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International Marketing Research Process: In-depth Guide

Deepak Suthar

  • Author Deepak Suthar
  • Published February 19, 2024

Extending your business on a worldwide scale necessitates considerable market research and the modification of your entire brand and content to make it more appealing to each local audience. Managers that are determined to enter new markets understand that failure at either of these processes can jeopardise their company’s success.

In reality, if the research team is not on top of their game, all of the many challenges that organisations face when entering a new market and undertaking successful localization can become quite difficult.

If you do not conduct thorough international market research ahead of time, you risk being unprepared for the already difficult localization process. 

International Marketing Research

International marketing research is comparable to domestic marketing research, with two exceptions. First, information must be shared across cultural divides. This means that executives in India must be able to interpret their research questions into words that American  clients understand. The American responses must then be translated into terms that Indian managers can understand, such as reports and data summaries. 

Internal workers and research agencies that are well-versed in cross-cultural communication duties are frequently used to tackle such challenges. Second, the circumstances in which research tools are used vary greatly between markets around the world.

The international marketing researcher must develop the ability to use tried-and-true methodologies in novel and often unexpected circumstances. However, the obstacles faced by most foreign marketing researchers are the constantly varied emphasises on the types of information required, the often restricted choice of relevant tools and approaches accessible, and the difficulty in implementing the research process.

task of international marketing research

Importance for International Marketing Research

International marketing research is very important in the realm of global business. It enables businesses to make well-informed judgments on many areas of international marketing. This knowledge is crucial for effectively addressing problems and grabbing opportunities, which leads to success in foreign markets.

International marketing research can be used as a litmus test to determine whether a company should grow into international markets. It aids in determining whether a company has the resources and strategy required for a successful worldwide enterprise.

Furthermore, it is critical when a company introduces new items. It assists firms in better understanding the overseas market, allowing them to tailor their products to the distinct demands and tastes of international customers.

Finally, international marketing research is critical for communicating changes in an organisation’s worldwide marketing strategy. Whether it’s a growth, repositioning, or a shift in market approach, research provides the framework for effectively communicating these transformations.

Benefits of Doing International Marketing Research

  • International marketing research aids in the detection of errors, allowing them to be corrected before they spread. In addition to avoiding them in the future.
  • International marketing research helps managers make better judgments by highlighting all available marketing options and presenting decision variables in a way that allows marketing managers to select the best alternatives.
  • By analysing what is happening in the industry, international marketing research helps to comprehend the market and the variables that govern it.
  • Developing a competitive advantage and outperforming competition.
  • International marketing research aids in the investigation and comprehension of state-specific environmental restrictions.
  • International marketing research aids in the expansion of the company’s operations.

International Marketing Research Categories

Predictive research.

As the name suggests, academics are interested in what will happen in the future. Based on data obtained about product preferences and customer demographics, they may assess prospective sales growth, user adoption, and market size.

Predictive research uses demographics, brand preferences, and other marketing data, which is frequently combined with Big Data. The end result is data that can forecast purchase trends, product volume, competitor insights, and other statistics that aid in marketing, sales, and finance decisions. Predictive research can assist businesses in determining where to best use their resources.

task of international marketing research

Descriptive Research

The goal of descriptive research is to provide an accurate description of the variables in the problem model. Descriptive research includes consumer profile studies, market potential studies, product usage studies, attitude surveys, sales analysis, media research, and price surveys. A descriptive study can employ any source of information, though most studies of this type rely largely on secondary data sources and survey research.

Exploratory Research 

Exploratory research is concerned with determining the broad nature of the problem and the factors that affect it. Exploratory research has a great degree of flexibility and relies on secondary data, samples, small-scale surveys or basic experiments, case studies, and subjective interpretation of the results.

Causal Research

Causal research investigates the cause-and-effect connection between variables. If a particular factor shifts, the researcher can track the effect on another. Causal research can answer “what if” queries such as price changes, packaging modifications, product additions or deletions, and more.

This method is repeatable and can be applied beyond the scope of a single research study. One disadvantage of this strategy is that it may lead to the perception that cause-and-effect happened when, in fact, it was merely coincidental. Furthermore, if the two variables are closely related, determining which factors contribute to the cause or effect might be difficult.

task of international marketing research

Best Methods in International Market Research

Governments gather vast amounts of data about their citizens and the businesses that operate within their borders. This includes demographics, geography, and culture, all of which may be quite useful when planning your marketing and deciding where to sell your products.

Furthermore, government data can provide significant insights into the legal obstacles you may face when entering a new market, as well as the different rules you must follow when you market and launch your product. Much of this information can be found on government websites.

In-person 

Individual interviews and focus group talks are both extremely effective market research methods. They provide a direct window into your consumers’ thoughts, desires, concerns, pain points, and impressions, as well as their feelings about your competition, among other things.

However, conducting in-person research in an overseas market brings a distinct set of problems. The logistics needs are more demanding, including the discovery and acquisition of suitable venues, as well as collaboration with on-site interviewers, a task that may prove more difficult than in one’s own home. 

Additionally, it is critical to address language obstacles, which frequently necessitate the hire of interpreters or locally-based personnel.

task of international marketing research

Other Businesses

Other businesses’ market research can be an excellent starting point for your own market research. This information may or may not have been gathered by businesses in your area. It could have been gathered by firms in your target market or elsewhere.

Business research is useful since it provides an example of another firm that has done some of your work. The research of other organisations can teach you a lot about business trends, cultural differences, markets, legislation, and more.

Conducting International Market Research

Preliminary research.

Conduct preliminary research by looking online for existing survey reports on your topic of interest. There may not be much, especially if you are seeking for really precise information, but you may find something similar, either for a different country or a report that provides you some suggestions on how to proceed with your primary research.

task of international marketing research

Determining the Target Audience

As you may be aware, determining the target audience is the first stage in any comprehensive market research approach. Knowing your target audience can assist you in narrowing your research efforts and ensuring that you are gathering data and information that is genuinely relevant to the demands of your organisation.

task of international marketing research

Establish a Research Plan

You can now begin designing and developing your research strategy in greater depth. This should include a detailed description of how you intend to carry out your overseas market research, including a budget and dates for specific activities, as well as a list of any problems or dangers you expect. For example, if you intend to conduct surveys in China, you must consider issues such as cultural differences and language limitations.

task of international marketing research

Analysing the Collected Data

After you’ve completed your research plan, you should begin gathering and analysing the study data. Depending on the approaches you’ve used and the type of data you’ve gathered, this could be a lengthy and involved procedure. For example, if you conducted a detailed survey, you may wish to use statistical software to examine the survey’s final results.

To examine their data, researchers employ a variety of statistical techniques, including advanced decision models and predictive analytics. Your analysis may include averages, statistical regression, spreadsheets, and charts.

Setting aside preconceived notions about what the data implies allows data-driven patterns and trends to emerge, which should lead to actionable insights.  Analytics and reporting, such as those contained in online surveys, will provide ready-to-use information depending on the research instruments you select.

Your goal is to learn what your data indicates about the behaviour patterns, opinions, and preferences of your target audience. You may discover that your data supports or refutes your initial study topic. It is critical to remain attentive to both outcomes.

task of international marketing research

Now Work on It

Your research findings should be used to advise specific activities that your organisation may take to improve business performance or develop consumer relationships. If your concept testing proved successful, it’s possible that you’re ready to move on to the product development step. If your new branding and logo gets bad feedback, it’s time to start again or make some substantial changes.

task of international marketing research

Q.1 What function does international marketing research play in corporate growth?

Answer: International marketing research is critical to assisting organisations in expanding abroad. It offers crucial insights into emerging markets, assisting in better decision-making and strategy building.

Q.2 How does foreign marketing research help with cultural differences?

Answer: International marketing research assists firms by revealing cultural nuances, allowing them to efficiently modify their marketing strategies and content to resonate with local audiences.

Q.3 Can global marketing research forecast industry trends?

Yes, organisations may use predictive research to project sales growth, market size, and other crucial statistics by analysing data on product preferences, demographics, and customer behaviour.

