International Marketing Could Make Your Brand Global But Only When Done Right

International marketing is when you reach out to the audiences of the world by using most commonly the internet as a medium. This is a huge step for any company in the world and needs to be taken with proper care because lack of planning could result in huge losses. Not to mention, a onetime failure for the company could keep the owners intimidated for the rest their lives. We have internet to help us with almost everything today and with efficient use of the internet and statistics collected through websites and tech-tools, a company could become international in no time.

Domino’s

Yes, you already know this on too. The company is selling pizzas in more than 80 countries around the world. It could have failed easily in other countries regardless of how big it was in the US. Of course, there are examples of some huge companies in the US that have not set foot in other countries to this day. However, Domino’s used internet as it deserved to be used and also set foot on new grounds with just the right strategies. Making one million pizzas on a daily basis is one achievement to brag about. Not to mention, Domino’s international sales are now making up more than half of its revenue.

Oyo Rooms

Oyo Rooms is a network of hotels – currently India’s largest. Oyo Rooms Offers an affordable experience to people who have to stay out of their homes for business related purposes or some other aims. When we look at the fact that the company currently has more than 2500 properties across the huge land of India it seems that it must have been around for quite some time. That’s not the case. The company has gained popularity along with trust of millions of customers in just 2 years. How did they do it? It was merely their marketing strategies and strong planning.

Both the companies above were mentioned specifically because their international marketing strategy has been the most successful. However, there are things that make a company’s international strategy a success or complete failure. It would be wrong to say that marketing internationally is the same as marketing in your own country. There are hundreds of things that need proper attention for an international marketing strategy to succeed. The more you research the more you will know about the aspects of international marketing.

  • Know The Cultures First

The first thing that needs understanding is cultures. You have seen your people, experienced your culture and you probably know a lot about it. However, you don’t know much about the cultures in other regions of the world. Most importantly, you would not know about those cultures unless you understand your culture. You have to know that your culture does not remain the same from region to region, gender to gender, age to age etc. While Teenagers love to use Facebook, it is not that popular in people above the age of 50.

What are those things that you can easily refer to in your ads? What things can offend the new audience? What are the meanings of different colors in different regions? Some words are really common in a particular region, but are they common across all age groups or not? It is best that you send your representatives to the new markets and let them experience those regions, the people and culture of those regions to give you the right feedback.

  • Laws Vary From Region To Region

Laws are different for different regions and we all know it already. Just look at the rating done for movie watchers. While some sort of movie might not be allowed for watching for a kid of 13, it might be allowed even for 10-year old children from another country. Gambling is not legal in many states of the US but there are countries that take it as a form of sports and so there is no problem with gambling there. In a similar fashion, the way you advertise your products might also have to change when you are advertising in other regions. You can call your stuff “the best” stuff in the US easily but that’s not the case in many European countries.

  • Creating A Sound Online Marketing Strategy

There is nothing more important and effective in marketing to international audience than the use of internet and online marketing. The way you market your business on the internet matters a lot in your international marketing campaigns. First, you have to make sure to make available different languages on your website. Secondly, you have to provide currency conversion on your website for different regions. You also have to work with local SEO companies of the region in order to perform local search engine optimization.

There are certain terms that will be specific to only a specific region. Only the local SEO companies would know those terms. There might be certain events that are only characteristics of a particular region. You have to use those events to market your products but local SEO companies will have the best knowledge about them. Furthermore, go beyond translation and make a localized copy of your web content and product information available for your international audience.

  • Use Social Media Accordingly

No online marketing strategy is complete without social media marketing elements. You have to use online social media to your advantage but you can’t use it the way you have been using it for your local audience. While Facebook remains the top social networking website around the world, there are many other social networking platforms that are popular in different regions on varying levels. LinkedIn might have a great exposure in the US but there are countries you will not gain anything from LinkedIn pages. Some regions even have their own favorite social networking platforms that must be used in order to reach out to your audience. Even the videos you share on YouTube should be in different languages so people from different regions can have an effect of those videos.

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