INTERNATIONAL MARKETING EVALUATION & STRATEGY

1. Introduction

It needs to be mentioned that international marketing strategy and evaluation is an extremely imperative marketing aspect for any brand, since it allows the company to break into an international market successfully. In this report, the concept of international market evaluation and strategy will be discussed critically to acquire a brief knowledge about the same.

2. Company overview

Tala is a sustainable fashion brand based in the UK that sells active wear and athleisure at an extremely reasonable price, however, still maintaining their high profile designs (Refer to Appendix 1). The brand believes in making trendy and fashionable pieces for their consumers , however, the core brief of Tala is that all the products the company creates and sells need to be sustainable and environment friendly (TALA. 2021). The brand was founded in the year 2019, May by an avid fitness lover and entrepreneur Grace Beverly and has helped the brand to build quite a positive brand image and brand name for itself since then. The company has been able to generate 5.2 million and that too, within a year, as its motto of creating sustainable active wear brand has resonated with many consumers, providing it the much deserving recognition it needs (welltodoglobal.com. 2021)

3. Situation analysis

3.1 PESTLE analysis

Pestle analysis is a marketing framework that helps a brand to evaluate the several different aspects, such as political, environmental, social, technological, legal and economical situation of a country or location a brand is trying to penetrate for business expansion. Below is a pestle analysis of Tala, a UK based brand that is trying to break into the South African market to launch their products in the country.

Political

South Africa is a developed and democratic country and the country is run by a president, who is both the head of the country and also the head of the government. It needs to be mentioned that the country has quite an amiable political environment for a brand to expand its business to, however, there has been news of some political tension as well. On a broader note, it has come to light that there have been several political protests and corruption that have been occurring in the country. Therefore, the brand executives need to take the political environment of South Africa into consideration and also evaluate whether these political tensions in the country will affect its product launch or not. Other than that, the executives of Tala also need to acquire proper knowledge of the legal rules and regulations of South Africa to ensure that the brand does not run into any unprecedented predicaments in the country.

Economical

It needs to be mentioned that the economical condition of South Africa is quite flourishing and on the positive side as well, which signifies that the citizens of the country may be well equipped to afford the brand’s products. In addition to that, the country has made it mandatory for all the residents and non- residents to pay the same amount of corporate tax in the country as well. However, small sized businesses are reported to pay lower amounts of tax in the country and that is a positive aspect for Tala, since it is also somewhat a smaller brand as well. On the other hand, from the below graph, it may be gathered that the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has decreased, which indicates that South Africa’s economy has taken a hit in 2020.

This phenomenon is quite a common occurrence for many countries as the year 2020 was cursed with the Covid-19 pandemic and that affected the economic stability of all nations around the world. According to the World Bank, the Covid-19 pandemic is one such phenomenon that has not been seen by a single individual in their lifetime and the pandemic has driven almost 100 million people to the brink of poverty in the year 2020 (worldbank.org. 2021).

Figure 1: GDP in South Africa

(Source: worldbank.org. 2021)

Social

The social environment of South Africa is also quite amiable and people from different cultural backgrounds, religion and ethnicity live in the country, indicating that Africa is a diverse country and is quite multicultural. However, it has been mentioned that in South Africa, reports of growing tension regarding the immigrant crisis have occurred a few times. Other than that, the country’s socio-cultural environment is significantly positive, making the path for any brand to open its business relevantly efficient and seamless. Therefore, Tala as a new brand may not have many difficulties in South Africa, since it may be argued that the country’s diverse culture will adopt the aesthetic of the brand without much hesitation. In addition to that, the below graph shows that the population of South Africa has significantly increased and that emphasizes that Tala will have a greater number of consumers of their products. On the other hand, the rise in population also indicates that there will be more suitable employees that Tala may recruit to run the company’s business operations in South Africa.

Figure 1: Population graph of South Africa

(Source: worldbank.org. 2021)

Technological

It needs to be pointed out that South Africa happens to be one of the most technologically progressive countries in the world and its technological advancement may pave the way for many businesses to conduct their business ventures effectively in the country. On a specific note, it may be stated that the technological advancement of South Africa will help Tala to have a successful business in the country. Moreover, since Tala is an athleisure and active wear brand, it will grab the attention of the fitness enthusiasts who love to work out in a gym and also by the individuals, having a desire to work out at home. It needs to be pointed out that working out from home would not have been possible without significant technological advancement, since nowadays, technology is able to provide the experience of a physical gym, virtually at home.