Q.4 How might international marketing research help with successful product launches?

Answer: International marketing research assists businesses in developing a thorough awareness of overseas markets, allowing them to design products to fit the special wants and preferences of international clients, resulting in more successful product launches.

Q.5 What role does international marketing research play in risk management in global expansion?

Answer: It assists organisations in identifying potential risks and problems in new markets, allowing them to devise strategies to manage these risks and boost their chances of success.

Wrapping Up

International marketing research is critical for companies trying to extend their operations internationally. It acts as a guidepost, directing firms through the challenging terrain of varied cultures, market complexities, and consumer preferences prevalent in overseas markets. The complex aspect of international marketing research becomes clear when projecting new industry trends, planning successful product launches, and efficiently managing risks.

We must emphasise the importance of adaptation and continuous learning. In a period where borders are no longer impassable barriers and clients are as diverse as ever, paying attention to cultural nuances and market dynamics is not only advantageous, but also required.

International marketing research serves as a compass to keep us on track, and it represents a journey of understanding, discovery, and growth. Businesses must commit to continual research, data-informed decision-making, and the flexibility to adapt to the ever-changing needs of foreign audiences in order to thrive in this dynamic global economy.

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INTERNATIONAL MARKETING RESEARCH PROCESS

An International Marketing Research Process is the systematic gathering, recording, and analyzing data to provide information useful to marketing decision-making. The information must be communicated across cultural boundaries and these research tools are then often applied in foreign markets. General information about the country, area, and/or market is necessary to forecast future marketing. These requirements are done by anticipating social, economic, consumer, and industry trends within specific markets or countries. Specific market information is then used to make the product, promotion, distribution, and price decisions and develop marketing plans. In domestic operations, most emphasis is placed on gathering specific market information because the other data are often available from secondary sources.

Types of Information:

  • Economic and demographic: Data on growth in the economy, inflation, business cycle trends; profitability analysis for the division’s products, specific industry economic studies, analyses of overseas economies, key economic indicators for the US and overseas, and population trends (migration, aging, and immigration).
  • Cultural, sociological, and political climate: A non-economic review of conditions affecting the division’s business. Covers ecology, safety, leisure time, and their impact on the business.
  • Market conditions: Analysis of market conditions the division faces by market segment including international conditions.
  • Technological environment: Summary of the state of the art technology as it relates to the division’s business. Needs to be broken down by product segment.
  • Competitive situation:  Review of competitor’s sales revenues, methods of market segmentation, products, and apparent strategies on an international scope.

Research Process:

  • Define the research problem and establish research objectives.
  • Determine the sources of information to fulfill the research objectives.
  • Consider the costs and benefits of the research.
  • Gather the relevant data from secondary or primary sources or both.
  • Analyze, interpret, and summarize the results.
  • Effectively communicate the results to decision-makers.

*Variations and/or problems in implementation occur because of differences in cultural and economic development.*

Economic Dualism

A way of conceptualizing the existence of two (sometimes more) separate but symbiotic sets of economic processes or markets within the same political or national social framework. In third world societies, for example, a dual economy is formed by the coexistence of peasant subsistence agriculture and cash production of basic commodities or industrial goods for the international marketing research process. An analogous division exists in highly industrialized economies between the corporate core and peripheral firms and labor markets.

Multicultural Research Involves countries that have different languages, economies, social structures, behavior, and attitude patterns. Keep this in mind when designing cultural research to ensure comparability and equivalency of results. Different methods have varying reliabilities in different countries (thus different research methods should be applied in different countries). Example: In Latin American countries it is difficult to attract consumers to participate in focus groups because of different views about commercial research and the value of their time. The Japanese don’t respond to mail surveys compared to Americans. Evidence suggests that inefficient attention is paid to non-sampling errors in improperly conducted multicultural studies and the appropriateness of research measure that has not been tested in the multi-cultural context.

Internet Research/P rivacy Issues (a matter of personal and legal consideration) The ability to conduct primary research is one of the most exciting aspects of the internet but the bias of a sample universe composed solely of internet respondents present severe limitations. The firms vary in their abilities to turn data collected into competitive advantages. Today, the real power of the internet for international market research is the ability to easily access volumes of secondary data. Online surveys and buyer panels-have better “branching abilities” (asking different questions based on previous answers). Below are some examples of research. – Online focus groups: Use of bulletin boards. – Web visitor tracking: Auto track time visitors travel through websites. – Advertising measurement: Servers track links to other sites to assess their usefulness. Customer identification systems-track visits and purchases over time creating a “virtual panel”. – E-mail marketing lists: Sign up for direct marketing efforts via the internet. – Embedded research: The internet process people go through searching for info about products, comparison shopping, interacting w/service providers, etc is the research process itself (firms that give the option of custom designing products online are the ultimate in applying research for product development purposes). – Observational research: Chat rooms, blogs, and personal websites monitored to assess customer’s opinions about products.

Two Methods for Forecasting Market Demand 1) Expert Opinion: For market estimation problems, growth rates, and market size particularly in foreign countries new to the marketer, expert opinion is advisable. The key to using expert opinion to forecast demand is triangulation and comparing estimates produced by different sources. 2) Analogy: Assumes that demand for a product develops in much the same way in all countries as comparable economic development occurs in each country. The relationship between a known situation and country in question. Advanced techniques include multiple regression analysis or input-output analysis.

In Review: – The key component in developing successful international marketing research process strategies and avoiding major market blunders is information. – If a researcher interested in a general non-economic review of conditions affecting the company’s business, the best area avenue would be a cultural, sociological, and political estimate. – If a company wants to gather information on its own market environment you should define the research problem and establish research objectives. – Consulting with customers regarding research design is not a standard step in the research process. – The availability and accuracy of recorded secondary data increases as the level of economic development increases. – Survey questionnaires are primary data. – Yes/No questions research format is quantitative research. – The open-ended questions research format is qualitative research. – Lack of randomness in the population is not a problem of drawing a random sample in the international environment. – The language barrier is the most universal survey research problem in foreign countries. – Back translation is when a researcher translates a questionnaire into another language and then another translator translates it back into the original language. – Parallel translation: Analogy assumes that demand for a product develops in much the same way in all countries as comparable economic development occurs in each country.

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How to conduct international market research: 4 methods for global insights

These international market research methods help your business go global by reaching the audiences who will love your product in multiple target countries.

Why conduct international market research?

Primary vs secondary international market research, what to consider before starting the global market research process, faqs about market research in foreign markets.

Are you planning on taking the world by storm with your new brand, product or service? Do some international market research first, to make sure you understand the nuances of different global markets, and create a comprehensive picture of your new target market.

You could use international market research to get a clear picture of the risks and business opportunities that lie ahead in countries you plan to export or expand to. It can include competitive analysis, research into how to resonate with consumers in different countries, as well as drilling down into legal, cultural, political and logistical aspects.

task of international marketing research

There can be huge differences between each different foreign marketplace that you might not have thought of or realized as an outsider looking in. For any international business, it’s important that you get quality primary data in all the countries you operate in, to make sure you’re not tone-deaf, and are able to optimize your products, processes, and promotion for each specific market.

Here’s a fantastic example of how international market research pays off. 

We’ve seen first-hand how companies like Klarna have benefited from doing thorough research before expanding to new markets. Their qualitative research in Belgium uncovered a crucial piece of information: Belgian consumers didn’t like the name of the product they intended to launch there.  

Klarna turned to Attest to do a quantitative study, and created a survey to test different product names and to see what would convert best. In the end, a suitable name popped up out of the data and Klarna went ahead with a successful launch,

That’s just one way international market research can benefit your business. But of course, there’s more, so keep on reading.

Minimize risks when entering overseas markets

As with any type of market research, one of the main objectives is minimizing risk. 

You wouldn’t walk into a porcelain shop wearing a blindfold; you’d study the room, and move accordingly. 

