Going international with a business and successfully selling products and services can pave way for many challenges. At some point in time, we all heard of several multinational corporations making costly mistakes when trying to sell to foreign consumers due to lack of awareness of cultural patterns and wrong decisions regarding adaptation or standardization of their marketing mix.
Yes, global uniformity and standardization create various benefits for an organization, such as cost reductions provided due to economies of scale and reduced marketing operational costs. However, by choosing a standardization strategy, one fails to acknowledge that different markets entail different consumer preferences. Let us take a moment to remember the challenges Walmart faced when entering foreign markets such as Germany, Japan and South Korea. Their recipe for success that worked so well for them in the US (wide range of merchandise, inventory controls and low price tags) failed to achieve the same level of success, as shoppers had different habits and the local discount chains had already built a strong position for themselves on the market. They failed to inflict US values globally which lead to a fatal loss for the retail giant. This is just one of many reference points to bear in mind before making the big decision of how to balance standardization and customization. Based on what we learned about Tanzania so far, let us now think about which parts of our Marketing Mix require adaptation.

Product
Is there a way we can offer the appearance of customization in our product offering while ensuring that we do not run into an insane amount of cost and avoid scaring people away with an unreasonably high price tag?
In order to figure this out, we have to become aware of what makes our product special. Our premium chocolate is made of beans, not cocoa powder. Only a very small group of manufacturers in the chocolate world produce their chocolate in this manner. Furthermore, the usage of very few ingredients with no unnecessary additives enables us to deliver a unique taste explosion. These details add special value to our products that we should make sure to maintain in any case, as they already differentiate us from the competition. So what might come in question for possible customization to achieve a higher likeliness of product success?

A new chocolate sort
We previously found out that Tanzanians are very attached to their own lands and culture. They are proud people who enjoy supporting their local manufacturers to achieve overall economic growth for the company.
Therefore, in order to attract their attention, I suggest we consider creating a new chocolate sort for our market entry, with Tanzanian cocoa beans instead of Pacific ones. The resources for this we could get from the organization Kokoa Kamili, that is based in the Morogoro Region around a 10-hour drive from Dar Es Salaam. They sell Tanzanian certified high-quality cocoa to premium chocolate manufacturers. By paying above-market prices for their cocoa resources from around 2000 local farmers, they are promoting the growth of the Tanzanian cocoa sector, thus contributing to the economic growth of the country. These are motives that we could use to promote our products and attract local consumers. I reckon this would not be causing a big issue in our production, as we would only have to exchange our Pacific beans with the Tanzanian ones and create a new, suitable picture for the packaging. Furthermore, I feel like this collaboration would really benefit our cause, as seven chocolate sorts that have been produced with Kokoa Kamili beans have been announced winners of the 2019 International Chocolate Awards.
If this is a considerable option for our manager, I will make sure to schedule a meeting with Kokoa Kamili for our business trip to discuss further steps.
For the packaging colors of this new product, I suggest using either black or soft blue color, due to the symbolism of colors in Tanzanian tradition that I previously discussed in this article.

Labeling
A question we need to ask ourselves is whether we will have to adapt our labels due to the regulatory restrictions in Tanzania. I have read TFDA guidelines and could not find any indicators for changes we would have to make, as our current labels seemed compliant with their requirements. However, we will have to await the confirmation from TFDA to be 100% sure about this point and we should take into account that we might have no choice but to adopt a few elements of labeling if the TFDA requires for us to do so.

Language and Pictography
Independent of the labeling content itself, I strongly suggest we add a Swahali translation of the ingredients, as it is the official national language and English is used primarily in the areas of commerce, administration and higher education.
Due to the adult female literacy rate of 73% within the country, I suggest we become more mindful of the pictures we pick for our packaging. Our salted caramel chocolate, for example, is represented by a squid due to its sea salt ingredient. However, people who can not read and are not familiar with our culture might think we added chunks of squid to our product.

Customer Service
I suggest we set up a separate email address for a Tanzanian customer service on our .co.tz website that we are planning to create. To process these mails, we might look into hiring at least one Tanzanian employee who is fluent in Swahili as well as English. We will also need their language skills to promote our products adequately. You might think ´Why do we need to hire someone who is fluent in Swahili if we have Google Translate´? Language has multiple layers, and some words translated 1:1 can be perceived in a completely different way in a different language. Just take Pepsi for example, who debuted their slogan ´Pepsi Brings You Back To Life´ in China with a wrong translation stating ´Pepsi Brings You Back from the Grave´. Language flops like this one can be crucial for the international success of the organization and their occurence can compromise brand reputation, so let us try to avoid them by getting a native speaker on board.