Legal

South Africa has made it possible for the majority of the sector to have direct investment in the country, however, there are certain industries that do not have the privilege in South Africa. Fortunately, the apparel and fashion industry does not have such prohibitions in the country, indicating that Tala as a business will not have much difficulties in making investment in the country. Other than that, one of the legal acts of South Africa has made it mandatory for every employee to be treated equally at the workplace and that suggests that the employees of the brand will not suffer any workplace harassment in the country.

Environmental           

South Africa is one of the countries that have extreme scenic beauty and along with that, the country’s wildlife preservation is also quite impressive. Moreover, South Africa is also trying to bring sustainable changes to the country as well in order to avoid the negative consequences of climate change. A data analysis suggests that temperature has been decreasing by 0.04 degree every year, as a result of the lack of mitigation strategies and this will reduce the world’s GDP per capita by 7.22% by the year 2100 (Kahn et al., 2019). Therefore, it may be stated that Tala, being a sustainable fashion brand will be well accepted in South Africa by its citizens as well.

4. Marketing objectives

4.1 Rational for objectives

It needs to be mentioned that most of the people nowadays are health conscious and attempt to work out as much as possible, which makes it evident for individuals to have a desire to buy active wear and athleisure. Specifically, it is not quite suitable for anyone to workout in clothes other than specially made active wear which emphasizes that an active wear and athleisure brand may be taken in a positive manner by consumers in today’s age. This demand of consumers has made it possible for brands, such as Reebok and Nike to gain copious amounts of profit by selling their active wear. Therefore, it is an extremely profitable business field nowadays and many brands are trying to break into the market as well. This ongoing demand of the customers has allowed small brands, such as Tala to penetrate the athleisure market and the company has gained significant revenue as well since its inception.

Hence, the company has been looking for strategies to break into other countries, such as South Africa to create a brand name and brand awareness for Tala and also to generate more revenue as well.  Creating a positive brand awareness is crucial for a business, since the fluctuation in a brand’s awareness is somewhat correlated with a bran’s market value and market share (Romaniuk et al., 2017).The international market strategy is quite a crucial factor for any business that is trying to acquire a positive brand name in other countries and simultaneously for obtaining more profit. It needs to be mentioned that international marketing has become one of the most important and significant aspects of marketing with the exponential growth of world trade (Tien et al., 2019).

Other than that, South Africa is a developed country and most citizens are also quite conscious about individual health and that creates more business opportunities for an active wear brand, such as Tala. Furthermore, the brand’s goal to create sustainable active wear pieces may resonate well with the South African citizens as the country, similar to many others, is trying to achieve sustainable development. On the other hand, Tala’s sustainable athleisure items may provide a competitive advantage for the company in South Africa, as not many active wear brands are making sustainable products in recent times.

4.2 Justification

The active wear and athleisure market, as mentioned before, has become quite a profitable business market for generating revenue as a result of people’s enthusiasm for being physically fit. Thereafter, any brand may want to break into that market and specifically in countries, which are considered as developed and advanced countries. In an advanced and developed country, citizens are more aware and get more access to more news and other useful information that helps the individuals to acquire sufficient knowledge on the benefits of physical health. Other than that, in a country, such as South Africa the economic stability is more than many other countries and that also allows the citizens to take gym membership and work out rigorously.

This lifestyle of people has made brands, such as Tala to create an active wear brand and also as an international marketing strategy enter the South African market for more positive outcomes. Moreover, people have become conscious about the environment as well and that may also give an edge to the brand in South Africa, since consumers appreciate a brand that has adopted a sustainable business framework and creates sustainable products. Research suggests that people who are genuinely concerned about the environment will remain loyal to a brand once the company introduces a sustainable business framework (Kuchinka et al., 2018). On the other hand, as South Africa is an economically stable country, the citizens also may not have much hesitation about the brand’s products as individuals may be able to afford them quite easily.

