The internet has altered how we approach new markets and has eliminated obstacles to attracting customers and clients from other countries. Here, we go over how to create an effective global digital strategy with the intention of expanding your company’s reach.
Getting started with international marketing
Tools
Google Trends, Keyword Planner, Facebook advertising data, and Analytics are some essential testing tools for determining demand, rivalry, and trends for a specific good or service in various geographic areas.
SEMrush, BuzzSumo, or Ahrefs are some tools you can utilise to gain insight into regional interests.
You can consult regional business organisations and associations as well as advisory organisations from your own nation for more in-depth insights into regional customs and preferences.
And my secret ingredient
My secret sauce contains the following tools and strategies:
Traders’ unions
Commercial entities
International business networks Embassies
In my experience, investing in these typically free business networks yields even greater returns. To engage these networks, which might be helpful, you do need to be prepared to put in some effort.
Remember to take note of the obvious leads. Find coworkers in your firm who may be from or have knowledge of the markets you are targeting (and ‘interview’ them). Consult your sales staff. They might be aware of clients who are already active in your new target market. And, as long as you’re not there to “eat their lunch,” I have yet to meet a businessperson who doesn’t enjoy sharing their experiences.
acquiring your first client in a new area
According to my observations, one of the most typical strategies used by companies to penetrate new markets is through current clients. In order to learn whether any of your clients have offices or operations in the new territory you are targeting, ask your sales staff or other contacts. In reality, this is frequently the simplest approach to grow with the least amount of work and will give you a local early-case study to reassure other potential new consumers in that region.
The importance of language
Avoid falling by the “appearance of similarity.” Even sharing a shared language does not ensure that interpretations would be identical. Be aware of the subtleties of regional idioms and dialects, as well as the cultural significance of various expressions and terms.
Also, don’t forget to translate and localise your website, preferably through a qualified company that is aware of the pertinent variations and design consequences. For instance, writing on websites in German is often 40% longer than text on websites in English. You should also consider regional currencies and payment customs, such as the widespread usage of mobile payments in India and other nations. Additionally, you must adhere to regional laws governing data collecting and financial duties.
9 Tips for Your International Digital Marketing
1. Words
Even when we all speak the same language, keep in mind that we do not. For instance, people buy tomato sauce in “cans” in Canada and the United States but “tins” in Britain and Ireland.
2. Color
Simple decisions can have a profound effect. In Japan, the colours of mourning are black and white. If you want to sell to the Japanese market, don’t put them on your packaging. Purple is the colour of death in Hispanic nations.
3. Aesthetics
Design standards and user experience problems might vary from one country to the next. For instance, a Chinese e-commerce site may appear crowded and disorganised to an American eye due to cultural differences in information consumption, linguistic character traits, and other aspects. A market elsewhere in the world that wants more information, not less, can find the usage of white space off-putting in a northern European seller’s website.
4. Customs and taboos
McDonald’s had to think about how to sell its renowned hamburgers in a country where 80 percent of the populace is prohibited from eating beef when it built restaurants there. It came up with the idea of using a non-beef meat alternative.
5. Values
Understanding the nuances of regional values can provide up commercial opportunities. So, for instance, cleanliness might be connected to looking well and making a good impression in America, while it might be connected to personal health in other nations. These kinds of subtle but significant cultural distinctions can mean the difference between breaking into a market and leaving empty-handed.
6. Time
Give local time differences some thought. When your targets are in bed, avoid sending marketing emails to them. Recognize how people use their time and what they do at various periods of the day or year. This may significantly affect a marketing campaign’s messaging.
7. Business norms
Learn how decisions are made, then craft your messaging with precision. The decision-makers are who? At important touchpoints in marketing initiatives, use this to communicate and inform decisions.
You should think about offering information that people may share with their coworkers who are involved in the decision-making process in China, where group decisions are the norm.
Remember that it’s crucial to respect these professional conventions. For instance, senior or older staff members expect respect in various Asian nations. In one culture, what could come across as self-assured assertiveness might be perceived as impolite, disrespectful behaviour in another. Consequently, even if you disagree with them, respect these commercial customs in other nations.
8. Religion
Don’t get ethnic or religious references wrong. This can be disastrous so it can be safest to just avoid any.
In 2018, the German confectioner Katjes launched an advertising campaign for a new line of vegan fruit gums. It unleashed a social media storm in Germany. The advertisement showed Turkish/Serb model Vicidca Petrovic wearing a hijab, happily chewing on a fruit gum. Although the campaign was probably well intentioned, some right-wing politicians called for the brand to be banned. Others protested the use of a Muslim custom while promoting gum in the ad and labelled this act “racial capitalism”.
9. Social structures
You must comprehend the societal structure of the target market in order to promote to the appropriate audience. Investigate the purchasing groups’ strength and education levels.
Changes in a society’s or a nation’s social structures can significantly affect your marketing strategy’s socioeconomic class-based focus and messaging. For instance, in the United States, the wealthier cohort now owns 50% of the country’s total income, up from 29% in 1970. In the past, 62 percent of the nation’s revenue was made by the middle class (as opposed to the richest 1%). Since then, that percentage has decreased to 42%.
arketers who shift their attention to the upper middle and high income US earners will need to take this into account when determining the priorities of their target audience. This group bases their expectations on obtaining the best of both worlds, i.e., premium goods and services that are provided at competitive costs. Brands must demonstrate their value to this group of consumers by providing extra-careful services both online and offline.