marketing cho sản phẩm xe đạp của công ty xe đạp thống nhất có thể xâm nhập vào thị trường của nền văn hóa châu âu e

MARKETING CHO SẢN PHẨM XE ĐẠP CỦA CÔNG TY XE ĐẠP THỐNG NHẤT CÓ THỂ XÂM NHẬP VÀO THỊ TRƯỜNG CỦA NỀN VĂN HÓA CHÂU ÂU Marketing planning for the bicycle of Thong Nhat Company entering the European markets (France, Germany, UK, Italy, Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands) When analyzing, apply the CAGE model I-Concepts: the concept of multi-national Company: multinational company, often abbreviated as MNC or MNE (Multinational Enterprise), is the concept referring to manufacturing companies or service providers in at least two countries Multinational companies may be classified into three major groups based on the structure of the production means: - Multinational companies "in horizontal" produce the same or similar products in the different countries (e.g., McDonalds) - The multinational companies “in vertical” have factories in some countries to produce products which are inputs for its production in other countries (e.g Adidas) - Multinational companies “in multi-dimensional” have factories in different countries that cooperate in both horizontally and vertically (e.g Microsoft) - Business Strategy: Business Strategy - is more concerned with how a business can compete successfully in a specific market It involves the strategic decisions on the selection of products to meet customer demand and gain competitive advantage over competitors, exploit or create new opportunities - The definition of culture: Culture is the seen behaviors and values and the separately intangible beliefs for each society Those value systems are ingrained in society and transmitted from generation to next generation II-Marketing plan for the bicycles of Thong Nhat Company can enter the European market (France, Germany, UK, Italy, Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands) Analyzing with CAGE model? As we all know Bicycle is just a simple mean of transport but it has more convenient than other means, because it helps to reduce CO2 emissions and traffic congestion The affordable transportation for the poor also contributes to improve health and lose weight without drugs Reseaches show that bicycle helps save space in traffic and parking Six bicycles on street with space is only equivalent to space for a car rolling In parking lot, parking area for 20 bikes is equivalent to a parking area for one car Bike shows the wonder in the effectiveness of design when only an investment of £ 22 for steel and rubber provides three benefits: Flexibility in traffic; Helping to balance caloric intake and out of the body; helping to reduce heart diseases, osteoporosis, arthritis and strengthening the body's immune system During the period of 1990 to 2002, the average global bicycle production is 94 million bikes per year, before increasing to 130 million bikes in 2007, far exceeding the output of 70 million cars in the same year Catching large demand, we Thong Nhat Company intend to export bikes from Vietnam to serve European people (France, Germany, UK, Italy, Spain, Belgium, and the Netherlands) For effective marketing plan, we will explore the European market based on the following aspects: - Demand for bicycle in Europe - Situation of bicycle exported from Vietnam to Europe recently - Impact of culture on marketing activity and the characteristics of European culture - The marketing plan for bicycle of company in Europe (applying CAGE model) 1- Status of the demand for bicycle in Europe: Transportation by bicycle is a growing trend in urban areas of Europe The fresh and beautiful Europe thanks to people interested in cycling such as people in Sweden, France, Germany They have "cities of bike" absolutely without air pollution or noise pollution, such as Cambridge, Bristol, Oxford (UK), Copenhagen (Denmark), Amsterdam (Netherlands) Today, more than 100 cities have opened bicycle rental service to encourage people to travel by this environmental friendly mean The movement was started in France - a country of revolution The Velib system of bicycle rental is changing the daily travelling routine of people in Paris Currently Veslib system has 1,451 sites of bike rental with a total of 20,600 bicycles across Paris Rental price is surprisingly cheap: the fare of ticket in a day and monthly ticket is respectively 1.4 and 40 USD Local residents, tourists and all of city benefit from the new movement According to statistics, 46% of Vélib customers seldom travel by car, 96% of people in Paris believe that Vélib help urban life more comfortable With more than 50 million of rentals in three years of operation, Velib is the world's largest bicycle rental system The big cities in Europe are also actively following Paris Similar bicycle rental system to velib in London was opened in June As mayor of London - Boris Johnson, bicycle rental project Barclays Cycle Hire (Vélib version in the UK) is a major effort to "pull people away from their cars." 5,000 bikes for rent at more than 300 sites are supported with 39.8 million by Barclay Bank - one of the leading banks in the field of environmental protection Work with large corporations is a necessary step to improve and the effectiveness from the revenue of leasing bike is quite small and not sufficient to cover cost In Germany, StadtRAD bicycle rental system is operated by DB Rent GmbH (a subsidiary of the German national railway) The profitability of DB Rent GmbH is confidential, but