Launching a brand internationally usually means a company will have to prepare to expand into other markets. That doesn’t just mean starting to distribute its solutions to other parts of the world. What it means is creating marketing materials that will cater to the needs of customers with cultural differences. To do that, companies have to develop new strategies based on the consumer characteristics of other, foreign markets. The way companies create their marketing campaigns and materials should convey the messages in a way that the new markets and audiences will be able to relate to and understand. Various cultural differences all over the globe have made this process a bit complicated. So companies have to be mindful when creating marketing campaigns for international markets.
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Prices
Pricing is one of the things companies will have to keep in mind when expanding in international markets. It’s not just the cultural differences that matter when expanding. The purchasing power of the new market that a company is expanding into is important too. Some cultures have higher and some have lower purchasing power. That means companies will have to price their solutions accordingly (and may not be able to offer all its products in all markets as the pricing model that would work with the audience may not net out a profit based on manufacturing and shipping costs). Companies also have to research and learn more about the purchasing habits of the new market they’re expanding into. In some cultures, it’s common for consumers to have a high purchasing power, but hold off on spending their money. Companies will have to create marketing campaigns that will motivate these types of consumers to buy. Then, they can use their high purchasing power in a way they haven’t generally done before.
Language
Another important international marketing strategy factor is the language. Language tends to be one of the biggest factors of cultural differences in marketing efforts. Companies will have to get a better understanding of the local language, nuances and style of communicating before expanding abroad. Many brands have made profound mistakes in the past by not correctly translating the content and solutions they’re trying to promote to a new market. That’s resulted in a negative impact on their bottom lines and reputations. One of the most popular international marketing mistakes came from General Motors. The brand started marketing a line of cars named Nova, which translated to “It Won’t Go” in Spanish.
Purchasing Habits
A lot of companies already know that the purchasing habits of consumers are influenced by a number of factors. Those factors include their culture and various popular personalities in a culture. In some cases, even general mindset and habits impact purchasing habits. Before a company starts expanding and marketing itself to a new location abroad, the business needs to figure out whether the consumers in that market make collective or individualistic purchasing decisions. This can help companies create a marketing strategy that will appeal to the consumers in the new market. It can help the business better understand the various factors that influence their purchasing decisions.
