The 3 Differences In Your International Marketing Plan

Do you already have a marketing plan for your domestic business?  Do you need an international marketing plan too?

Of course you can guess that these 2 marketing plans will not be the same.  There are 3 differences you need to incorporate into your international marketing plan.

Feedback

When marketing to different markets abroad you must stimulate market feedback.  In fact this needs to be one of your top priorities right from the beginning.

When you first start targeting a foreign country you will need to adjust your communication and your marketing and sales strategies.

It is important to understand how your communication is received in a different culture.  And this takes time to understand well.

As you get to know your foreign markets you still need to pay attention.  In order to seize business opportunities, and avoid bad decisions, you need to know what is going on.

Place a high priority on stimulating feedback in your international marketing plan.

Flexibility

Again, it is all about getting to know markets that are different from your home market.

As you get to know and understand these new prospects better you will need to adjust your marketing. Simply put:

Your international prospects react differently to your products.

These differences may be very subtle.  They can also appear at any stage of your international business.  But if you stimulate feedback and listen for these differences you can:

• Improve your international results.
• Become present in your foreign markets.

A little time spent double checking your strategies can save you time, money and cultural blunders.  So, plan for flexibility.  Include a process of evaluations, and room for change, in your international marketing plan.

Viability

In an international marketing plan you need to include even more elements of marketing accountability.  The viability of your international endeavors may depend on this.

What does this mean?  Here is a simple action plan:

• Review your international marketing plan
• Create a process
• Include steps that can be measured
• Review these steps for relevancy
• Use this process to create accountability
• Review results for viability

This gives your business the tools to make the right decisions to grow in foreign markets. Include a process for marketing accountability in your international marketing plan.

Use Your International Marketing Plan

Incorporate these 3 elements in your international marketing plan and add one more.  Next all you need is to:

• Put your international marketing plan into action.

Even if you start with the most basic marketing plan, all you really need is to take action and give priority to these 3 differences.  Your market feedback, flexibility and viability analysis will guide you through the rest.

Read The Whole Story

This is part of the Get International Clients Business Guide 4 Build Your International Marketing Strategy Be sure to check out the other useful tips to build your international marketing strategy

And this is also part of the Get International Clients Business Guide 6 Analyze Your International Viability Be sure to check out the other useful tips to analyze your international viability

Need Help?

Need instructions?

• Instructions on how to use Your International Sales Road Map

Need to see where this fits in?

• A complete list of current Core Business Guides & Sub Guides for Your International Sales Road Map.

Still confused? Review your answers in the first Core Business Guide

• Core Business Guide 1 - Discover Your International Business

Simply click on one of the 8 different color coded boxes immediately below to access other core business guides.

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3 Reasons To Start With Integrated Marketing

Integrated marketing is on most marketing managers’ agendas today.  The reason why it is on most agendas is because it strengthens all of your marketing actions.  It has become an essential part of business.

What is integrated marketing communications?

It is the process of ensuring relevancy and consistency for each prospect and client in all your brand communications.

When It Is Challenging

Integrated marketing can be a challenge.  It is not always easy to implement the processes needed for effective integrated marketing into existing marketing plans.

What makes this challenging?

• The number of communication channels.
• The apparent variety in prospect profiles today.

Easy For Communication In New Markets

Imagine starting a completely new communication strategy.  A communication strategy with a clean slate.  And in a new market.  One you are just beginning to develop.

It would be easy to include integrated marketing processes right from the start.  And here is what makes it easy:

• Your focused efforts on your new markets
• Your need for feedback from your new markets
• The limited number of communication channels you will have in the beginning

There is a distinct advantage in establishing an effective integrated marketing strategy when you begin to develop a new foreign market.  It is easier to establish when starting a new communication strategy, compared to an established communication strategy.

One Message For One Foreign Market

When you create your first communication plan for a new foreign market you usually find it easy to concentrate on creating an integrated marketing message.  This usually happens naturally as part of the process.

Integrated marketing creates effective communication across different media platforms.

Your market research is fresh and you naturally want to stimulate more international business intelligence through your communication.

Even if your communications with your foreign market are limited in the number of channels you use, you will probably use good integrated marketing practices.

