International Marketing Strategies

Marketing in a Cross-Cultural Environment

• Companies need to adapt their marketing strategies to fit the needs of cross-border markets.
• Marketing aims to balance customer needs with company goals and resources.
• Market analysis involves analyzing the company's environment, understanding buyer behavior, and conducting market research.
• Common marketing strategies include market segmentation and the marketing mix (product, price, promotion, and place).
• Modern marketing approaches focus on customer-centricity, emphasizing relationship marketing to build strong connections with customers.
• Consumers are increasingly drawn to brands that utilize social media marketing and engage in dialog with them.

International Marketing

• International marketing refers to marketing activities that cross national boundaries.
• Companies that engage in international marketing can operate at multiple levels depending on their focus.
• Companies that primarily sell within their domestic market may view exports as a secondary activity.
• International marketing requires adapting products and marketing strategies to new cultural contexts.
• Different challenges arise when companies expand internationally, such as adapting marketing messages, product modifications, and distribution channels.
• Legal and administrative challenges in foreign markets include navigating work permits, visas, and complying with local regulations.
• The cost of living in a host country can impact expatriate compensation and require employers to provide comprehensive packages.
• Repatriation challenges involve readjusting to home culture and reintegrating into the corporate environment.
• Performance management of expatriates is complex due to geographical distances and differing performance metrics.

Culture Shock

• Culture shock refers to feelings of disorientation and anxiety experienced when encountering a new culture.
• It is common for expatriates, international students, and travelers moving to a new country.
• Culture shock typically occurs in stages: honeymoon, frustration, adjustment, and acceptance.
• Sub-culture shock occurs when individuals encounter a sub-culture within their own country that is significantly different from what they are accustomed to.
• Examples include moving to a different region, joining a new social group, or entering a new professional or organizational culture.
• Adaptation processes, cultural training, mentorship, and open communication can help overcome sub-culture shock.

Brands and National Images

• Brand names create associations and emotions in consumers, influencing their purchasing decisions.
• National images play a significant role in how consumers perceive products from different countries.
• Factors influencing consumer perceptions of product nationality include the image of national products versus imported or international products, national images of generic products, the national image of the manufacturing company, and the image diffused by the brand name.
• Consumer perceptions of products vary across different national cultures.

Impact of Culture on Advertising

• Culture influences audience perception and impacts how they interpret and remember advertisements.
• Ads that appeal to the target market's culture and society are more likely to be memorable and effective.
• Cultural factors influence TV commercials, affecting the choice of themes, language, symbols, and visual elements.
• Marketing uses advertising as a primary channel to communicate with customers and the outside world.