An international marketing develops or changes over a given period. In the initial phase, the major issues for a global company, like Flybe is making the decision about the market to enter. Flybe has also decided the India as the potential market. The next most important aspect is selecting the mode of entry. In the same vein, the company can make a related decision of either expanding into several markets simultaneously or one at a given period. However, with growing foreign presence, international companies must resolve certain issues for instance customisation of the marketing mix for the domestic markets and in some situations, issuance of entirely different products. The final step or phase is examining the product portfolio across several countries, make effort of increasing the levels of coordination and incorporation and try to balance between scale efficacies and local customisation (Melin 99-118).
Entering new markets
Flybe can choose between simultaneous and incremental/sequential market entry strategies. Simultaneously entry strategy is characterized by high risk and high return. With simultaneously entry, Flybe is guaranteed of building learning curve benefits swiftly as well as pre-empt the competitors. However, this strategy utilizes more resources, requires strong managerial abilities and is essentially more risky. Alternatively, Flybe can as well use incremental entry strategy which is less risky, utilizes fewer resources and guarantees a stable and efficient process of obtaining global experience. Never, the major drawbacks in using this strategy are that competitors can catch up and hit back very quickly. Within a particular market, a company should decide on either deploying incremental or phased expansion (Mahesh 138-140).
In considering the selected market, India, the establishment of a national presence may require the company to do several things. However, the task easier if the company can take into account certain practical realities. India is a densely populated country and most of target segment for numerous international marketers is in the big cities of Delhi, Mumbai and other urban regions such as Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Pune. If the company can focus on either one of several of these areas, there is a high possibility of obtaining quicker results at an effective cost (Melin 99-118).
Final Recommendations
Indeed Phillips, Doole and Lowe have proposed a model (chart) that can assist companies identify the information required while entering a foreign market like India. The 12 Cs of this model include the following:
| Country: | General information, environmental factors |
| Choices: | Competition, strengths and weaknesses of competitors |
| Concentration | Structure of market segments, geographical spread |
| Culture: | Major characteristics, consumer behaviour, decision making style |
| Consumption | Existing and future demand, growth potential |
| Capacity to pay: | Pricing, prevailing payment terms |
| Currency | Presence of exchange controls, degree of convertibility. |
| Channels Infrastructure. | General behaviour, distribution costs and existing distribution |
| Commitment | Market access, tariff and non-tariff barriers |
| Communication. | Existing media infrastructure commonly used promotional techniques. |
| Contractual obligations | Business practices, insurance, legal obligations |
| Caveat | Special precautions to be taken |
In reference to the above model, in particular (Country) India is a potential market. The passenger traffic of India grew last year 16.52% to reach 308.75 million compared to the 151 million in the UK airline industry in 2017. Also, the growing population in India increases the market potential. Also, regarding competition, India is expected to be the world’s third-biggest airline market by 2025. Competition in this respect and as illustrated by the model above is based on the competition, strengths and weaknesses of competitors. Moreover, India is also recommendable as a potential market for Flybe in terms of technology. Before the end of 2019, India expects to experience increasing internet speeds within a few years due to launch of 3 new satellites (Anil & Vijay).
Works Cited
Anil K Gupta, Vijay Govindarajan. “How to build a global presence,” Financial Times – Prentice Hall, Mastering Global Business, Pearson, 1999
Mahesh Nayak. “Holcim’s India Strategy,” Business Today, October 7, 2007. pp. 138-140
Melin, Leif. Internationalization as a Strategy Process. Strategic Management Journal, 13(Winter Special Issue) (1992) 99-118