International Marketing Practices

introduction, research methodology, situational analysis, SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis, objectives, marketing strategies (product, price, promotion, and placement), planning, implementation, and control, as well as potential supplementary resources. This section will also delve further into each aspect of an international marketing plan using a case study for a hypothetical urban wood firm named Urbanwood Insights . Introduction The introduction should include a brief company background, mission statement, and corporate objectives [220]. It helps to conceptualize both short- and long-term goals, often with regard to products, capital, and research [223]. Urbanwood Insights started in 2010 when two business partners came together to make their passion a livelihood. Operations center around value-added, custom production with urban wood raw materials. The five full-time employees of Urbanwood Insights conduct all operations, working to design, saw, mill, dry, process, finish, assemble, market, sell, etc. To ensure a steady stream of quality supplies, Urbanwood Insights partners with a local tree care firm. The mission of Urbanwood Insights is to provide a quality, sustainable outlet for urban logs traditionally destined for landfill through value-added production. Urbanwood Insights seeks to expand market reach by exploring export operations, requiring increased efficiency and targeted appeal to consumers. Research Methodology Market research methods should be standardized and reported to validate the tool utilized. To conduct adequate and thorough research, firms should collect both primary and secondary data; primary data collection includes information directly gathered by the company, and secondary data collection includes existing reports [224]. The methodology used should be reported in further detail in the appendix section, including interview and survey questionnaires. Market research consisted of three steps: analysis of secondary data, a survey of international retailers, and interviews with stakeholders in high- potential markets. Urbanwood Insights analyzed historical data for imports of value-added forest product to different markets using the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s database [8]. In addition, a survey was distributed to a variety of international retailers to gauge interest in urban forest products overseas. Once the survey was closed and data analyzed, several countries of interest were identified, including Japan and countries in Europe , where consumers may be interested in the company’s products. Further, interviews were conducted to narrow down potential markets and identify

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