Developing a global marketing plan is a challenging task that requires careful consideration of various critical factors pertaining to marketing to diverse cultures. Several major corporations have experienced humiliating mistakes while attempting to penetrate new markets.
Let’s explore what international marketing entails and the essential components for developing a successful international marketing plan.
International Marketing
The strategies and approaches utilized for promoting goods and services across various nations constitute international marketing, which encompasses import/export, franchising, licensing, and online commerce.
Marketers encounter distinctive obstacles in each country due to factors such as culture, language, and laws. These difficulties may also manifest at the regional and local levels, necessitating a more refined approach.
Here are some instances (not a complete inventory) where a brand could opt to conduct international operations and initiate an international marketing drive:
- Expand brand awareness
- Economic growth in a country
- New commerce laws
- Untapped or underserved markets
- International partnerships/joint ventures
It is possible to carry out a worldwide endeavor with ease or with great difficulty. An instance is when a business from the United States expands into either Canada or the European Union. The latter involves greater discrepancies in culture and language, as well as additional considerations regarding time and distance, economic structures, and regulations.
Fundamentals of International Marketing to Take Your Business Across Borders
Thorough research is crucial for any new project or campaign, especially when entering a vastly different market than your own. It is important to gain a comprehensive understanding of your international target audience.
1. Understand the language and culture
To effectively promote products in foreign countries, it is essential to comprehend their language and culture. If you lack such understanding, teaming up with a local partner or representative would be advantageous for gaining insight into the workings of the market. It is possible that you already have experience with the culture, which prompted you to explore the market.
Within its limited geographical expanse, Europe is home to diverse cultures and languages, making it an excellent illustration of this phenomenon.
The diversity among people’s languages, ways of life, daily schedules, and buying habits can differ greatly between nations and even within the same country. Additionally, humor may not be universally appreciated, and marketing strategies that employ humor could fail or even cause offense. Consequently, possessing extensive knowledge of the unique characteristics of each market can confer a significant advantage.
By producing localized flavors, such as Magic Masala in India, Lay’s has demonstrated expertise in regional marketing.
Entering countries that are similar to your own is a method for reducing the obstacles to international expansion.
Market research comes in handy when dealing with countries that may share a common language such as the UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland, etc., those that are geographically closer, or those with comparable demographics. However, despite these similarities, there are various linguistic and cultural disparities between nations like the US and UK.
2. Do thorough market research
Conducting market research is crucial for every marketing strategy, particularly for global expansion. It is important to consider various factors while evaluating a foreign market, including:
- Cultural differences: It’s vital that you understand customs, traditions, religious beliefs and how they fit or clash with what your brand represents.
- Economics: Is there an ongoing recession or a surge in investment and growth? Economic timing is an important factor when deciding on international marketing projects.
- Legalities and regulations: Laws vary from country to country. This is especially true when it comes to alcohol or other substances, vehicle modifications, etc. Certain food preservatives that are legal in the US are illegal in Europe, for example.
- Politics: Is your target region more conservative or more liberal? Is there political stability? These factors play a huge role in whether it’s worth your investment, especially if stability is an issue.
- Costs: How expensive is it to do business in the country? Shipping, licenses, and translation services can quickly add to your overhead. Some nations have prohibitive taxes and fees on businesses, which might be pitfalls.
- Demographics: Some countries have much older or younger populations than others. 26% of people in Japan, for example, are over the age of 65. Buying power is also an important consideration. Can enough people even afford your products or services?
- Competitors: Are any of your competitors already in the market you are considering entering? If so, what will set you apart from them and cause people to choose your brand?
3. Consider the cost and resources involved with expansion
When it comes to entering foreign markets, traditional thinking suggests that it can be an expensive endeavor. Take into account the following expenses:
- Shipping
- Legal (think: registering your business in a new location, licensing, contracts, etc.)
- Foreign taxes
- Translation services (for international social media accounts, multilingual SEO, and so on)
- New employees (either digital or in-person, including consultants and contractors)
- Travel
Corporate giants and household names are more likely to pursue global expansion because of the financial resources required. The larger the budget, the more manageable it is to expand to new markets.
The feasibility of providing international shipping or targeting particular regions without having to establish microsites depends on the industry you operate in. For instance, smaller retail businesses can still offer these services, whereas ecommerce behemoths like H&M are widely available across the globe.
Certain companies face less difficulty when venturing into global markets compared to others, particularly those that do not have to deal with physical goods. An excellent illustration of this would be SaaS marketing. Our regular homepage shares comparable marketing materials and communication with Sprout Social’s Spanish website.
4. Make your market research count
It cannot be stressed enough how crucial market research is for ventures into foreign markets. In fact, research indicated that a considerable number of western enterprises were unable to penetrate the Chinese market owing to inadequate strategic planning and impatience.
Thorough investigation is crucial. To explore a new market, your brand should consider these five factors during research:
- Economy: Are they on the brink of recession? Or have they been experiencing a recent boom?
- Demographics: Do their consumers mirror your own?
- Culture: Is the country progressive, conservative, or somewhere in-between? Are there any cultural differences that conflict with your brand’s values?
- Regulations: Are there any legal barriers to consider for doing business?
- Costs: Will it be cheaper or more expensive to do business abroad? Would the costs be similar to doing business at home?
As an additional remark, it is important to perform a competitive analysis prior to any potential expansion.
Bear in mind that the fact your organization’s direct competitors are not participating in a specific market does not indicate that the market is not suitable for your organization.
