As almost every industry strives to expand its marketplace and further its global reach, communications professionals face increasingly difficult challenges. Many marketing experts once managed smaller markets with narrowly defined demographics, but they must now address global audiences with divergent needs and interests. Learn about some of the challenges and opportunities of global marketing and discover how you can better prepare yourself to work in an international market.
Putting Brand Awareness First
Image via Flickr by nicolasnova
Introducing a brand to a larger market is never an easy task. As many marketing professionals quickly learn, doing so with a brand that has no firm definition or an unclear focus can have disappointing results that fall short of the mark.
This is why brand awareness is both the first and biggest challenge that many marketers face, especially when working for an international company. For instance, marketing experts often recommend that retailers educate virtually every employee about the company's brand identity, with the goal of turning frontline sales employees into brand ambassadors. Companies without a physical presence in other corners of the world can apply the same principles to their online representatives, ensuring that sales and support employees demonstrate the same key brand qualities that marketing employees promote.
Working Closely With Public Relations Teams
As the Holmes Report explains, converging marketing and public relations (PR) departments will continue to have an impact on global companies. Over half of marketing professionals surveyed anticipate that the two teams will work more closely together in the next five years, and some even foresee PR becoming a team within the marketing department.
This could have wide-ranging implications for marketing teams, especially as they expand to address global markets. After all, the Homes Report states that PR and marketing teams don't always see eye to eye. While PR professionals tend to view digital storytelling as one of the most important ways to connect with audiences, marketers are more likely to focus their attention on influencer marketing and social listening. No matter which strategy takes precedence, marketers will likely need to learn to collaborate with PR teams.
Segmenting Markets for Greatest Impact
When expanding into a global marketplace, companies may be tempted to address the audience as a whole or even launch international marketing campaigns. While it is essential to create a clear brand identity across a global market, marketers must realize that not all audiences will respond similarly to the same message or advertisement.
When you manage marketing for a global company, you may need to experiment with segmenting your audience and developing targeted messages that appeal to each. Advanced communication management coursework in global marketing can prepare you to address local markets, build reliable strategies for creating effective messages, and coordinate global marketing efforts.
Knowing the Right Channels for Your Market
After working for a company and getting to know its target market over the course of months or years, you may be inclined to address its international market using the same channels. However, you may quickly find that your European or Asian audiences do not use the social channels that are most popular with your North American audience.
In addition, consumers in different geographic and demographic areas tend to respond differently to communication styles. You may need to consider hiring local translators to ensure that you convey your message accurately, or contracting a local marketing agency to fine-tune your campaign for the right market.
Adapting Products and Services for Each Market
In addition to adjusting messages for various markets, you may also need to consider adapting products and services. After all, the best selling package for your American market may fall flat in your Japanese market. With the necessary market research in hand, you can work with the sales team to recommend product updates or service adjustments that appeal to each segment.
After some trial and error, you may even learn how specific your markets must be in order to help you achieve objectives. As the Harvard Business Review explains, many companies make the mistake of thinking about international markets in general terms. Rather than developing regional products and services, however, marketing and sales teams often find the most success when they consider each country separately.
Collecting and Using Key Customer Insights
As companies tap into the global marketplace, their customers are bound to exhibit wider ranges of behavior patterns. Marketers must take on the challenge of collecting key customer insights and interpreting them effectively.
In addition, marketing teams must research and adopt new software platforms that allow for more streamlined data collection. As data becomes more and more essential for understanding customers, marketers will need to take advantage of marketing automation software. These applications enable marketers to map the customer experience, track leads, and understand sales objectives. Top-tier marketers may even face the challenge of using these insights to develop sales and marketing-driven approaches throughout the company or even collecting competitors' insights for further research.
Monitoring and Identifying Global Competitors
According to the American Marketing Association, one of the biggest challenges for marketers in this increasingly global world is knowing who you are competing against. When you work as a marketing professional in a national marketplace, you develop familiarity with competing brands, and you can craft your company's marketing strategy accordingly.
In a global marketplace, however, both the competitors and their strategies may be very different and surprisingly difficult to research, especially if they come from emerging economies. You may need to experiment with new research methods or contract local marketing companies to learn more about competitors. Once you have identified competitors, the next challenge is monitoring them and seeking out key ways to differentiate your brand.
Finding effective solutions to all of these international marketing issues is a challenge faced by all marketers in a digital age. If you are interested in pursuing an ever-evolving, rewarding career in marketing communications, consider starting with a Master of Communication Management Online degree from University of Southern California. Pursuing an advanced degree is a smart step toward obtaining the knowledge, tools, and experience you need to compete in a global marketplace.
Sources
http://www.holmesreport.com/latest/article/2017-global-communications-report-predicts-convergence-of-marketing-and-pr
https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/33820/5-major-challenges-marketers-face-and-how-to-solve-them.aspx - sm.000hp0g60w82dv611qx2odpspkcoc
https://research.hubspot.com/charts/global-marketing-challenges
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/challenges-firms-face-international-marketing-3356.html
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/communication-challenges-global-market-77861.html
https://www.ama.org/publications/MarketingNews/Pages/7-big-problems-marketing.aspx
https://www.forbes.com/sites/onmarketing/2015/02/11/five-new-challenges-for-tomorrows-global-marketing-leaders/#2c2e36437115
http://www.demandgenreport.com/features/demanding-views/5-global-marketing-challenges-and-how-to-overcome-them-with-automation
https://hbr.org/2015/09/the-most-common-mistakes-companies-make-with-global-marketing