Public notice

Erasmus+ Community Programme Strategic Partnerships VET
“M.IN.D. – Marketing, Internationalization & Development” Project
n° 2015-1-IT01-KA202-004665

AIMS OF TESTING

The M.IN.D – Marketing, Internationalization & Development, No. 2015-1-IT01-KA202-004665 project, funded by the European Erasmus + program, Strategic Partnerships VET, KA2 action “Cooperation for innovation and exchange of good practices” promoted by the Chamber of Commerce of Salerno in partnership with Prism Consulting S.r.l. (IT), FORMAPER – Special Agency of the Chamber of Commerce of Milan (IT), IAT – Instituto Andaluz de Tecnologia (ES), Espaitec (ES), Hellenic American Union (GR), Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Spain (ES), Chambre de Commerce Italienne de Lyon (FR) Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GR), Aydın Ticaret Borsası (TR), Aydın EU Governership and Foreign Relations Coordination Center (TR), as part of funded activities, involves a testing phase of the set of core competencies of the vocational profile of “International Marketing Manager”, in order to:

1. a) support SMEs in their internationalization processes, by defining strategies to choose the foreign country/market, the entry mode and positioning with respect to the competition, communication strategies, with particular reference to the specificities of food products;
2. b) analyse internal and external resources to the company, to identify market opportunities and strategies to be adopted;
3. c) define international marketing strategies based on an analysis of the competition and market segmentation;
4. d) guide SMEs to define export plans, on the basis of competitive and marketing strategies.

In particular, through the testing phase of the M.IN.D – Marketing, Internationalization & Development project one aims to encourage the development of analytical, guidance, initiative, prospective thinking, propensity to change, results orientation, organization, planning and control skills, functional to strategic planning of international business projection, through the use of on-line Open Educational Resources, made with visual thinking techniques, and access to the learning environment, with a wealth of in-depth materials, tools and technical formats for company check-ups, which enable young long-term unemployed/first time job seekers, with economic degrees, to acquire and maintain over time, knowledge of a commercial, organizational/management, relational and marketing nature, functional to support SME growth and development, especially those operating in the food sector, to define, effectively and efficiently manage their strategic entry, development and permanence in international business circuits.

OBJECTIVES OF TESTING

To involve a group of 100 people (30IT, 30ES, 15GR, 15TK, 10FR), target group representatives (long term unemployed/first time job seekers, with economic degrees), in blended testing (e-learning and face to face), for 4 months (from January 30^th till April 30^th) by accessing:

• the OER – Open Educational Resources, that constitute the “MARK.UP- Marketing Upskilling” product;
• other teaching materials and support tools in the internationalisation process provided in the “MAR.CO – Marketing Competencies” learning environment.

to develop and consolidate the skills required thanks to which they will know how to analyse:

• the potential of a country, for example as regards: natural resources and infrastructure; GDP and income per capita; consumer tastes and propensity; level of technological development; education levels; investment plans and risks relating to the exchange rate; the economic and financial system; political instability; etc.
• the attractiveness of the industry in terms of, e.g.: structure; national and international competition; market segmentation; consumer purchasing behaviour; critical success factors; etc.
• barriers to internationalization, e.g. as regards: lack of managerial expertise; difficulty in accessing information; difficulty in accessing financial resources and investment; differences in the range of products and services offered; linguistic and cultural differences; lack of adequate institutional and government incentive supports; inadequate protection of trademarks and/or patents; etc.
• the positioning of food products, the main competitors, development trends and growth prospects
• new trends in food consumption and in consumer purchasing behaviours
• agri-food company trade and marketing policies to design strategies for branding, corporate and product communication and trade marketing
• economic – financial dynamics of agrifood firms, by using techniques and tools to forecast financial requirements and related coverage options, to evaluate investments and relative financing arrangements, the use of extraordinary and subsidized financial operations
• organizational structures and roles, processes, marginality, Break Even, Key Performance Indicators

The testing phase will be preparatory to the implementation of Company Check-Ups (from May1^st till 15^th June) to be carried out on a group of agri-food companies, with particular reference to SMEs, through:

1. a) the analysis of human resources, to understand e.g. to what extent ownership and management are:

• convinced of the strategic importance of the internationalization project
• willing to make the investments needed to prepare the company for internationalisation

1. b) the analysis of marketing skills, to understand e.g. if the company is able to:

• know the characteristics and needs of potential customers and the criteria they use to select products
• collect information on the soundness and solvency of customers and on their main competitors
• define precise sales targets and evaluate the results achieved
• customize supply according to customer needs
• produce information and/or illustrative material in one or more languages

1. c) the analysis of financial resources, to understand, e.g. if the company is able to:

• estimate the resources required to implemeent the internationalization project
• have or obtain these resources from credit institutions or other lenders

1. d) the analysis of the technical resources, to understand, e.g. if the company is able to:

• make products suitable for the needs of foreign customers or to current standards in export countries
• customize products and services
• ensure after-sales services

For further information on types of beneficiaries, participation methods and terms and admission to testing, please see the different language versions available in the specific sections of the website.