Johannesburg — AN IMPENDING Barclays-Absa deal and recent rumours of Standard Chartered's interest in FirstRand have brought home to SA the reality that the globalisation of the marketplace is one of the most important challenges facing companies today.

This goes well beyond the banking sector the rules of competition are changing in sectors as diverse as industrial goods, telecom s, fast-moving consumer goods and consumer durables.

Competition that was traditionally conducted in isolation within countries is now conducted across borders and continents.

South African companies must realise the urgency with which they need to respond to this new competitive environment. They need to start looking very closely at how best to position their brands.

Even if companies decide not to be involved in a global or panregional marketplace, they still face increased competition at home because foreign competitors are reaping the benefits of global strategies.

Companies that monitor and respond to the growing internationalisation of business cope better with the new challenges of international competition and outperform those do not respond adequately to change. In the manufacturing and services sectors, for example, companies in China and India are recognising the opportunities in the global marketplace and capitalising on them. Both countries are becoming global hubs in these sectors.

But as companies such as SABMiller, Kapula Candle and Altron have shown, even South African companies that lack global distribution can fashion winning global marketing strategies for the new business environment.

What is required is the ability to make intelligent choices on when to think globally and when to think locally and how to develop integrated strategies that market brands in the best way in both environments.

But what means are available to aid South African companies in making the right choices?

New research shows that South African companies can be more competitive by improving in one key area: market orientation. Being orient ed to the market is about more than just customer orientation. It is an organisational culture and set of behaviours that help the company develop insight about international markets, craft strategic intent and manage effective interaction strategies.

A recent study of the market orientation, information use and performance of more than 200 local exporters across a wide range of industries showed there were many opportunities to improve and integrate information acquisition, strategy development and implementation when developing marketing strategies.

The results of the research, due to be published next month, indicate small investments in market orientation in particular yield increases in both sales and profits.

Whatever business leaders decide is the best route for their brands, both venturing abroad and staying at home have winning strategies in the global marketplace.

Companies operating beyond SA's borders may already have a unique advantage. Given that a dominant feature of the international marketplace is cultural diversity, South African companies have an advantage in their experience of doing business in a diverse society.

For locally bound companies, despite the rise of global culture, local culture remains a central influence on consumer behaviour and individual identity the "local is lekker" adage is a powerful purchasing factor for many South Africans.

Research shows local companies that firmly position and communicate their brands as icons of the local culture can generate higher brand value. This is a counterstrategy that remains underused.

Steenkamp is professor of international marketing research at Tilburg University, the Netherlands, and a visiting lecturer at UCT's Graduate School of Business, where Burgess is professor of marketing .