International markets by Mark Delaney

An introduction to international markets

In the context of rapidly changing consumer tastes and aggressive competition from foreign firms, UK companies are recognising that they can no longer derive any kind of competitive advantage simply by reducing costs. In order to compete on a global scale it is now necessary for them to gain an advantage by creating and exploiting intangible intellectual assets

Out of all these intellectual assets, creativity, innovation and design are the most vital sources of competitive advantage. According to the Cox Review of Creativity in Business,

• Creativity is the generation of new ideas – either new ways of looking at existing problems, or of seeing new opportunities, perhaps by exploiting emerging technologies or changes in markets.
• Innovation is the successful exploitation of new ideas. It is the process that carries them through to new products, new services, new ways of running the business or even new ways of doing business.
• Design is what links creativity and innovation. It shapes ideas to become practical and attractive propositions for users or customers.

Design may be described as creativity deployed to a specific end.

How design can make a difference

Investment in design can help companies compete more on quality and less on price, making them less vulnerable to competition from low cost producers. However, to be successful good design must be incorporated across all aspects of the business; its products and services, company processes and systems, its working and retail environments and its brand management and marketing. Design should act as an interface between a company and the international customer, ensuring that a company delivers a product or service that the customer wants and in a way that adds value to both.

When designing products or services for international markets companies are faced with a huge variety of tastes and cultures. It is not desirable to design a different product for each market, or possible to create a one-size fits all solution to respond to each set of demands. The challenge is to be able to understand cultural differences and to balance all variables within a general design, or set of designs - to cultivate product experiences that can work in several cultures and adapt themselves to local living conditions and regulations.