Marketing Price
Global communication
The one major marketing activity that costs roughly the same in international markets than in domestic markets is the internet. While most businesses would use the internet as a part of their overall marketing, others successfully use the internet as their sole means of international marketing.
There are many ways that the internet can be used to generate exports but, at the very least, websites should be tailored for target markets. Where appropriate, mirror websites should be set up with the appropriate country’s domain.
Another relatively cheap support mechanism for international marketing activities is the establishment of a call centre. A call centre can respond to international calls 24 hours a day if required, and provide a seamless interface between potential buyers and the Australian business. It can reply to questions about the product, send out information and, if required, take orders.
Many Australian businesses can access Export Market Development Grants to provide financial support for their international marketing activities. The annual grants provide a reimbursement of expenses such as travel, trade events, advertising, overseas representation, free samples, marketing consultants and the costs of bringing overseas buyers to Australia at a rate of 50 percent, above a threshold of $10,000. In effect, the Federal Government encourages Australian businesses to market their products internationally by underwriting some of the main costs.
The ability of Australian businesses to spend money on international marketing will vary according to the business size and financial resources. It is difficult to quantify an ‘appropriate’ level of expenditure and even more difficult to assess a likely rate of return on this investment as there are so many factors to consider.
However, the key for businesses contemplating incurring money on international marketing is research and planning: researching the potential for their business and what markets to enter, and planning the required funding available and resources required to maximise their chances of success.
—Gary Cronin is managing director of Exportise, a grants consultancy firm: www.exportise.com.au
Advance Australian products
Australia is one of the strongest nation brands in the world, largely due to consumers thinking of Australia as a clean and green environment, with high safety standards and friendly and innovative people.
“The global hunger for ‘things Australian’ presents unique opportunities for savvy Australian businesses to benefit by effectively branding their products as Australian,” says Ian Harrison, chief executive of the Australian Made, Australian Grown (AMAG) campaign.
The AMAG logo has helped businesses market Australian exports for more than two decades. The logo licence fee is based on 0.1 percent of the budgeted annual sales turnover for registered products, which makes the return on investment very attractive.
Victorian-based manufacturer Kelly & Windsor has successfully exported their alpaca bedding products using their ‘Australian-ness’ as a key selling point.
“Our story used to be that our products were made from alpaca fleece. It still is, but we soon realised that the fact that our products were Australian made was actually just as important to our target markets,” explains Trevor Beuth, Kelly & Windsor’s managing director. “Using the Australian Made logo enables us to leverage from the high consumer and retailer recognition of the logo. Consumers trust the logo, and using it on our products gives us a certification of authenticity.”
He adds: “Australia represents many of the same things as our products: clean, green and high quality. In international markets where consumers may not know what alpacas are, we find that using the AMAG logo sets us apart from other global bedding manufacturers.”
Case study provided by Australian Made Australian Grown: www.australianmade.com.au
Got something to say? Join the export forum here at DynamicExport.com.au.
