Global marketing strategies for forest product industries

The rapid globalization of markets in the 1980s combined with increasing disposable incomes in Japan and Western Europe has mandated global thinking by both forest products companies and producing regions. Moreover, competitive threats of both domestic and foreign origin must be addressed in strategic planning and operations for firms to compete effectively. The two end points for the continuum of strategic options for the export of wood products are international and global marketing. International marketing targets specific customer segments with distinctive product lines developed for each segment. Global marketing exports a single standardized product line to all customer segments regardless of geographical location. To successfully compete in the increasingly competitive world marketplace, companies and (or) industries in producing countries must understand the requirements, benefits, and disadvantages of these two dissimilar export approaches. -Authors