Customs union that is moving in the direction of an economic union by adopting a common currency, removing trade restrictions, and permitting free flow of goods and workers throughout the member nations.

Also forms a "common market".

A contractual arrangement in which a wholesaler or retailer agrees to meet operting requirements of a manufacturer or other franchiser.

EX: Fast - food companies such as McDonald's have been active franchisers around the world.

An agreement that grants foreign  marketers the right to distribute a firm's merchandise.

EX: Entertainment software producer Electronic Arts entered into licensing agreements with consumer electronics accessory manufacturers to create and distribute accessories for IPOD, Nintendo DS, and Wii under it's EA SPORTS brand.

Contractual agreements that assign the production of goods or services to local or smaller firms.

EX: Manufacturing within the country can provide protection from import duties and may be a lower - cost alternative that makes it possible for the product to compete with local offerings.

Standardized marketing mix with minimal modifications that a firm uses in all of its domestic and foreign markets.

EX: Procter & Gamble marketers follow a global marketing strategy for Pringles potato chips, a leading export brand.

Application of market segmentation to foreign markets by tailoring the firm's marketing mix to match specific target markets in each nation.

EX: Many marketing experts believe that most products demand "multidomestic" marketing strategies to give them realistic global marketing appeal.

Form of exporting whereby goods and services are bartered rather than sold for cash.

EX: PepsiCo made one of the largest countertrades ever when it exchanged $3 billion worth of Pepsi - Cola for Russian Stolichnaya vodka, a cargo ship, and tankers from the Soviet Union.  

The process of collecting and using information for marketing decision making.

To aid decision making.

An organization that provides standardized data on a periodic basis to its subscribers.

EX: Mediamark Research, operates a "syndicated" product reserch service based on personal interviews with adults regarding their exposure to advertising media.

Marketing research organization that offers all aspects of the marketing research process.

EX: Brain Research Group, a Mexican marketing research firm, provides quanitative and qualitative research and various field studies, including face - to - face and telephone interviews, online nterviews, multinational studies, B2B interviews and even "mystery shopper" research to collect information about retail outlets.

A marketing research firm that specializes in a limited number of research activities such as conducting field interviews or performing data processing.

EX: Nielsen Media Research specializes in tracking what people watch on TV and who watches what in more than 30 countries.

"Mass Marketing". A strategy theat focuses on producing a single product and marketing it to all customers.

EX: The "golden" arches of McDonalds have always stood for quick, inexpensive meals.

A strategy that focuses on producing several proucts and pricing, promoting, and distributing them with different marketing mixes designed to satisfy smaller segments.

EX: Oscar Mayer increased its sales by introducing Lunchables, aimed at children.

A focusing marketing efforts on satisfying a single market segment.

EX: Peanut Butter & CO. appeals to the world's peanut butter lover with its propriety brand of gourmet, natural peanut butter flavors including Smooth Operator, Crunch Time and Dark Chocolate Dreams.

Targeting potential customers at a very basic level such as by Zip code, specific occupation or Lifestyle.

EX: A salesperson at your favorite clothing boutique may contact you when certain merchandise she thinks you might like arrives at the store.

A concept that seeks to put a product in a certain position or place in the minds of prospective buyers.

EX: Resturaunts that "position" themselves as "fast - casual" continue to outperform most other ctegories of resturaunts.

Provides a valuable tool in helping managers "postion" proucts by grphically illustrating consumers' perceptions of competing proucts within an inustry.

EX: Selected retailers based on "possible perceptions" of the prices and quality of their offerings.

Changing the position of a product within the minds of prospective buyers relative to the positions of competing products.

EX: After General Motors sold its Saab division to Netherlands - based automaker Skyper, the new owner announced it would "reposition" the brand as "a performance - oriented" niche cr with n industry - leading enviromental strategy.

Development growth and mintenance of long term, cost effective relationships with individual customers, suppliers, employees and other partners for mutual benefit.

Employees or depatments within organiztion that depend on the work of another employee or department to perform tasks.

EX: A person processing an order for  new piece of equipment is the internal customer of the salesperson who completed the sale, just as the person who bought the product is the salesperson's external customer.

Managerial actions that help all members of the organization understand, accept and fufill their respective roles in implementing a marketing strategy.

EX: General Mills; employees in all areas of the company on cross functional teams enroll in week - long, hands on "Brand Chanpions" training programs designed to teach the fine points of building and maintaining the company's brands.

Employee's level of satisfaction in his or her company and the extent to which that loyalty ; or lack thereof; is communicated to "external customers".

EX: Upscale hotel chain Four Seasons pampers its customers  and generates a loyal following. The company relates its "high service standards" directly to its hiring policies and to maintaining satisfied employees.

Extent to which "customers" are satisfied with their purchases.

EX: The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is a nationwide tool to provide information about customer satisfaction with product quality.

Turnover in  a company's customer base.

EX: Marriott Rewards program now boasts more than 17 million members who spend an average of 2.5 times as much at Marriott hotels as nonmembers and account for 40 % of Marriot's total sales.  

Frequent - buyer or - user marketing programs that reward customers with cash, rebates, merchndise or other premiums.

EX: Popular programs include airline frequent - flyer programs, such as continental's OnePass and retail programs such as Hallmark's Gold Crown Card.

Marketing effort sponsored by an organization that solicits responses from individuals who share common interests and activities.

EX: Avid sports fans; Vancouver Winter Games that matched each rewards dollar fans earned with a donation to the Committee and Team USA.

Use of software to analyze marketing information, identifying and targeting messages toward specific groups of potential customers.

EX: Google Personalized Search is a new platform that cn track users' past online history and use it to improve and tailor the results of future searches.

Television service package that includes a return path for viewers to interact with programs or commercials by clicking their remote controls.

EX: At a click of a button, viewers can skip ads, but they can also click to  full - length informercial on any brand that captures their interest.

Outside companies that specialize in providing both the computers and the application support for managing information systems of business clients.

EX: Convio supplies software and online sevices designed to help groups such as the American Diabetes Association and other organizations identify and communicate with contributors.  

These are efforts that allow satisfied customers to spred the word about products to other customers.

EX: PepsiCo saw  great response to its "viral Pepsi Refresh Project" created by the company's Social Media Marketing team.

Marketing that gathers volunteers to try products and then relies on them to talk about their experiences with their friends and colleagues.

EX: Word of mouth marketing.