at least $1.5 million/year is supported to develop the program In addition, companies also benefit from advertising in the rental sites The immaterial profit from environment and health helps the program get support from all sectors of society, from citizens, businesses and the opposition party It's a proven fact in Germany In France, Velid rental systemt still "live well" by the income from rental and advertising JCDecaux – velid’s executive company has expanded this system in many big cities such as Lyon, Marseille, Brussels and Dublin The French are proud of their title "those who create new trend" And in this case, velib bicycle rental system is a good example of that reputation The German minister of transport said: "I encourage advanced bicycle rental system This system should be combined with existing transport network to produce the best performance.” Although still very new, the bicycle rental model meets serious problems In some cities such as Helsinki - the capital of Finland, this model has failed because of financial difficulties According to management officials, unless there are improvements and changes, bicycle rental system in many other cities will have similar results Therefore, the meeting with the purpose of setting standards for bicycle rental system is being held in Paris The managers of enterprise must go a long way to convince urban residents to "left their car." However, the people’s excitement and groups of tourist riding bike every day in major cities demonstrate the potential as well as positive benefits that the system of bicycle rental offers In some markets, bicycle sales are increasing as the government launch a series of measures to encourage the use of bicycle Italy's government has begun a program to encourage the purchase of bicycles or electric bicycles to improve urban environmental quality and reduce the number of cars on the road Direct assistance program will pay 30% of the cost to buy a bicycle In Netherlands, people have developed friendly transportation system with bicycle The 27% of transportation in this country is bicycle, compared to respectively 18% in Denmark and 10% in Germany John Pucher and Ralph Buehler of Rutgers University (USA) conducted a study to analyze the reasons for the differentiation between countries and come to an interesting finding that where parking lot for bicycle is large, transportation system is convenient with many public transport, cyclists and cars are trained and understand the traffic clearly is where the rate of bicycle use is high Additionally, in those countries, authoriy impose tax and charge very high fee to limit ownership and use of car parking In some Nordic countries, the government of city has built more lanes for cyclists In the Netherlands, a country which is famous for bikes, 1/3 of money used to buy bike last year is for electric bicycles Experts predict the similar growth rate in many other European countries, especially Germany, France and Italy, because the need to use bicycles goes along with the aging population model 2- The situation of exporting bicycles from Vietnam to Europe recently: From a country which does not export bicycles at all, each year millions of bicycles "made in Vietnam" have landed in the European market In 2003, export of bicycle and bicycle parts from Vietnam to the EU reached 150 million USD; increased 21% compared to 2002 and is expected to reach 180 million USD in 2004 If in 1999, the market share of Vietnamese bike in the EU was 1.6%, in 2001 increased to 3.7%, in 2002 was 5% and in 2003 was 8.2% (Source: Ministry of Industry and Trade) This phenomenon has shocked the bicycle manufacturer in Europe and caused the case of dumping Vietnamese bike The case began on 29/4/2004 when the European bicycle manufacturer Association (EBMA) requested anti-dumping investigation against Vietnamese bike to the European Commission (EC) According to a report to EC, EBMA said that Taiwan bicycle manufacturers have increased the construction of the plant in Vietnam because of many incentives from government; in addition, cheap labor cost has created unfair competitive advantage Six out of nine companies listed in dumping investigation by EU are 100% Taiwan’s Capital Company: A & J High Ride Bicycle, Asama Yuh Jiun (Binh Duong), Dragon Bicycle Vietnam, Liyang Industrial, Strongman (Dong Nai) and Sheng-Fa International (HCMC) Three Vietnam bicycle company in the list of defendants are Thong Nhat, Xuan Hoa, and Le Ngoc Han (merged into the Haprosimex Company) in Ha Noi The reason for dumping not because Vietnamese bicycle is sold in low price in EU markets, but Vietnamese bicycle is sold in EU with too large number and rapid growth In four years (2000-2004), six Taiwan bicycle companies in Vietnam exported to the EU each year 2-3 million bicycles From a non-bicycle exporting country, the number of bicycles exported surge making bicycle manufacturers in Europe shock So the case will be barrier to reduce the number of bike massively flowing into the European market Anti-dumping tax rate of 34.5% in 2005 applied for Vietnam bicycle exported to the EU until the date of 07.15.2010, the European Commission officially notified of abolishing duties for Vietnam's bicycle exported to the European Union (EU) Ministry of Industry and Commerce said that in the five-year anti-dumping duties, Vietnamese Bicycle Company falled in exhaustion and are on the way to go bankrupt The amount of Vietnam’s bicycle exported to EU dropped