Boosting exports through local marketing

The author would like to sincerely thank the supervisor , Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thanh Binh, for her valuable contributions and dedicated guidance during the process of writing this thesis. The author would also like to sincerely thank the teachers of Foreign Trade University, family and friends who helped the author complete this thesis.

Because this is a relatively new topic in our country today, along with limitations in resources, time and the author's cognitive ability, it is difficult to avoid shortcomings in this thesis. The author looks forward to receiving comments from teachers and friends.

The author sincerely thanks!

CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF NATIONAL MARKETING AND THE ROLE OF NATIONAL MARKETING IN PROMOTING GOODS EXPORTS

1.1. Overview of national marketing

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1.1.1. Definition of National Marketing

Marketing is a concept, a philosophy used by most countries with developed economies such as the US, UK, Germany... since the 50s of the 20th century. They apply the basic principles of marketing not only in business within the scope of an enterprise or an industry but also in other much broader fields such as politics, society or even in building the image and reputation of an entire country. Many countries have succeeded in developing their economy and building a national image associated with their national brand. One point to note is that some countries have revived their economies such as Japan, South Korea... are countries that do not have a comparative advantage in basic production factors such as natural resources or cheap labor. The challenges of competition on a global scale require countries and localities to change their perspective on development policies. That is to build a beautiful brand for their locality and successfully market that image to the world. In the scope of this thesis, the concept of “local” is understood as “national” so “local marketing” (Place Marketing) is used under the name “national marketing”. Nowadays, there is a consistent understanding of the appropriateness in the way of marketing to countries, that is, also bringing these countries as companies bring their products and services to the market.

According to Phillip Kotler, “ National marketing means building a nation that can satisfy its target markets. National marketing is only successful when both residents and businesses are satisfied.”

satisfaction with their communities and the desires of visitors and investors are met .” 1

Thus, national marketing is not beyond the essential element of marketing which is to satisfy the needs of target customers. The concept also points out four main objectives of national marketing: attracting residents, businesses, tourists and investors.

National marketing is not a new concept in the world. Like many other marketing concepts, the concept of National Marketing also originated in the United States. Before the concept of “place marketing”, the concept of “place selling” was used and was the most important way to advertise and promote localities.

1.1.2. Characteristics of National Marketing

Although national marketing is a specific field of marketing, it has its own distinct features compared to marketing in corporate business.

First of all, while corporate marketing only benefits one business, with national marketing, the beneficiaries are all businesses in that country. National brands are the common property of the whole nation. Once a national brand is trusted and affirmed by consumers in the international market, all products originating from that country will also be trusted more. New brands appearing on the market also benefit from this. When customers have a good impression of a country's goods, the problem of penetrating the world market for new businesses is also much easier, because brand impressions and consumer habits are very difficult to change. Thus, corporate marketing

1 Phillip Kotler (2002), Marketing Asian Place , The Free Press, New York, page 183.

National marketing is effective in promoting business development for the enterprise itself. National marketing, when implemented, will create a national brand, bringing benefits to all enterprises of that country when bringing products with this brand to the large international market.

Second, while the evaluation criteria of corporate marketing are quantified by market share or revenue, the effectiveness of national marketing is measured by other criteria such as: the attractiveness of the country, the attractiveness of the country to businesses, the ability to create jobs, the pride of the people in their country, their people...

Third, national marketing is communal in nature while corporate marketing is private. The communal nature is reflected in both the implementing entity and the beneficiaries of national marketing activities. The implementing entity includes all actors involved in national marketing activities, from leaders at all levels to businesses and citizens. In addition, the beneficiaries of national marketing activities are all manufacturing and trading enterprises using that national brand. National brands are the common property of businesses and nations. Once the national brand is raised, the position of that nation will also be higher in the international arena.

1.1.3. Subjects of national marketing

The subjects of national marketing are the agents participating in national marketing activities. According to the perspective of modern marketing, corporate marketing activities are not only carried out by the marketing department alone, but are the responsibility of all members of the company. National marketing also has this characteristic of corporate marketing. National marketing activities are the contribution of many people, from the State leaders to

Ministries, Departments, Branches and even residents of that country. Specifically, in national marketing, the implementing subjects include state authorities and managers, production and business enterprises and the residential community of that country.