Use market research to minimize the risk of entering a market that is already saturated, or where there’s no demand, or where you wouldn’t make a profit at the price point you’re offering… The world is your oyster. 

task of international marketing research

Get to know customers across different cultures

The world is getting more and more connected. There’s a surge of ‘digital nomads’ and people who say they are ‘citizens of the world’ when you ask them where they’re from. But, there are still plenty of cultural differences you should be aware of when it comes to selling products or services.

Studying consumer behavior in foreign markets is crucial for international market research. You could wonder about questions like:

  • Who shops online more, Italians or Germans? And what does this mean for our localized online stores?
  • Do car buyers in the US conduct their research differently than UK car buyers?
  • Is getting your groceries delivered as big a thing in Spain as it is in Norway?

Don’t just assume there’ll be enough overlap between countries. You could be surprised by the difference in results. For instance, a passionate Italian grandmother might approach buying pasta very differently from a student in Budapest—so adjust your pricing, global market research , international marketing , distribution channels and more accordingly.

Identify business opportunities and market potential

Which countries still don’t have a product as awesome as yours? In which target markets are people currently buying large quantities of the product you’re selling—so much that the current producers can’t keep up? What emerging markets should you enter right now?

International market research helps you spot new business opportunities. You find out how large potential markets are, who your competitors are and how you could steal market share from them.

Don’t just look forward: look back too to see how the market has developed. What market trends have passed, and how did people react to them? What are the usual growth rates for businesses like yours?

Identifying the fastest growing markets and familiarizing yourself with the players in those will help you figure out your own competitive advantages, so you can enter new markets with confidence, being able to lead—not just follow. 

Not sure where to start? Say hello to our market analysis template ! With this we offer you a clear idea of the type of questions you can ask. Use it as a starting point and tailor it to your needs to really get to know your market.

Start with Attest for free

Get inspired with our market analysis survey template. And launch your first survey for free!

Optimize spending and margins

It’s very likely that you have to tweak your usual strategies a little, depending on the market. In other countries there will be different distribution channels, production options and costs for selling. Getting insight into this before entering is crucial.

Look into which channels are available and gather information on suppliers, manufacturers and other partners you need. Having this info ready before launch will mean you can fuel your export plan with valuable strategic insights, ensuring you maximize your profit, and can deliver your products on time.

Make sure you’re compliant

We can’t stress enough how important it is that you get all the legal insights ready before entering a new market. Every country has different rules and standards, and not being compliant could be an expensive mistake. 

Find out what the required certifications and standards are, and what tests your products have to endure. Check if products or packaging need to be altered for specific markets with specific rules. 

Your international market research should be a mix of primary and secondary data, mixed to compliment each other to give you a thorough understanding of a new market.

Each research method comes with its own benefits, but combining the two gives you the best of both worlds. 

Secondary market research

Secondary market research is great to lay the groundwork in the market research process: you can use data and quantitative research that you can find online to get a good understanding of the market. Think market data and trade data, and specific trade statistics for a country or a product. 

The benefit of using secondary market research for this part is that it’s relatively quick, and cost-efficient. However, it can only be used for part of your research objectives, because the information is generic, not specified to your product and might not be up-to-date.

Primary market research

In comes primary market research. This is often done using online surveys, or by talking to experts in the foreign market you’re looking into. This is great to study your target customers from up close, or learn about the current market conditions from local experts. You can also use primary research to talk to local suppliers, for more successful export planning.

Every form of market research should be done with care—international or not. After all, you’re going to be basing important business decisions on the outcomes of your research, so best be careful, right? Right. Here are some extra words of advice, to not let your adventure abroad be an expensive waste of time.

  • Markets change: bear in mind that if you do international market research just once, you’ll online have a static picture of what the market was once like. Markets are dynamic, and international markets react to each other—so make sure you keep an eye on relevant trends and market conditions, and follow up on your research regularly.
  • Inside information is best: when it comes to international market research, make sure you speak to the right people. A survey group that looks exactly like your target market, but ‘just’ has different nationalities, is likely not a good representation of who you are trying to research.
  • Be willing to act on the results, not just analyze them: allow the data you’ve collected to influence your decision-making process. This will help you create more defined objectives for your research, and make your approach to the research a lot more practical. It can help to make important stakeholders part of the research process.

task of international marketing research

How to conduct international market research: 4 strategies

1. talk to local experts in potential markets.

Sometimes you can have a long hard look at the data, but still not get a good feeling of what is actually happening inside a market. In those cases, it can be incredibly helpful to talk to local experts to add some qualitative flavor to your research dish. These can be suppliers, manufacturers, economic experts, business journalists or anyone else who can make the data you see come to life.

2. Dive into secondary data from governments

While we don’t recommend using only secondary research as a source for your market intelligence, it sometimes simply is the only option, especially if your budget is limited. In that case, make sure you pick the right sources. 

We recommend you start with government trade data and economic statistics, which are usually up-to-date and the most accurate. Be wary of sources from websites that could have tainted the stats for financial gain, or for PR or SEO purposes.

3. Talk to consumers using online surveys

How can you possibly talk to all those potential buyers in your target markets, let alone track your brand , without booking expensive plane tickets there? We’ll let you in on a secret: use Attest.

If you’re sending online surveys, you want to have the peace of mind that it is being completed by people who are in your target group. We’ve made sure of that, by giving you access to an audience of 125 million people in 59 countries. Using Attest, you can very specifically segment your audience for hyper relevant results.

4. Use focus groups for more data

If you want to test some ideas or supplement your primary research insights with more qualitative data, focus groups can be a great way to move forward. Make sure that before flying out there you make sure you’re talking to relevant people who fit your target group description to a T.

Access more consumers with overseas market research

Set yourself up for success, wherever you choose to go. If your business is ready to expand overseas and is crossing borders, make the most out of our international market research platform . And if you’re in the States, here’s how the top market research companies in the US stack up.

Uncover your global market insights

Reach 125m consumers in 58 countries with Attest. It’s the best of both worlds in market research: cutting-edge tech meets human expertise

Start with setting a goal and defining what you want to know. Then create a research plan including your research methods. Choose the right research tools (like Attest’s  market analysis software ) for that, and then start conducting the research. Analyze all the data and pin it together. Finally, present the data and take action based on your new insights.

In international market research, we recommend you dig into your competitors, the market size and market trends over time. Analyze cultural differences, be aware of legal and political factors and make sure you get to know your suppliers and distribution channels.

You don’t just minimize risk, you also learn how to maximize your success. You learn how to adapt your marketing to fit local markets, position your company’s product successfully and operate at the most beneficial prices.

task of international marketing research

Alexandra Aquino

Customer Research Principal 

Alexandra joined Attest in 2018, with a strong background in market research. In the Customer Research Team, Alexandra takes a leading role in supporting brands to uncover consumer insights and explore new opportunities for growth.

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How To Conduct International Market Research: 6 Key Steps To Follow

How To Conduct International Market Research: 6 Key Steps To Follow

Expanding your business on a global scale requires conducting extensive market research and adjusting your entire brand and content to become more approachable to each local audience. Managers who have their minds set on entering new markets know that failing at either of these steps can threaten their business’ success.

Statistics show that the global market research services market has grown from $76.42 billion in 2021 to $81.69 billion in 2022 . This 6.9% CAGR speaks volumes about the importance of international market research these days. In fact, all of the different obstacles companies face when entering a new market and conducting successful localization can become really challenging if the team responsible for the research is not on top of their game.

If you fail to carry out rigorous international market research beforehand, you risk being unprepared for the already challenging localization process. This informative article will take a closer look at some of the most influential international market research methods and tips on handling the process like a pro.

The 6 steps you should take to conduct proper international market research

Like any other type of market research, your should do international market research in smaller, more easily manageable steps. Here’s a quick, high-level overview of them:

Determine your target audience

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As you may already know, the initial step in any comprehensive market research strategy is to determine the target audience. Knowing the target audience will help you narrow down your research efforts and ensure that you’re obtaining data and information that’s actually relevant to your business’ needs.

For instance, if you’re willing to expand on the French market, an example of an audience you might target would be “French lower middle-class men ages 35-50.”

