Buxton Natural mineral water international marketing and brand management

The organizations that effectively use marketing strategies usually capture the international players and gain a large market share than those who do not use the strategies effectively. Buxton Natural mineral water is one company with opportunities to extend its operations to Qatar market, which has a demand gap for mineral water, through the effective use of marketing mix and other strategies. The decision to internalize There are various reasons behind the decision to become a global company. The key objective is usually to grow and expand. The best way to internationalize is through the use of an international strategy, which helps in the expansion of business. In addition, an organization can expand to the under-exploited regions to gain market dominance before other organizations move to the region (Twarowska and Magdalena 1006).

Business development sometimes requires change. For instance, the transfer of ownership in an international market can result in the reformulation of all the structures of a business. During periods of financial crises, restructuring can be done in an organization as a way of coping with the prevailing conditions in the market. Sometimes, expanding operations to other countries can be as a result of the inevitable flow and receding tide of commerce. The reason for the increasing demand is the growth in population which the country has witnessed in the recent past. However, new licenses for the production of mineral water have only been issued to few companies. Due to this, there is a gap between demand and supply especially during high summer periods.

As of 2002, the population of the country was estimated at 540,000. Currently, the population is nearing 2 million (Matthew 1). The consumers interviewed by Gulf Times stated that they have doubts concerning the proper cleaning of water bottles by the manufacturers. Even though intervention has been sought from authorities such as safety, local health, and environmental authorities, there are no mandatory rules favoring periodic inspection of the manufacturing facilities. The local manufacturers seem to be taking advantage of this legislation gap to avoid cleaning water bottles. The consumers state the need for surprise checks to be done to these local manufacturers (Matthew 1). Recently, the local authorities have caught some local organizations engaging in unsafe practices and have banned them from supplying mineral water because the products are unfit for human consumption.

The production of oil and gas results in water wastages and no sufficient investments have been made to recycle the water to meet the increasing demand. Desalination technologies are expensive and unaffordable and efforts by the government to invest on them to ensure adequate supply of water can result in major losses (Gulf Intelligence 2). Therefore, the potential for the country coming up with a long term solution that can limit opportunities for an international organization joining the Qatar industry to supply bottled water is minimal. Water security is needed for the survival of Qatar as a country. Ensuring that there is enough supply of water for consumption is one of the major challenges to the country. When exporting products, Buxton Natural mineral water will have export processing zones in Qatar.

Through such zones, the company will be able to assess market conditions based on how the locals are reacting to the newly introduced products. The zones will also enable the firm to determine whether it can adapt to the challenging conditions of the new markets based on the ability to come up with creative solutions that will facilitate its survival after entering the joint ventures. The success of an organization on a new market is usually dependent on the ability of coming up with creative solutions for overcoming challenges instead of having common strategies whose capabilities cannot go beyond the maintenance of the status quo. The reason for testing the waters with export processing zones is to enable the organization to carefully weigh its strategy alternatives to determine whether the choices made are appropriate or not.

The findings of the research will also enable Buxton Natural mineral water to have information on the areas with the highest levels of demand within the Qatar environments that it can use as its first markets once it begins its operations in the region. After the entry into these markets, the company will engage in market segmentation to ensure that the products are tailored, in terms of price, to different market segments. In the markets dominated by low income earners, products will be offered at discounted rates to a point of zero profits. However, in the high income markets, the products other forms of promotions aside from discounts will be used to ensure that profits are still generated during the initial stages of operation (FAO 1).

This segmented pricing will enable Buxton Natural mineral water to have a brand among majority of Qatar citizens regardless of their income level. In the case of Qatar consumers, their desire is to drink clean bottled water. In the country, water is not an easily available resource like it is in other countries. Therefore, most consumers need this essential commodity in large amounts (Armstrong, Stewart, and Sara 14). To keep the sanctity of its bottled water, Buxton Natural mineral water will use highly effective technologies to clean water in the UK before it is exported to Qatar for consumption. It will implement strategies to ensure that it continuously imports water into the country at a quantity that will close the demand gap and enable it generate high revenues.

One of the key elements on successful sale of a product is availability. The import zones will be used to determine the quantity to be supplied in the country. Efforts are to be made to ensure constant supply. The same will apply after entering the joint venture. Consumers are likely to purchase the products of Buxton Natural mineral water due to constant availability as an essential commodity. In case of price changes from local producers, Buxton Natural mineral water will also be fast to adjust its prices. Promotion is a necessary tool for the success of any business. It enables products to keep up the pace with the consumer market. Buxton Natural mineral water will use conventional promotion strategies to reach the customers.