Global And Domestic Marketing Require Different Strategies
Global and domestic marketing varies considerably because people differ by countries.
Some companies use a one-size-fits-all marketing approach. This approach is doomed to fail because what people in one culture like, another those in another nation abhor.
Using market segmentation to determine values, concerns, and attitudes of target market members requires market research specific to each nation and groups of people within each nation.
Global and Domestic Marketing: Consider Differences In People By Nations
USA market segmentation concentrates on demographics, psychographics and buying behavior. But the information provided by these characteristics doesn’t cross borders.
The United States is known as a melting pot, and that means marketing to different cultures within one nation. That’s hard enough, but when it must be done across borders, it gets even harder.
Global and Domestic Marketing: Demographic Characteristics Vary By Nation and Culture
Once you have left the United States, market segmentation criteria vary from nation to nation. Each country is defined by a different history and culture. Marketing using a hockey player works in Canada, but it won’t work in Morocco.
Generation X, young adults in the USA, were deeply influenced by the 9-11 terrorists attacks. Because of global mass media, that event was somewhat experienced by young people across the globe. But young people in other countries experienced it differently. Some even celebrated it.
If a business plans one campaign for the world around characteristics for USA markets, the campaign will fail in the rest of the world.
Global and Domestic Marketing: USA Psychographic Characteristics Don’t Cross Borders
Psychographic characteristics also differ by nations. For one reason, culture, morals, values and attitudes are learned within a society. Different nations develop different social pressures and expectations. They teach different values and attitudes within families and schools.
Every nation’s culture differs so what is valued, expected, desired, and feared vary by nation.
For example, it was once common for USA Caucasian families to teach their children that African or Black Americans were inferior and should be treated as such. Some organizations like the Klu Klux Klan even regularly practiced murdering and torturing Blacks and got away with it. And this was after World War I when the Nazis were considered abhorrent for their racial hatred.
So psychographic characteristics like attitudes, values, and concerns change drastically across borders.
Global and Domestic Marketing: Buying Habits Are Nationally Specific
Each nation’s economic well-being influences buying habits of its citizens.
Obviously, the people in some nations have more spending power and more discretionary income than those in other nations. But even among comparatively wealthy nations, people spend differently.
Take grocery shopping as an example. In many prosperous European nations, people still buy fresh groceries from local markets and purchase every day for that day’s meals.
Here in the USA, we don’t want to spend that much time buying groceries. We buy fast food on the way to and from work, or we buy food that has to be processed to last weekly or monthly.
People in some nations probably think that USA residents have their priorities messed up to avoid spending their time buying and preparing fresh, healthy foods.
If we are so different in the way we purchase survival products like food, how much more different are we when it comes to buying other products.
Global and Domestic Marketing: Conclusion
Developing a marketing campaign for the people in one nation and trying to transfer that campaign to another nation doesn’t work.
To effectively market internationally, unique marketing campaigns must be developed for each nation. But first marketers and business owners must learn about the people in the targeted nation.
In order for businesses in all nations to improve their business and national economies, the world needs to share specific characteristics that cause people to respond to marketing campaigns differently. When that happens global and domestic marketing opportunities will become more equal.
