ABSTRACT
Marketingrepresentstheprocessofexaminingamarket,identifying aparticularneedandrespondingtothatneedonanacceptablebasis totheclient,theshipper.Itisamanagementfunctionandspansthe entirebusinessorganization.Globalmarketingisamorecomplex operationasoneiscrossinginternationalboundarieseachwitha differentmarketenvironment.Theshippingcompanyprovidesa product/serviceonaninternationalbasisandmustrespondto environmentalopportunitiesandthreatsintheoverseasmarkets theyserve,eachwithdifferentconfigurationsandunderlyingbehaviour.Inconsequencetheshipoperatormustrespondtotheidentifiedcustomer'sneedsbyadaptationandinnovationexpressedin productdevelopment.Atthesametimetheshipoperatormust decideinwhichmarketsegmenttheywishtoparticipateandthe positionthecompanywishestobeinthemarketplace,having regardtothecultureofthemanagement,theresourcesavailable,the marketforecastandoveralllevelofprofitability.Hence,theship operatormustdevelopcompetitiveproductstobesuccessfulinan internationalmarketenvironment.