PLACE
Since both direct and indirect Exporting was selected as the most suitable entry method for the Tanzanian market, our products will be distributed via e-commerce and retailers. At this point of time, there is no reason for differentiating ourselves from the local competition by opening up an own store. We have neither the financial resources nor the international experience to make an OCHO store work to our advantage, so we will go with standard distribution channels for our market entry.
In respect to the market research I have laid out in this blog, I recommend limiting our distribution region to Dar Es Salaam. We may also find a suitable wholesaler during our business trip. Wholesalers might have recommendations, but let us bear in mind that their suggestions might be biased due to long-lasting relationships or bribery.
I therefore suggest we do our own research before we blindly follow their advice.

I already investigated on google and selected following stores as possible places of distribution:
📍 Shoppers Plaza Supermarket, Dar Es Salaam, Mikocheni
Reasoning: Suitable due to central location, their Mission is to be associated with the highest quality products
📍 The Deli shop, Dar Es Salaam, Oysterbay
Reasoning: Oysterbay is an affluent neighborhood
📍 Relish Café, Dar Es Salaam, Oysterbay
Reasoning: Rated as one of the Top 10 cafés in the city
📍 Garden Market, Dar Es Salaam, Masaki
Reasoning: Greengrocer selling fresh products to middle / upper class

We should also try to get in touch with some shops at the Julius
Nyerere Airport to see if there is any chance of distributing our products.
In addition, I suggest that we look into distributing our products in some high-end hotels´ gift shops once we´re there, possibly at Sea Cliff, Serena and Hyatt Regency Hotel. Alternatively, we might strike a good deal with them to lay out our samples as room gifts for their hotel guests.

Price
Depending on the product, our local prices vary around 11,20 to 12,80 NZD (15,600-17,800 Tanzanian Shillings) per 100g of chocolate. In comparison, Chocolate Mama´s product costs around 22,600 TZS per 100g while the price of Kaitxo and Aruntam´s chocolate amounts to ~30,100 TZS per 100g. [Please note that the prices have been checked from Germany and might therefore have been customized automatically according to location]. The price comparison shows that we sell below the price of our competitors, but we have to consider all the additional costs that will affect our business due to new market entry. This involves markup for distributors and/or retailers and other costs for certification, currency exchange, transportation and insurance. Furthermore, we have established that customization will be necessary to a certain extent, which will require additional resources. Long story short, we will definitely have to customize our prices for the Tanzanian market.
The Finance Department will calculate a manageable entry price range after our business trip, however, I suggest (and hope) that we can stay below the price of Chocolate Mama, as the locals are very keen on supporting the brand due to the brand´s regional support, as I had explained beforehand.

PROMOTION
Due to our selected Market Entry Method, retailers and their sales force will do most of our promotion in their leaflets, posters and customer care. However, we will be only one of many brands in their assortments, which is why we should try to differentiate ourselves and take additional measures into our hands to promote our products in the local markets.

Communication Channels
As I have mentioned in this article, the number of Tanzanian internet users is seeing a huge growth and 82% of users use their cellphones to access the world wide web. This is why, besides setting up a separate OCHO website for our Tanzanian market with co.tz designation, we should also make sure to create a mobile-compatible version that automatically adapts the website content to the screen format when being accessed via cellphone. Furthermore, we might look into translating the website into Swahili with the help of the suggested Tanzanian employee. In addition, it is worth considering whether or not we should set up separate social media channels for our Tanzanian audience on Facebook on Instagram or keep those channels standardized. I suggest the latter, but I feel like each post should contain a Swahili translation underneath the original text, which yet again, the Tanzanian employee(s) could help us arrange.
We should also create some publicity around our market entry via local online newsletters such as The Citizen – maybe they are interested in writing an article about our products entering their market or maybe they might invite us for an interview? Their offices are located in Dar Es Salaam, so we should see to pay them a visit.

Communication Content
Now that we have laid out suitable communication channels, let us have a look at the content we would like to communicate to our audience.
For one, we should definitely advertise what makes our products so special from ´regular´ chocolate, to justify our premium prices. Therefore, our bean-to-bar chocolate crafting technique with only a very few ingredients should definitely be the main focus of our marketing messages, highlighting the undeniable quality of our delights, which is displayed visually on this following drawing:

We should also spill the beans about our cacao nibs being sourced via fair trade, ensuring the farmers get paid fairly for their work and are enabled to maintain a sustainable business.
An additional aspect we could consider to communicate is that our dark chocolate won two NZ chocolate awards in 2018, underlining our strong position in our local market.
These communication contents should be tailored in a way that they can be easily understood by Tanzanians, making sure that their cultural norms and values are considered and adressed.

To summarize,
bits and pieces of each Marketing Mix tool require customization to be adjusted to the Tanzanian market and effectively work to OCHO´s advantage. This balanced solution between standardization and customization might be time-consuming and difficult to achieve as we are taking our first steps into a culture that is completely foreign to us. However, I am confident that respecting local specifications and expectations will help our brand build a reputable image and make customers feel noticed, while still allowing monitoring of our marketing activities from afar.

“The customer expects you to have knowledge of their stuff, not just your stuff”

JEFFREY GITOMER, SALES TRAINER