Marketing Activities of Łódź Voivodeship Companies on Foreign Markets – Research Findings

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this article is to determine the content of marketing strategies pursued by companies based in the 􀂒ód􀄛 Voivodeship on foreign markets. Design/methodology/approach: Literature studies and primary research by means of structured interviews and a questionnaire. The companies were sampled for the study from the Statistics Poland (formerly known as the Central Statistical Office) data, section C. These were companies registered in the National Business Registry system (REGON) in the 􀂒ód􀄛 Voivodeship at the end of 2016. From the list of over 2,800 units, 900 units were qualified for the study, and the number of returned questionnaires was 117. Findings: The expansion of 􀂒ód􀄛 Voivodship companies focuses primarily on exports. This was indicated by over 93% of the surveyed enterprises. These are so-called reactive companies, i.e. companies that export as a response to inquiries received from abroad. Marketing activities are not comprehensive. Only a quarter of the surveyed companies conducted marketing research on foreign markets. The surveyed companies implement the strategy of product and price adaptation, with intermediaries from foreign markets being mostly responsible for promotional activities. Distribution is dominated by foreign intermediaries. Less than half of the surveyed companies conduct research on the effectiveness of their marketing activities on foreign markets. Research limitations/implications: Research limitations include difficult access to surveyed companies and their reluctance to provide answers. The research results can serve the preparation of exporters’ marketing strategies and can be useful for national, regional and local governments responsible for supporting exporters. Originality/value: Expansion of knowledge about the behavior of Polish companies on foreign markets and their marketing strategies there.

Keywords

• marketing strategy
• international marketing