Vodka is believed to have been first produced in the 15th C in Moscow. In Russia it was first produced in 1386. The word ‘vodka’ means little water in Russia. This is because vodka looks like water. The idea of producing vodka was stumbled upon when the distillation of alcohol was first discovered in Russia under the leadership of Vladimir. Russians may not be the highest consumers of alcohol but they are the one of the best if not the best producers of vodka. The Russian standard vodka is known to be a smooth, crisp and fine masterpiece that begs one to consume more and more.
The Russian standard vodka is now an international product and is found in Europe, America, Canada and even Australia. The decision to go international was because;
- To experience growth not only in the area of coverage of the sales but also in the volume of sales made annually. This leads to an increase in revenues and profits. The Russian vodka is sold all over the world and brings in more revenue than was initially anticipated.
-To get employees, this is called outsourcing labour so as to lower the cost of production. Every company aims at minimising the cost of production at all times. It mostly applies when labour acquired from other countries is cheaper and more efficient than the domestic labour. For instance labour from India is cheaper than labour from Russia .
-To acquire more resources that will lead to an increase in both the quality and quantity of the vodka, and ultimately boost the sales. These can easily be found in other countries like Germany who have good machines that can distil volumes of alcohol at once.
-to maintain stability of the production process is also another reason why the Russian vodka went international. This is because at times the domestic environment may not be stable especially if accustomed to wars and attacks. This led to the company diversifying its production areas so as to ensure that the vodka is produced even when the domestic atmosphere is not as friendly. This is the most fundamental reason because Russia has not been politically stable especially after the Soviet Union broke up.
Before embarking on selling the Russian standard vodka in any other country there was sufficient assessment of these international markets so as to ensure that the move would be beneficial both in the short and long run.
-First there has to be a survey that is conducted on the local vodkas in these countries to see if they are satisfying the market or they are leaving enough room for the Russian vodka.
-Secondly how stable is the economic and political environment of that country. Can the sales be predictable over a substantial period of time like five years? If this is not the case then that is not a worthwhile endeavour due to the uncertainty.
-thirdly is to assess the sales and marketing policies of that country and if they are friendly to the Russian vodka company. Most of the international companies require ISO certification of all the products that are to be sold within its boundaries.
- fourthly is the availability of the resources in that area, if not is it possible just to import the product instead of locally producing it and still earn enough revenue to keep the company going on.
Once an international market has met this criteria it is termed as sufficient and can be able to host the Russian vodka.
Global promotional campaigns are marketing and advertisement strategies that are meant to increase the level of awareness of a product from the local to the international eyes. There are very many restrictions as the international market deals with different countries that work under different marketing policies. These global issues of promotional campaign include;
- There should be use of more than one language, this is basically due to the fact that there are many countries at the international market and they use different languages and don’t understand others. In the case of the Russian vodka, they had to not only Russian but also English, French and German in their promotion campaign this is because they had to capture their market target.
- There is a whole range of cultural issues when it comes to global promotional campaigns, for instance the design, symbolic structure and the dress code of the promoters and advertisements. This is evaluated immediately after the target market has been seen. As much as the Russian vodka carries with it the culture of the Russian people it should incorporate the culture of the potential clients in its promotion strategies.
- A good example is that in some countries a wedding is a spiritual and religious rite that does not include the consumption of alcohol during the ceremony; this means that in a promotional advertisement the consumption of the vodka should not feature a wedding.
- Another issue is the dress code, for instance in USA, sex sells almost everything, so it would be okay to use the vodka in a sensual advertisement so as to capture the American clientele, but in China sex doesn’t sell that much but anything that involves martial arts is highly recommended.
-Another global promotional issue is the level of literacy of the target group. How well informed are the target group about the Russian vodka, do they still believe that alcohol should not be consumed at all or they are okay with the occasional tort of vodka? The beliefs of the people play a very key role and at times can discourage the promotion of the Russian vodka where the target group is not responsive to the promotional strategies.