5. Global SEO with Hreflangs and Canonical Links
Although locally targeted social advertisements can be an effective method of international promotion, enhancing your global SEO provides a superior and more sustainable strategy. If you’ve already established a market for your product abroad, prioritizing investment in your SEO would be highly advisable.
When engaging in international marketing, it is advisable to have multiple website language options, prioritize search engine optimization, and ensure a seamless user experience by incorporating hreflang tags in your website coding. It is recommended to use canonical links to alert Google that the diverse site versions are not duplicates. The utilization of hreflang tags directs users to the proper website version depending on their location, resulting in decreased bounce rates.
6. Location specific social accounts
Similar to having various language versions of your website, it is recommended that you also contemplate creating multilingual versions of your social media profiles. Providing content in people’s native language helps marketers establish strong connections with them. However, for smaller companies, managing international social accounts might seem excessive.
If you’re inundated with numerous requests and communications in a language that is not your own, it might be advisable to create a social media account dedicated to that specific language or region.
Social media for international marketing
Given the nearly 4 billion social media users worldwide, social media becomes a viable starting point for an international marketing approach. In light of this, let us examine some essential factors to bear in mind when utilizing social media for international marketing.
Determine if you need multiple brand accounts
Although it may be alluring to establish multiple accounts for every foreign market you aim to approach, handling them all necessitates a substantial amount of time. Therefore, this approach is commonly adopted by larger brands, such as Levi’s.
It is advisable to have one universal account and consider creating additional social profiles when necessary. For instance, if your primary account is inundated with inquiries or feedback from overseas, that may be an indication to establish an accompanying online presence.
Discover opportunities to cross-post and diversify your content strategy
Expanding into international markets presents fresh opportunities for creativity with your social media content strategy. One approach could involve tailoring your marketing messages and materials based on the location of your target audience.
Netflix and other brands maintain dedicated Twitter accounts specifically catering to various geographical regions, which may differ significantly from their primary account.
However, there could be situations where you prefer to share your social media content across platforms and locations. By utilizing Sprout Social’s scheduling capabilities, you can effectively manage your social media assets and plan posts accordingly to avoid overexerting yourself.
Craft campaigns that speak your audience’s language
Be mindful of your language and tone while communicating with customers from other countries. Employing inappropriate vocabulary or using Americanized spellings might alienate a global audience. For instance, while Americans refer to it as a “koozie,” Australians know it as a “stubby holder.” Despite serving the same purpose, the terminology used is entirely distinct.
Understand your audience’s culture and customs
It is important for businesses to have cultural sensitivity in order to avoid appearing out of touch and potentially losing opportunities to connect with their customer base. Understanding the culture of your target market is essential. Arsenal Football Club showcases cultural awareness by recognizing a global holiday.
If you don’t comprehend cultures and traditions, you might lose chances to engage your clients.
Double-check regulations
The marketing strategies that yield positive results in your homeland could face challenges in foreign markets as a result of differing legal regulations.
The GDPR of the EU demonstrates how marketers must adjust their practices depending on their location. The GDPR has caused global marketers to reconsider their methods of obtaining and utilizing customer data from the EU.
It can be expensive to violate these data privacy regulations, therefore, it is advisable to examine them if you intend to advertise to individuals within the EU.
Understand your costs
The cost-per-click and the overall expenses of advertising on Facebook differ significantly between countries, for instance, the United States, Indonesia, or India. If you are unsure about these charges, seek advice from individuals experienced in global campaigns, or conduct a trial campaign yourself.
Mind the timing of your posts
Also, remember to consider time zones! As our study on the most effective moments to post on social media demonstrates, engagement levels are significantly influenced by timing.
A tool such as Sprout can be very useful in this situation.
Sprout not only enables you to schedule your posts in advance to reach your ideal publishing schedule, but it can also automatically pinpoint the times that your audience is most active and publish at those times.
Benefits of international marketing
International marketing has a primary advantage of reaching potential customers across the globe. Through this, you can increase global recognition of your brand or focus on targeting particular countries for customer acquisition.
If you have clients from various nations, your income source is not solely reliant on the economic and purchasing patterns of your domestic market.
International marketing strategies to consider
Consider these international marketing strategies, but bear in mind that each business’s approach to entering a foreign market can vary drastically.
Exporting
If you’re capable of dealing with the expenses associated with marketing and shipping, exporting your product directly to overseas customers can offer you the opportunity to penetrate a new market without having to completely overhaul your business operations.
Franchising
This idea is akin to that of a fast food or retail franchise, whereby another party pays to sell your product within their local area, following franchising rules that you have set. However, for international franchising, there is also the need to comply with the relevant laws of the foreign location and create appropriate agreements.
Licensing
Just like franchising, licensing permits a partner to trade your intellectual property or brand for a fee.
Piggybacking
By piggybacking, you authorize a bigger business that doesn’t compete with yours to include your product in their stock. This is similar to channel sales, but it demands a great deal of faith in how your products will be advertised in another market.
Joint ventures
When two companies collaborate to develop a distinctive product or service, it is referred to as a joint venture. Despite being the most risky choice, it also has significant reward potential, which is split among the involved parties.
Notes on the margin
Thanks to social media ads, Google ads, online shopping, and a plethora of other tools, international marketing has grown progressively more manageable. Nonetheless, thorough research on cultural distinctions and significant investment in regional marketing are necessary steps to undertake.
Although certain brands have achieved triumph through worldwide marketing standardization, it is strongly advised to opt for marketing strategies that are more specifically aimed at local audiences. Look to the aforementioned models as a source of motivation and consider tailoring your message to your audience’s native language.