severely Before 2005, when not being imposed tax, exported bicycle accounted for 80% of yield, while bicycle for domestic consumption is only 20% From 2005 to 2009, export volume of Vietnam’s bike declined with the respectively proportion of 60%, 45%, 30%, 20% and 15%, especially in 2005, from over one million bicycles exported to about 21,400 bicycles in 2009 The exporting value of this goods from Vietnam to the EU also decreased continuously, typically in 2007, bicycle exported to this market decreased 95.3% compared to the previous year The EC imposed tax from 15.8 to 34.5% during the last five years (from 14/07/2005) almost eliminated bicycle industry in Vietnam, many businesses went bankrupt or changed production, and few tried to operate moderately Production capacity of the whole industry is just less than 200,000 units/year, equivalent to 10% of capacity in 2005 Meanwhile, the bicycle industry in Europe has maintained its stability and grown steadily in recent years, increased profits brings optimism as well as expands the market According to the report of the Association of motorcycle Retailers in European, sales profits in Germany in 2009 increased by 10% Market share of Vietnam's bicycle exported to Europe are very small and not able to affect the business in Europe In 2008, the number of Vietnam’s bicycles exported to this market was 21,421 units, only 0.1% of the total number of bicycles sold with 20,407,000 units The difficulty of the bicycle industry in Europe in general, only comes from the weak competitiveness of this sector in some European countries, the limitation in competition because of some dominant countries in this industry and the trend of exporting to the countries of European Community According to statistics of the representing European bicycle industry (COLIBI) and the Association of the European two-wheeler parts’ and accessories’ industry (COLIPED), in 2008, only six European countries in which four plaintiffs Italy, Germany, Holland, France accounted for 70% of bicycle production of the whole European Community; five European countries including four plaintiffs represent over 2/3 of sales of the entire EU In addition, the average selling price of bicycle has great disparity among European countries In 2008, the average price of Dutch bicycles is 688 EUR / unit, while in England is only 190 EUR This disparity shows the difference in production costs of European countries causing the trend of pushing exporting to the internal markets of Europe and the damage to the local production market Vietnam is doing its utmost to create a favorable business environment for investors, including investors from Europe, but the EC imposing anti-dumping tax on Vietnam's bikes exported to Europe has concerned not only for Vietnam enterprises but also impacted to the investors, business partners and potential of Vietnam After the EC abolished anti-dumping duty, the Vietnam enterprises - including us - are very confident in the recovery of the exported bicycle sector Once no longer be subject to anti-dumping duty, Vietnam bicycle will have a price competitive advantage to other competitors such as Thailand and Indonesia Currently, Vietnam has been able to produce three-quarters of components and spare parts needed for bike; in addition the cost of labor is much cheaper than in other countries, the production cost of Vietnam is quite competitive Besides, a favorable factor for Vietnam enterprises is Chinese bikes continue being subject to anti-dumping duty in Europe This competitor is the most ominous and the EC had not been repealed this tax is a great opportunity to recover the exported bicycle sector of Vietnam On the business side, we believe, lines and manufacturing equipment of companies remained virtually intactness, so it may work again at any time But that does not mean business can immediately bring production capacity back to the previous period in 2005 The biggest difficulty is the labor recruitment and training Because of nearly losing all export orders in the last five years companies have laid off thousands of skilled workers Now back to training again will take time and cost, not including the recruitment in current condition is not easy Currently, the personnel in bicycle industry are only about 5,000 employees To restore more than 200,000 employees as before will probably take years 3- Impact of culture on the organization's marketing activities and the characteristics of European Culture: a- The impact of culture on marketing activities of the enterprise: There were a lot of organizations, countries and experts in culture making the concepts of culture and related issues, and currently there is not an absolutely consistent concept of culture In 2002, UNESCO has launched the definition of culture as follows: "Culture should be regarded as the permanently evolving set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group, in addition to art and literature - lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs.” Direct influence of culture on marketing activities of the business is affecting the behavior of the business entity or marketer These acts will sign up in the marketing methods that they implement For example, the etiquette, ways of talking and behavior of a culture that the marketers are affected will be used in the process of communication, negotiation and bargaining with customers In this case culture has impacted or driven directly to the fourth marketing tool - mixed promotion