- Type of media to be used is another issue. The type of media used should be one that captures the largest volume of people and even gives a demonstration, the television is preferred to the print media. At times sales people are also required to ensure that the sale of the product has a personal touch on the people. this can be done in supermarkets and road shows that can give out free samples and t-shirts.
-Product strategies are the key methods that a company is willing and able to use in order to sell its product to the target group. It properly outlines the positioning of the product in terms of branding, labelling and packing and also shows how the clients view this product. The objectives and selling strategies of the company are also in this document.
Branding - this is the name, symbol or design of a product or a combination of them all. It is the title name that the product goes by. It should be clearly outline and should not be used by any other product. It should be unique to the product.
Packaging- this is the container, bottle or wrapper that protects the Russian vodka until it reaches the consumer. If the seal of the bottle is broken, the consumer should not accept the product as it may be tempered with either during transportation or sale.
Labelling- this is all the written information about the vodka and is mostly in a label on the bottle. It shows the content and ingredients in percentage of the vodka. It also states the expiry date and the certification of the vodka.
-When it comes to customer satisfaction, there is an email that is open to any complains and compliments from the customer. This is because it is statistically known that one dissatisfied customer communicates this to other fifteen customers and easily wards off potential sale. To ensure that the customers are satisfied the Russian vodka company always makes the necessary corrections and deals with the negatives in the positive way possible.
-Russia is a country that is known to have industrialised in a span of ten years. The people are known to be disciplined in their work ethic and therefore any product from Russia is known to be good and well sort out.
-Market segmentation is a strategy that involves analyzing a target market and then dividing it into smaller sizes that are believed to have a common denominator. This is the major reason for product differentiation since it helps to cater for the needs of each and every consumer. The Russian standard vodka company has done this in several ways.
- It has segmented people in terms of social class, this is the major reason as to why the vodka is found in different volumes. For instance the 250ml, 500ml and the 750ml, this is because not everybody is able to afford the 750ml but since there is a smaller quantity of it and is at a lesser price then it caters for people at different social classes.
- There is also the segmentation according to occasions. During the festive seasons people are known to consume a lot of the alcohol so in order to attract more and more sales the Russian vodka gives offers to the consumer in form of prices and gift packs for participating in the purchase of the product.
- There is also demographic and geographic segmentation. Markets that are close to each other geographically are grouped together while those with a high rate of sale due to population growth are also grouped together.
Competitive analysis is the assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the competing company. In order to determine who your competitor is;
-First establish your scope as a company and the objectives that you wish to meet in the long run. For instance our case is the production of a world class vodka and to continuously improve on both its quality and service to the consumers.
-Second identify the companies that produce similar goods or close substitute product.
- identify your clientele and the target market and compare that with those of the company that is producing the product that is a close substitute to your. Then you can easily tell the competitors and strategise how to outdo them.
- The next step is to establish a comprehensive competitor profile that shows all the competing firms and the offers and products that they offer their clients. A good competitor profile ensures that you are always ahead of the game. In our case a competitor is the fabulous vodka company that is an internationally renowned company, the best move is to always ensure we are ahead of it and learn all its move.
The Russian standard vodka company has also used the tools of marketing while making their product international.
-A good example is the PESTEL tool of analysis, and is basically the analysis of the macro environment surrounding all the activities of the company. It stands for Politics, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal. All these should offer a stable environment that allows for efficient economical activities that will ultimately lead to a positive impact on all of them.
Even though when the Soviet Union broke up Russia was affected drastically, currently it is doing good both politically and economically. All the public facilities are properly functioning and the country is experiencing growth that is commendable.
-Market assessment has also been key in the sale and marketing of the Russian vodka. This involves identifying exactly where your brand as a company fits most. It shows where there is and there isn’t market for your products. It also involves analyzing the satisfaction of your customers. This can be done by conducting a survey on your clients and analyzing the responses.
-Market analysis is also another means of ensuring that you keep track of the market of the product. This is considered to be part of the global environmental analysis. This helps to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities.