Integrated marketing comes in to play with creating good website templates for multiple localized websites.

Stimulate Feedback To Create Action

When you first communicate with a new foreign market you want feedback.

In fact, if you are smart, you will also create your first communication to actually stimulate feedback from your new foreign market.

• You try to get your readers to take action: give you feedback.

Again, this is also very similar to your goals in integrated marketing:

• Moving prospects from a state of awareness to taking action.

With feedback it is easy to move into the next step…

Tracking and testing become a part of optimizing results for both the international marketer and the integrated marketer.

Step Into Integrated Marketing

Implementing an integrated marketing plan right from the start of your international business development makes good sense.  Here are the reasons why:

• You get all of the value of an integrated marketing plan.
• You develop your international markets faster.
• You create a structure you can measure.
• You track and test results for marketing accountability.
• You create a base to measure international viability.

An Added Bonus

Integrated marketing for new foreign markets can also favorably influence your integrated marketing for your domestic markets:

• The extra strategy and focused targeting required.
• The simple integrated marketing model you create for your foreign markets.

Good international business development usually elevates the level of company-wide business practices.  This is probably the “expense” of international business today:

• Investing the time and effort in establishing great business practices.

Many would agree this is a good option.

Read The Whole Story

This is part of the Get International Clients Business Guide 4 Build Your International Marketing Strategy Be sure to check out the other useful tips to build your international marketing strategy

Need Help?

Need instructions?

• Instructions on how to use Your International Sales Road Map

Need to see where this fits in?

• A complete list of current Core Business Guides & Sub Guides for Your International Sales Road Map.

Still confused? Review your answers in the first Core Business Guide

• Core Business Guide 1 - Discover Your International Business

Simply click on one of the 8 different color coded boxes immediately below to access other core business guides.

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How Do You Create An International Marketing Blog?

Quick answers to…

Today’s question is:

What are the first steps in creating an international marketing blog?

This is an interesting question that came in last week.

Before creating a business blog for international audiences, be sure to thoroughly do your groundwork.  This will get you on the right track from the start.

Identify Your International Business

There are two things you have to determine right from the start.

You need to identify which kind of international business your company is able to do at present.  You need to know why you want to create an international marketing blog. Read more here:

• The 7 Traditional Paths To International Business Development

You then need to clearly identify which type of marketing you will be using. Again read this to help you clarify your direction:

• 5 Traditional Marketing Steps To Become An International Business

Identify Your Audience

Once you know where your business lies, you then need to research your target market’s needs.

You need to determine whether

• You write one blog to target one broad international audience, or
• You use cross cultural marketing skills to target one specific country and culture at a time.

The Right Communication Platform

A blog is a great business marketing tool in many countries.

But it may not work well in the country you are targeting.

Have a look at the different Cultural Web Tools in the link below.  These web tools are categorized by different cultural behaviors.

Is a blog an appropriate vehicle in your target market?

Easy With The Right Ground Work

The answers to these questions gives you the information you need to identify the right answers to your next set of questions:

• Which language you should use
• How often you need to write
• Who should write the blog
• What to write about
• How to inspire interaction

Pimp Your International Marketing Blog

Guide To Cultural Web Tools • How can you tweak your web site to improve your cross-cultural communication?Lots of tools here.

Read The Whole Story

This is part of the Get International Clients Business Guide 4 Build Your International Marketing Strategy Be sure to check out the other useful tips to build your international marketing strategy

And this is also part of the Get International Clients Business Guide 2 Plan Your International Sales Road Map Be sure to check out the other useful tips to plan your international sales.

Need Help?

Need instructions?

• Instructions on how to use Your International Sales Road Map

Need to see where this fits in?

• A complete list of current Core Business Guides & Sub Guides for Your International Sales Road Map.

Still confused? Review your answers in the first Core Business Guide

• Core Business Guide 1 - Discover Your International Business

Simply click on one of the 8 different color coded boxes immediately below to access other core business guides.

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3.6 (1 person)

How Can I Get Information On My Foreign Markets?

Quick answers to…

Today’s question is:

How can I get information on my market in different countries?