Identify your market research goals

Next, you should identify a problem, issue, or business opportunity you want to understand better about your target audience. For instance: “With this research, our company wants to understand what hair care products French lower middle-class men ages 35-50 prefer when shopping at their nearest supermarket. This way, we can know better if our product stands a chance in the highly-competitive French hair care market.”

Choose your research techniques and methods

Once you set your target audience and market research goals, you’ll need to choose the techniques and methods that will help you obtain the data you need. When working on research, there are numerous different techniques and methods you may utilize, both qualitative and quantitative.

For the case above, to find out more about the hair care products French men buy and consume, you can conduct a market survey . Through the survey, you can ask men that fall under your target audience about what they do when it comes to taking care of their hair.

Establish your research plan

Once you know the techniques and methods you’ll utilize in your research, you can start establishing and developing your research plan in greater detail. This should include a comprehensive description of how you’ll execute your international market research, including setting a budget and timelines for particular activities and noting any challenges or risks you anticipate. For instance, if you plan on conducting surveys in France, you’ll definitely need to consider challenges such as cultural differences and language barriers.

Collect and analyze the data from the research

Right after you’ve carried out your research plan, you should start collecting and analyzing the data from the research. Many times, this could be a long and complicated process, depending on the techniques you’ve utilized and the type of data you’ve obtained. For example, if you carried out a comprehensive survey, you might want to rely on statistical software to analyze the final results of the survey.

Present your findings

Last but not least, after you’ve collected and analyzed your data, you will need to present your findings in a way that’s easy for other individuals to understand. For example, if there are stakeholders in your company, they can use these findings to make well-informed decisions about things like marketing, product development, and even the big-picture expansion plan.

How you’ll present your findings will depend on the type of data you’ve gathered and the goals of your research. For the example from above, you can create a presentation or create a report that includes graphs and charts regarding male hair care products in the French market.   

Do your expansion homework and set your business up for success

In the end, remember that these steps are just a high-level overview of international market research. Each market research project is unique, so you’ll need to tailor your approach to fit the particular needs of your company.

Keep in mind that the process of conducting comprehensive market research is an essential and unavoidable task if you want your localisation and expansion strategy to be successful. Make sure not to skip this incredibly important process while planning to conquer international markets and do the research in a professional manner.

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Home » Marketing Management » International Marketing Research – Definition, Categories and Process

International Marketing Research – Definition, Categories and Process

International marketing managers make the same basic types of decisions as do those who operate in only one country. Of course, they make these decisions in a more complicated environment. As with marketing decisions, the basic function of marketing research and the research process does not differentiate between domestic and multinational research. However, the process is complicated almost exponentially as more and more countries are involved in the same decision. Marketing research practices and techniques have become truly global. For example, the world’s largest research firm, Nielsen, is headquartered in the U.S. but derives almost two-thirds of its revenue from outside the U.S. It is standardizing much of the data it routinely collects in 27 different countries.

The main factors which influence marketing research in different countries are;

  • Product. When a soft drink was launched in Arab countries, it has a label with six-pointed stars. The sales were very low as the stars were associated with Israel.
  • Price. An American firm was willing to set a reasonable price for the product they intended to sell to the Japanese. A detailed presentation was made to the Japanese businessmen, but it was followed by a deep silence. The Americans thought that the Japanese were going to reject the price and offered a lower price. The Japanese kept silent again. After that, the Americans lowered the price again saying that it was the lowest they could sell at. After a brief silence, the offer was accepted. Later the Japanese confessed that the first offered price was quite acceptable, but they had a tradition to think over the offer silently. An American company suffered great losses in this case.
  • Place. A company wanted to enter the Spanish market with two-liter drink bottles and failed. Soon they found out that Spaniards prefer small door fridges and they could not put large bottles into them.
  • Promotion. Pepsico came to Taiwan with the ad ‘Come Alive with Pepsi’. They could not imagine that is it translated ‘Pepsi will bring your relatives back from the dead’ into Chinese.
  • Racial Differences. This refers to the differences in the physical features of people in different countries. For example, types of hair cut and cosmetic products differ greatly in various countries.
  • Climatic Differences. These are the meteorological conditions such as temperature range or degree of rain. For example, Bosch-Siemens adapted their washing machines to the markets they sell. In Scandinavia, where there are very few sunny days, they sell washing machines with a minimum spin cycle of 1,000 rpm and a maximum of 1,600 rpm, whereas in Italy and Spain a spin cycle of 500 rpm is enough.
  • Economic Differences. Economic development of various countries is different and when a company introduces a new product it adapts it to that new market. There are factors that show the level of economic development .
  • Buying power and revenue of the market. In developed countries with higher income of revenue, people prefer complicated products with advanced functions, while in poor countries simple products are preferable.
  • The infrastructure of the market. Such elements of the infrastructure of the country as transport, communication system, and others influence the product. When Suzuki entering the Indian market the suspension was reinforced as the state of roads in India is very poor.
  • Religious Differences. Religion affects the product greatly and makes companies adapt their product to religious norms. If a company exports grocery products to Islamic countries it must have a special certificate indicating that the animal was slaughtered according to ‘Halal’ methods.
  • Historical Differences. Historical differences affect consumer behavior . For instance, Scotch whiskey is considered fashionable in Italy and not very trendy in Scotland.
  • Language Differences. The correct translation and language adaptation is very important. For example, when Proctor & Gamble entered the Polish markets it translated properly its labels but failed. Later they found out that imperfect language must have been used in order to show that the company fits in.

Besides the differences mentioned above, there may be differences in the way that products or services are used, differences in the criteria for assessing products or services across various markets, and differences in market research facilities and capabilities.

International Marketing Research Categories

International marketing research is the systematic design, collection, recording, analysis, interpretation, and reporting of information pertinent to a particular marketing decision facing a company operating internationally. International marketing managers need to constantly monitor the different forces affecting their international operations.

There are three general categories of research based on the type of information required.

  • Exploratory research deals with discovering the general nature of the problem and the variables that relate to it. Exploratory research is characterized by a high degree of flexibility, and it tends to rely on secondary data, convenience or judgment samples, small-scale surveys or simple experiments, case analyses , and subjective evaluation of the results.
  • Descriptive research is focused on the accurate description of the variables in the problem model. Consumer profile studies, market-potential studies, product-usage studies, attitude surveys, sales analyses, media research, and price surveys are examples of descriptive research. Any source of information can be used in a descriptive study, although most studies of this nature rely heavily on secondary data sources and survey research.
  • Causal research attempts to specify the nature of the functional relationship between two or more variables in the problem model. For example, studies on the effectiveness of advertising generally attempt to discover the extent to which advertising causes sales or attitude change.

There are three types of evidence to make inferences about causation: (1) concomitant variation, (2) sequence of occurrence, and (3) absence of other potential causal factors.

Concomitant variation, or invariant association, is a common basis for ascrib­ing cause. For example, advertising expenditures vary across a number of geographic areas and measure sales in each area. To the extent that high sales occur in areas with large advertising expenditures and low sales occur in areas with limited advertising expenditures, it is inferred that advertising is a cause of sales. It must be stressed that this has been only inferred, it is not proved that increased advertising causes increased sales.

The sequence of occurrence can also provide evidence of causation. For one event to cause another, it must always precede it. An event that occurs after another event cannot be said to cause the first event. The importance of sequence can be demonstrated in the last example of advertising causing sales. It is supposed that further investigation showed that the advertising allocation to the geo­graphic regions had been based on the last period’s sales such that the level of advertising was directly related to past sales. Suddenly, the nature of our causal relationship is reversed. Now, because of the sequence of events, it can be inferred that changes in sales levels cause changes in advertising levels.

A final type of evidence that is used to infer causality is the absence of other potential causal factors. That is, if one could logically or through our research design eliminate all possible causative factors except the one he/she is interested in, he/she would have established that the variable he/she is concerned with was the causative factor. Unfortunately, it is never possible to control completely or to eliminate all possible causes for any particular event. Always there is a possibility that some factor of which one is not aware has influenced the results. However, if all reasonable alternatives are eliminated except one, one can have a high degree of confidence in the remaining variable.

