Global marketing

The process of conceptualizing and then conveying a final product or service

worldwide

with

the

hopes

of

reaching

the

international

marketing

community. Proper global marketing has the ability to catapult a company to

the next level, if they do it correctly. Different strategies are implemented
based on the region the company is marketing to. For example, the menu at
McDonald's varies based on the location of the restaurant. The company
focuses on marketing popular items within the country. Global marketing is
especially important to companies that provide products or services that
have a universal demand such as automobiles and food.

What is global marketing? In this lesson you'll learn what global marketing is, issues you
would need to address to market your product globally, and strategies that can help
grow your business in other countries.
We also recommend watching International Marketing: The Importance of Global
Marketing Strategy and Strategies for Reaching Global Markets: Examples & Quiz

What is Global Marketing?

Global marketing is the process of adjusting a company's marketing strategies to adapt to
conditions in other countries.

Global Marketing Issues and Strategies

Let's pretend for a moment that you have a widget you'd like to sell in Europe, and are
developing your marketing plan. Here are some strategic decisions you will need to make:

Market segmentation
Market segmentation is the act of defining subsets of consumers using various characteristics
(such as geography, age, sex, race, and family situation) and then targeting marketing efforts
to those subsets. For your product, you need to determine what subgroup of possible buyers
is the most likely to purchase your product. Once you determine your focus, you'll need to

determine how best to reach customers in that niche. If it's different than your target group in
the U.S., you will need to modify your strategy accordingly.

Localization
Localization strategies adjust the product and message to better fit the target customer. For
example, many people in India do not eat beef, so if a company selling hamburgers was going
to market in India they would need to localize their product - and perhaps sell pork patties
instead. For your product, you need to take a critical look at it, and ask yourself if it's saleable
to your target foreign customer as is, or will it need modification for cultural, social, or other
reasons. For instance, if your widget is painted red, that would mean 'good luck' to prospective
Chinese customers - but a personalized marketing letter should never use red ink, because
those same customers associate red ink with death, and would be very upset to see their
name written in red.

Strategic Pricing
Pricing may vary in different target countries, based on issues such as the average wages in
that country and the amount of competition that exists. You'll need to determine if your widget
should be expensive or inexpensive in the target country, and modify the pricing based on
what your target customers would be willing or able to spend on it. Although your first
inclination may be to make it expensive - keep in mind that high sales can lead to economies
of scale, with corresponding lower production costs, leading to higher profits in the end.