tool with the meaning of communication Compared with direct impact, indirect impact of culture are more often and broader The cultural values are transmitted by institutions such as families, religious organizations, social organizations, schools, etc which affect the buyer and then decide the seller's marketing efforts The impact of culture on the buyer not only focus on their desires, but is also performed by the attitudes of people for themselves, for others, for the entity existing in the society, for the nature and universe All these things are affecting on the marketing methods Culture as an element of the marketing environment affects overall marketing activities of enterprises Specifically, culture affects a wide range of the strategic issues in marketing such as business choices, selecting the target market, selecting the overall marketing strategy, the decisions on the tasks and general objectives of the business and marketing activities Culture also affects the implementation of tactics, strategies, specific measures, actions, specific acts of marketer in the marketing process Culture affects comprehensively on the various tools of marketing-mix system of business which particularly affects product tools, distribution and mixed promotion Each of the cultural variables has different influences on the process of marketing activities The fact is this cultural variable may have a strong influence on a certain marketing activity, and other variables are less relevant or not significantly affected If looking back from the marketing-mix tools people gave a summary of the impacts of some cultural variables as follows: Firstly, mixed promotion policy is deeply affected by the language problem For example, ads may need to change because a banner or campaign used in any culture can mean embarrassing in a different culture Secondly, the acceptance of products is affected by the standard of attitudes and values For example, in Vietnam people often avoid eating squid, duck at the beginning of month Thirdly, pricing is often influenced by cultural attitudes to change by so-called “mental price." In some places, the change is often considered a positive thing so fashion should be set very high price because it represents change But elsewhere, the change can be seen as not good, a higher price for new products often makes product become too expensive for consumers Forthly, the distribution system is often affected by the regulations of society For example, in some countries, the relationship between suppliers and buyers often rely on relatives Those who are not members of family will be excluded from the business transactions in a certain distribution channel In a culture where the cultural values with different sustainability and universal affects differently on the marketing activities of enterprises In addition to the universal and uniform cultural values there always exist cultural values with local characteristics, known as the cultural division The universal and uniform cultural values have broad influence within the society and create the general characteristics of demand, desire, consumption behavior of a large number of buyers in a country and nation For example, traditional food culture of Vietnam is habit of eating rice with chopsticks and bowls, etc As in many Western countries, it is bread, butter, milk, meat with spoons, forks, etc The specific cultural values create unique style in demand and behavior, trading characteristics of each consumer group in society.The cultural values can be differentiated by region, type of religion, geographical region, ethnic group or classes of people Along with the existence of basic and traditional cultural values, known as the primary cultural values there are non- basic, temporary or secondary cultural values The core cultural values are formed long time ago and transmitted from generation to generation, underpinned by the basic regulations of society and have very high sustainability This also decides the permanence of the consumption behavior of consumers deeply influenced by those cultural values In contrast, the secondary value is easy to change, adjust and likewise people can change, control consumer behavior defined by these cultural values b- Characteristics of European Culture: Thus, culture has a strong influence on marketing For the success of Thong Nhat bicycle in Europe, we need to understand the characteristics of European culture The characteristics of European’s behavior cultures as follows: - They greet each other cheerfully and quickly General style is handshake, hug or nod They always show their confidence, equality and barely value social position - At work, they always show their courage and enthusiasm, but also judge others by their work Social position, in their opinion is set by each person They admire anyone with ability and perseverance to succeed They also respect family tradition - They always respect the civil rights of everyone They always believe in legal regulations for the implementation of social justice and respect, ensure the individual property rights Therefore, the questions proving too much kindness of private life is not as popular as for Asian Independence is also shown in the family activities (including travel) They often teach their children the desires, trend and the ability to live independently In general, they prefer to have separate sleeping accommodation to be completely free - They barely respect the neiborhoodly relationship