Forex

Market Opportunities There are very few investment opportunities that hold the kind of potential that can be found in the foreign exchange, or forex market. The past decade of robust growth have fashioned the forex capital market into the largest financial market in the world with over $2 trillion USD traded daily. Tracing the history of the forex capital markets back in time, several efforts were made to stabilize the world economy in the wake of World War II with varying results. One well-known attempt, the Bretton Woods Accord, pegged all other currencies to the value of the U.S. dollar, which, at the time, was the most stable currency in the world. Additionally, the U.S. dollar was pegged to the value of gold and the combination of these two efforts brought relative stability back to the forex market and the world economy for a while.   Marketing management Marketing management is a business discipline which is focused on the practical application of marketing techniques and the management of a firm's marketing resources and activities. Rapidly emerging forces of globalization have compelled firms to market beyond the borders of their home country making International Marketing highly significant and an integral part of a firm's marketing strategy.[1] Marketing managers are often responsible for influencing the level, timing, and composition of customer demand accepted definition of the term. In part, this is because the role of a marketing manager can vary significantly based on a business' size, corporate culture, and industry context. For example, in a large consumer products company, the marketing manager may act as the overall general manager of his or her assigned product [2] From this perspect, it consists of 5 steps, beginning with the market & environment research. After fixing the targets and setting the strategies, they will be realised by the marketing mix in step 4. The last step in the process is the marketing controlling.Marketing management strategy and design effective, cost-efficient implementation programs, firms must possess a detailed, objective understanding of their own business and the market in which they operate.[3] In analyzing these issues, the discipline of marketing management often overlaps with the related discipline of strategic planning. Traditionally, marketing analysis was structured into three areas: Customer analysis, Company analysis, and Competitor analysis (so-called "3Cs" analysis). More recently, it has become fashionable in some marketing circles to divide these further into certain five "Cs": Customer analysis, Company analysis, Collaborator analysis, Competitor analysis, and analysis of the industry Context. Department analysis is to develop a schematic diagram for market segmentation, breaking down the market into various constituent groups of customers, which are called customer segments or market segmentations. Marketing managers work to develop detailed profiles of each segment, focusing on any number of variables that may differ among the segments: demographic, psychographic, geographic, behavioral, needs-benefit, and other factors may all be examined. Marketers also attempt to track these segments' perceptions of the various products in the market using tools such as perceptual mapping. In company analysis, marketers focus on understanding the company's cost structure and cost position relative to competitors, as well as working to identify a firm's core competencies and other competitively distinct company resources. Marketing managers may also work with the accounting department to analyze the profits the firm is generating from various product lines and customer accounts. The company may also conduct periodic brand audits to assess the strength of its brands and sources of brand equity.[4] The firm's collaborators may also be profiled, which may include various suppliers, distributors and other channel partners, joint venture partners, and others. An analysis of complementary products may also be performed if such products exist. Marketing management employs various tools from economics and competitive strategy to analyze the industry context in which the firm operates. These include Porter's five forces, analysis of strategic groups of competitors, value chain analysis and others.[5] Depending on the industry, the regulatory context may also be important to examine in detail. In Competitor analysis, marketers build detailed profiles of each competitor in the market, focusing especially on their relative competitive strengths and weaknesses using SWOT analysis. Marketing managers will examine each competitor's cost structure, sources of profits, resources and competencies, competitive positioning and product differentiation, degree of vertical integration, historical responses to industry developments, and other factors. Marketing management often finds it necessary to invest in research to collect the data required to perform accurate marketing analysis. As such, they often conduct market research (alternately marketing research) to obtain this information. Marketers employ a variety of techniques to conduct market research, but some of the more common include:   Qualitative marketing research, such as focus groups Quantitative marketing research, such as statistical surveys Experimental techniques such as test markets Observational techniques such as ethnographic (on-site) observation   Marketing Planning and Strategy   In this section of the Principles of Marketing Tutorials we take all that has been discussed to this point and see how marketers use this information to manage business decisions. In particular, we focus attention on the importance of marketing planning with special attention given to the role marketing strategy plays in the planning process. For marketers planning is an essential task that must be continually undertaken. As we will see, shifting market conditions, including changing customer needs and competitive threats, almost always insure that what worked in the past will not work in the future, thus requiring revisions in how a product is marketed. Marketing planning is also important since it is often a prerequisite for obtaining funding whether one is a marketer in a large corporation seeking additional money for his or her department or is part of a small start-up company looking for initial funding. To aid in our understanding of planning we introduce a key concept in marketing: the Product Life Cycle. We will see the Product Life Cycle offers valuable insight and guidance for marketing decisions. In this tutorial we also discuss different types of marketing strategy that can be followed to meet marketing objectives. Additionally, we look at how innovative products are adopted within a market and how this impacts marketing planning.  