Use the same guerrilla tactics you could use in your domestic market.

Identify relevant:

• Websites
• Blogs
• Online forums
• Magazines
• Books
• Trade shows
• Events

Don’t forget to use the free online translation tools to help you in your market research.

Aim for places where you can pick up people’s opinions. Listen to what is said in your foreign market. Facts and figures can easily be misleading if you are interpreting them from a different cultural vantage.

Your international market research will go slower than in your domestic market. This is the one difference you will find. But don’t try to speed this up. This process will give you the time to adapt your own mindset.

I strongly advise mixing your online research with some research by phone. Call appropriate people who live in your foreign market.

Aim for more feedback from real people than online research data.  This human touch will give you a valuable insights on where to look next.

Above all else, keep active in your research.  Keep at it. Even if you make one phone call a day, or every couple of days.

The key is to cross reference your research.

Some call this multi-dimensional research. You need to hear from people with different viewpoints on your market. This gives you a much better understanding. It also eliminates any cross-cultural misunderstandings.

Read More About International Market Research

International Market Research Guide International market research is easy, find out more here.

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The Two Biggest Barriers To International Marketing

I often see two barriers to effective international marketing.  The barrier usually depends on the size of the company.

Small And Very Small Companies

Most of the small companies do not really have a marketing strategy.  They assume international marketing is a website.

And occasionally, if they realize this is not enough, they look for specific internet tactics to find the right solution.

Larger Companies

What happens here is inaction.

I have come across different excuses for the inaction, but inaction is the main barrier to establishing an effective international marketing strategy.

Company Centered Barriers

Now if you talk to company executives who are struggling with their international business development, you will often hear market-centered excuses.

• Language barriers
• Market differences
• No market for our products

…that sort of thing.

They focus on perceived market-centered barriers.

Now, let’s go back…

Have a closer look at the two barriers I gave earlier:

• No real marketing strategy
• Inaction

These are company-centered barriers.

International Marketing Gives You The Answers

In order to develop your business abroad you absolutely need to understand each of your international markets.

If you think you can target one broad international audience without digging deeper into each specific country and culture, have a look at these two articles:

• 5 Traditional Marketing Steps To Become An International Business
• The 7 Traditional Paths To International Business Development

Review these with your own business and then read this:

• Why Selling To Everyone Is Too Expensive

In international business development your international marketing gives you information you need to make your overall strategy.

Even when you use preliminary market research to guide your international business expansion, you will still need to rely very heavily on your international marketing.

International marketing performs two important tasks.  It gives you the information you need to:

• Make the best decisions for your overall business strategies.
• Find out how each of your foreign markets wants to be sold to.

A Real International Marketing Strategy

Marketing is about communicating with your market. You aim for a two way relationship to make sales.  International marketing is the same, but with international markets.

Imagine giving a speech to a huge crowd of people.  That is what you do on the web.

You can create a two-way relationship with one communication for a large crowd…

…if the crowd of people you are talking to has something in common, with you and with themselves.

But international markets are made up of several different countries and cultures.  This crowd of people is already different.

Action

No matter how great your international business strategy is, you need to put it into action for it to work.

Remember…

• International marketing will give you vital feedback for the success of your international expansion.
• International marketing is authentic interaction with each of your foreign markets.

Many larger companies get caught up into inaction, because every department head wants to control the strategy.

This gives an interesting twist the problem.  Instead of one person speaking to a crowd, you have a crowd speaking to a crowd.

…Now just how do you expect to create authentic communication with people you do not understand in the first place?

Of course, you can say that big companies do this.  Big companies also have big budgets, they can afford expensive mistakes.

Getting Beyond The Barriers

Without any real international marketing strategy and without taking action, your dreams of an international business will never get off the ground.

In today’s North American business world, I often think businesses complicate things.

International business is most successful when it is kept simple.

You have something to sell.  You just need to know:

• How your buyer wants it
• Why he wants it
• Where he wants it
• How he wants to be sold
• Where he wants to be sold
• When he wants to be sold

These are the same basic questions you need to answer for your domestic market. Luckily for your domestic market, you probably know most of the answers to these questions.  And if you don’t it is easy for you to make an educated guess, or carry out a little market research with fast and accurate results.

