Moldova still fails to reach competitiveness on international market. IPN Economic Commentary

The current misbalances and crises in the Moldovan economy have pointed out serious flaws in the marketing policies both of companies and of the whole economy. The Republic of Moldova, although independent for 15 years, has not yet become a competitive product, that could be sold on the international market. There has been little discussion on state level about the presentation of the Republic of Moldova as an economic product. Only in the last period there have been tries to make a brand for Moldova that could be promoted on the foreign market, but there are no specific results for now. As result, Moldova, as a tourism product, is not competitive; as a wine product, it is not known, a fact demonstrated after the Russian market closed; has serious flaws as an agricultural product; and is not yet fully developed as in IT product. Considering these, it is not surprising that “Made in Moldova” is unknown on the international market, and these products are neglected in the favor of other “Made in” – out of mistrust, because of the bad image that our country has or simply out of ignorance. The conclusion is that the high level quality marketing is not yet implemented in the Republic of Moldova, and the Government, together with private factors from the economy, must be aware of the fact that in order to integrate the national economy into the international economy, it is required to go through the four main stages of marketing: Product, Market, Price, Promotion. What product do we offer, at what price and to whom – in other words, how do we lure the consumer?! If we find answer to these questions, our success is assured. For now, we are still looking for the right solution. The trade deficit is increasing, the decrease of Moldovan products involved in international trades and the low number of market on which Moldovan companies operate is an argument to this. This situation is the direct result of the low financial and intellectual abilities of local companies to promote a quality and permanent marketing on the external markets, but also the passivity of the government in policies and stimulatory actions in this direction. In this situation authorities should have act as an intermediary that should unify local companies to conduct a common marketing on the international arena, and should also provide financial and intellectual support that the private companies are not able to cover by themselves. If the state will prove that it really supports the promotion of Moldovan products on the international market, the private agents will be more active and inventive in the fight for the foreign markets. Especially as several Moldovan enterprises are financially fit, have adopted principles of modern management, and in the internal market already apply modern marketing. This fact is also demonstrated by the fact that most of the enterprises are not ignorant when it comes to commercials: the advertising industry is increasing 10-15% per year; promotion of the product or service by reducing price are also used – sales are not a new thing on the market; consumers can take part in cheerful degustations; festivals and lotteries with prizes are not rare anymore etc., etc. In other words, at the level of the internal market there are already changes concerning the importance of marketing for a brand. It is time to make ourselves heard and present on the external market, especially that the competition is rapidly increasing both on the internal and international markets. The general conclusion is that if the business organizations will see an improvement and support from authorities to find its share of the international market, it will increase current efforts.