5. Marketing strategy

5.1 portfolio analysis

After conducting a thorough portfolio analysis, it may be stated that Tala has quite a few business opportunities in South Africa and the brand’s sustainable products will also provide a competitive advantage to the brand. In addition to that, the company also has a potential target audience in the country, since it may be argued that most people in South Africa are into fitness, thereby a consumer base for Tala may be developed. However, the company may also have some challenges as well, since the brand will be a new entry in the South African market and consumers at first may feel reluctant to buy from them.

5.1.1 The attractiveness of allocated country

South Africa is an economically stable and developed country and any business may have a positive outcome there, as the citizens are financially stable and able to afford high price products as well. Other than that, it does not take too much time to travel from the UK to South Africa by flight and that provides a positive business aspect for Tala for transporting products via airway.

5.1.2 Competitive strength of selected company

It may be stated that Tala may have quite a competitive advantage in the South African market, since the company makes sustainable active wear and athleisure, which is not that easy to locate in an international market, including South Africa.

5.1.3 Mode of entry

It needs to be mentioned that Tala may enter the South African market with the help of various e-commerce platforms and sell their products online. There are several e-commerce platforms, such as Amazon that exist in South Africa and selling products through these platforms will be beneficial for people’s tendency to purchase most things online (amazon.com. 2021).

5.1.4 Segmentation, targeting, positioning

The target audience for Tala in South Africa will be individuals who are into fitness and want to be physically fit, since those people will be more inclined towards buying active wear and athleisures. The age group of the target audience will range between 30 to 60, since people of this age group are more likely to be interested in fitness, thereby will buy more active wear.

6. Marketing tactics

6.1 Product

Marketing mix is one of the most crucial aspects of marketing and it includes mainly four things, such as product place, price and promotion and failing to execute these aspects properly, may lead a brand to fail in its business operation. However, it needs to be mentioned that the initial concept of marketing mix has been criticized by many and has led marketers to add more p’s and develop a revised concept of the same (Lahtinen et al., 2020). Product is the main part of a marketing mix, since choosing the right product in a competitive market will provide a fruitful outcome for the company and not choosing the right product will bring negative impact for the business. The product Tala has chosen to launch in the South African market will bring positive results as athleisure and active wear are in demand in today’s age and are bought by many consumers as well.

6.2 Price

Another crucial aspect of the marketing mix is the price and deciding the right price for a particular product is one of the main and crucial parts of a product launch. It may be stated that consumers are quite aware of the market nowadays and also have sufficient knowledge about the prices that may be assigned to a particular product. A consumer will never buy an overpriced product and thus, the pricing needs to be selected extremely skilfully and it has to be the best united for a specific item. However, Tala as a business has kept their prices extremely reasonable, since the company believes in selling high quality products, however, at a reasonable price. It may be stated that pricing of a product has an impact on consumer’s decision to purchase a given product and thus, it is imperative to select a realistic price for selling more products to the target audience (Bijakšić et al., 2017).

6.3 Place 

Place is one of the most important factors in the marketing mix as Tala needs to choose a perfect place which may help the company in targeting the common people in South Africa. The management of Tala is to select prime business areas of the country as it has been observed that if the company will not be able to select a proper place then the growth of the business will be hampered. On the other hand, it may be opined that there are many business areas in South Africa such as Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and many more as the company needs to select the supermarkets of these to start the business. In the modern era, the place selection for business is becoming extremely complex as many factors are including in place selection such as transportation, social environment, economic factors, workforce availability, framework of taxes and many more (Clouse et al., 2020). Moreover, it may be implied that the shipment facility matters a lot in the site selection of modern business as these business areas of South Africa have proper business facilities which needs to be implemented by the management of the company. Additionally, appropriate business areas play an essential role in creating effective marketing channels which may ensure the optimum growth of Tala in South Africa.

