Walmart International Marketing Plan Essay Example

of this market.

Marketing Strategy

Promotional Strategy

The promotional strategy to be adopted by Walmart to promote its laptops in Rwanda will be the sales promotion strategy. This strategy will involve giving short term incentives to the consumers by selling the laptops at a reduced price for a given period of time so as to encourage them to purchase their laptops. Walmart may also give gifts to a few customers to motivate more customers to come purchase the laptops. This strategy will most likely induce sales as the Rwanda market is highly price sensitive. To make the strategy more effective, it require combining it sales promotion with advertising. Walmart will have to use very attractive advertising messages so as to attract the potential customers to buy the product. One recommended advertising message will be; “Ever wondered how the future looks like? Buy a Walmart laptop and experience how the future looks like”

Distribution Outlets

The company will open an outlet in the Rwanda where the laptops and other products will be found. The company will also partner with some of the major wholesalers and retailers in the country to help distribute the laptops. Finally the company will sell the laptops online on its website and other internet retailers in the country to make it easier for all the market to access the product. The online business will be of advantage as more and more people are adopting online business in Rwanda.

Pricing Strategy

The pricing strategy to be adopted by Walmart for the laptops should be penetration pricing strategy. With this strategy, Walmart will have to set the price of the laptops lower than the competitors so that more people can buy

it. This strategy will help Walmart to penetrate the laptop market and also increase its market share. But then Walmart will not have to set the price too low. It should be above the cost so as it can be able to cover costs and leave some margin for the company. Additionally, setting price too low may result into price wars. Therefore, the price should be low but not too low. The company will then increase the price the price slowly by time once it has gained a big enough market share. The penetration pricing strategy will be ideal since the company’s pricing objective is sales maximization.

Cultural Analysis

The Rwandan culture emphasizes a lot on etiquette practices. People are required to demonstrate respect. Social rank is emphasized within and also outside the family. Men are given priority when it comes to meals. The visitors are given the first choice. People always shake hand when they meet. By greeting a person of a higher rank, one extents the right arm while at the same time placing the left arm on the right one. People of the same rank or friends and family may embrace each other. Christianity is a central part of the Rwanda people with more than 60 percent of people being Catholics. Around 30 percent are Protestants. Church plays a big role in the lives of many people (Longman, 2016). Therefore, Walmart should put into consideration these cultural practices so as to maintain a good relationship with the people.
Technology

Rwanda is a third world country. Its technology is not fully developed. There are a big number of people who still do not know how to use

laptops. However, the government has made effort to make sure that everyone knows how to use the laptops. The government has made it mandatory for children to be taught on Information technology in schools (Longman, 2016). It has launched a program where each and every student is supposed to have a laptop. This program has been very advantageous. This has rapidly increased information technology growth in the country.

Geographic Location

Rwanda is located in East Africa. The country is developing. It is located on the western edge of the Rift Valley. It borders Burundi, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania. It is a mountainous country and is sometimes referred to as “the land of a thousand hills”. The mountainous topology historically caused a difficulty in travel encouraging self-sufficient local communities and thus a number of local variations in the culture. However, the modern centralized state that was implemented during the colonial time has led to a cultural homogenization within the Rwanda borders (Longman, 2016).

Target Market Population

Rwanda is known to be the most densely populated country in the whole of Africa. Before the 1994 genocide, it was among the most rural nations in the world. The war resulted into rapid urbanization. Many refugees upon returning to Rwanda chose not to settle in the capital cities, especially the Kigali its capital city (Longman, 2016). The high population in the capital provides a big market for businesses. Walmart will target schools as they demand laptops for educational purposes. There also exists a big market in the capital, Kigali, within the middle class citizen who can afford the laptops.

Demographics and Economic environment

Political and war turmoil have led to a rapid

population shift in the country in the past decade. The county has a lot of young population who are more receptive to technology. This creates a big market for the laptops. According the World Bank (2015), the economy of Rwanda was growing by 7.4% in the year 2015. It is projected that it will continue to grow by 7.6% in 2016. This means that the purchasing power of the people in increasing. Also according to the World Bank, the poverty level of Rwanda citizens has dropped from 63% to 54% from 2011 to 2015. This growth in economy means that people are having more money to spend. This has increased the purchasing power of the people and they can now afford to purchase the laptops.

Political Environment

Rwanda has a very powerful president who is assisted by a prime minister and a multiparty cabinet. Its national assembly and judiciary in practice have little independent power. The current political system has evolved from a single party in 1975 to a multiparty in 1991. Elections are held after every five years and the president is supposed to lead for a maximum of five periods. After the 1994 genocide, Rwanda political system has been stable. There hasn’t been political unrest of late (Reyntjens, 2013). This creates a good environment for business that Walmart can take advantage of.

Language considerations

Kinyarwanda is spoken universally in Rwanda. It is the unifying factor of the Rwanda people. About 10% of the Rwanda people speak French. English was brought into the country by refugees that returned from Kenya and Uganda. English spread faster into the country and is now widely used in Rwanda (Ndahiro, 2015). In

fact, it is the language that is used to teach in schools. This removes the language barriers for Walmart since English is the official for Walmart.