like Asian Once free, they can have fun with friends or in a club and not visit the people around - They respect scientific knowledge and linear thinking, and want everything to be done according to plan With the concept of “We have only onle life”, they value time so much They often put things in the exact time, work on time and time must be used appropriately, and the task is solved as quickly as possible For them, time is money and what has passed belong to the past, they don’t linger In addition, we anticipate to bicycle marketing for the specific characteristics of culture: *- The British: Avoid talking about issues of national independence as it is sensitive polictical issues These people have English as a common language They are careful in communication, dress and pay attention to social status, fame, always on time and shake hands when greeting Men usually like to wear striped caravat The favorite topic: the history, literature, architecture and garden The topics need to be avoided are: religion, money They call one’s name for informal, invite each other when eating *- The French: They always pay attention to the formality and ritual in the meetings and rarely call informal name They have a habit of shaking hands quickly and lightly They use the dinner for conversation about important issues and consider quite carefully before making decision The French are very proud of the history, language, education system, artistic achievements of their country They require high quality food and service, the main meal is usually lunch Their favorite topic is food, sports, arts and culture They avoid the subject of money, price, privacy, politics *- The German: They have a habit of shaking hands tightly when greeting and call informal name when being familiar They have punctual manner and are pretty fair When communicating, they not put their hand in their pocket and shirt lapel while eating, and profess full name when answering the phone They often discuss about work after a meal Favorite topic: cars, football, food and avoid the topics of war, the American sports 10 *- The Belgian: They have a habit of shaking hands when greeting and farewell, not use informal names unless for friends When hugging, they kiss on both cheeks for three times They are very punctual Belgian speak French and Dutch, is quite stylish cooking, often jokes about the Dutch For them, putting hands into pocket or holding hands while going is rude Favorite topics: football, history, walking with bicycle They avoid the political issues, and not like being mistaken for a Frenchman *- The Netherlands: They have a habit of self-introduction, and also want the speaker to self-introduce, and then shake hands with everyone, including children They not turn around when communicating and are unobtrusive Dutch is fluent in English and some other European languages They usually give accurate idea and not exaggerate They are very on time and when giving gifts, often wrap gifts in traditional style The Dutch are proud of the encroaching sea and the country's history, trade Their favorite topics are politics, tourism, sports and appreciating the honesty in trade *- Italian: They have a habit of shaking hands and holding elbow when communicating They can express attitudes and emotions through gestures, posture, but rarely call informal name However, in the social contacts they always pay attention to time and not want to take it long and talk business in social gathering, they have meal at noon Favorite topic is the world events, football and family They avoid the subject of Maphia, politics, religion, taxation *- Spanish: They are quite enthusiastic in communication, and they often hug and kiss when meeting and parting in close relationship During communication, they often joke before talking about the main topic They need information about address briefly The Spanish have dinner very late: from 10 pm and the main meal is lunch, usually from 13h00 to 16h30 They taboo chrysanthemum When communicating they sometimes interrupt to show their enthusiasm Favorite topic is sports, travel, and history They avoid the subject of politics, religion, family, and career c- Marketing plan for bicycle of company in Europe (application of the CAGE model) *- The capacity of the company: In the domestic market are now selling many kinds of bicycle and electric bicycle produced and assembled domestically and imported bicycles with brand names such as Thong Nhat, Martin 107 electric bike, E-GO, Viha, Yamazuki especially many kinds of 11 electric bicycle from China and Taiwan manufacturers with great designs and colors create a diversified options for consumers However, according to our research, most consumers still prefer to buy the Vietnam’s brand bicycles Because these bicycles are not inferior quality compared to imported bicycles, with warranty and reasonable price For example, Greenbike costs 3.7 million/bicycle, Thong Nhat bicycle cost 4.65 million, Delta bicycle costs 3.85 million For a firm position on the domestic market at present is due to the relentless efforts of innovative production technologies and equipment capacity of the Thong Nhat Company With a strategic orientation “only launch to the market type A products to ensure credibility." Strictly complying with this commitment, the company has developed and applied strictly quality management system according to ISO 9001:2001, environmental quality management system according to ISO 14000, IWay, QWAY (IKEA) international