Jl_Racing_Video_Assignment

Valerie Bauer JL Racing Video Assignment 8/24/13 1. What are the main challenges small companies are facing when doing business internationally' Many small companies face challenges when doing business internationally. A big challenge is finding a good location with a good support base. JL Racing struggled with finding a good location with a good support base. They ended up choosing California and choosing an area where there were other companies and support. With the hard economy nowadays it is hard to find this. With the economy struggling many small companies are also struggling with not laying off their employees and finding things for them to do during off seasons. JL Racing has a policy that they will not lay off their employees and they are lucky enough that their markets do have some variation in their seasons. This is helpful because during their off season the national rowing teams are still rowing and this gives JL Racing something for their off season. When doing business in international markets it is important and a challenge to be able to produce a product that appeals to multiple markets. It is also very much of a challenge to keep shipping times down so they can stay competitive in the market and keep customers satisfied. Many businesses find it a challenge to understand their customers especially when they are in one country and selling internationally. JL racing worked on traveling to promote their products and actually take the time to see what the athletes are wearing. This helped them to better understand how to create a product that works for the athletes. There are also challenges with understanding buying habits and each countries culture. There are also cultural differences in clothing. JL racing struggled with entering the German market because they have a board of directors that make decisions. In order for them to make a decision it took a while and they also had to keep their other vendors in mind. Many small businesses have to create a user friendly website and this and be very difficult when selling to different markets and different countries. JL racing made their website so that sales reps could design and choose colors for the uniforms of that country which made it very user friendly for all different countries to use. When doing business overseas there is always challenges with the adjusting American dollar price and the fluctuation in currency. This posed challenges with product cost and shipping cost. When doing business internationally there are five challenges that most small businesses face. These challenges are Laws and regulations, cost, communication difficulties and cultural differences, payment methods and currency rate, and choosing the right shipping method (Kavas, 2011, Para 1-5). JL Racing experienced all of the top challenges for small businesses doing business internationally. 2. Describe and analyze international marketing strategies implemented by JL Racing (tip: use additional sources like their website). JL Racing Implements many international marketing strategies. JL racing uses exporting specifically direct exporting which is when the company sells to a customer in another country (Cateora, Gilly, & Graham, 2011, p 345). JL racing does this by traveling to rowing events and competitions in other countries. At these events they use direct selling and means of advertising to gain customers. A good amount of their advertising is done by having the big stars wear their rowing uniforms to advertise and promote their products. Exporting can have a lot of advantages for a company. It can help extend the sales life of existing products and find new markets to sell them in. It can help even out sales during seasonal changes (Exporting, 2013, Para 1). JL racing also uses the internet to market to other countries. The internet can be used by targeting other countries by having a multilingual website. The Internet also allows for a product catalogue to be easily accessible by many different countries (Cateora, Gilly, & Graham, 2011, p 346). Using the internet to market internationally has many advantages. It can help with market expansion, brand reputation, global networking and open the door for future opportunities (Bradley, 2013, Para 2-5). JL racing used the internet to market by creating a website that continuously updates their products and allows a person to design and choose colors for their uniforms which is really appealing to many rowing teams that are in different countries because they can customize their uniform to their colors. JL racing has also strategic international alliances which are a business relationship established to cooperate out of mutual need (Cateora, Gilly, & Graham, 2011, p 349). There are many benefits to joining a strategic alliance such as access to supplementary supplies and services, opportunity to reach new markets, increased brand awareness, and access to a new customer base (Buckles, 2011, Para 5). JL racing formed a strategic alliance with Adidas and Nike and were allowed to put their JL racing logo on the inside of the uniforms. This was a way for them to work together to take a risk in entering new markets. 3. How do you think their international sales affect their domestic business' Why' I think that their international sales affect their domestic business by increasing profits, providing new product ideas, and providing steady jobs. JL racing explained that the colors in Europe for uniforms were very bright and they used a lot of pastels so JL racing tried to use this idea for American uniforms. JL racing doesn’t want to lay off any of their employees. The American market does not row in the summer time. So doing business internationally allows JL racing to be able to make uniforms for the national level during their rowing season which is in the summer time. References Bradley, J. (2013). The advantages of marketing internationally. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-marketing-internationally-61158.html Buckles, J. (2011, September). Understanding the benefits and challenges of Strategic Alliances. Retrieved from http://www.franchise.org/Franchise-News-Detail.aspx'id=56303 Cateora, P., Gilly, M., & Graham, J. (2011). International marketing. (15th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Exporting (2013) Retrieved from http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/exporting Kavas, F. (2011, December). 5 challenges that international business brings to small businesses. Retrieved from http://morethanshipping.com/challenges-in-international-business/