marketing

MLA citation

1) A firm that is marketing multimillion-dollar wastewater treatment systems to cities has been unable to sell a new type of system. This setback has occurred even though the firm’s systems are cheaper than competitive systems and meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) specifications. To date, the firm’s marketing efforts have been directed to city purchasing departments and the various state EPAs to get on approved bidder’s lists. Talks with city-employed personnel have indicated that the new system is very different from current systems and therefore city sanitary and sewer department engineers, directors of these two departments, and city council members are unfamiliar with the workings of the system. Consulting engineers, hired by cities to work on the engineering and design features of these systems and paid on a percentage of system cost, are also reluctant to favor the new system. (a) What roles do the various individuals play in the purchase process for a wastewater treatment system? (b) How could the firm improve the marketing effort behind the new system?

2) How successful would a television commercial in Japan be if it featured a husband surprising his wife in her dressing area on Valentine’s Day with a small box of chocolates containing four candies? Explain.

3) As a novice in global marketing, which alternative global market-entry strategy would you likely start with? Why? What other alternatives do you have for global market entry?

4) Coca-Cola is sold worldwide. In some countries, Coca-Cola owns the bottling facilities; in others, it has signed contracts with licensees or relies on joint ventures. When selecting a licensee in each country, what factors should Coca-Cola consider?