6.4 Promotion 

Promotion is also an important indicator of marketing mix as the company needs to implement a promotional strategy to increase the sales of the product in the market of South Africa. In addition to that, in this modern era, there is a huge impact of sales promotion on the customer purchasing behaviour as this strategy may be considered one of most old and innovative marketing strategies which help to enhance the sales of a company (Khan et al., 2021). Analysing the website not Tala it has been found that the company is also focused on keeping competitive pricing while if the company is unable to implement an appropriate promotional strategy then the effectiveness of the pricing strategy will be decreased. In addition to that, there are several promotional strategies while it is one of the biggest responsibilities of the company to select a proper promotional strategy such as sales promotion or advertising. Advertising is one of the most effective promotional strategies as the company may use social media for advertising which may help the company in attracting many customers in South Africa. Additionally, Tala needs to improve the customer relations with the company through executing appropriate and impactful promotional strategies.

7. Marketing Action Plan

Table 1: Marketing Action Plan

(Source: Self-created)

In the modern era, the customer of a company prefers to gain a quality buying experience during shopping of any product although maintaining competitive price and supreme quality of product is also important to create a supreme marketing experience (Cucarella, 2021). It is required to envision that a modern company such as Tala needs to implement a proper marketing plan which may help the brand to sustain in South Africa. Apart from that, if the company may not be able to execute a proper marketing plan then the company may face financial loss as well as it may also hamper the brand image of Tala. Marketing research is extremely important before entering into the market of South Africa as it may be immensely useful for the company to identify the behaviour of customers. On a specific note, if the company is able to recognise the behaviour of consumers then it may create a beneficial impact in increasing the sales of the company in the country. In the era of digitalization the company needs to execute a digital marketing plan such as cashless translation and selling the products of the company in online websites which may result in wider reach of the products.

It is extremely difficult for the company to understand the impact of competitors in the business of Tala as this may also help the company in finding out the proper way to increase the competitive advantage in the market of South Africa. Nowadays, an organization may use several sources to sustain in this competitive world as business model innovation may help in improving the performance of an organization and also helps the company to survive in the market (Anwar, 2018). The company also needs to target different types of customers through incorporating lucrative discount offers for customers which may create a positive impact in decreasing the threats of competitors. Customer engagement may play an essential role in the growth of a business as Tala needs to improve the customer engagement through executing several online and offline advertising strategies. Additionally, if the company is able to successfully execute the marketing strategies then the business of the company may flourish in a fruitful way.

8. Conclusion

Finally, it may be concluded that breaking into an international market provides a significant amount of benefits in terms of business expansion and revenue generation for a brand.

9. References

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Bijakšić, S., Markić, B. and Bevanda, A., 2017. Expert pricing system as part of marketing mix. Informatologia, 50(3-4), pp.141-150.

Clouse, C., Dixit, A. and Turken, N., 2020. The role of place image for business site selection: A research framework, propositions, and a case study. Place branding and public diplomacy, 16(2), pp.174-186.

García Cucarella, A., 2021. Strategic, marketing and financial plan for the market launch of ‘Queue’ (Doctoral dissertation, Universitat Politècnica de València).

Kahn, M.E., Mohaddes, K., Ng, R.N., Pesaran, M.H., Raissi, M. and Yang, J.C., 2019. Long-term macroeconomic effects of climate change: A cross-country analysis (No. w26167). National Bureau of Economic Research.

Khan, M.A., Tanveer, A. and Zubair, S.S., 2021. Impact of sales promotion on consumer buying behavior: a case of modern trade, Pakistan. Governance and Management Review, 4(1).

Kuchinka, D.G., Balazs, S., Gavriletea, M.D. and Djokic, B.B., 2018. Consumer attitudes toward sustainable development and risk to brand loyalty. Sustainability, 10(4), p.997.

Lahtinen, V., Dietrich, T. and Rundle-Thiele, S., 2020. Long live the marketing mix. Testing the effectiveness of the commercial marketing mix in a social marketing context. Journal of Social Marketing.

Romaniuk, J., Wight, S. and Faulkner, M., 2017. Brand awareness: revisiting an old metric for a new world. Journal of Product & Brand Management.

TALA. 2021. ABOUT TALA. [online] Available at: <https://www.wearetala.com/pages/about-tala> [Accessed 18 October 2021].

Tien, N.H., Phu, P.P. and Chi, D.T.P., 2019. The Role of International Marketing in International Business Strategy.“. International Journal of Research in Marketing Management and Sales, 1(2), pp.134-138.

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10. Appendices

Appendix- 1