Domestic marketing refers to commercializing products or services in the local market. However, international marketing relates to selling products or services in countries other than the home country. Domestic marketing can be done on a small scale with limited resources, whereas international marketing requires significant resources to carry out marketing on a large scale. The needs and preferences of the targeted customers in domestic marketing are similar. However, the demands of international customers change with demographics (Pomirleanu, Mariadoss, & Chennamaneni, 2016).
Therefore, there is a need for comprehensive research for international marketing due to the lack of knowledge, which is not essential for domestic marketing. International companies spend a lot of time and money on exploring global markets and factors that need to be managed to achieve better outcomes. Businesses failing to understand the characteristics of the targeted international market face significant financial losses. The companies, which operate in domestic markets only, follow competitors’ strategies to overcome uncertainties and achieve similar business outcomes. The reason for this approach is that they do not have the required resources and skills to carry out extensive market research.
The strategies for domestic and international marketing are different. Domestic marketing takes advantage of the national language and culture shared by consumers in the home country. On the other hand, there are many difficulties and challenges in preparing marketing strategies for global marketing. The process considers lingual and cultural differences significant, as there are large targeted audiences with different expectations (Hoppner & Griffith, 2015). Even global businesses try to prepare different marketing messages for addressing consumers in various locations. It is crucial because international customers have diverse needs and preferences, and it is not possible to address all of them via a single message or approach. Two important concepts, including localization and internationalization of market strategies, have to be fully understood and applied by businesses. Localization involves the adoption of local choices, demands, and preferences in marketing strategies and activities. On the other hand, internationalization adopts a single market strategy for all markets (Regli, 2016). Although the objective of both marketing approaches is to reach and attract customers, their processes are not the same.
A global marketing strategy requires the evaluation of different factors, including cultural, political and legal, and economic, to ensure its success. The cultural factors include language, regional values, religious practices, preferences, cultural patterns, and demographics of the target country. The integration of these factors into marketing strategies is necessary to avoid consumer resistance and generate a favorable response from market participants. The economic factors include per capita income, lifestyle, purchasing power, and market forces that are helpful in analyzing the macro and microenvironment of the host country (Eteokleous, Leonidou, & Katsikeas, 2016). These factors affect marketing strategies as companies have to make sure that their products or services meet the demands of consumers and they are acceptable to them in terms of price. The information about political and legal constraints such as licensing, permits, tariffs, taxes, legal fees, and fiscal/monetary policies is also crucial for preparing global marketing strategies. These factors are crucial as they determine whether government policies favor international businesses or not. There are specific industries that are protected by the government to ensure that important resources remain under its control. Therefore, it could be stated that a global marketing strategy is the outcome of careful planning and implementation of the best practices.
References
Eteokleous, P. P., Leonidou, L. C., & Katsikeas, C. S. (2016). Corporate social responsibility in international marketing: Review, assessment, and future research. International Marketing Review, 33(4), 580-624. Web.
Hoppner, J. J., & Griffith, D. A. (2015). Looking back to move forward: A review of the evolution of research in international marketing channels. Journal of Retailing, 91(4), 610-626. Web.
Pomirleanu, N., Mariadoss, B. J., & Chennamaneni, P. R. (2016). Managing service quality in high customer contact B2B services across domestic and international markets. Industrial Marketing Management, 55(1), 131-143. Web.
Regli, T. (2016). Digital and marketing asset management: The real story about DAM technology and practice. New York, NY: Rosenfield Media.