Build a Strong International Marketing Strategy with These Three Steps

The modern digital business environment allows more focus on international customers and stronger global growth.

Insider Intelligence Report Retail Ecommerce Sales Worldwide, 2019-2025 says that retail E-commerce sales will continue to grow in 2023. It will increase the share of total retail sales globally. Due to this, the sales are expected to reach $6.169 trillion, a 22.3% share of total retail sales.

This is where companies can consider international marketing. However, stepping into a global market is a challenging switch. But focusing on steps to build a strong international marketing strategy will help businesses to position their brands internationally.

Before getting into a new marketing strategy, here are some top priorities CMOs look towards.

Top Priorities for CMOs

These priorities will encourage marketers to build a strong international marketing strategy.

• Accelerating the move to new digital technologies, tools, and platforms
• Expanding into new markets and geographies
• Implementing automated systems or algorithms to improve customer personalization

Deloitte’s Global Marketing Trends 2023 report also finds the following priorities of CMOs in the coming years:

• 32% of more collaboration with other business functions to drive strategic initiatives
• 26% of CMOs plan to create new marketing products and services
• 20% of CMOs plan to activate enterprise-wide business strategy
• 25% of CMOs plan to deploy brands as an enterprise-wide strategy
• 47% of CMOs plan to move to new digital technologies

Three Steps to Create an International Marketing Strategy

An international marketing strategy boosts business expansion into new markets globally. So marketers need to create impactful strategies. Following the steps can help better in expanding the marketing base.

Step 1: Begin with Market Research

International marketing requires a deep understanding of how targeted customers consume information online. It will help marketers improve the mediums’ usability to provide a better customer experience.

Online market research will also help to identify every stage of a customer’s purchasing journey. A thorough market research is important to understand the target’s demographics and user behavior.

Additionally, proper keyword research will take one step ahead to research what international customers look for. Using surveys can also gain vital information about targets in a specific location. These aspects will lead to begin with international marketing.

Step 2: Define Target Audience

Defining target audiences is the next important step to build strategies. Knowing which audiences to target will be easy to create a precise strategy. This can also lead marketers to add personalized approaches in international marketing efforts to reach specific audience segments likely to purchase.

Step 3: Build a Strong Global Business Expansion Structure

After fulfill step one and step two, the result will determine how to proceed with marketing and approach the audience. This is the step where marketers need to build a strong work frame to deliver products and services into the market.

There are different methods of international expansion. These include exporting, joint ventures, licensing, and franchising. Here’s how marketers use these.

• Exporting

Exporting products or services directly to international customers allows marketers and businesses to enter a new market. This strategy can be an excellent way to approach international firms and customers without additional expenses.

• Franchising

Franchising is widespread in retail marketing. Similarly, this also works in B2B marketing. Businesses need a third party to market products and services in specific regions under the original brand name.

Companies can determine the franchising marketing rules. However, international franchising also requires creating agreements under laws in the foreign location.

• Licensing

Licensing allows a business partner to market a brand’s products or services in place of a fee. This requires a proper chain of marketing processes where these strategies will build a strong international marketing landscape.

Joint Ventures

Business partnerships and mergers can help in gaining a strong international market share. Although there are challenges, the revenue through mergers can be a big advantage. This should motivate companies to enter the international marketing zone. Thus, it has a great potential for ROI if marketing efforts are successful.

These strategies help build a strong global business expansion structure to enter the foreign marketing space. However, companies need to consider the cost and resources required. They include:

• Legal attributes that cover registration of business in new locations, licensing, and contracts
• Translation services for foreign social media accounts and multilingual SEO or local SEO
• International Taxes

Investments and budget planning are critical components for building an expansion structure. A deep focus can help to expand international marketing.

Quick Considerations for Effective International Marketing Strategy

• Create an Impressive Digital Marketing Roadmap

Build an impressive digital marketing plan by including when, where, and how marketers will proceed with global marketing. The roadmap will be set and depend on the customer and market research data collection from specific international locations.

To measure the efficacy of a digital marketing plan, establishing key benchmarks can help determine international marketing performance. Here are the key KPIs:

1. Bounce rate on website pages
2. Sales cycle timeline
3. Average revenue (Quarterly and yearly)
4. Market share/position
5. Churn rate
6. Traffic volume

• Budget Allocation

It will depend on how and what is the marketing plan for defined target businesses and customers. Marketers must plan the marketing budget according to the resources for global marketing strategies. They will need to test and optimize the strategies to align the budget.

Marketers must also ensure that sales teams are aligned with all marketing activities. After a marketing-qualified lead (MQL) becomes a sales-qualified lead (SQL), the sales team must prepare to sell.

• Form a Local Presence

Creating brand awareness in the international market is necessary. Marketers can promote or conduct online business events, and webinars in the target market. In addition, marketers can collaborate with online channel partners or agencies to build relationships and expertise in products internationally.

Also Read: How to Add Value to Your Marketing Strategy Using AI Content Marketing

Companies need to understand what strategy will work to succeed by assuming the level of global responsiveness. This integration is necessary for businesses to gain new heights and sustain growth. Consequently, transnational strategies are worthy of international marketing.

• Supporting International Marketing Goals

Understanding the opportunities and demands of customers internationally is important to develop a strong international marketing strategy. The benefits of expansion in the global markets are booming. This will help businesses build a strong revenue base to survive in the future economy.

The key to maximizing marketing efforts is to personalize and localize content and products. It is also important to ensure they are delivered to targeted audiences at the right time with the right solutions.

Marketers will need a go-to-market platform to build a global customer database, reduce digital waste, and speed up the sales cycle.

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