International Marketing: tips for beginners

International Marketing or Global Marketing is the application of digital marketing strategies in more than one nation. Every company, in fact, might have thought of entering the international market at some point because they are attracted by the following benefits:

• High-profit opportunities
• Elongated life of the product
• Increased economies of scale
• Huge market share

If this topic makes you curious and you want to learn more, keep reading this article! We will focus on what is International Marketing and the steps to set up a strategy.

Introduction on International Marketing

International Marketing ensures you have an easy and immediate access to a global market and offers you the stimulating opportunity to expand your business abroad. But before you start selling your products or services across borders, it is crucial to decide in which countries it makes sense to do so. What are the markets with the greatest demand for what your business offers? Are there any legal or logistical difficulties you should be aware of?

There are many tools that can help you make a preliminary assessment of the situation. You could start by looking at the Google Market Finder. This is a free tool that allows you to perform a quick traffic analysis search on certain keywords that are relevant to your business. For more information click on this link.

Once you have identified the countries from which a lot of searches for your products are coming from, you can use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner or Bing’s Keyword Tool to find out how much competition there is for the ads associated with your search results. This will help you know if you are about to enter a market with little competition or already overcrowded (read ocean).

Another useful tool is web analytics. Whether you are using Google Analytics or any other analytics tool, you can check if there are people in other countries who are already interested in your business.

Of course, there are other things to consider before deciding your International Marketing strategy. For example, some countries may have more legal, regulatory and tax constraints than others. Doing a little research on these issues will save you any nasty surprises. Fortunately, many governments have websites where you can find such information.

Once you have finished doing all of your research and have your ideas clear on which countries you want to focus on, you can finally start setting up your strategy. 

How International Marketing works

An International Marketing strategy involves different steps that are fundamental to obtain some results without incurring in any kind of issue. The main steps are:

• Translation and localization
• Advertising abroad
• Assistance systems
• Help foreign customers purchase your products
• International shipping

If you want to learn more click on this link.

You will find useful guidelines on the following topics:

• Discover your opportunities abroad
• Connect with the locals
• Set up your account for optimization across markets
• Use automation and scale your coverage

Translation and localization

If you want to sell your products or services to foreign customers, you need to make sure that they understand what you write on your website and, on the other hand, you need to put yourself in contact with their culture. For this reason, translation and localization are more important than ever in this phase of your International Marketing strategy.

First, do you know the difference between translation and localization? 

Translation is all about transposing your content from one language to another, but simply translating content may not be enough. 

Words and phrases that work on the market of your country, may not suit the audience of a different country. Therefore, localization is the process of making you “speak your customers’ language”. For example, you need to make sure that your translated website uses the currency, units of measure, and address conventions for the area in question. You may also need to change your website navigation and specific cultural references, to make your potential customers perceive you as “local”.

Advertising abroad

Customers in the new market may find you through organic search results or through word of mouth but investing in advertising can help you get to know yourself faster. Putting ads on search results is a great way to reach people who are already looking for products like yours. If you are already doing this in your country, you will simply need to translate and adapt your keywords and ads. At this point, make sure your ads lead people to a landing page that is written in the local language.

Assistance systems

Taking care of technical skills, supply management and local regulations right away will help reduce risks and identify potential issues in your International Marketing strategy before it is too late.

First, you should check the performance of your website in the countries where you want to sell your products. Some countries may have slower internet connections, so make sure pages load and your website performs well in the areas you want to sell to.

Then, check your supply chain and make sure you can deliver the products even to the most distant areas.

Don’t forget to review all taxes and laws pertaining to businesses in these markets. You can generally obtain this type of information by contacting the dedicated public bodies of the country you want to export to, which often also offer a consultancy service on all aspects to be considered regarding the local market.

Help foreign customers purchase your products

Different countries may have different preferred payment methods, so you need to gather information on each of your target markets. Online payment services, like PayPal and Worldpay, could be an easy solution, as they work almost all over the world. Some customers may not have credit cards and therefore prefer these types of services.

In addition, it would be better to use an e-commerce system that takes into account the different currencies and taxes, thus allowing the customer to pay without having to worry about exchange rates and additional charges. If the customers won’t have to make these calculations, they will be more likely to shop.

International shipping

If you have ever made an online purchase, you already know how the delivery of a product works. From the customer’s point of view, you just need to visit a website, choose a product, give the merchant payment and shipping information, and wait for the order to arrive. In case of problems, you can contact the company for assistance.

As a business, you will follow a similar process to expand into international markets, but you will have to deal with customs, currency exchange, handling of returns, etc. Therefore, during this step of your International Marketing strategy, you need to:

• Control your supply and warehouse management processes
• Choose a reliable international shipping company as your partner
• Provide your customers with clear instructions about the terms and conditions for refunds and exchanges

Conclusions on international marketing

Do you have your ideas clearer now on the topic of International Marketing? We provided you with the necessary information to help you start setting up your strategy. 

For more information read also the related white paper that you find on this page Digital Marketing for Startups