Customisation vs Standardisation

As more organisations expand their business into the international market, it is important for them to adopt international marketing strategies to protect them against foreign competitors. Standardising and customising are two approaches that are often considered.

Standardisation is an approach that can adapt to work across different cultures and countries in order to promote products. Markets are becoming more similar and more internationally based making standardisation a key for survival. It is believed that standardisation of the marketing mix elements and creating one strategy for the global market can achieve consistency with customers and lower costs for the organisation.
As standardisation does not promote marketing strategies for different countries or regions, this means an organisation can save time and money in its marketing efforts. Standardisation in international markets generally means that the level of quality can be expected wherever you are in the world. This marketing strategy also enhances brand loyalty amongst consumers. As discussed, cost reduction is one of the key benefits for standardisation. The cost per unit can be reduced by selling large quantities of the same, non-adapted product(s) as well as buying products in bulk. Other advantages related to economies of scale are an improvement in research and development, lower costs of investments and operational costs associated with marketing. Standardisation also helps organisations to focus on a marketing mix that is uniformed, which means there is often room for product quality improvement. Despite the many benefits of standardisation, the marketing strategy also has its drawbacks. Selling a unified product in different international markets means there is no uniqueness and different markets generally have different preferences. This means competition can take advantage and customise their product to meet the needs of the market, ultimately affecting sales. Another disadvantage results from global manufacturing in various countries, which can pose as a threat as some countries implement trade barriers meaning an organisation’s products may not be able to be reached in some countries again affecting sales.
In terms of marketing to Saudi Arabia, a standardised marketing approach may cause some problems as merino sold in New Zealand is marketed as clothing for colder climates, as a fashion statement or for adventure sports. Saudi Arabia has a completely different geographic layout and climate to NZ so this approach will not be beneficial.

McDonald’s is an example of standardisation

Customisation is an international marketing strategy based on the idea that due to culture and other differences within countries, marketing should be tailored specifically to a country. This means the marketing mix of a product will vary from country to country. The benefits of customisation mean customers are getting exactly what they want essentially meaning sales for an organisation will increase. Customer satisfaction is a key aspect for most organisations. Like any strategy, customisation also has its drawbacks which are the costs associated with this strategy. More research is needed to explore various countries markets and because of this continuous adaption to a product can ensure many expenses.
Customisation will be the recommended approach when entering into the Saudi Arabian market. This is because Saudi Arabia has an entirely different culture to NZ, which means the marketing of merino clothing needs to be tailored to suit the different cultural circumstances. As I will be targeting workers in the oil industry, it is important that features of merino wool are displayed to appeal to oil workers. For example, the durability and acclimatising features of the fabric would be necessary to market for those working in the oil industry. This is compared to the warmth of the wool that is heavily marketed in NZ. Although this method of marketing can be costly, I believe it will be the most beneficial in a foreign market.