Title – International Marketing Research Challenges

INTRODUCTION
Due to global financial issues in the recent months, consumer confidence is low in the more developed markets such as Japan, the US and Europe (AFP, 2012). Therefore developing markets, such as the Australian market, are looking towards emerging markets where the markets have remained dynamic and rich in growth opportunities. This is because emerging markets “have reached a minimum level of GDP and are in the growth phase of the development cycle” (Pearson Education, 2012), however due to this growth phase these markets are still vulnerable to both internal and external forces. With many companies world-wide seeking global growth opportunities, it has never been more …show more content…

The extent of the products currently available in the emerging markets is another cultural issue that researchers must face when wanting to introduce a product. Malhotra (2010) suggests researchers need to look at the public’s attitude towards advertising, the government’s control of the media and the behaviour of consumers when conducting research. All of the previous factors change within different cultures which furthers heightens the need for specific research methods and ideas for different emerging markets. Words - 350

CHALLENGE 3 – COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES
Communication challenges in emerging markets not only relate to language barriers but also differences in technology and cultures. Market researchers may find it very difficult to communicate the more complex ideas of their business to research participants in emerging markets where the language barrier is high. There has been a lot of research been into trying to find a way to overcome this problem. Greenland (2009), looked into using visual cues, such as photographs, to aid the research participants in obtaining a greater understanding of what the researcher was trying to convey. Craig and Douglas (2001), suggest the idea of videotaping people and analysing the