Steps of International Marketing Research Process

The international marketing research process, as well as the domestic one, is a series of separate steps. However, the international marketing research process has some peculiarities such as the national differences between countries arising out of political, legal, economic, social, and cultural differences and, the comparability of research results due to these differences.

Step 1. Research Problem Definition

Problem definition is the most critical part of the research process. Research problem definition involves specifying the information needed by manage­ment. Unless the problem is properly defined, the information produced by the research process is unlikely to have any value.

Step 2. Information Value Estimation

Information has value only to the extent that it improves decisions. The value of information increases as;

  • the cost of wrong de­cision increases,
  • our level of knowledge as to the correct decision de­creases, and
  • the accuracy of the information the research will provide increases.

The principle involved in deciding whether to do more research is that research should be conducted only when the value of the information to be obtained is expected to be greater than the cost of obtaining it.

Step 3. Selection of the Data Collection Approach

There are three basic data collection approaches in international marketing research: (1) secondary data, (2) survey data, and (3) experimental data. Secondary data were collected for other purposes than helping to solve the current problem. Primary data are collected expressly to help solve the problem at hand. Survey and experimental data are therefore secondary data if they were collected earlier for another study; they are primary data if they were collected for the present one. Secondary data are virtually always collected first because of their time and cost advantages.

Step 4. Measurement Technique Selection

Four basic measurement techniques are used in marketing research: (1) questionnaires , (2) attitude scales, (3) observation, and (4) depth interviews and projec­ts techniques. As with selecting the data collection method, the selection of a measurement technique is influenced primarily by the nature of the information required and secondarily by the value of the information.

Step 5. Sample Selection

Most marketing studies involve a sample or subgroup of the total population relevant to the problem, rather than a census of the entire group. The popu­lation is generally specified as a part of the problem definition process.

Step 6. Selection of Methods of Analyses

Data are useful only after analysis. Data analysis involves converting a series of recorded observations into descriptive statements and/or inferences about relationships. The types of analyses, which can be conducted, depending on the nature of the sampling process, measurement instrument, and the data collection method.

Step 7. Evaluation of the Ethics of the Research

It is essential that marketing researchers restrict their research activities to practices that are ethically sound. Ethically sound research considers the interests of the general public, the respondents, the client, and the research profession as well as those of the researcher.

Step 8. Estimation of Time and Financial Requirements

Time refers to the time needed to complete the project. The financial requirement is the monetary representation of personnel time, computer time, and mate­rials requirements. The time and finance requirements are not independent.

Step 9. Preparation of Research Proposal

The research design process provides the researcher with a blueprint, or guide, for conducting and controlling the research project. This blueprint is written in the form of a research proposal. A written research proposal should precede any research project. The re­search proposal helps ensure that the decision-maker and the researcher are still in agreement on the basic management problem, the information re­quired, and the research approach.

The Nature of International Secondary Data

Secondary data for international marketing decisions are subject to some disadvantages. Unfortunately, many of the disadvantages are multiplied when the data involve more countries. An additional problem is that most secondary data are available only in the host country’s language. Thus, multi-country searches require utilizing specializing firms or maintaining a multilingual staff.

Data availability, recency, accessibility, and accuracy vary widely from country to country. Until recently, there were few commercial databases in Japan because of the difficulty of using Japanese characters on computers. Now the problem is resolved. The Japanese government prepares many potentially useful reports, but even Japanese firms seldom use them because they are poorly organized and indexed. Secondary data in many non-democracies often reflect political interests more closely than reality. In general, the amount of secondary data available in a country varies directly with its level of economic development.

Even when accurate data are accessible, it may not be possible to make multinational comparisons. Data from several countries may not be comparable because the data were collected at different times, use different units of measurement, cover slightly different topics, or define the classes (such as age groups) differently. This has become a major problem in the European Community as firms begin to analyze the market as a whole rather than as a collection of individual countries. To resolve part of the problem, ESOMAR has proposed a standardized set of questions to gather demographic data in both government and private surveys. Similar work is underway in Brazil, India, and the Middle East.

Internal Sources of International Secondary Data

The internal sources of data for international decisions can be classified into four broad categories – accounting records, salesforce reports, miscellaneous records, and internal experts. However, utilizing international internal data can be difficult. Different accounting systems , decentralized (often on a country basis) management and information systems, sales forces organized by country or region, and so forth, all increase the difficulty of acquiring and using internal data in a timely manner. To deal with these problems global firms implement international information systems and require some standardization across countries in terms of internal recordkeeping and reporting.

External Sources of International Secondary Data

For example, when a company starts an external search for international secondary data it consults general guides to this type of data, such as the International Marketing Handbook of the US Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, The World of Information (Africa Guide), or it contacts Euromonitor, the leading provider of world business information and market analysis. An alternative to conducting such a search “in-house” is to use a specialist firm such as PricewaterhouseCoopers and McKinsey.

a) Databases

Both ABI (Abstract Business Information)/Inform, which contains 150-word abstracts of articles published in about 1,300 business publications worldwide, and Predicasts, which provides 11 online databases, have significant international content in their bibliographic databases. Predicasts coverage is particularly good and it is growing rapidly. In fact, half its information is on companies and industries from outside the U.S. Its major bibliographic database, PROMPT, contains material from all over the world. Both Infomat International Business and Worldcasts are focused on compa­nies, products, industries, economies, and so forth outside the U.S. Predi­casts also have separate F&S Indexes for Europe and for the rest of the world excluding Europe and the U.S. A major advantage of these abstracts is that they are all in English. Copies of the entire article are gen­erally available in the original language.

b) Foreign Government Sources

All developed countries provide census-type data on their populations. However, the frequency of data collection and the type and amount of data collected vary widely from country to country. Germany went 17 years be­tween its last two censuses, and Holland has not conducted a census in 20 years. The U.S. collects income data in its census and marketers make extensive use of it. Most other nations, including Japan, Britain, France, Spain, and Italy, do not. (Australia, Mexico, Sweden, and Finland do.) While the Scan­dinavian countries, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand publish English-language versions of their main census reports, most countries report them only in their home language.

c) International Political Organizations

Three major international political organizations provide significant amounts of data relevant to international marketing activities. The United Nations and its related organization, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, provide hundreds of publications dealing with the population, economic, and social conditions of over 200 countries.

The World Bank lends funds, provides advice, and serves as a catalyst to stimulate investments in developing nations. To carry out its missions, it collects substantial amounts of useful data which can be purchased inexpen­sively.

The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) con­sists of 24 economically developed countries with the mission of promoting the members’ economic and social welfare by coordinating national policies. As part of this mission, it publishes reports on a broad range of socio-economic topics involving its members and the developing nations.

Issues in International Primary Data Collection

Primary data are the data collected to help solve a problem or take advantage of an opportunity on which a decision is pending.

The main advantage of primary data lies in the fact that it is collected for solving the exact problem and that is why it is characterized by high usefulness and novelty. The disadvantage is that the costs of collecting primary data are much higher in foreign developing markets as there is a lack of an appropriate marketing research infrastructure.

The international primary data is collected with the help of qualitative and quantitative research approaches. Qualitative research is particularly used as a first step in studying international marketing phenomena (focus groups, observation). However, the main constraint is that responses can be affected by culture as individuals may act differently if they know they are being observed.

Quantitative researches are more structured. They involve both descriptive research approaches, such as survey research, and causal research approaches, such as experiments. More respondents take part in quantitative research, although it highlights fewer problems than qualitative research.

International marketing research in a cross-cultural environment requires the measurement of behaviors and attitudes. A major issue in primary data collection is the existence of the so-called EMIC vs. ETIC dilemma. The EMIC school states that attitudinal and behavioral phenomena are unique to a culture. The ETIC school is primarily concerned with identifying and assessing universal attitudinal and behavioral concepts and developing pan-cultural or culture-free measures.

Survey Methods of International Marketing Research

The techniques of data collection used in international marketing research have both advantages and disadvantages.