Importance of Planning   As we have seen throughout the Principles of Marketing Tutorials, marketers consider many factors when making decisions. Of course the main factors are those directly associated with how customers (including distribution partners) respond to an organization’s marketing efforts, such as how they may react to changes in a product, new advertisements, special pricing promotions, etc. But when making decisions marketers face other concerns that are not directly customer related. For instance, we have discussed how marketing decisions (e.g., lowering price) may place pressure on other areas of the organization (e.g., production, shipping). Other examples include:   As we noted in our definition of marketing back in the What is Marketing? tutorial, decisions must be made with an understanding of the value these provide not only to customers but to the marketing organization. Consequently, marketers must be well aware of how their decisions fit with the overall objectives of the company. For example, a company whose goal is to be the low-price leader may have concerns if the company’s marketing department wants to market a very high-end product, since this would go against the reputation and core strengths of the company.     In the Managing External Forces tutorial, we showed that marketers’ decisions may affect peripheral stakeholders who are not directly connected to the marketing organization but have the potential to impact the organization if issues arise that draw their attention.     Marketing decisions also directly affect an organization’s financial condition. Marketers’ efforts generate the funds (i.e., sales) needed for the company to survive, but do so while using company resources, in particular, expenditure of funds. Controls must be put in place to insure the results of what the organization spends through marketing (i.e., return on investment) meet expectations.   Because marketing decisions have both internal and external impact, marketers are wise to make their decisions only after engaging in a careful, disciplined planning process. Marketers who make hasty, off-the-cuff decisions without regard to the implications are taking risks that may lead to problems. Instead, marketing decisions should be made with consideration of how these affect others and the resources (e.g., funds) required to carry out the plan.   The Marketing Plan The central point in planning for marketing decisions is the Marketing Plan. As we note in the highly detailed How to Write a Marketing Plan tutorial, the plan serves several functions including:   Forcing marketing personnel to look internally in order to fully understand the results of past marketing decisions.     Forcing marketing personnel to look externally in order to fully understand the market in which they operate.     Setting future goals and providing direction for future marketing efforts that everyone within the organization should understand and support.     Serving as a key component in obtaining funding to pursue new initiatives.   The scope of the Marketing Plan depends on the company and industry. A small technology startup company may, for instance, have a less elaborate plan that is highly flexible (e.g., does not identify exactly where advertising money is spent) to meet the needs of a rapidly changing market. A more established marketing organization, such a large consumer products firm, may create a very structured plan that clearly identifies all activities that take place over a 12-month period. Whether the marketer is creating a short plan intended to cover a narrow timeframe or a full-blown document laying out plans for a year or more, any plan requires undertaking significant market research to better understand the market. With knowledge of the market, the marketer can then begin to build the plan which will include the key components discussed in the next section.   Components of the Marketing Plan The Marketing Plan is often a complex and diverse document that examines many areas. For most plans the key components found in the document include:   Organizational Mission – Represents the guiding force of an organization by identifying the long-run vision for what the organization hopes to achieve. The mission comes from the top leaders of the organization and often remains unchanged for many years.     Objectives – Reflects what the organization expects to achieve with its marketing efforts. As with the mission, objectives also flow from the top of the organization down to the marketing department. Objectives can be in the form of financial goals (i.e., profits) or marketing goals (e.g., achieve certain level of market share).     Marketing Strategy - Achieving objectives requires the marketer engage in marketing decision-making which indicates where resources (e.g., marketing funds) will be directed. However, before spending begins on individual marketing decisions (e.g., where to advertise) the marketer needs to establish a general plan of action that summarizes what will be done to reach the stated objectives.     Tactical Programs – Marketing strategy sets the stage for specific actions that will take place. Marketing tactics are the day-to-day actions that marketers undertake and involve the major marketing decision areas. As would be expected, this is the key area of the Marketing Plan since it explains exactly what will be done to reach the organization’s objectives.     