What kinds of customers are effectively marketed with International Marketing?

Depending on your brand, any foreign citizen is a potential customer. But how does a marketing team figure out how to tap into an international market? Customers who live in foreign markets have different buying habits, preferences, and priorities than the customers they're familiar with. By tracking these foreign customers through market research and cultural surveys, marketers can discover the best methods of reaching them.

Trying to market a brand to international customers without researching is just asking for trouble, as companies have proven time and time again. Careful consideration of a culture’s beliefs and prejudices is important in international marketing. For example, the Muslim culture considers dogs to be dirty animals. So, positioning a dog as “man’s best friend” in a Middle Eastern country will surely fall flat.

Thanks

I agree with the answer given by Mr. Mohammad Ashraf

The big and huge companies, Brands, International Branches Companies.

Thank you for the invitation and thank you for clarification

Thank you for the invitation and thank you very much agreed on the answer

Customer markets can be broadly classified into five types.  The first is the consumer market, “which consists of individuals and households that buy goods and services for personal consumption”. (Part 2, p.66) Within this category several sub-types exist.  Fast-moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) is one type of consumer market.  These are generally high volume, low unit value goods that have a fast repurchase cycle.  Perishable food items like packed meals, fruits and vegetables, media periodicals such as newspapers, etc are good examples of this type.  Consumer durables are another subtype.  Converse to the characteristics of FMCGs, these goods have low volume but high unit value.  This can further be categorized into white goods and brown goods.  Refrigerators, pressure cookers, dishwashers, washing machines, microwave ovens, etc are primary examples of white goods.  Electronic items such as personal computers, video game consoles, multi-media players, etc are good examples of brown goods.  Consumer Market is characterized by aggressive marketing campaigns, for consumers tend to be disloyal to brands and can easily switch from one to another.  Also, competing companies are focused on innovating and improvising their products and production models to garner greater market share.

Business Markets “buy goods and services for further processing or for use in their production process, whereas Reseller Markets buy goods and services to sell at a profit.” (Part 2, p.66) The metals industry is a good example of Business Market.  Here, raw metals (sometimes in the form of ores) are bought by private companies from government agencies.  The former then go on to process and add value to the metal before selling it to other industries or end consumers.

A good example of Reseller Market is the retail industry, which comprises of Supermarket chains, Specialty stores, Chemists, and other retail dispensaries.  This market is a by-product of modern urban lifestyles, where people do not have time to travel long distances for procuring commodities.  The key to the retail market is accessibility, and affordability.  Moreover, retail markets can be targeted to various economic groups.  With urbanization expanding at an unprecedented rate, retail markets are now opening up in sub-urban and semi-rural areas as well.  The retail market “generates low profit margins but has high growth potential. To utilize this growth potential, companies need to modify their business activities in accordance with the changing lifestyle and changing consumption trends of the customers. If the customers receive enough value for money, only then they will be loyal to the brands and will make repeated purchase.”  (www.economywatch.com, 2011)

The fourth type of customer market is Government Market, which “are made up of government agencies that buy goods and services to produce public services or transfer the goods and services to others who need them”. (Part 2, p.66) A good example of a government agency that performs these functions is the Postal Services.

Finally, the fifth type of customer market is the International Market, “which consists of these buyers in other countries, including consumers, producers, resellers, and governments.” (Part 2, p.66)  Each of the five market types discussed above have special characteristics and the seller has to carefully study them before making an offer.

Hello Team,

International marketing[edit]

International marketing is the export, franchising, joint venture or full direct entry of an organization's product or services into another country. This can be achieved by exporting a company's product into another location, entry through a joint venture with another firm in the target country, or foreign direct investment into the target country. The development of the marketing mix for that country is then required - international marketing. It can be as straightforward as using existing marketing strategies, mix and tools for export on the one side, to a highly complex relationship strategy including localization, local product offerings, pricing, production and distribution with customized promotions, offers, website, social media and leadership. Internationalization and international marketing meets the needs of selected foreign countries where a company's value can be exported and there is inter-firm and firm learning, optimization and efficiency in economies of scale and scope. The firm does not need to export or enter all world markets to be considered an international marketer.