  • Personal interviews are considered to be the most popular method of data collection in international marketing research. However, there are several constraints to the usage of this technique. In Middle East countries, personal interviews are treated with great suspicion. Moreover, the personnel for the survey should be male and they may conduct interviews with housewives only when their husbands are at home. In Latin American countries, where the tax protest movement is being developed, the interviews are thought to be tax inspectors.
  • Mall intercept surveys may be used in the United States, Canada, and European countries. As far as the developing countries are concerned they are not common.
  • Telephone interviews have several advantages over other survey methods of international marketing research. The time and costs of international telephone calls are reducing, the surveys may be conducted from one place, the results of telephone interviews are considered reliable and it is easier to perform the client and interviewer control. But telephone surveys also have some limitations because of poor telecommunication systems in several countries. For example, in India telephone penetration is only 1 percent and telephone surveys reduce the survey coverage greatly. But even in such developed countries as Great Britain telephone penetration comprises only 80 percent. That is why a lot of marketers are very skeptical about telephone surveys and nowadays there is a great reduction in their application.
  • Mailing surveys are widely used in industrialized countries, where there is a high level of literacy, good mailing services, and availability of mailing lists. However, the use of this method in developing countries has some constraints. In some countries people consider the mailing surveys to be an invasion into their private life and the effectiveness of these surveys is reduced. In such countries as Brazil, where only 30 percent of mail is delivered, mailing surveys can not be used as well.
  • Electronic surveys become more popular in the United States and Europe and they are used for products that require technological literacy such as computers and computer software. E-mail surveys begin to replace mail and telephone surveys. The limiting factors for electronic surveys are as follow: there are still many countries with low internet access, the internet versions available in various countries may not be compatible and there may be a big number of non-responses because of technical issues. At the same time, the speed of getting responses and the low costs of surveys makes this method suitable for international marketing research.

International marketing research is the systematic design, collection, recording, analysis, interpretation, and reporting of information relating to a particular marketing decision facing a company operating internationally. The international marketing research process has some peculiarities such as the national differences between countries arising out of political, legal, economic, social, and cultural differences and, the comparability of research results due to these differences.

A company performing international marketing research may experience several problems. Firstly, there is a complexity of research design due to operation in a multi-country, multicultural, and multi-linguistic environment. Secondly, the availability of secondary data varies widely from country to country. In some markets, especially emerging and unstable, the data is neither available nor reliable. Thirdly, the costs of collecting primary data are much higher in foreign developing markets as there is a lack of an appropriate marketing research infrastructure. Fourthly, problems associating with coordinating research and data collection in different countries may arise. And finally, there are the difficulties of establishing the comparability and equivalence of data and research conducted in different contexts.

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What is International Marketing Research? Scope, Factors

  • Post last modified: 20 April 2021
  • Reading time: 6 mins read
  • Post category: Marketing Essentials

What is International Marketing Research?

International Marketing Research can be defined as research that crosses national boundaries and involves the respondents and researchers from various countries and cultures. It may be conducted simultaneously in multiple countries or sequentially over a period to time.

Table of Content

  • 1 What is International Marketing Research?
  • 2 Scope of International Marketing Research
  • 3.1 Cultural differences
  • 3.2 Climatic Differences
  • 3.3 Economic Differences
  • 3.4 Religious Differences
  • 3.5 Historical Differences
  • 3.6 Language Differences

The major objectives of International Marketing Research are:

  • To carry out country screening and selection.
  • To evaluate a country’s market potential.
  • To identify problems that would not require a country’s listing for further consideration.
  • To identify aspects of country’s environment that needs further study.
  • To evaluate the components of marketing mix for possible adoptions.
  • To facilitate in developing strategic marketing plan.

Scope of International Marketing Research

The following activities are included in international market research:

  • Analysis of the market size according to the age, gender, income, profession and standard of living of customers.
  • Estimating the regional or territorial demand of different markets.
  • Understanding the diverse consumer demands and consumer, behavior and then translates their behaviors into the markets strategies and collecting information about the existing and prospective customers.
  • Information needs for international market entry, which includes micro issues (for instance product and services sales potential, market growth rate and completive intensity) and macro issues e.g. (Political, legal and regulatory environment of each international country).
  • Analyzing the working of various channels of distribution and their role in creating market demand of the product.
  • Forecasting the profitability of different markets and marketing segments.

Factors Influencing International Marketing Research

Cultural differences.

Culture refers to widely shared norms or patterns of behavior of a large group of people. Culture comprises of the values, attitudes, beliefs, artifacts and the other symbols represented in the pattern of life adopted by people that help them interpret, evaluate and communicate as members of a society.

A country which is operating in the International market is in need of cross cultural awareness. Cross cultural differences such as different forms of values, norms, rituals, non-verbal communication and language are to be carefully viewed and incorporated in the strategic decisions. A few examples of the cultural blunders in the marketing mix are:

Example: When a soft drink was launched in Arabian countries, it had label with six pointed stars. The sale of the product was very low as the stars were associated with Israel.

Climatic Differences

These are the meteorological or climatic conditions such as temperature range or degree of rain etc.

Example: Bosch-Siemens adapted their washing machines to the markets they sell. In Scandinavia, where there are very few sunny days, they sell washing machines with a minimum spin cycle of 1,000 rpm and a maximum of 1,600 rpm, whereas in Italy and Spain a spin cycle of 500 rpm is enough.

Economic Differences

Economic development and economic conditions of various countries is different and when a company introduces a new product it adapts it to that new market. There are factors which show the difference in the level of economic development

  • As in the case of the developed nations, the buying power and revenue of the market with higher income of revenue people prefer complicated product with advanced functions, while in poor countries simple product are more preferred.

Religious Differences

Religion too affects the product greatly and makes companies adapt their product to religious norms.

Example: If a company exports grocery products to Islamic countries it must have a special certificate indicating that the animal was slaughtered according to ‘Halal’ methods.

Historical Differences

Historical differences affect the consumer behavior. For instance, Scotch whiskey is considered fashionable in Italy and not very trendy in Scotland.

Language Differences

The correct translation and language adaptation is very important. Example : when Proctor & Gamble entered the Polish markets it translated properly its labels but failed. Later they found out that imperfect language must have been used in order to show that the company fits in.

Besides the differences mentioned above, there may be differences in the way that products or services are used, differences in the criteria for assessing products or services across various markets and differences in market research facilities and capabilities which influence the strategic decisions.

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International marketing research

During later funding stages (series B, series C), startups tend to focus on expansion strategies. For those that have managed to establish a strong national presence, the next step might be to expand internationally.

But this transition is far from easy. When choosing to enter a new market, you will need to clarify who you want to target, and how to best approach them.

This is where research comes in. By gathering and analyzing data, you will be able to discover what steps you ended to take to enter the market successfully.

In this article, we discuss the importance of international marketing research and offer helpful tips to get started. Whether you want to expand your business or are simply curious, the following chapters will break down each and every part of the process.

Importance of international marketing research for growth startups

Many founders think that marketing is the skill of attracting an audience. While this is an important part of it, there’s much more to it than that. Great marketers can see things from multiple perspectives. They are able to stand in the customer’s shoes and understand their needs.

To do so, the marketer needs industry-specific knowledge, and familiarity with the audience they work with. Pretty straight forward so far.

However, things can get quite complex when choosing to go international. From wrongful assumptions to a lack of understanding, there are many new variables you will need to consider. Starbucks found out about this when they attempted to expand to Australia.

International marketing research is all about establishing cross-cultural communication. After all, every culture has different values, pain points, and needs. Your potential customers may be doing things in a completely different way than what you’re used to. And the only way to establish a cultural fit is by doing research.

International market research vs marketing research

Before we delve into the specifics, it’s important to make a clarification. International marketing research vs market research is often mixed up. While the two may overlap, they are inherently different:

International marketing research

  • International market research offers a broad overview of the market. We have previously written a guide on how to perform market potential analysis , so this would be a good place to start. Market research is an important backbone of marketing research and will need to be included in your report.
  • International marketing research can be seen as a subcomponent or derivative of market research. It focuses on the potential marketing-related opportunities and challenges, related to the findings of the market research and overlapping activities.