Competitive Analysis

There are already two businesses that dominate the Rwandan computer market. Netsys Computers and Infinite Business Solutions solution distribute laptops to the Rwandan government and schools. These laptops are the main competition that Walmart is going to face. There computers are durable as they as they are made using tough materials. This makes them suitable for the local conditions. The language used is also simple and therefore making them easy to use. They are also easy to carry around. This is the kind of product that Walmart is going to compete with.

Marketing Mix (4Ps)

Place

The international country for Walmart to launch its product is Rwanda. Rwanda is located in East Africa. It is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Rwanda is growing and its people have embraced ICT. The government has even put measures in place to make sure that the country’s technology improves.

Product

The product for Walmart to market in Rwanda is laptops. This is due to the high demand of laptops that has emerged in Rwanda. The laptops should be designed to be durable due to tough conditions in the region. The laptops should also be designed to be able to store power for a longer time. This is because some people in Rwanda do not have electricity in their houses so it will be of interest for Walmart to make sure that the laptops can keep electricity for a longer time. The English should be simple so as to make it simple to use

buy the local people.

Price

Since Rwanda is still a developing country. Walmart will have to set a price that is low enough so as the people can afford it and also compete with other players in the Rwandan market. Rwanda is a developing country and therefore, people are price sensitive. Walmart should make the laptops affordable by setting a lower price.

Promotion

Walmart will have to use sales promotional strategies such as offers and gifts to penetrate into the market (Kindra, 2014). Advertisement should be aggressive to make the product known to the locals. The radio should be the priority for advertising since most people are exposed it than any other media of advertising.

Marketing Plan

The marketing plan for Walmart will be to uses aggressive advertising with attractive messages that can attract potential customers. Also, Walmart may set a lower price since people in Rwanda are price sensitive. The company will need to adopt the push sales promotion strategy so as to push their laptops through the supply chain to consumers. The company will need to offer the suppliers incentives to help distribute the laptops to the consumers. Such incentives will include wholesale discounts, premiums and buy-back guarantees (Kindra, 2014).

Marketing Objectives

The marketing objectives of Walmart will be market penetration. This is why Walmart will have to set a lower price than its competitors (Kindra, 2014). It should be lower than that of the competitors so as to induce the people to buy the products and increase the market share of the company.

Global Positioning Strategy

By investing in Rwanda, Walmart establishes itself as a global brand. This is because it will be one of the few corporations that have invested in

this part of Africa. It will assist the company to gain market in Africa. It will enable the company to expand its operations and open more outlets in the region. It will enable the country to be visible in Africa.

Product Differentiation

Walmart’s products will be of high quality and at a lower price. The corporation should also aim at providing technical assistance to its customers. The product will also be durable and able to keep power for a longer period of time than that of the competitors.

Advertising and Promotional Strategy

The advertising and promotional strategy to use should be very aggressive. Walmart will have to utilize media advertising especially radio and TV as many Rwandans have access to them (Ndahiro, 2015). Sales promotion strategies should also be adopted so as to induce sales from the customers. Direct selling will also help the company to convince the customers to buy its products.

Distribution Strategy

Walmart will use the already existing distribution channels in the country such as retailers to distribute its products. It will have to sign contacts with the major distributors in the country so as to help distribute the laptops to the people. It may also consider opening its own outlet in the country. The company should have distributors in all the cities in the country to increase exposure to the market (Kindra, 2014).

Final Recommendation

Walmart needs to launch the sale of laptops in Rwanda. This is because the government has put measures in place that will ensure that every kid in Rwanda knows how to utilize information technology. this involves every child being given a laptop in school. Also the economy of Rwanda is growing and many people

can now afford to buy this like laptops. These two factors create a large market for laptops in Rwanda. Walmart should therefore take advantage of this and start selling laptops in the country. To gain a market share, the company will have to use penetration pricing where it will have to set its price below that of the competitors.

Conclusion

Rwanda is the best place for the promotion of Waltmart laptop project due to favorable external factors prevalent in this country. First, Rwanda is a peaceful country and measures have taken to prevent other ethnic clash like the one it experienced in 1994. It is therefore an ideal place to start a business as far as peace and stability is concerned. Secondly, the government has also adopted policies and laws which are aimed at attracting investors and these impacts the business positively such as offering of tax incentives and formulation of policies to fight corruption. The construction of ICT Park and formulation of policies that will help the access education institutions to access computers is another move that will create more demand for laptops thereby making Rwanda the best country for Walmart to promote its laptops.

References

1. Kindra, G.S. (2014). Marketing in Developing countries (RLE Marketing). London, Routledge.
2. Longman, T. (2016). Culture of Rwanda - history, people, traditions, women, beliefs, food, customs, family, social. Everyculture.com. Retrieved 8 May 2016, from http://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Rwanda.html
3. Ndahiro, A., Rwagatare, J., & Nkusi, A. (2015). Rwanda: Rebuilding a Nation. Kampala, Fountain Publishers.
4. Reyntjens, F. (2013). Political Governance in Post-Genocide Rwanda. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
5. The World Bank. (2015). The Rwanda Economic Update: Financing Development. http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2015/07/15/the-rwanda-economic-update-financing-development