management system By doing this, in 2009, industrial production value of Thong Nhat bicycle increased 22% compared to 2008, reached 212 billion, correspondingly each employee produces nearly million product value/day; revenue is 235 billion, increase 35%, export value is million USD, increase 30% compared to the previous year The earlier months of 2010, industrial production value was estimated to increase 40%, revenue was estimated to increase 40% compared with the same period Currently, the Thong Nhat company are capable of manufacturing, assembling more than 100 sizes, types of bikes, from commonly used to complex structures, the quality meets international standard, continues to be sold well in domestic market, affirm 50 year life of the Thong Nhat bike, put the company up to the leading position in the bicycle manufacturing sector in Vietnam and become a "national brand" in 2010 Thong Nhat, Viha Brand, are known in every continents, from the most developed industrial countries like the United States, Britain, Germany, Holland, Spain, Malaysia, Singapore honored Thong Nhat as the prestige exporting business during the years from 2005 - 2009, with average export value is about million USD/year Until now, Thong Nhat bicycle has built strong market structure, with approximately 40% of market for export (mainly the U.S., EU), 40% of products are provided in urban areas and 20% for the countryside Each day, the company sells from 500 to 800 units, ranging from ordinary to special type To better prepare for the competition, Thong Nhat has invested $2 million in purchasing technology equipment from Europe, Japan, Taiwan, including injection 12 molding machine, powder coating line, robot welding In 2009, the Company has launched a complete production line from manufacturing chassis and components to assembling the final product Thong Nhat now are capable of manufacturing, assembling more than 100 sizes of rim (wheel) In urban areas like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Thong Nhat dominate the high-end product lines (1.5 to million/bicycle) with mountain and sport bicycles, aimed at students Meanwhile, the product line for rural areas (550.000 to 850.000 VND/unit) with the feature of both travelling and freight chassis should be strong, firm but the shape shouldn’t be rough, it should be very stylish As for the export market, the company produces bicycle with freewheel and large wheeled vehicle with a diameter of 660-700 mm, suitable for those with tall stature, like mountain bicycles *- Marketing plan for Europe: - About the cultural gap: As indicated above, the seven countries in our marketing plans have their own unique culture, but they have in common valuing the class and people regard bicycle as effective transportation Therefore, products exported to Europe are most advanced products to meet up their demands on design, style (a traditional bicycle, sports bike, bicycle fashion and children bicycle) We will take advantage of supermarket chains here to advertise and sell products Thong Nhat brand has been confirmed in the domestic market, the strict quality management system will meet the tastes of people here At the same time we will also promote the brand by gifting products for the bicycle rental companies prevailing in these countries - About the administrative gap: Taking advantage of abolished anti-dumping duty on Vietnam bicycles, we concluded this is a great opportunity to penetrate into the European market, but we should be very careful in making the purchase price Price will be equal to the price of competitive products, but we will step up promotion: big discount to distributors, lucky draw program - About the geographical distance: Because seven countries we plan to marketing our products lie relatively close to each other so the geographical problem is not very serious The company has applied strict quality management system according to ISO 9001:2001, environmental quality 13 management system according to ISO 14000, IWay, QWAY (IKEA) international management systems so we would not have anything to worry about product failures for the warranty or repairing - About the economic gap: We can confirm these are the countries whose economy is quite developed in Europe; the price of our products at par with its competitors is very suitable Based on the success of Vietnam bike in Europe before being imposed anti-dumping, the understanding of cultural differences in Europe and our own capabilities, Thong Nhat bicycles believe in the success of the company when launching our bicycles in Europe References: International Business Administration textbook - TS Do Ngoc My - Da Nang University of Economics Cross-cultural management - Charlene M Solomon & Michael S Schell - translated by TS Nguyen Tho Nhan Lecture on “cross-cultural management "- TS Duong Ngoc Dung Webisite: thongnhat.com.vn By: Camranhonline 14 ... activities (including travel) They often teach their children the desires, trend and the ability to live independently In general, they prefer to have separate sleeping accommodation to be completely... the marketing methods Culture as an element of the marketing environment affects overall marketing activities of enterprises Specifically, culture affects a wide range of the strategic issues... issues in marketing such as business choices, selecting the target market, selecting the overall marketing strategy, the decisions on the tasks and general objectives of the business and marketing