The State of Marketing in Leading MNC’s and their Local Competitors in Pakistan : Findings of a Baseline Survey

The objective of this research is to assess the state of marketing practices in leading multi-national companies operating in the country and their local competitors. This paper presents the findings of the first phase of the study. These findings are based on personal interviews with forty-three MNCs. The findings reveal that companies varied significantly with regard to marketing practices and processes --- both in terms of engaging in different practices and processes but also in terms of the level of marketing sophistication. This difference was found in companies within as well as across industry sectors. While such differences were expected, the extent of such differences was deemed to be significant, given that the participating firms were leading MNCs. Based on the framework for documenting marketing practices and processes, profiles were developed for the best company in each of the chosen industry sectors. The basis for identifying the top companies was the breadth and depth of marketing practices and processes reported. Five profiles of top companies (one from each sector) were developed. These profiles show the level of marketing sophistication and could represent a benchmark for other companies.