INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL MARKETING RESEARCH:

International marketing research or IMR often plays a vital role in the identification and
development of a company’s strategies. It enables a business to identify, evaluate and compare
potential foreign market opportunities and develop a marketing plan. As businesses expand
further and further in international markets, the role of timely and accurate marketing research to
guide decision-making becomes increasingly critical. Research to support international
marketing decisions has evolved over the past four decades and must change even more to
support firms in the 21st century.

What Is International Marketing Research?

International Marketing Research (IMR) can be defined as market research conducted either
simultaneously or sequentially to facilitate marketing decisions in more than one country .
The process calls for studying the various market characteristics for facilitating marketing
decisions that can be taken across countries. The studies deal with tracing the various
components that are responsible for the marketing the product.

So how is it different from Domestic Marketing?

The process of international marketing research though involves the same

Disciplines as domestic research, has some differences compared to its domestic version.
The major differences are
 The national differences between countries arising out of political, legal, economic,
Social and cultural differences and,
 The comparability of research results due to these differences.

National Differences: The main factors that affect the way in which people from different
cultures behave are:
 Cultural Differences
 Climatic Differences:
 Racial Differences
 Economic Differences:
 Religious Differences:
 Historical Differences:
 Religious Differences:
 Language Differences:
 Differences in Actual and Potential Target Groups:

STEPS OF AN INTERNATIONAL MARKET RESEARCH:

Step 1: Problem Definition

In defining the problem, the researcher should take into account the purpose of the study, the
relevant background information, what information is needed, and how it will be used in decision
making. Problem definition involves discussion with the decision makers, interviews with
industry experts, analysis of secondary data, and, perhaps, some qualitative research, such as
focus groups.

Step 2: Development of an Approach to the Problem

Development of an approach to the problem includes formulating an objective or theoretical

framework, analytical models, research questions, hypotheses, and identifying characteristics or
factors that can influence the research design. This process is guided by discussions with
management and industry experts, case studies and simulations, analysis of secondary data,
qualitative research and pragmatic considerations.

Step 3: Research Design Formulation

A research design is a framework or blueprint for conducting the marketing research project. It
details the procedures necessary for obtaining the required information, and its purpose is to
design a study that will test the hypotheses of interest, determine possible answers to the research
questions, and provide the information needed for decision making. Conducting exploratory
research, precisely defining the variables, and designing appropriate scales to measure them are
also a part of the research design. The issue of how the data should be obtained from the
respondents (for example, by conducting a survey or an experiment) must be addressed. It is also
necessary to design a questionnaire and a sampling plan to select respondents for the study.

Step 4: Field Work or Data Collection

Data collection involves a field force or staff that operates either in the field, as in the case of
personal interviewing (in-home, mall intercept, or computer-assisted personal interviewing),
from an office by telephone (telephone or computer-assisted telephone interviewing), or through
mail (traditional mail and mail panel surveys with prerecruited households). Proper selection,
training, supervision, and evaluation of the field force help minimize data-collection errors.

Step 5: Data Preparation and Analysis

Data preparation includes the editing, coding, transcription, and verification of data. Each
questionnaire or observation form is inspected, or edited, and, if necessary, corrected. Number or
letter codes are assigned to represent each response to each question in the questionnaire. The
data from the questionnaires are transcribed or key-punched on to magnetic tape, or disks or
input directly into the computer. Verification ensures that the data from the original
questionnaires have been accurately transcribed, while data analysis, guided by the plan of data
analysis, gives meaning to the data that have been collected. Univariate techniques are used for
analyzing data when there is a single measurement of each element or unit in the sample, or, if
there are several measurements of each element, each RCH variable is analyzed in isolation. On
the other hand, multivariate techniques are used for analyzing data when there are two or more
measurements on each element and the variables are analyzed simultaneously.

Step 6: Report Preparation and Presentation

The entire project should be documented in a written report which addresses the specific
research questions identified, describes the approach, the research design, data collection,
and data analysis procedures adopted, and present the results and the major findings. The
findings should be presented in a comprehensible format so that they can be readily used
in the decision making process. In addition, an oral presentation should be made to
management using tables, figures, and graphs to enhance clarity and impact.

Secondary data analysis

Secondary data are data collected for some purpose other than the problem at hand. Primary
data, on the other hand, are originated by the researcher for the specific purpose of addressing
the research problem. Secondary data include information made available by business and
government sources, commercial marketing research firms, and computerized databases.
Secondary data are an economical and quick source of background information. Analysis of
available secondary data is an essential step in the problem definition process: primary data
should not be collected until the available secondary data have been fully analyzed.

