Analyse how the features of an international market may differ from the features of a national market.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2017). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] International markets may have legal differences, including different or a lack of regulations, compared to national markets.
2. [1] International markets may involve unstable governments, leading to acts of terrorism or civil violence, which are less common nationally.
3. [1] Differences in tax rates, living standards, and age profiles can be significant in international markets but less varied in national markets.
4. [1] Cultural differences, such as the role of women, language use, dress codes, and product demands, are often more pronounced internationally.
5. [1] Business practices, including legal practices, working conditions, and the use of 'gifts' to obtain contracts, can vary greatly between international and national contexts.
6. [1] International markets typically involve more uncertainty due to a more complex social, economic, and political environment.
7. [1] The possibility of accessing cheaper labour and materials is a feature more common in international markets.
8. [1] International markets often represent larger and more segmented markets compared to national ones.
9. [1] Explain the Product Life Cycle (PLC) concept as the sales record and analysis of a product/service from launch to withdrawal.
10. [1] The PLC is a main form of product portfolio analysis, relevant for multi-product businesses.
11. [1] Advantage: Helps a business develop a balanced portfolio of products with different products at various stages of their life cycle.
12. [1] Advantage: Helps a business to plan ahead for new products, phase out old ones, identify market gaps, and determine the appropriate marketing type for each product.
13. [1] Advantage: Provides information for using the marketing mix effectively, such as employing penetration pricing in early stages or high promotional expenditure during growth, and planning extension strategies later.
14. [1] Limitation: The exact span of a life cycle for a product is often difficult to accurately estimate.
15. [1] Limitation: External market changes, such as new technology, can quickly diminish the value of planning based on life-cycle forecasts.
16. [1] Limitation: Extension strategies may not always successfully reverse a product's decline.
17. [1] Limitation: Many products do not follow a complete, typical life cycle pattern.
18. [1] Limitation: The PLC concept is less useful in dynamic, ever-changing markets.
19. [1] Limitation: Implementing PLC analysis may be expensive for a multi-product business.