Preliminary types of international marketing research

When structuring a marketing research proposal, you will first need to understand the market you wish to enter. There are certain types of preliminary research that will help you do this on an international level. You can add these in the background of your research report:

1. Competitor market share and influence

The first thing you should explore is the existing market leaders in the country (or continent) you want to expand to. Understanding their market share in the competitive landscape is an important part of international marketing research.

How does this help?

You can observe the volatility and growth of your competitor’s market share to determine their level of influence in the market you are trying to enter.

  • If a competitor maintains a stable market share in a growing industry, he is growing his revenue at the same pace as the market’s growth. This is a good indication of up-and-comers, as well as identifying top competitors.
  • If a competitor’s growth in terms of market share exceeds the growth of the industry, it’s best to compare them with other industry-related market leaders. By doing so, you can determine how the competitive field will look like in the future.

How to get started:

To start the process, you will need to identify:

  • The timeframe you want to explore
  • The competitor(s) you want to look into
  • Your competitors’ revenue data*
  • Industry’s total revenue

*Revenue data can be retrieved from various independent sources, depending on the country and industry. This includes trade groups, regulatory bodies, or publicly available information that can be obtained from the company itself.

Once all the information is in place you can calculate the market share. Here is how the formula looks like:

Competitor’s market share = Competitor’s revenue / Industry’s revenue

For example, if the industry had $100 million in sales over the past fiscal year, and your top competitor made $30 million in the same timeframe, their market share is 30%.

2. Competitor marketing analysis

Once you identify your biggest competitors, it’s time to explore their marketing strategies.

Exploring how your competitors promote their products will help you better understand the audience you are trying to attract. It will also help you discover market gaps / untapped marketing opportunities that you can use to elevate your offer.

There are no set guidelines to do this; the simplest and easiest way to get started is to follow all their digital channels (blog, social media, newsletters, etc.). Here are some questions to ask yourself while scrolling through their content:

  • How do they position the product? Is it in any way different than the way you present your product at the moment?
  • How do they communicate with their audience through emails, blog posts, and SM platforms?
  • What is the tone of voice that the company uses to communicate with the audience? Why do they choose to do this?
  • Are there any channels where engagement is higher than usual? Why does this happen?
  • Which are the channels where the competitor is running ads and where do these ads lead in terms of the sales funnel (top, middle, bottom).
  • How does the competitor attract new customers, retain existing ones, and reactivate inactive ones?

Before you start exploring the marketing tactics of your competitor, it is important to develop a cultural filter. For this, you might need to consult a marketing expert that resides in the area you wish to explore.

3. Limitations related to culture, religion, and legal frameworks

When exploring competitors on an international level, you don’t need to limit yourself to an exact-product match, but rather a niche-match. For example, if you’re selling protein bars for mountain climbers, you could research all competitors that sell health and fitness supplements for mountain climbers. By doing so you can get more insights.

However, the product you wish to sell may also have cultural , religious , and legal limitations.

  • As we saw earlier, the Australian culture sees coffee as an experience instead of a product. This culture mismatch led to the closure of 60+ Starbucks locations on the continent.
  • A country’s health regulations may affect the ingredient mix, promotion, or labeling of your fitness supplement.
  • Certain countries have high internet censorship, which could play a big role in your promotional efforts as well.
  • There are endless possibilities, and you will need to discover the ones that are relevant to your product.

Understanding the background of a country will help you understand the potential limitations when it comes to marketing and communication.

  • Consult a native marketing professional to understand how culture and religion may affect the product-market fit.
  • Consult a native lawyer with experience in your industry and try to understand how legal frameworks could affect your offer.

International marketing research process - The proposal

Now that you have a good understanding of how to structure the background information, it’s time to create a proposal. This is a rather short document that states the following:

  • Background information (results of preliminary research, competitor analysis, etc.)
  • Problem identification (what is the challenge?)
  • Purpose statement (why are we doing this?)
  • Choosing models (what models will be used to structure and analyze the data?)
  • Choosing Research methods (What research methods will be used?)
  • Hypothesis (What do we expect to see from the results?)
  • Conclusion (Short summary of key points)

Even if you are the final decision-maker, it’s good to have a proposal before starting the actual research. The document can guide you through the process, keep you organized, and act as an SOP for the participating team members.

The final report

Once you start the execution process, you will eventually end up with a much larger report that contains all the findings of the analyzed data. The structure will look similar to the one above, with the addition of 3 chapters:

  • An abstract (short summary of the research process, findings, and advice)
  • Results (Summarize the key findings of analyzed data and list the limitations)
  • Recommendations (Add your advice based on the findings)

Keep in mind that this is a research report - not a marketing report. This means that you won’t be creating any strategies at this point. Instead, you will perform a marketing opportunity analysis. By doing so, you may discover market opportunities, which will give you more direction when creating a marketing plan.

Coming back to our Starbucks example, it is easy to see that the popular brand, underestimated the market and did not try to understand its new audience. Had it been aware of the importance of international marketing research, it would’ve probably implemented a different approach.

Do it yourself vs outsourcing

Like most startup-related services, you can either choose to perform the task in-house or hire external partners to take over the process. But, when it comes to this particular type of research, what is best?

Performing research in-house

This is best done if your company has talent that is capable enough to produce reliable results.

  • In-house research is a budget-friendly solution, as the only external help you will need will be in the form of consultations.
  • It might not be the best idea for a team that is already busy with other tasks, as it takes a lot of time to set up and execute the process.
  • It is definitely not a good idea to hand this kind of task over to someone with little to no experience, e.g. an internee.

Outsourcing to agencies or research firms

Choosing to hand this task over to an external party can be risky. Working with an external research team is best for large-scale companies that have the funds but not the experience to perform international marketing research.

  • If you choose to outsource, make sure that your partner is experienced with the country you wish to expand to, and has at least some experience in your industry.
  • Do not consider the financial aspect of this type of research, and choose the best partner you can find. It is a long-term investment that can help you avoid expensive mistakes.
  • Work with a research firm - not a marketing firm.

In this post, we explained the importance of international marketing research for startups, by briefly explained the steps you should follow to get started. Remember that marketing research is not the only form of “investigation” you will need to do before scaling your business, but it is the one that will help you understand how to position your products.

To summarize our key points, here is what you need to remember:

  • Before delving into marketing specifics, make sure you analyze the market share of your competitors, as well as the (cultural, religious, legal, etc.) limitations that you may come across.
  • Structure a proposal before executing the process to get better direction and maintain an organized approach.
  • When writing the final report, make sure that the final recommendations are validated through the results of your research report.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

If you want to know why international marketing research is important and how it can benefit your business, read the FAQ we have prepared for you! We regularly update this section to make sure you have a complete understanding of the topic and what it involves!

Is market research for startups the same as marketing research?

If you're not entirely familiar with both of the terms, it might be confusing. However, as explained in the sections above, market research and marketing research are two different things. International marketing techniques include focusing on the channels your startup will use to advertise your product after you have already established your customers profile and behaviour. Market research is a strategic research process companies go through at the early stages, to establish target market, product-market fit and the ideal customer. It can also include more background info about the industry, competition and demand.

What is the process of international marketing research?

To understand this we will first need to see what the goals of international marketing research are. If your startup has yet to expand globally, then international marketing research is still ahead of you. It is used to help startups with expansion strategies outside of the country (and culture) you focus on when building a local promotional strategy. Entering a new market can be tricky without first getting to know the target and the best way to approach it. To sum up on the lessons learned above and give you a better idea of the process, here are the steps you need to follow:

  • Look at already existing market leaders and analyze their strategy. Looking at other international startups in the area will help you understand how to best approach your audience
  • Next, you'll need to look into the specifics of the market such as religion, legislation, culture etc
  • Prepare the proposal - As we mention a lot more detailed within our blog, this part includes several sections you'll need to cover. But the essence of the proposal is to find out why you want to approach this market, how you will approach this market and how you will measure the results

Home • Knowledge hub • 8 Reasons Why Companies Need to Research Their International Markets

8 Reasons Why Companies Need to Research Their International Markets

task of international marketing research

Market research is an essential activity for companies of all kinds. When entering a new local market or category, it’s crucial to do as much research as possible in many areas to ensure you’re as prepared as possible to launch successfully, with minimal risk.

