Introduction
Huawei is a Chinese technology company that specializes in manufacturing smartphones and computers. The company is additionally famous for the mobile services that it offers to customers. Huawei is an international brand because it supplies its products and services to multiple global markets. This fact is possible because globalization is popular today, which is “a trend toward a single integrated and interdependent world” (Alon et al., 2017, p. 11).
The global scope of doing business denotes that Huawei should utilize versatile strategies and tools to succeed in different contexts. That is why this final assessment paper focuses on the selected organization to analyze the markets of the United Kingdom, the United States, and Europe. Even though the three markets have a few shared peculiarities, the identified differences will demonstrate that Huawei should have significantly different approaches to working in these countries.
Markets Overview
To begin with, one should present a general description of the selected markets. The UK offers an attractive market to many organizations, and Huawei is no exception. This country has a high-income economy, which means that a company can receive more revenue from this area. As for the USA, its market’s characteristic features include a large population, great wealth, and vast geographical space (Keegan and Green, 2016, p. 97). Higher diversity rates and multiculturalism guarantee that a company can find a target audience for its products or services.
Finally, the European market is the largest and most fragmented because it includes a few separate nations. According to Alon et al. (2017, p. 10), many high-tech manufacturers are based in Germany, Italy, and the Czech Republic. Simultaneously, Europe is a very competitive environment because a single currency makes it easier for customers to compare prices in neighboring states (Keegan and Green, 2016, p. 113). That is why exporters should do their best to succeed in this geographical area. The following sections will highlight similarities and differences between the three selected markets.
Similarities
It is necessary to state that the three selected markets have a few shared features. Albaum, Duerr, and Josiassen (2016, pp. 145-146) indicate that the selected geographical areas represent upper-middle-income and high-income economies. This information denotes that wealthy customers are found there. For Huawei, this peculiarity is positive because the organization can provide these markets with top-quality products and relatively high prices, which will result in increased revenues for the business.
Simultaneously, the three markets are similar in their attitude toward technology. The rationale behind this statement is that the UK, Europe, and the US are highly developed markets with a strong focus on technological innovation. Companies like Huawei need to innovate and introduce new products and features to remain competitive in these markets. In other words, since the organization wants to succeed in the selected environments, it should keep investing more resources into innovation to stay afloat (Alon et al., 2017, p. 76). One should additionally state that all three markets offer harsh competition, with Apple and Samsung being the leading rivals. That is why Huawei is expected to rely on the best business practices to achieve positive outcomes in the UK, Europe, and the US.
Another essential similarity refers to the role of social media in the selected markets. Customers from the UK, Europe, and the US spend much time using Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms. That is why businesses frequently and effectively use various social media channels for marketing their products and services (Alon et al., 2017, p. 216). That is why Huawei actively engages in digital marketing and tries to reach a strong online presence to ensure that the target audience obtains regular information about the brand. This approach is important because it makes Huawei popular, which will lead to higher sales.
The information above demonstrates that the three selected markets are attractive and profitable for the organization because it has managed to develop a well-known brand image. Many customers from the selected geographical areas are familiar with Huawei and its performance. This outcome is possible because the business keeps delivering competitive technological solutions and high-quality products to these markets.
Furthermore, the UK, Europe, and the US are high-end smartphone markets that welcome premium devices. That is why Huawei keeps investing more money in its research and development activities to guarantee that new products will meet customer requirements. The organization is interested in the three markets, which makes it do its best to achieve customer satisfaction in different countries.
One should additionally emphasize a significant trend manifesting itself in the global convergence of consumption patterns. In various geographical areas, characteristic features include the growing popularity of democratization, almost unlimited access to information, and international supply and competition (Unsunier and Lee, 2013, pp. 134-135). All these features are typically present in the UK, US, and European markets, which denotes that general conditions in the three environments are similar. That is why Huawei should rely on strategies and approaches that are similar to those of other companies to succeed in these geographical areas.
Differences
One should remember that the selected markets include a few significant differences, and the given section will comment on them in detail. The first significant aspect refers to the cultural differences that are found in the three markets. According to Alon et al. (2017, p. 100), these peculiarities are significant because they make companies choose specific strategies and approaches to operate within this area.
