Localization and Global Marketing

Not only is the current world situation an avid reason for everyone to turn to the digital world, but the internet itself has eased the distance between people, thus making people see more products and services and have greater access to business, even if they are not local ones.

If you are an owner of a business, global marketing is a must as no matter how small your business is, you can sell and ship your products and services to consumers wherever they are in the world in just days.

What is Global Marketing:

Global Marketing is essentially how businesses organize and advertise their products or services globally. International corporations have been doing this for years with their vast range of employees and representatives situated around the globe, but now you can easily do this with your small business too.

Global Marketing Strategies:

A global marketing strategy is basically your planning phase of how you will reach out to the world. Two key steps and strategies to ensure success are:

Firstly, the brand and image must be established to be popular and recognized on the local level, this can lead potential customers in other countries to be curious about your product.

Secondly, a marketing plan must be made based on the investigation of your goals and aligning them with the needs of the region. Make sure to adjust this as you move from region to region or country to country. Don’t forget to personalize and localize, as the more you speak in your target audience’s native language, the more likely they are to relate to your product and service, and thus more likely to make a purchase.

Global Marketing Localization:

Global marketing and localization go hand-in-hand. If you fire off a message around the world without localizing it first, most likely your campaign will be a failure instead of being a global door opener for your company.  Global marketing localization is about adapting your content to your new target audience and prioritizing the cultural nuances and buyer behaviors of your target market. As an example: “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” and you will only be able to do that if you ask an actual Roman 😊 Using a localization service ensures that your target audience will understand and be engaged by your messaging and will interact (buy, use, recommend, etc…) with your product or service.

And while crafting your message, don’t forget the messenger. Whether a digital or mechanical platform, ensuring you use the appropriate technology and software is key. If a country doesn’t use Google as the primary search engine, don’t place Google Ads for that specific location. If they use Twitter more than Facebook, invest in Twitter promotions more than Facebook ones. If the platform is not used by your target audience, it is wise not to waste time and money on it. This means that you must also tailor your message to each platform: what medium works best and is a platform based more on pictures, videos, or text?

A Few Items Your Global Marketing Campaign Should Include Are:

-how sellable your product is across markets,

-what adjustments are necessary if any; take into account changes in prices when competing in foreign markets

-the placement and how your foreign customers choose and purchase

-how understandable is your message across countries

-are there any changes needed depending on language and culture (locale)

Why Bother To Localize Your Marketing Campaign:

Why must I adapt a global marketing strategy? There are many benefits in taking a localized approach to global marketing.

First, it usually increases the quality of your products and services as a result of the global exposure and getting more customer adoption and feedback, which is a natural effect of expansion.

Second, It will also increase the familiarity of your brand image and raise knowledge about it based on ads and commercials.

Third, the more you are established, the less marketing you will eventually have to do because your brand will market itself with the consumers’ recommendations which means you will be saving money as well.

Global Marketing Challenges:

There are some challenges that you must take into account.

First, you must make sure there is an existing market in the region you are considering. Market research and testing can take time and money.

Second, there is a greater financial risk linked to such endeavors. You may spend a lot of time and money only to find out “Eskimos don’t really need ice…” 😊 as the locale-specific saying goes.

Third, it is difficult to adjust to the different rules every time you enter a new market. There are legal, language and cultural rules to be followed in order to get your message across and be accepted versus rejected or worse.

Global Marketing Greats:

There are several great global marketing examples that one can observe, such as Coca-Cola, Dunkin-Donuts, and Nike.

• Nike, for example, bases each of its campaigns on famous local athletes.
• Dunkin Donuts offers several menu items, some of which are regional, such as the Sobia-flavored donuts and drinks in Egypt or the Qamar Al-Din flavored frosting, which is a seasonal drink made from dried peaches in Egypt.
• Coca-Cola also localizes its ads by depending on famous musicians. A known face of Coca-Cola in the Middle East is the Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram. This has created a familiarity of the brand and made it seem less international and more of a local experience that makes customers purchase it as opposed to actual local soda companies.

Conclusion:

While there is no reward without risk, doing your research before, during, and after a global marketing campaign can ensure your campaigns are successful. A well planned and executed campaign, utilizing a localized approach and following some guidelines, will ensure you open new country markets for your products and services resulting in more recognition, customers and reward…think dollars or dirhams or dobra 😊