What is International Marketing?

In a world where technological changes have made it more practical for firms to look outward in their business aims, international marketing - when a business operates under the guiding marketing principles not only at home, but in additional countries - has become more and more common. In the simplest terms, international marketing occurs when a business operates internationally as well as domestically, extending their reach beyond their core market. This can involve anything from merely marketing their product overseas to a more globalized approach where separate facilities and advertising strategies are established internationally.

Reasons to Start an International Marketing Campaign

Companies may pursue international marketing strategies for different reasons, but primarily, most hope to make their brand more recognizable to a larger audience, intending for the resulting revenue to cancel out any expenses associated with moving beyond the domestic level. By establishing themselves in many countries, rather than just one, they can also avoid the worst blows of a purely national economic depression by relying on their international presence.

This international presence is a boon in and of itself, as it may reflect well on the country at home as well. With an increasingly inter-connected world, this is impressive, and may add a certain amount of prestige to a company’s profile when target consumers see that the brand they have trusted for so many years at home has also become a standard overseas.

How to Implement International Marketing

Once a business has made the decision to market internationally, the question becomes, “How?” Indeed, there are several different approaches. The most basic is to take the same advertising, price points, and attitudes that surround a product domestically and attempt to overlay them onto the international market. While this may work occasionally, it is not the wisest course of action. After all, working in different markets means you are working in a different economy, where the consumers have, perhaps, different attitudes and a different cultural background to the one a firm has become used to.

Research

Though a company may get lucky, one size generally does not fit all. For those that recognize this, the first step in entering an international market is oftentimes extensive market research - determining what price the new market will bear, the tastes of consumers in the new market, etc. From this information, a new marketing strategy can be crafted, with the best of the domestic strategy at its core, but tailored to suit the needs and desires of the new consumers.

Implementation

Companies can then choose how to carry out this new strategy, directly or indirectly. In accessible, well-known markets, it may be possible for a company to implement their new marketing plans themselves. When a market is less known, however, it may be helpful to utilize the services of a local distributor who can navigate the legal and financial waters.

Entering the market is but the first step. Once a company is there, it is up to them to make it work by continually monitoring the consumer response, taking steps to meet their needs, and making their satisfaction as high a priority as they would that of consumers in their own country. By following these guidelines, businesses stand a real chance of reaping the full benefits of international marketing.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 at 9:34 am and is filed under Branding, Business, Marketing Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.