services to its clients hence playing a very big role in business growth.

The training programs and consultation ensures a strong customer-management relationship that leads to customer loyalty. It also offers consultancy services on customer care to its clients.

The company has expanded over the last few years. This is due to quality services offered to the clients hence winning over their loyalty. The company therefore seeks to expand its base to international market, and in particular Asia. The move is aimed at achieving sustainable growth.

Penetrating a new international market can be challenging and complex hence the need to conduct a feasibility study before making a move (Blythe 2000). The right marketing strategy should be considered depending on the background of that particular market. A wrong strategy can be disastrous causing the business to incur massive losses.

Asia is inhabited by people of different race and religion background compared to inhabitants from London. The cultural difference should also be a factor that should be considered before setting base in the new market. Our report will examine the organizational buying behaviour of our clients in Asia and the market segmentation.

Brief Analysis Of Asia Market

Before examining the organization buying behaviour of the clients, it is important to understand the current market condition in Asia. This is important to enable Teejays employ a successful global strategy. The strategy needs to be formulated, implemented, evaluated and controlled by the company.

This process can only be successive if an effective market analysis is conducted. The analysis includes the current economic growth of the market, political stability, legal perspectives and other factors that may affect organizational buying behaviour of the clients.

Being the largest continent in the world, Asia is inhabited by over 3 billion people. This is therefore a prime market to invest in due to high human traffic. The economic growth in Asia is dynamic. China for example has recorded a high GDP growth in the past years hence attracting more foreign investments and exports (O’Callaghan 2007).

This growth has been attributed to high demand of goods and services to cater for its high population. Asia has also developed its economic performance. For example, the buying capability of consumers in Shanghai has drastically improved due to economic stability.

The continent also enjoys political stability which is ideal for any foreign investment. Most countries in Asia are open to global companies investing in their regions. Trade barriers have been reduced with the countries being members of World Trade Organization.

This provides an important investment opportunity to a company like Teejays. The legal constraints in Asia have also been reduced. A good example is the reduction in taxes imposed on foreign goods and services delivered to the locals. The legal requirements required to set up a business in the region are straightforward and less strict due to the influence by the World Trade Organization.

The market analysis eases the understanding of organization buyer behaviour, which is the core business of this report.

Understanding Organisational Buying Behaviour Of Business Market

Teejays target markets are businesses that deal directly or indirectly with their consumers. The business clients targeted include companies that will buy services from Teejays and in turn produce goods and services to sell to their clients by utilising the service bought from Teejays.

Asia offers a diverse range of business market ranging from transportation companies, financial institutions, accounting firms, advertising companies, shippers and hotel industries. The businesses are either privately owned or public. Several definitions of organisation buying behaviour have been put forward.

Nevertheless, it entails decision making and communication adopted by organisations before buying a product or a service (Webster and Wind 1972). To understand the buying behaviour of the clients in Asia, it is important to study the competitors and their marketing strategy to penetrate the market. Teejays main competitors are the Omnitouch Consultancy Group and Asia Training and Consultancy Company Limited.

Omnitouch operates in more than five countries in Asia with its competitor, Asia Training closely following suit. Both companies have taken large market segmentation and an innovative strategy will be required so as to compete with them. A close study to their operations will help Teejays understand the types of decisions made by the clients and the decision process itself in order to understand the buying behaviour in Asia market.

Examining The Organisation Decision Process In Asian Market

Business buyers in Asia are wary of new services offered due to the financial risks involved and uncertainties. Earning a buyer’s trust therefore becomes a process (Robinson and Faris 1967). Teejays’ aim is to offer their consultancy and training services to the business clients at a price. The money invested in the service should be worth every penny spent by the client in the buying process.

It is this reason that business clients in Asia take a longer time to make a decision. A study in the Asian market indicates a formalized approach in the buying process. Teejays will have to prepare a detailed specification of the services to be offered to the clients, the purchase orders or even a policy manual providing the buying process.

The decision process affecting the business client in Asia indicate a dependent relation between the business client and the company offering the particular service. This means that Teejays will have to work closely with the clients to help them in the decision process. Asian business market is diverse and this plays a big role in decision making.

