International Marketing Strategy For Small Businesses - The Right Mindset

An international marketing strategy requires sustaining an international mindset. Setting up an international marketing strategy requires a more intense focus than for a local marketing strategy. There are so many more factors to take into account.

If you have markets in several countries it can be a challenge to remain open to all of their different cultural requirements. You must be open to understanding the different markets in each country, with the different parameters specific to each country. And yet you must stay focused on each marketing strategy.

1 - Set Up Antennas For Market Intelligence

One of the easiest ways for small businesses to do this is to cultivate a set of different antennas for each country. Antennas to capture the information you need and stay tuned to each cultural group.

At the same time as you assess the needs for each country you need to keep in mind any of your companies branding issues or international policies. Will these be easily integrated into each country?

2 – Track Similar Needs And Variations By Culture

As you look at the marketing needs for each country, identify any similarities between countries:

- Variations in product use?
- Variations in key selling point?
- Religious holidays?
- Events?
- Languages?

Keep track of all of this information. Compare this to your local company’s marketing strategies.

3 - Create Global Marketing Strategy

As you focus on each individual country and how your product or service fits into that country, you might identify key selling points that are more prominent in certain countries, non-existent in other countries. As you focus on your company’s global strategy, how do these differentiating points fit in? Can they be incorporated better into the global communication strategy, or are they country specific?

Identify the marketing strategies you can apply through all of your international market. Create a company-wide International Marketing Plan.

4 – Add In Country Specific Marketing As Needed

It is often a good idea to have a few marketing strategies with a global international reach, combined with local campaigns. The right mix will depend on your different target markets, your products, and your budget. The more you can market locally the better local response you will have.

Cultivating an international mindset will allow you to maintain your focus on each individual country as well as the whole international market. Your marketing strategy will become clear.