1.1.3.1. State authorities and management

State leaders and related management organizations must be the leaders, responsible for planning and developing the country. A country is considered attractive to foreign investors, has prospects and the ability to develop quickly when that country has a favorable and safe business environment, a stable political environment, and an abundant and dynamic labor force. Therefore, if a country wants to develop, it needs to create a healthy and safe business environment. This responsibility cannot be carried out by anyone other than State government organizations, relevant ministries, branches, and other competent organizations. Central leadership organizations require relevant ministries and branches to make plans or economic development research centers to make strategic marketing plans for their country for each year and each specific period. For example, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will decide on issues related to tourism development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will decide on the development of industries and services as well as the development structure of these industries, the Ministry of Information and Communications will decide on the telecommunications development strategy, the Ministry of Transport will decide on the transport development strategy, etc. These decisions must be considered to be consistent with each other, ensuring good operation and coordination to create a good environment to attract development in all aspects, especially economic development. At the same time, leaders also need to consider to decide which regions and localities should invest more in developing, in which fields, to avoid making wrong decisions leading to waste of money, time and resources of their country.

With an effective system of state management agencies, visionary and ethical leaders, the country will quickly improve its environmental conditions, retain old businesses and investors and attract new ones. This can be clearly seen in typical examples of business and education development in Singapore, the development of a healthy political environment in Finland, and a peaceful living environment in Switzerland... In Vietnam, Binh Duong is chosen as a destination for foreign investors, building many industrial parks to produce for domestic consumption and export goods. Binh Duong has succeeded in creating an attractive investment environment to attract domestic and foreign investors.

The service attitude of government agencies also has a great impact on the image of that country. Phenomena such as deliberately causing difficulties, corruption, slow working style... have been and are happening in many government departments in Vietnam, causing investors to have a lower opinion of our environment.

In addition, the government should also take measures to educate the awareness of its people so that everyone can participate in the country's action program.

Embassies, International Chambers of Commerce, and Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency are responsible for organizing activities to enhance first of all the image of Vietnam, the Vietnamese people, and then the image of Vietnamese goods in the eyes of foreigners, thereby contributing to promoting the production and export of their country's goods.

1.1.3.2. Manufacturing and business enterprises

If national marketing activities are only the responsibility of government organizations and state managers, they will certainly not be effective.

Manufacturing and trading enterprises are the units that directly create material wealth for society, they are the ones who create brands and core values for products. Without the participation of manufacturing and trading enterprises, the economy will be underdeveloped, unemployment rate will be high, costs will be high... The image of the country will therefore be less attractive, at the same time causing Vietnamese brands to decline and difficult to stand firm in the world market.

The business sector contributes to the development of the economy, building the image of a country on the path of dynamic development. Not only creating jobs and many new opportunities, the business sector also helps to transform the economic structure, develop many related industries and new professions. Enterprises not only create profits for the owners, create jobs for employees and contribute a large part to the State budget. Enterprises have reduced the unemployment rate, overcome the situation of "idle hands are the devil's workshop" among the people, and partly reduced the social evils that can arise due to unemployment....

These are the common contributions of economic enterprises to society. From the perspective of national marketing, we can see that the role of economic enterprises is not small. In the context of a strongly open market economy like today, enterprises compete to develop not only domestically but also to foreign markets, bringing the image of Vietnam on products beyond national borders. Therefore, Vietnamese brands are gradually built and developed, contributing to increasing the attractiveness of their country. In addition, enterprises also bring a good impression of the land and people of Vietnam. For example, handicraft enterprises have exported rattan and bamboo products abroad, from which when mentioning Vietnam, this traditional product cannot be missed. Another point to mention is that service providers such as entertainment areas, hotels, tourism... also contribute to creating a good environment to attract investors.

investment, business. A country with a meager supply of input factors, public services as well as a system of providing products and services for the average life of an underdeveloped society will find it difficult to attract tourists, investors and residents to live and work there.

A real challenge for each country is how to coordinate the goals between State agencies and the business sector so that they can link together, come to a common agreement, and implement a common goal. That is to build an attractive environment in terms of infrastructure, clean natural environment, not too focused on short-term profits but towards long-term goals for the whole country. Normally, right at the State agency group, organizations have overlapping obligations and conflicting goals. Conflicting development visions will lead to difficulty in creating common interests between public and private organizations. Coordination between the State and businesses in terms of goals and methods of action is a difficult issue that requires skillful leadership of the agency and the head of that State.

1.1.3.3. Residential community

It is difficult for any country to develop without the support and enthusiastic participation of its people. For example, building pride is a key element in a national marketing strategy and can be applied to the participation of the entire population behind major events such as the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long, hosting the Sea Games, the holidays celebrating Uncle Ho's birthday, the liberation of the South, the August Revolution... These events will be the oil that polishes the country's image in the eyes of people around the world, attracting many people to visit, travel, and congratulate, including politicians from other countries, investors... They come to seek opportunities for business cooperation and investment. A nation that knows how to appreciate the past, is making every effort

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