What is Global/International Marketing?
There are multiple directions a business can take when marketing. The words global and international may sound similar, but they can have differences in terms of their marketing aspects. Think of global marketing as having uniformity around the world, while international marketing as being much more diverse and dependent on the local environment.
Global marketing is “...the application of a single marketing strategy in the worldwide market...”. This means the marketing strategy is the same for all countries and has a standard product or service that is offered everywhere. Considering a more negative implication of this, there is overall less customer engagement and, having a unanimous social media presence causes a single standard to run throughout the world. There is less personalization marketed towards a specific audience. Global marketing can feel like a large gap between the headquarters of the corporation and the targeted demographic.
An example of a brand that uses global marketing is Apple. There is uniformity in their approach, meaning that every product is the same in every country the company operates. With this tactic, there are higher profit margins, more growth and expansion opportunities, and a competitive edge. The limitations of global marketing include varying consumer demands and limited knowledge of global statics. This may not be a good strategy if a business is trying to find a specific community of consumers that value the same things in the product. Iphones do not get tailored to a specific consumer because they are made in factories and distributed internationally. Although Apple is very successful nevertheless, they can be out of reach with their audience that may want a more personal approach to the market.
International marketing on the other hand is when the company accounts for “...the prospective markets of different countries.” There is more specificity and products and services tailored to the specific culture. There is much more customer engagement and multiple social media presence. This can ultimately lead to a solid community which spurs more loyalty and engagement which is important for successful businesses and corporations.
McDonald’s uses international marketing because of specific products that are only available in specific countries. For instance, in Japan they have a “Cheese Katsu Burger.” This product is only available in Japan and is a food that is part of the culture. You cannot find “Cheese Katsu” in Mexico. It is a traditional Japanese food so it makes sense for McDonald’s to implement their version of it in the stores in the country. The advantage of international marketing is more sales promotion, expansion of business, and more customer engagement. Along with these advantages, there are disadvantages like high cost and competition with local businesses. Overall, this makes the stores more interesting and special since it isn’t available anywhere
else.
Both types of strategies have their respective benefits and limitations. That being said, many companies choose a hybrid strategy which is a blend of international and global marketing, but this can be very costly which is why there are only a select few of these companies. It makes perfect sense Apple uses global marketing because they specialize in universal smartphones. It also makes perfect sense for McDonald’s to use international marketing because food has a large variety of different cultures. Choosing to use global or international marketing eventually comes down to the product.
