Last updated 16 October 2008
There are several components to successful international marketing. Multicultural marketing is one of them.
Good multicultural marketing is also a process of putting together a series of building blocks.
This guide goes through all of these different building blocks. It gives insights into the cultural differences you need to be aware of for successful international business.
This guide is just like all of the other Business Guides on Get International Clients.
It will be expanded and updated regularly.
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Multicultural Marketing Versus Cross-Cultural Marketing
First, let’s look at how I use the terms Multicultural Marketing and Cross-Cultural Marketing.
- Multicultural Marketing refers to one marketing plan targeted to several, or “multi”, markets.
- Cross-Cultural Marketing refers to one marketing plan targeted to one culture or one country.
This guide currently covers both of these types of marketing.
I’ve divided this Guide to Multicultural Marketing into categories.
What Is Your International Business Model
Before starting your Multicultural Marketing plan, you need to know:
- Where your business is,
- What you are selling, and
- Who you are selling it to.
Your answers to these questions will tell you whether your need:
- Multicultural Marketing
- Cross-Cultural Marketing
It is very easy to determine this. If you are still not clear where you stand, have a look at these two articles from the Get International Clients Business Guide 1 – Discover Your International Business:
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5 Traditional Marketing Steps
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7 Traditional Paths
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Multicultural Marketing
Before going deeper into cross-cultural marketing, lets look at multicultural marketing.
If your business is in Export Marketing, and you sell to many different countries, you will probably use Multicultural Marketing methods.
Some companies need to start with a multicultural marketing strategy before diving into more effective cross cultural marketing targeting one country.
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Use A Multicultural Internet Marketing Strategy
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Cross-Cultural Marketing
There are a few different entry points into Cross-Cultural Marketing.
- If you only sell to one country your marketing will naturally evolve into Cross-Cultural Marketing.
- If you have sell to several countries, but now have the market knowledge and are willing to invest more to get to know individual countries better, you will develop Cross-Cultural Marketing for each target country.
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Basic Outline For Cross Cultural Online Marketing |
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Culturally Customized Communication
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Mindset
You mindset is critical to your international business success. Successful Multicultural Marketing and Cross-Cultural Marketing requires the right mindset.
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The Right Mindset |
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Different Consumer Habits In Different Cultures |
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How A Third Culture Kid’s Natural Cross Cultural Vision
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Build Trust With These Tools
Trust is vital in all business relationships. It should be one of your top priorities when beginning your international marketing.
In international business you can lose trust without even knowing why.
Fortunately, there are two very simple tactics to creating trust in cross-cultural communication. And you also have a variety of communication tools you can use to build trust.
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Building Trust With International Clients
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Color
Different cultures respond to colors differently. You need to clarify how the colors you use in your communication are perceived in your foreign markets.
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The Impact Of Color And Its Different Associations
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Music
Audio and video are a large part of web marketing today. Don’t forget to consider cultural differences in music preferences.
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Music In Cultural Differences |
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Target Your Global Market
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Cultural Behavior Differences
The Get International Clients Newsletter has a series of feature articles on the 5 different behavioral differences. This will series will go on for 5 consecutive weeks in the newsletter.
Cultural behaviors are great to study. You can adjust your cross cultural marketing to fit your foreign target markets according to their specific behavioral mix.
Stay tuned, there is more to follow on different cultural behaviors.
- GIC Newsletter 26th May 2008
- GIC Newsletter 2nd June 2008
- GIC Newsletter 9th June 2008
- GIC Newsletter 16th June 2008
- GIC Newsletter 23rd June 2008
More From Cindy
Interested in reading more on my personal opinions and experiences with multicultural marketing?
Read The Whole Story
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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 |
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