International markets make this a little harder because you do not have the answers to any of these questions.  The smallest assumptions can jeopardize the success of your international strategy.

The solution is an easy…

• Start with a clean slate.
• Methodically use your international marketing for your international market research.
• Cross-research your results.
• Regularly revaluate your strategy.

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Video Marketing 101

There are several reasons why businesses should consider video marketing to reach their international markets.

Video marketing is fast becoming a necessity throughout the online business world. The trend is not going to stop.

The main reason is because video marketing, when well done, pulls better responses. So more and more businesses are using video marketing to promote their services.

Videos are also being used on websites much more productively than in the past. They are cheaper to produce, faster to make, and easier to put online.

It is used heavily for online B2C marketing. It is also used effectively in online B2B online lead generation.

The best practices for online marketing and online business in domestic markets can almost always be adapted to international markets.

To get good results internationally you do need to integrate your best internet marketing practice with good cross cultural communication practices.

Video marketing is a powerful credibility building tool. It can be used to:

• create proof
• desire for your product
• familiarity with your company and products
• reinforce credibility

Videos can be a very powerful tool in your cross cultural marketing. Video marketing can be a very important part of your international internet marketing plan.

In order to use video marketing in your international business development, you need to get good at both:

• video marketing and cross cultural communication.

Remember, all of the standard good practices in cross cultural communication and international marketing still apply here as well.
We will look into how you can use good cross cultural marketing in your video marketing.

First let’s run through the basics of video marketing.

When Do You Need Video Marketing?

Where Is Video Marketing Effective?

Insights Into Cost Effective Video Marketing For International Markets

Don’t Miss The Whole Story

More From Cindy

Are you interested in taking a course on how to create videos for web marketing?

Read my review of Web Video University here on my personal blog: International Web Video Marketing

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Guide To International Multichannel Marketing

Creating relationships with your international prospects and clients with international web marketing is possible. The key is to find the right channels of communication and marketing.

If you find the right mix to use in your different communication channels you will be able to create an international lead generation or sales system. International business development through international web marketing becomes a reality with the right marketing mix.

Once you have the foreign market feedback, once you develop some cross cultural communication skills you will be able to identify the marketing mix you need to get your market to respond to your offers.

How The Right Marketing Mix Can Bring International Success • Do you have a good international marketing strategy? • How important is the right marketing strategy for your international success? • Do you want to improve your international marketing?

Easy International Business Development With The Right Marketing Mix • Do you want more international business? • Do you know what type of marketing you need to do to get more international clients? • Do you know how to find the right marketing mix for your international business development?

Why You Need To Choose Different Internet Marketing Channels For International Business Expansion • Are you getting all the international clients you can get? • Do your international clients respond to the same type of marketing as your domestic clients? • Do you have the right international marketing mix for your business?

The Three Factors In Finding The Right Marketing Mix For Your International Business Expansion • Do you have the right international marketing mix? • How can you find the right marketing mix for your international business? • Would you like to get more international clients with less effort?

International Marketing Strategy For Small Businesses - The Right Mindset • Do you know the key ingredient for international business success for small businesses? • How does your own mind-set effect your international sales? What is the right international mind-set?

Fit International Web Marketing Into Your International Marketing

Remember to fit your Multichannel Marketing within your overall International Marketing plan. You can review all of the different marketing elements of international marketing here, on the main Business Guide.

• What information do you need to know before starting your international business expansion?

• How can you get the information you need?

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Guide To International Web Marketing

Last updated 18 August 2008

This International Web Marketing Guide covers the various aspects of International Business Development through good Internet Marketing practices.

Basic knowledge of website design is important for anyone interested in using international internet marketing to develop business internationally.

One of the first steps you need to take is to look at your current website. You need to evaluate whether you will use a separate international website or whether you will internationalize your current website to communicate with your foreign markets. This is not an easy decision to make. There are several factors involved.

Your international expansion will probably lead you to create separate websites for each country you market to. This is called Website Localization.

And the next step is to have one global website where all of your visitors can find a direct link to their countries website in their own language. This step is called Website Globalization.

