he Mayo Clinic is an international health institution that has built its reputation over the years. It provides quality care to citizens of New York where it is situated and to more people outside the United States borders. The clinic understands the crucial place of its international markets in its existence and overall success which is why it values these markets and invests heavily for continued knowledge, quality improvement and expansion. Mayo Clinic is an example to be emulated for multinationals looking to develop and advance healthy international markets. The organization engages in extensive international market research to understand how these markets evolve, their unique characteristics, their special needs and aspects that would attract them to the clinic. All these in the effort to understand its international market for quality care provision.
Statement of the Problem
For Mayo Clinic, international market research is merely a problem but an opportunity the organization has mastered to implement for its continued success. Even so, international market research as the issue at hand calls for specialize approaches to ensure its success for any organization. Such research would require a proactive approach that demands that the organization moves in a planned and systematic manner. Many multinationals would use narrowing, a concept in the proactive research approach, to identify and single out the best international markets. Narrowing involves a large number of potential international markets. Research conducted at this stage would be general but aims at eliminating markets that seem less promising (Dorożyński & Urbaniak, 2016) . The next step involves the analysis of given markets in more detail after identifying their potential for the organization. Narrowing occurs at different stages to the level where the organization identifies the most appropriate market for its goods and/or services. Another aspect of international market research is expanding. Expanding involves identification and selection of foreign markets in accordance to their similarity to already existing markets (Dorożyński & Urbaniak, 2016) . Their level of similarity is identified and the organization determines whether a similar marketing strategy would be applicable.
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For the Mayo Clinic international market research adopts a somewhat expanding strategy. It focuses on patients from both existing and new markets. Research involves patient feelings and desires in healthcare and the level of satisfaction existing patients experience from their services. Awareness of both existing and new markets is further promoted by word of mouth. Positive experiences by old patients would be passed on to new patients who would recommend it to other in accordance to how they are treated. Mayo Clinic therefore identifies potential markets that are somewhat similar to those they already operate in and use the experiences of already existing patients to deal with the needs of new patients.
Causes of the Problem
As an area of immense benefit for any organization, one that involves different countries, international market research comes with varied challenges for the company. It involves numerous international markets which may have unique demands in research. It would mean that such research would result in increased costs and potential problems for the organization (Engelen, Engelen & Samuel Craig, 2016) . Secondary data may be hard to acquire in adequate amounts. In case such data is collected, it may have an issue of reliability and may not be comparable among these markets (Engelen, Engelen & Samuel Craig, 2016) . It is similarly difficult to collect primary data such as consumer behavior. Numerous markets will have similarly numerous customer behaviors (Engelen, Engelen & Samuel Craig, 2016) . Comparing these behaviors would pose a challenge for the organization. Communication barriers stand as significant challenges in international market research. Language barriers and communication cultures vary across these markets and the organization may find it hard to communicate as expected. Culture is also another challenge as it will vary significantly from the organization’s home country (Engelen, Engelen & Samuel Craig, 2016) . Lack of cultural sensitivity may make research difficult as locals will be more reserved and refuse to engage in any research activities.
Mayo Clinic experiences similar issues while engaging in international market research. The organization experiences a challenge in cultural dynamics and many locals would be wary of any international research efforts such as calls during over-the-phone interviews. These dynamics will further delay research as gatekeepers in the identified markets would need diplomatic convincing to ensure they transfer any international calls to local participants. The organization also encounters communication challenges due to language barriers and these studies often take more time than anticipated.
Possible Solutions
Possible solutions to the challenges in international market research would include the identification of research experts with knowledge and experience in the desired region. The organization would need to identify qualified researchers in their target market, those who have engaged in numerous research studies in their country of choice and understand the market well. They would know the opportunities and limitations of conducting research in the region well and this would reduce the likely costs to be incurred by the organization. Local researchers would also offer the best solution to the communication and cultural issues. Local expert researchers would communicate with ease and will quickly gain trust from the locals. When trusted, research will be smooth as the participants will easily engage in the research activities.
The Mayo Clinic seems not to have implemented the mentioned strategies when conducting international research. The institution admits to having issues of communication and culture when engaging in international market research. It would be prudent for the organization to recognize the importance of a well-experienced researcher in their market of choice. A local research with the required experience and professionalism would help the company address issue of language and cultural barriers.
Solutions and its implementation
A marketing strategy is a combination of goals and objectives the organization will use to promote its goods and services in a given market. A marketing strategy for any international market will be highly dependent on international market research. An organization’s marketing strategy will involve an integration for its industry, trends and characteristics as they are in their target market ( Saari, 2015) . These concepts would be smoothly integrated into the marketing strategy if sufficient marketing research is conducted to gain insight on them. The strategy would also include international buyer behavior, pricing, advertising and distribution. For these factors to be well understood and included in the marketing strategy, international market research would be necessary. Therefore, international market research stands as one of the central issues in the successful development of a market strategy.
The market mix and tactics also need international market research to help identify, understand and implement. They include the 4Ps; product/service, place, price and promotion ( Saari, 2015) . Knowledge in best product or the most preferred version of it, the prospective market, the acceptable price and how to promote the good or service represent components of an organizations market mix and tactics. International market research is the best strategy an organization can adopt to gain insight into the 4Ps and eventually develop a strong market mix and tactics. Mayo Clinic understands this connection well and therefore engages in as much international market research as deemed necessary. The organization ensures to track international patient experiences to help identify the view of patients on the services they receive. The institution has adopted a quarterly review of data to identify the volume of patients, the number of new patients and hospitalization rates in an effort to develop and improve on its market strategy, mix and tactics. The organization is aware of the significance of its international markets and directs every effort into research that contributes towards expansion and provision of improved services. The strategies used by the institution have significantly contributed to its primary marketing tool, word of mouth. As the quality of service improves, patients spread the word to their friends and families who would want to experience the same. The clinic therefore ensures to keep the high standards of their quality through continued international market research.
Justification
International market research is effective for organizations as demonstrated by the Mayo Clinic. The clinic has invested in this research over the years because it understands the value of international customers. It experiences visits from across the world with patients desiring the quality services they provide. The clinic boasts of high-end patients including presidents from across the world which makes it crucial for the quality of service to be of undeniable quality. Mayo Clinic understands this well and engages in continued market research to ensure to maintains control over its markets and customers while acquiring new ones. Organizations looking to advance their brands in international markets need to adopt international market research and emulate Mayo’s methodology of implementation to ensure success. This research would guarantee them success as it does for Mayo Clinic. These institutions will need to be aware of the likely challenges that come with international market research and develop strategies to help address these challenges. Once implemented successfully, it will be easy for them to identify potential markets and transition into them smoothly as the Mayo Clinic has done over the years.
References
Dorożyński, T., & Urbaniak, W. (2016). Foreign market research. Practical Aspects In Doing International Business . doi: 10.18778/7969-987-2.04
Engelen, A., Engelen, M., & Samuel Craig, C. (2016). Challenges in Conducting International Market Research. Handbook Of Market Research , 1-25. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-05542-8_6-1
Saari, T. (2015). Marketing Plan for a New Product: A Study for a Case Company.