The Main Influences On Organisational Buying Behaviour

The buying behaviour of an organisation is influenced by various factors that become an important component of this report (Bonoma 1978). One major influence is the environmental factors that are difficult to categorize and measure due to their subtleness. This factor is characterised by the level of client demand, the economy status and uncertainties, cultural influences, technological and also infrastructural factors.

Political stability and level of competitiveness are also challenges that should be considered by the business marketer. There is a high demand for customer care services and Teejays big challenge is to be at par with the two competitors currently dominating the market. The culture of businesses in Asia portrays a quest to deliver the best services to their clients.

However, Asian culture is somewhat different from other developed westernised continents such as the role of women in a company is not highly perceived as those of their male counterparts. In addition, it is important to note that the presence of competition in the Asian market is an indication of high direct control over the service which is beneficial to Teejays.

Awareness of customer care training and consultancy in Asia market will ensure a soft landing for Teejays. The other factor is the organisational structure. Organisations differ from each other as regards their objectives, operations and technology advancement. The industrial organisations in Asia reflect major changes in their structures. The changes include innovativeness in the buying process, decentralisation and centralisation of organisational materials and top level recognition.

The interpersonal factor introduces the motives and perceptions at an individualised level. The factors are affected by language, professional identification individual business attitudes towards the perceived risk. Business clients in Asia have different buying styles and others analyses the competitive nature of the service before identifying the supplier.

Organisation Market Segmentation

The organisation clients will require to be categorised in accordance to their needs. The process is important in any company to identify the business client to engage for both profitability and loyalty (McDonald and Dunbar 2004). Organisation client segmentation can be complex due to the difficulties likely to be encountered in the buying process and criteria of the services.

Other difficulties entail the nature of financing and contracting. However, the goal of Teejays is to recognize the important differences among the potential client organisation that is likely to affect their purchasing capability. The segmentation process will allow Teejays to determine prices at different organisation levels to ensure a greater competitive benefit.

Targeting and Positioning

Target and positioning is very essential during market segmentation. This is the process where a company identifies a particular segment market and downplay others as a tactic to enhance their competitive gain and a high chance of success.

Establishing a specific target helps the company position itself strategically ahead of its competitors (Hooley, Saunders and Piercy 2003).This helps the company to establish the ideal mode of advertising its services that will persuade the market segment. It also enhances the level of trust in the company.

Method Of Segmentation

Organisation client can be segmented through atomization, differentiation and concentration (McDonald and Dunbar 2004). Atomization is the process of segregating the business client into small segments. Differentiation takes into consideration different needs of organisation clients in order to market the services. Concentration entails reaching to a specific market segment.

Several factors should be considered when determining the ideal mode of segmentation. The company resources should be a determining factor. The company should determine the segmentation cost in each method of segmentation. Atomization and differentiation may cost a lot of money as compared to concentration. The other factor is the service line required to be sold.

If the competition is limited, the company may prefer concentration and if it is expansive, differentiation is ideal. Teejays main competitions are the two companies that have not penetrated to all the markets in Asia. The ideal mode of segmentation by Teejays is therefore concentration.

Not only is it cost effective, but the main goal of Teejays is to penetrate a particular niche that its competitors have not reached. The market segmentation should be integrated into the marketing strategy of Teejays to establish the strategic position of the target market.

Conclusion

Examining the organisation buying behaviour of Asian clients is very important to any company wishing to penetrate an international market. This is to determine the competitive edge in the market. Asia is a big continent with a large population hence the need to conduct a market segmentation. Teejays therefore has a high chance of succeeding in its business albeit competition.

Reference List

Blythe, J (2000) International Marketing Strategy. London, Prentice Hall.

Bonoma, T (1978) Organizational Buying Behaviour. New York, American Marketing Association Press.

Hooley, G., Saunders, J and Piercy, F (2003) Marketing Strategy and Competitive Positioning. (3^rd Ed) London, Prentice Hall.

McDonald, M and Dunbar, I (2004) Market segmentation: how to do it, how to profit from it. Burlington, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.

O’Callaghan, B (2007) The economic relations between Asia and Europe: Organisations, trade and investment. California, Chandos Publishers).

Robinson, P and Faris, C (1967) Industrial Buying and Creative Marketing. Boston, Allyn and Bacon.

Webster, F and Wind, Y (1972) Organizational Buying Behavior. London, Prentice Hall.