Website Localization and Website Globalization is much easier if prepared through the initial Website Internationalization phase.

Understanding basic website design best practices helps for both your domestic marketing and your international internet marketing.

Define Your International Sales Strategy

Internet gives you a whole new set of international sales strategies. Your web marketing plan is based on your international sales strategy.

Get Your Front End Acquisition StrategyFor International Clients

Create Your International Web Marketing Plan

Is International Marketing On The Web Different?

Use Video Marketing To Get Closer To Foreign Prospects

Video Marketing combined with Cross Cultural Marketing expertise can get your more international clients faster.

Video Marketing 101

Design Your Website For Speed

This first series is on how to improve the speed for your visitors’ browsers to upload your website.

This is a critical issue for good international internet practices. There is still a large population all over the world using slower modems. And browsers on mobile phones are also using different technologies.

Speed is critical for good international business practices online.

Here is a series of articles on how you can improve speed for your website visitors:

Use The Height And Width Tags

Use A Forward Slash On Your Links

Reduce the HTTP Requests

Optimize Your Cascading Style Sheets

Design Your Website For International Clients

Here are other useful articles on website design

Design Your WebsiteFor Your Needs – Not On Cost

10 Top Traffic Generators For Your Website

How To Hire The Right Website DesignerFor Your International Audience

How To Speed Up Your WebsiteFor All Of Your Visitors

Submit Your Website To Foreign Search Engine

Read more on why you should submit your website to foreign search engines and how to go about doing it yourself.

Foreign Search Engine Submissions

Break Through Foreign Language Barriers

I have written a series of articles on my personal blog, www.cindyking.biz These articles cover the foreign language barriers you can encounter when targeting international markets online.

Topics covered include:

• Getting Your Computer and Keyboard To Work With Foreign Alphabets
• Using Online Translation Tools

You can find these articles under: Foreign Lingo

Design Your International Web Visibility

Don’t forget to review this Business Guide on how to give your website international visibility.

Guide To Design International Web Visibility • How do you know if your international clients can find you? • What do you need to do to make it easy for them to know you are there? Find out how to design your website for international visibility here.

Read The Whole Story

Remember to fit your International Web Marketing into a global International Marketing strategy. This is where many online businesses fail. International business expansion requires an international marketing strategy. You can begin your international business development through international web marketing, but you will need more than this to develop your business.

Review all of the different marketing elements of your international marketing in the Business Guide 4 - Build Your International Marketing Strategy.

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Is International Marketing On The Web Different?

In the offline world, international marketing goes through a distinct sequence.

5 Stages Of International Marketing

This sequence happens because different countries do business differently. Different countries have:

• Different habits
• Different legislations
• Different markets
• Different uses for your products
• Different client profiles

The 5 different stages of international marketing allow businesses to adapt to these differences. The 5 different stages are:

1. Domestic Marketing
2. Export Marketing
3. International Marketing
4. Multinational Marketing
5. Global Marketing

Read more about these different stages in: 5 Traditional Marketing Steps To Become An International Business

International Web Marketing

Most international web marketers jump straight into the deep end: Global marketing.

There is one similarity between Domestic Marketing and Global Marketing: Read more

Use A Multicultural Internet Marketing Strategy To Develop Your International Business

Internet marketing is a great tool for international business expansion. It can help you get more international clients…if you use it right.

Part of the equation for a successful international internet business is using the correct marketing online for your international audience.

Internet Marketing Today

Internet marketing has become fairly sophisticated with regards to Search Engine Optimization. The search engines have become so sophisticated and they change so rapidly that online businesses are no longer trying to master them. It has just become too expensive to do so, and the rapid changes in search engine algorithms mean they might be wasting their money.

This is good news for the internet users. Online businesses are coming back to stronger marketing to their internet readers.

Good internet marketing has more to do today with creating meaningful relationships with readers than ever before.

Marketing To The Right Cultural Target

The dilemma is that you cannot really contain your website to one location. If your website is in English for example, your readers will come from all sorts of countries. Online businesses need to adjust their marketing to the different cultures of their audiences.

So does what does this mean for online businesses? Read more

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