The UK market is known for its brand consciousness, indicating that consumers pay a lot of attention to product quality and design. Multiple consumer preferences and buying habits characterize the European market because diversity and fragmentation are prevalent there (Alon et al., 2017, p. 100). Finally, the United States is price sensitive, and customers want to find the best quality products for a reasonable price. This information demonstrates that Huawei is expected to acknowledge these cultural peculiarities.
The second difference refers to the legal and regulatory environment found in these markets. In this aspect, the European Union (EU) market is distinct because the organization introduced the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018. This document created strict guidelines for organizations on how they could collect, use, manage, and store consumer data (Hoofnagle, Van Der Sloot, and Borgesius, 2019, p. 65).
The scholars additionally highlight that the GDPR includes “enforcement mechanisms, penalty determination, expanded security incident notification, and procedural requirements” that companies should follow when working with personal data. In contrast, the US and the UK do not have such strict data privacy regulations, which denotes that organizations do not have rigid barriers in the two markets. Thus, Huawei should abide by the GDPR to avoid legal issues and enormous fines.
In addition to that, it is reasonable to comment on the political environment because this issue can significantly impact business. Today, there are essential political tensions between the United States and China. That issue emerged in 2018 when a trade war began between the two nations. Currently, Chinese companies deal with different restrictions regarding their ability to do business in the United States. This situation can significantly limit Huawei’s ability to increase market share or generate revenue, and it is forced to suffer from these challenges in the US.
Simultaneously, the UK and European markets do not have such political limitations for Huawei. That is why the selected organization should understand that the American market is associated with numerous limitations that are absent in other environments. This information indicates that it is more challenging for Huawei to operate in the US than in the UK and Europe.
It is worth emphasizing that the market size is a significant criterion for comparison. According to Hollensen (2020, p. 267), “demography is an important aspect of market selection and analysis.” This quotation denotes that larger markets are typically more attractive for organizations. Thus, it is reasonable to focus on the population of the three selected geographical areas. The United Kingdom has more than 67 million citizens, which is an attractive market for any organization.
The American market is larger because over 330 million people live there, which is potentially associated with higher revenue. However, Europe has 746 million citizens, while over 440 million represent the population of the EU. This information demonstrates that the European market is larger and more attractive for Huawei because the organization is expected to earn more profits there. Simultaneously, the given analysis demonstrates that the UK market is considered less profitable.
Conclusion
Huawei is a famous Chinese brand that sells smartphones and other technological devices. The business operates in multiple countries, which makes it possible to look at the organization to compare and contrast different markets—the current assignment comments on the significant UK, US, and European markets for Huawei. According to the identified data, the organization should carefully select marketing and business strategies to operate within these geographical areas.
Evidence from reputable textbooks and a scientific article has demonstrated that the three markets have a few similarities and differences. On the one hand, the three have common features in terms of their economy, focus on technology, and the role of social media for marketing purposes. These features denote that Huawei can use similar strategies and emphasize the same phenomena to succeed in the three selected markets.
On the other hand, the UK, US, and European markets are significantly different. The discrepancies refer to the fact that various cultural, legal, political, and demographical peculiarities are found in the chosen environments. Huawei should rely on appropriate strategies, solutions, and instruments to operate within each market and achieve positive outcomes. As a result, the three markets have similarities and differences, and Huawei is expected to draw relevant attention to them to do business successfully. The UK market is less challenging for Huawei because the GDPR is present in Europe, while the US market is subject to political limitations.
Reference List
Albaum, G., Duerr, E. and Josiassen, A. (2016) International marketing and export management. 8th edn. Harlow: Pearson.
Alon, I. et al. (2017) Global marketing: contemporary theory, practice, and cases. 2nd edn. New York, NY: Routledge.
Hollensen, S. (2020) Global marketing. 8th edn. Harlow: Pearson.
Hoofnagle, C. J., Van Der Sloot, B. and Borgesius, F. Z. (2019) ‘The European Union General Data Protection Regulation: what it is and what it means’, Information & Communications Technology Law, 28(1), pp. 65-98.
Keegan, W. J. and Green, M. C. (2016) Global marketing. 9th edn. Harlow: Pearson.
Usunier, J.-C. and Lee, J. A. (2013) Marketing across cultures. 6th edn. Harlow: Pearson.