Explain the four factors contributing to product suitability for international markets, and describe how these factors can help an international firm with a gradual elimination screening methodology

What will be an ideal response?

Products or services with the best international prospects tend to have one or more of the following characteristics:
? Sell well in the domestic market. Offerings received well at home are likely to succeed abroad, especially where similar needs and conditions exist.
? Cater to universal needs. For example, buyers worldwide demand personal-care products, medical devices, and banking services. International sales may be promising if the product or service is unique or has important features that are appealing to foreign customers and are hard for foreign firms to duplicate.
? Address a need not well served in particular foreign markets. Potential may exist in countries where the product or service does not currently exist, or where demand is just starting to emerge.
? Address a new or emergent need abroad. Demand for some products and services may arise suddenly from a disaster or emergent trend. In Haiti, for example, an earthquake created an urgent need for easy-to-build housing. In emerging markets, growing affluence is spurring demand for restaurants and hospitality services. Attention to these four factors , among others, can help in implementing the gradual elimination screening method. The researcher that applies gradual elimination starts with a large number of prospective target countries and gradually narrows the choices by examining increasingly specific information. The researcher aims to reduce to a manageable five or six the number of countries that warrant in-depth investigation as potential target markets. Because research is expensive, it is essential to eliminate unattractive markets quickly. Targeting a less-crowded economy with a product that is not yet widely available may be more profitable than targeting saturated and more competitive markets in Europe, Japan, and North America.
In the early stages, the researcher first obtains general information on macro-level indicators like population, income, and economic growth before delving into specific information. Broad screening data are readily available. The researcher then employs more specific indicators, such as import statistics, to narrow the choices. Import statistics help reveal the size of the market, the presence of competitors, and the market's viability for accepting new sales. The level of the country's exports also should be investigated, because some countries, such as Panama and Singapore, function as major transit points for international shipments and may not be actual product users. By analyzing research data and gradually narrowing the choices, the researcher identifies the most promising markets for further exploration.