Global marketing[edit]

Global marketing is a firm's ability to market to almost all countries on the planet. With extensive reach, the need for a firm's product or services is established. The global firm retains the capability, reach, knowledge, staff, skills, insights, and expertise to deliver value to customers worldwide. The firm understands the requirement to service customers locally with global standard solutions or products, and localizes that product as required to maintain an optimal balance of cost, efficiency, customization and localization in a control-customization continuum to best meet local, national and global requirements to position itself against or with competitors, partners, alliances, substitutes and defend against new global and local market entrants per country, region or city. The firm will price its products appropriately worldwide, nationally and locally, and promote, deliver access and information to its customers in the most cost-effective way. The firm also needs to understand, research, measure and develop loyalty for its brand and global brand equity (stay on brand) for the long term.

At this level, global marketing and global branding are integrated. Branding involves a structured process of analyzing "soft" assets and "hard" assets of a firm's resources. The strategic analysis and development of a brand includes customer analysis (trends, motivation, unmet needs, segmentation), competitive analysis (brand image/brand identity, strengths, strategies, vulnerabilities), and self-analysis (existing brand image, brand heritage, strengths/capabilities, organizational values).[4]

Further, Global brand identity development is the process establishing brands of products, the firm, and services locally and worldwide with consideration for scope, product attributes, quality/value, uses, users and country of origin; organizational attributes (local vs. global); personality attributes (genuine, energetic, rugged, elegant) and brand customer relationships (friend, adviser, influencer, trusted source); and importantly symbols, trademarks metaphors, imagery, mood, photography and the company's brand heritage. In establishing a global brand, the brand proposition (functional benefits, emotional benefits and self-expressive benefits are identified, localized and streamlined to be consistent with a local, national, international and global point of view. The brand developed needs to be credible.

A global marketing and branding implementation system distributes marketing assets (website, social media, Google PPC, PDFs, sales collateral, press junkets, kits, product samples, news releases, local mini-sites, flyers, posters, alliance and partner materials), affiliate programs and materials, internal communications, newsletters, investor materials, event promotions and trade shows to deliver an integrated, comprehensive and focused communication, access and value to the customers, that can be tracked to build loyalty, case studies and further establish the company's global marketing and brand footprint.

Regards,

Saiyid

Thanks for the invite ............................ agreed with the answers Mr. Satish Prabhu.V

I agree with experts answer,,,,,

International Marketing deals with identifying, anticipating & satisfying customers better than competitors across national borders through coordinating marketing activities within the constraints of the global environment. Therefor, the customers effectively marketed to may vary from one country to another or from one region to another and also depending on the situation at hand. These may include individual firms-consumers, companies or businesses, Consumer markerts- groups of conusmers, Industrial markets-group of industies & firms, Government markets, Reseller markets-retailers, wholeselers & distributors, International markets like European markert, Asian markets since we are talking about global business environment. 

With globalization and intercultural acceptance, the international market has more chances to tentatively introduce foreign products/services to foreign markets.  For example, Morrocan Spas and Shisha restaurants are really popular in California although it is not part of the American culture, the Americans are open to embracing foreign cultural novelties.  

In Dubai, the American fast-food industry such as Mc Donalds and Pizza Hut, as well as coffee houses such as Starbucks have saturated the market and relished by the Middle-Easterners as a little piece of the American culture withing their reach.

Environmental concerns and recycling have taken to higher grounds in countries that did not put any importance on this concept, but because it is such a business identifier, it is also taking off in foreign markets beside the U.S.  Retail outlets such as the Body Shop are spreading this concept of protecting the environment.

There is potential in sharing culturally iconic ideas and products and there may be a more extensive niche of opportunity then one would initially recognize.