International Marketing

International Marketing

definition of international marketing

International marketing is the promotion and marketing of a brand in several countries, outside the domestic market.

Why do we have to export?

Globalization has promoted free trade, lowering costs and prices, but has intensified competition. Faced with fierce competition reinforced by the globalization of markets, a changing world and the preponderance of certain brands, to continue to exist, the company must develop internationalization strategies that vary according to their size, their experience but especially according to the products and countries targeted.

Generally speaking, exporting is a vital necessity for the company and the State, it is a certificate of good health that translates into the country's maintenance and development abroad. Internationalization makes it possible to pay for imports and balance the current account.

Three reasons for this

Masaaki Kotabe and Kristiaan Helsen, the authors of "Global Marketing Management", give in this book the three reasons for the company to go international.

Saturation of the domestic market Change

For a company to continue to grow, it must increase its sales. Industrialized countries have saturated their domestic markets in many product and service categories and have turned to emerging countries for new market opportunities. Companies in some developing economies have found an advantage in exporting products that are too expensive for the premises but considered cheap for developed countries.

Global competition

Companies are on an international playing field whether they want to or not.

Electronic commerce

With the increase in the use of the Internet and E-commerce (electronic commerce), if a company operates online, it becomes an international company. With the number of Internet users increasing every day, this market is constantly growing. Consumers can come from anywhere. According to the book "Global Marketing Management", business-to-business e-commerce is broader, growing faster and has fewer barriers to geographical distribution than even business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce. E-commerce does not require a solid shop front.

International development company

It is possible to consider the internationalization of the market through the life cycle. Sequential process of growth and internationalization. In the sequential approach, being strong in the domestic market is a prerequisite for exporting. To grow, the company moves from the local market to the global market. Internationalization is part of the company's natural growth process. The international life cycle developed from the product life cycle consists of 4 phases:

export country of origin

Production is launched on the domestic market because the company must rely on intensive communication with the market. This step corresponds to the launch and part of the growth in the product life cycle.

The beginnings of foreign production

Importing markets are growing rapidly, the innovative company is opening markets and transforming market potentials into effective demand. As they become more familiar with the product sold in the territory, some foreign productions begin to produce them themselves. This phase corresponds to the end of growth and the beginning of product maturity.

Trackers export

The attack on foreign markets by the innovative company and the international success of the product sparked the reaction of the competition. Foreign manufacturers that continue to increase domestic production are making productivity gains and starting to export. They compete with each other. Maturity phase.

The country of origin is important

The increasing volume of foreign production, the cost advantages of some imitating countries allow them to attack directly the country where the product was born. At that point, the country of origin becomes an importer of the product it helped to launch.

international marketing strategies

Standardization strategy or global marketing

It means adopting the same marketing policy in foreign markets.

This strategy is based on the assumption that the needs of consumers in different countries tend to become more homogeneous. It is based on the existence of internationally homogeneous segments that allow the company to adopt the same marketing policy in different geographic markets.

In terms of benefits, it makes it possible to reduce production and marketing costs, it is an easy strategy to implement, it makes it possible to convey a uniform image of the company on a global scale. In terms of disadvantages, it does not take into account the specificities of local markets and therefore there is a high risk that consumers' needs will not be adequately met.

This strategy can be found in the luxury, high-tech and products sectors that benefit from the effects of the country of origin's image.

Adaptation strategy or local marketing

This strategy focuses on the specificities of local markets. It focuses on differences between consumers rather than on their similarities.

The advantage of this strategy is that it allows us to better meet the needs of consumers in different countries. On the other hand, there is a major disadvantage, it generates additional costs that can be considerable.

This adaptation strategy is applied when a company operates in a limited number of markets. This is the case for medium-sized SME/SMI companies operating in two or three geographical markets where local regulations require marketing actions to be adapted. In some cases, this adaptation may be mandatory, such as technical standards, or adaptation may be a choice.

Adapted standardization strategy or glocal marketing

This strategy takes into account globalization and also the constraints of the local or domestic market. We are therefore talking about Globalisation and Localization. The combination of these two terms will give "GLOCALIZATION" as the communicator Hugues Walter ALLECHI likes to point out: it is standardizing marketing actions. It combines the advantages of a standardization policy and an adaptation policy. It thus makes it possible to meet the requirements of local markets while limiting the additional costs associated with an adaptation policy.

This strategy is common in the cosmetics and textile sectors. It allows players to remain competitive while meeting the needs of local consumers.