Marketing Budget – Carrying out marketing tactics almost always means that money must be spent. The marketing budget lays out the spending requirements needed to carry out marketing tactics. While the marketing department may request a certain level of funding they feel is required, in the end it is upper-management that will have final say on how much financial support will be offered.   Types of Marketing Strategy One of the most important concepts of the marketing planning process is the need to develop a cohesive marketing strategy that guides tactical programs for the marketing decision areas. In marketing there are two levels to strategy formulation:   General Marketing Strategies :     Decision Area Strategies :   Decision Area Strategies These are used to achieve the General Marketing Strategies by guiding the decisions within important marketing areas (product, pricing, distribution, promotion, target marketing). For example, a General Marketing Strategy that centers on entering a new market with new products may be supported by Decision Area Strategies that include:   Target Market Strategy – employ segmenting techniques     Product Strategy – develop new product line     Pricing Strategy – create price programs that offer lower pricing versus competitors     Serving as a key component in obtaining funding to pursue new initiatives.     Distribution Strategy – use methods to gain access to important distribution partners that service the target market     Promotion Strategy – create a plan that can quickly build awareness of the product   Achieving the Decision Area Strategies is accomplished through the development of detailed Tactical Programs for each area. For instance, to meet the Pricing Strategy that lowers cost versus competitors’ products, the marketer may employ such tactics as: quantity discounts, trade-in allowances or sales volume incentives to distributors.   Global Marketing: A company that takes on a wider scope in their business coverage conquers the global market especially if it has established a competitive advantage in the industry. However, not everything works the same way as how business successfully operates in the domestic field. Some companies fail in going global because of the false assumption that the approaches that work in their country goes true in the international aspect. So, these businesses embark on the same product, same marketing campaigns and even the brand names and packaging. Failure to consider the diversities and differences in culture and other factors may cause the breakdown of the business. Having a standardized or uniform marketing strategy for both local or domestic and international market will only be effective if adequate market research is conducted. An international business must find out whether certain strategies for globalmarketing are also effective to the larger market. Global marketing is not a breakthrough or something that is revolutionary; it is an evolutionary process. Not all companies can afford to become global but definitely all global or international companies started out asdomestic-only businesses.   Evolution of Global Marketing Global companies progress in their marketing plans in various phases. It starts out with domestic marketing. A business that promotes and advertises its products within national boundaries only competes with companies of similar marketing scope. The creation of products and services are intended for the home market and does not consider the possibility of making it available and beneficial to larger markets.Domestic marketers do not put emphasis on the market changes in the global setting. Instead, they are more focused on how they can create a competitive advantage against other companies in the home market. From the domestic marketing approach, a company starts exporting to the foreign market. This phase is called export marketing. Once exporting process is becoming a success, certain factors would push the company to expand and put up offices outside the country in order to facilitate a more convenient business setting. However,marketing mix decisions are made according to the various target markets of each country. Companies go up the ladder at a multi-national setting and would want to take advantage of the economies of scale. Marketing research, development, production, and marketing strategies are conducted on regional levels but not across regions. A company that is considered a global marketer sees the world as a one large market. Marketing decisions are made to be uniform across foreign branches or offices.   Global Marketing Mix As an organization advances from each level of marketing to become global in scope, there are four important marketing mixes that should be considered: product, price, placement, and promotion. A global business is able to manufacture a single product or offer the same service to the global market with minimal adjustments of certain elements. Coca-Cola, for example, has uniform packaging in various countries. But a country can opt to use its native language on the bottle. In the different markets, price is not constant and uniform. But the price changes are brought about by many factors such as cost of product development, cost of materials and delivery, and other factors that affect pricing. Placement is the distribution of the product which greatly depends on the competition and the product’s position in the global market. The aspect of marketing that entails adequate budget is promotion or product and service advertising. Companies take on integrated marketing to make cost-effective but effective advertising campaigns.   Advantages and Disadvantages of Global Marketing Global marketing can be both beneficial and disadvantageous to the global companies. Beneficially, the expansion of the market worldwide is a huge plus. Because it is global, a business maintains consistency in brand image and name for global brand recognition. Moreover,marketing practices are uniform which contribute to a lower cost and expenses in marketing and advertising. Business relationships are also established in a more global aspect. Lastly, a company is able to benefit from the economies of scale in both production and distribution.