Many companies are coming to rely on international markets for much of their business and economic interactions, whether export revenue, product or materials sourcing, or services outsourcing. The economy has become widely globalized in every facet, from big business to freelance work and global franchises to handmade crafts sold in online marketplaces.
This globalized economy has important ramifications for marketing. Now more than ever, marketing professionals need to understand how to effectively promote products and services to a regional or national audience. A marketer’s responsibilities now include helping expand a client’s reach to potentially lucrative global markets.
This requires a depth of understanding of media consumption habits, social media platforms, business law, and even censorship laws across the globe. Northwest Missouri State University’s online Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Marketing offers courses in international business and global marketing management. These and other program courses aim to help students gain a better understanding of the international aspects of marketing and business in general.
What Are the Basic Benefits of Global Marketing?
Of course, the most obvious benefit of international marketing is a business’s bottom line. Expanding market reach builds revenue and profit potential. You can find McDonald’s restaurants on street corners from Asia to Europe. Japanese and European automobiles are common in every American town. Even small American businesses export their products around the globe — from Silicon Valley software startups to artisanal craft makers selling their goods via international online marketplaces like Etsy.
Again, this requires an extensive understanding of international business and trade. The marketing firm or department is primarily responsible for “breaking” a company into new markets. And of course, at this basic level, marketers make more money when their clients make more money.
What Are the More Nuanced Benefits of International Marketing?
There are also many hidden benefits to global business. Businesses not only expand their revenue through international markets, they expand their global network of potential business partners. American software companies collaborate with international hardware manufacturers to create new proprietary products. Supply chain and logistics management firms rely on this expanded network to source and move products around the globe. The list goes on.
This international boost also benefits marketers in less obvious ways. Marketers can (and should) take advantage of their clients’ expanded global networks. International hardware manufacturers look for marketing firms with extensive knowledge of American markets. If you ran the marketing campaign for the product launch for a collaboration between an American software company and an international manufacturer, you have already built a relationship with that manufacturer. Business is all about strong relationships and the networks they create. That manufacturer may well look to you as their way into American markets.
In addition, you can gain a lot from studying effective methods of marketing in different countries. Learning how international marketing firms use region-specific social media platforms can give you insight into how you might use Facebook or Instagram in new ways. Similarly, studying marketing campaigns that have proved successful in other countries might give you ideas to experiment with in your typical national markets.
So How do I Expand Into International Marketing?
As is reflected in Northwest’s marketing MBA coursework, international marketing is complex but based in fundamental business and marketing principles.
No matter the region or country, effective marketing relies on your ability to understand your client’s product or service and accordingly research and target appropriate markets. Research into that target audience’s media and consumption habits (and previously successful marketing campaigns) will help you devise a suitable marketing strategy. Then you plan your campaign and execute it, managing the many logistical details involved. After execution, you monitor results, revise strategies and implement them into further marketing.
International marketing builds on these fundamentals, but requires an expansive knowledge of (and research into) much broader potential markets, consumption habits, media platforms, and effective marketing strategies. But it also necessitates knowledge of different cultures, habits, taboos, ethical and legal considerations, logistics like manufacturing and distribution, and other such matters.
Becoming proficient in international marketing may seem like an intensive commitment of time and research. But the benefits of taking advantage of the global marketplace for both you and your clients are many. Along with expanded revenue potential, the global marketplace acts as an expanded resource for innovation, networking and improvement in the marketing field as a whole. Northwest’s online MBA in Marketing is designed to help you thoroughly grasp and expand into this world of international marketing.
Learn more about Northwest’s online MBA in Marketing.
Sources:
Global Marketing Today: Why Is Global Marketing Important?
LinkedIn: International Marketing: The Importance of Global Marketing
Tech.Co: The Importance of Global Marketing
Houston Chronicle: The Advantages of Marketing Internationally
Bunny Inc.: Five Things to Know About Global Marketing
Forbes: Global Marketing: What You Need to Know
Forbes: Why Global Marketing Must Move Beyond Cultural Stereotypes and Go Deep
