Gone are the times, when only big multinational companies would need a global marketing strategy to expand their businesses. Now the business world is becoming fairer and more favorable towards small businesses as well. Regardless of the business size and product type, any company can try its luck in the international market. Just like Netflix uses the internet to bypass traditional showbiz content creators, and reached $272.01 billion net worth, you can also make your business stand out.
Combining your local expertise with global trends, you can develop an effective global marketing strategy. Based on your business’ specifications and growth goals, you can build a suitable marketing strategy. When we think about global marketing, the first thing that might come to our mind is localization.
Localization is the main aspect of your global marketing because what works for your local markets, does not necessarily work internationally. People have different cultures, beliefs, and social norms that shape their personalities and interests. While developing your marketing strategy for international markets, you have to be aware of your customer psychologies and buying behaviors.
Content
- What Is a Global Marketing Strategy?
- Global Localization Strategy
- Global Standardization Strategies
- Things To Consider for Creating a Global Marketing Strategy
- Business Goals Localization
- In-Detail Market Research
- Localization of Distribution Channels
- Pricing Localization
- Localization of Brand Messaging
- Summing Up!
What is a Global Marketing Strategy?
Your business’s global marketing strategy is an actionable plan, which determines your marketing efforts in international marketing, and how you would raise brand awareness and create the demand for your product. There are a lot of factors you have to consider while making your international marketing strategy. When it comes to marketing strategy, there are two types of global marketing strategies.
1. Global Localization Strategy
First is a global localization strategy that deals with the language, cultures, and social norms of a particular region. The purpose of this marketing is to make your brand resonate with local audiences and make it feel like it was made for that specific market. From packaging and pricing to language, you have to adjust everything, so your brand can easily blend in the market. Localization helps your brand meet local preferences and allows your targeted audiences to better connect with your brand.
2. Global Standardization Strategies
The second type of marketing is global standardization strategies that promote your brand in the global marketing place without altering the messaging, campaigns, and images of your brand. There is no localization, your brand is presented the same way all around the world. This sort of marketing can be used if your business doesn’t get affected by how the consumers are looking at your brand, or if you are already a big name, and adjusting your brand might not be your concern. For instance, Apple is an established name, and almost everyone around the world knows about it. They have never changed their packaging and product, you’ll find the same Apple products, no matter where you are buying them. Although they make minor changes to the advertisement, mostly there is no proper localization.
You have to be mindful of your business needs and long-term brand goals and choose the right global marketing strategy. In most cases, a global localization strategy is something that works for most businesses, unless you’re as great as Apple.
This article will focus on localization marketing strategy, so you will know how you can build your brand identity in the global market and what the best ways you can position your brand in foreign marketing among many other competitors.
Things To Consider for Creating Global Marketing Strategy
For a successful global business expansion, it is critical to effectively develop a robust marketing strategy, create brand awareness, and capture the attention of your target audiences. Below are some important factors you must consider while developing an actionable global marketing strategy for your business.
1. Business Goals Localization
You can’t expect the same from all markets. Based on your brand scope and demand in a particular market, you must localize your business goals accordingly. So, first thing first, you’ve to start your global strategy with “why”.
Ask yourself, why do you want to expand your business? Why would your target customers buy from you? And, why are all of these global marketing efforts worth it?
If you know the answer to these questions, you better know what you want and set more realistic goals. Your marketing strategy should be aligned with your business goals to get the desired results faster. Make sure you have experienced team members with good expertise in the localization field. Once you have set your goals and assembled a professional team, you can assign the resources, budget, time, and efforts required for the completion of the localization marketing strategy.
Make sure your goals are made specifically for every market. For instance, if you want to target the Asian market, you might need a different marketing strategy for every country, such as China, Korea, Pakistan, and Japan, based on their cultures and norms. It’s better to start with a few markets first and then gradually expand your businesses.
2. In-Detail Market Research
One thing that every marketer should strive to learn about is their audiences. The more you know about your target customers, the better you can develop your marketing plan. No matter if you want to go global, or launch your brand in the local market, marketing research is the lifeblood of your overall marketing strategy. When it comes to market search, there are a few questions that you must ask yourself.
- Are there any problems people are having, and how can your product resolve those issues?
- What are the interests and preferences of your customers, and why would they care about your product?
- What are the differences between global market cultures, such as region, beliefs, payment methods, etc.?
- Who are your competitors, or are you coming up with something new?
While doing your research, you must know the answer to the above questions. Because when it comes to global expansion, you don’t really need to change your actual product or services for every region. All you have to do is, adjust how you’ll represent the product to the target customers.
3. Localization of Distribution Channels
The Internet is becoming huge with around 5.3 billion people having access to it globally. It is a good time to start your business, even with limited resources. The business world in the age of globalization is full of opportunities. There are a number of ways you can reach out to your customers. From emails to ads to social media, you can access your targeted customers the way you want. Facebook, YouTube, and Baidu are some of the most used channels used by businesses to connect with their audiences. Again, it also depends on which region you want to target; for instance, Facebook is popular worldwide, but in some countries, people are more likely to use Instagram, such as in Indonesia and Brazil. Similarly, if you are targeting the US audience, the preference of social media channels would be completely different from when you are targeting Asian audiences.
Choosing the right channels would help you drive more market share and create a better user experience. You don’t have to do it for every potential distribution channel, just focusing on one or two would be enough for you.
4. Pricing Localization
It is an important factor to consider while developing your global marketing strategy. As we know people have different living standards and levels of income, you can’t use one pricing model for all markets. Depending on your supply chain and operational models, you have to determine the prices accordingly. There are some important things that you must consider while pricing your brand.
- Cost of doing business in a particular market.
- You must consider the prices of competitors (better not to get too high or low on prices compared to other companies).
- Determine the market competitiveness.
- The demand for your product or services in the market.
Based on the above-market factor, you can modify or completely change your pricing model for every market. McDonald’s is a good example in this context, as it adapts some of its product elements and keeps others the same. Based on the culture of different regions, the menus and prices of McDonald’s also vary. For instance, you would only find “McAloo Tikki” in their Indian menu. To keep the product affordable to developing countries, you might need to make a few modifications to the actual product to reduce the cost of making it.
5. Localization of Brand Messaging
Brand positioning is the most critical thing in your marketing strategy. When it comes to brand message localization, it goes beyond translations. It is not just about the language, you have to do complete product messaging localization, including the brand name, mission statement, marketing campaigns, and even the color choices. Doing this would make your brand look more native, and it also enhances your overall sales.
If you have developed a mobile app, and want to launch it in a new market, you have to translate content, make a few tweaks in the design, and adjust formatting. This way you can enhance your overall app downloads in that particular region.
Let’s take the example of Coca-Cola, it has different brand messaging for every new region. Not just they change the language, but the whole vibe of the message. They keep in mind the cultures, preferences, and social norms of the region. The company makes sure they don’t alter the persona of their brand, but branding can be varied.
Summing Up!
It is not easy to make your brand work in the international market. You have to put in a lot of hard work, and resources to make it work. Having an effective localization marketing strategy, if developed right, can make your global journey hassle-free and smooth. If you are planning your global marketing strategy for the first time, it might overwhelm you, but all of your efforts will be worth it. Make sure you have the right people by your side who understand business localization and have already gained good experience in the field.
The localization marketing strategy would make your brand not just get heard but also understood by your desired customers.
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