Qualitative and quantitative research

Information, industry experts, and secondary data may not be sufficient to define the research
problem. Sometimes qualitative research must be undertaken to gain a qualitative understanding
of the problem and its underlying factors. Qualitative research is unstructured, exploratory in
nature, based on small samples, and may utilize popular qualitative techniques such as focus
groups (group interviews), word association (asking respondents to indicate their first responses
to stimulus words), and depth interviews (one-on-one interviews which probe the respondents'
thoughts in detail). Other exploratory research techniques, such as pilot surveys with small
samples of respondents, may also be undertaken.

FEASIBILITY OF “ELECTRIC POWERED CARS" IN EMERGING MARKETS:

There is not much of a market for electric cars in India for the next six or seven years. India is a
growing economy so cheaper, smaller cars will rule, The U.S. market is preparing for multiple
electric car launches by the year's end. In India, Reva is building an ambitious facility that can
produce 30,000 electric cars annually. Action is revving up in the e-car space globally and some
of it is spilling over to India as well.

All-electric and hybrid electric vehicles:

Vehicles using both electric motors and internal combustion engines are examples of hybrid
electric vehicles, and are not considered pure (or all) EVs because they operate in a sustaining
mode.

 Regular hybrid electric vehicles cannot be externally charged.

 Hybrid vehicles with batteries that can be charged externally to displace some or all of
their internal combustion engine power and gasoline fuel are called plug-in hybrid electric
vehicles (PHEV), and are BEVs during their charge-depleting mode.

All-electric and plug-in hybrids are off-vehicle charge capable (“OVCC” or pluginable), which
means their batteries can be charged from an off-vehicle electric energy source that cannot be
connected or coupled to the vehicle while the vehicle is being driven (so, it is autonomous).

The concept of battery electric vehicles is to charge batteries on board vehicles for propulsion
using the electric grid.
       Battery electric cars are becoming more and more attractive with the advancement of new
battery technology (Lithium Ion) that have higher power and energy density (i.e. greater possible
acceleration and more range with less batteries) and higher oil prices.

BEVs include automobiles, light trucks, and neighborhood electric vehicles.

Benefits of electric are cars:

1. No air pollutants are emitted directly by the vehicle. This potentially reduces urban
pollution, and the vehicles may be used indoors. This does not take into account
additional pollutants that are emitted if any fossil fuel power plant is used to create the
electricity, though a centralized pollution source can be dealt with more easily. However,
the refining process for oil into gasoline(petrol) uses large quantities of fuel and energy
2. The engine is much quieter compared to all sorts of internal combustion engines (and
road traffic is the most common source of noise pollution in at least the rich countries) –
even if they don’t reduce tire noise.
3. No noise or air pollution because while idling. This is a large advantage in densely
populated cities, where average speeds are very low due to excessive congestion.
4. Gasoline is indirectly replaced by whatever is being used to generate domestic electricity,
reducing dependence on foreign commodities (some countries, like Japan, have virtually
no native petroleum resources).
5. The efficiency is higher than for internal combustion engines (the efficiency of small-
scale ICEs don't exceed 43 %) – especially if the vehicles do utilize e.g. hydroelectric
power, but also compared to electricity from coal power plants
6. Charging can be done at home or at work, eliminating unnecessary time and fuel used to
get to a refueling station.
7. Other than battery replacements, maintenance of an electric car is far cheaper than that of
a fossil fuel burning one, as there is only one moving part, reducing wear and need for
part replacements drastically.
8. Most electric cars lack a clutch and gearbox as electric motors have a very wide power
band; it drives as easily as an automatic.
9. Due to the wide power band, there is no lack of power when the rotation speed of the
motor (measured in RPM) is too low or too high. Maximum power is always available, at
almost any RPM.
10.In many countries, battery-electric vehicles are given tax breaks to encourage their use. In
the UK, there is a £5,000 subsidy on any BEV purchase. Also, BEVs are zero-rated for
Vehicle Excise Duty and do not have to pay the congestion charge in London.
Summary:
International Marketing Research thus links the organization with its future markets. It includes
activities such as specification, gathering, analysis, and interpretation of information to help the
management understand a particular market, identify the market specific problems and
opportunities, and develop courses of marketing action.
The research activity must recognize the country specific diversity in terms of culture,
demographics, economy, etc. to yield a marketing strategy that will be both applicable and
successful.
Conclusion:
As we had seen number of benefit of the electric cars, there fore in the up coming era definitely
this sector will do well, the demand of these types of cars are relatively high as compared to the
petrol and diesel one. Due to its cost and maintenance charges and also the price of the petrol and
the diesel are are too high.
Therefore the company like Reva which are dealing this business should be doing well in this
sector in future the big company like Tata can also go for it as they have invented the low cost
car which is doing well. but that is of petrol model. which will further lead in some problem.