Addressing the participants, professor Abhidanandan Jain of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, stressed on the need to relate various international marketing experiences to marketing concepts.

Stating that present trends revealed a slight change from the four basic elements of marketing -- product, price, promotion and place -- Jain said, ``Marketing is not a solitary science anymore. While on the one hand it is important to define the product and satisfy the target customer, on the other hand it is essential to work in conjunction with other departments of the company such as production, finance and the manufaturers''.

Jain also emphasised on the gratification of the ``ultimate customer'' saying, ``In the process of selling a product, one has to route the same through various middlemen to reach the final customer. But even as we channelise our product, it is essential to extrapolate its uses to the last customer. We have to be able to judge how much value the product gives to that ultimate customer''. He added that branding of either the product or the company itself and product standardisation to fit the global market requirements was vital to international marketing.

Exporter Bhagyesh Soneji of Elegant India tipped prospective exporters on evaluating their suppliers and weighing the production capacity of the product they chose to export. Stating that though the Internet played an important role in international marketing today, Soneji said that it was equally essential for exporters to respond at the shortest notice to make optimum use of the technology. She expressed apprehension at the efficacy of the Trade Promotion Council in assisting budding exporters saying that the Council was very slow in its response to queries put forth by most exporters save the leading companies.

Another leading exporter Ajay Walia of Ashima Exports stressed that to be able to export world class products, it was essential that companies be open to importing foreign technology.

Naresh Sanghvi of Rajratna Metal Industries focussed on the product adoption criteria saying that as each country often had different specifications for the same item, it was requisite for exporters to estimate their ability to produce the article prior to finalisation of any order. He also stressed on active participation in trade fairs, despatch of samples to prospective buyers, sales promotion through journals and employing of interpreters while conducting transactions with foreign companies.