Market research is even more important when entering an international market, as the stakes are higher, and you’ll be facing entirely new market conditions.

This article will examine international market research, how it typically differs from what you’re used to in your domestic market, and some of the main reasons companies need to do it.

What is international market research?

International market research is a blanket term for all the research and preparation on a new market, usually before entering it. Unlike domestic market research, international market research focuses on an overseas market, often with different cultures, business conditions, and consumer behaviors.

There are many different methods and stages involved in international market research. In some cases, the particular methods and techniques are the same as domestic market research, but your overall strategy will likely be very different.

What are the objectives of international marketing research?

International market research is a way of understanding a new, overseas market before you launch a product or service there. The main objectives are to understand your target customers, identify any challenges, get familiar with your competitors, and do anything else to boost your chances of success and avoid unpleasant surprises.

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task of international marketing research

How is international market research different from domestic research?

There are several key differentiating factors between domestic market research and international market research. Here are three of the key differences:

1. You’re entering a market with social and cultural differences

Domestic market research is already tricky, but the often vast differences between your home country and your target country make international market research much more challenging in many ways.

Often, the reasons for this difficulty are the same reasons why you need to research in the first place — you need to learn as much as possible about a region and culture that may be entirely unlike your own. 

The differences between countries can create many challenges for researchers. For example, a research method like one-on-one interviews that work well in western countries like the UK and US may fail miserably in other parts of the world where it is considered suspicious.

2. There may be more restrictions around research

In addition to cultural and social differences, international markets also come with legal differences. While you might have a good understanding of how the law (as it relates to market research) works at home, the reality abroad may be very different.

You’ll need to be aware of an entirely new set of rules to avoid breaking them and ending up in legal trouble.  One example  is the USA’s TCPA, which forbids calling a cellphone using an automated dialing system.

Legal differences make it imperative to conduct legal research and coordinate with lawyers in your target market before beginning any research. Ending up on the wrong side of the law could be catastrophic.

3. It requires more investment

Conducting market research on your home soil can often be undertaken relatively cheaply. However, costs can quickly skyrocket doing research abroad. Seemingly simple things like hiring venues, running telephone interviews, and gathering people to interview can become exponentially more complicated when you’re doing it in a foreign country with people who speak another language.

You may find yourself needing to hire a small army of staff on the ground to help you carry out these tasks. To make things even more frustrating, the cheaper market research methods like email and online surveys don’t work nearly as well in developing countries with less widespread internet access.

8 reasons why companies need to research their international markets

Despite the additional challenges involved, international market research is simply unavoidable if entering a new market overseas. Here are some of the reasons why.

1. Differences in culture

The culture of your overseas target market may be completely different. Failing to research the culture of your target market adequately could result in serious blunders, which could seriously harm your market entry and brand reputation.

Cultural differences don’t have to be vast to cause significant problems. For example, in many African countries, containers are labeled with a picture of their contents. When baby nutrition company Gerber  entered this market  with their jars labeled with photos of babies, the reaction was understandably negative and seriously impacted sales.

2. Differences in laws and regulations

Laws and regulations don’t just have an impact on your market research methods. They can affect every part of your market entry process and how you conduct your business in your new market.

If you enter a new market without a comprehensive understanding of the law concerning your activities, you risk getting into legal trouble.

There are many different potential legal pitfalls to consider when entering a new market. Some examples are environmental regulations, tax laws, and laws that pertain to hiring new staff. On top of this, rules can change quickly, and what was legal five years ago might be a no-go today. 

Understanding legal and regulatory differences is where one-off research isn’t enough — you’ll have to conduct regular and ongoing research as well as work with legal experts in your target market.

3. Differences in customer preferences

Customers in one country may have completely different preferences to those in another. Cultural differences can be due to the earlier issues, but they can also result from other factors.

When China began allowing its citizens to buy and own homes a few decades ago, US do-it-yourself chain Home Depot quickly capitalized on this new opportunity. Six years later, they closed all their Chinese stores, never to return.

The reason — they opened all their stores in the suburbs, but most middle-class Chinese citizens tend to live in apartment blocks in the cities, homes that don’t require or allow much renovation. This simple misunderstanding due to incomplete research led to the failure of Home Depot’s market entry attempt.

4. Understand the competition

When you enter a new market, you’ll need to compete with already existing brands. Brand competition is not easy — you’re already at a significant disadvantage compared to companies that have been established in that region for a long time and are well-known to the local consumers.

It’s essential to understand who you are competing against and — more importantly — how they have been able to succeed. What exactly is it that customers like about your competitors? What keeps them coming back? What has allowed them to gain and maintain a hold in your target market?

Answering these questions through research will give you valuable direction on what your brand must do to succeed. It will also highlight weaknesses in your competitors that you can address in your marketing.

5. Mitigate risk

Entering any new market is a risky venture, and that risk increases when you expand abroad. According to the  Harvard Business Review , companies operating abroad faced far lower Return on Assets than those in domestic markets. Many of these companies do not survive the attempt.

Market research allows you to mitigate your risk by being as prepared as possible for the many challenges of entering a foreign market. You’ll better understand your customers and what they want, be more prepared to take on your competition, avoid legal issues, and have a more viable strategy. 

Entering a new market overseas will never be risk-free, but research allows you to minimize that risk.

6. Logistical challenges

The logistical challenges involved in entering a foreign market can be enormous. Everything from selecting and evaluating suppliers to finding ways to transport your products around your new market, there are many things to consider.

When entering a market in the developing world, these challenges become compounded. Regions without well-established transport infrastructure, financial systems, labor laws, government, and so on can create an endless series of logistical challenges.

To prepare for this, you’ll need to research your new market rigorously. Understand all the potential issues facing you so you have time to prepare and aren’t caught unawares by a problem that might set back your operations by a significant amount.

7. Prepare a solid strategy and budget

A well-established strategy and budget plan is an essential starting point for any market entry process. The only way to do this effectively is through diligent market research.

Market research allows you to understand the costs of your new market, including unexpected expenses. It also helps you anticipate obstacles and challenges and flesh out your strategy in a way that boosts your chances of success.

Suppose you need to win the support of high-level stakeholders in your organization. In that case, a well-prepared and financed strategy is an excellent way to convince them that your market entry attempt is well-placed to go ahead.

8. Find available marketing channels

Marketing your product in a foreign market comes with a unique set of challenges and considerations. Channels that work well in your home country may fail abroad — for example, digital marketing in a country with poor internet access.

On top of that, your messaging will need to consider all the cultural and linguistic characteristics of your target market. An advertising campaign that works well at home may very well perform terribly on the other side of the world.

Market research is a great way to identify the marketing channels and approaches that typically work well for similar products in your target market, helping you plan an effective marketing strategy and boost your chances of success from the start.

Market research is an essential and unavoidable task if you want to enter a foreign market successfully. Done right, it can help reduce the many risks involved and give your product the best possible chances of succeeding in a market that may be radically different from the ones you currently operate.

Contact Kadence  to learn more about how we can help you with  international market research , along with all other kinds.

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International Marketing Research | Meaning, Significance and Process

What is international marketing research.

The procedures, methods, tools and techniques of conducting marketing research are conceptually the same for both domestic marketing and international marketing. However, the scope, coverage, cost, and intricacies of international marketing make it a highly specialised, complex, and complicated activity. International marketing research must be comprehensive and exhaustive.

According to B.S. Rathore, B.M, Jani and J.S. Rathore, “International marketing research is the systematic gathering, recording, analysis and interpretation of data on international marketing problems. It consists of specific studies required to develop, implement and evaluate export marketing strategies. Answers are sought to such questions as: (i) What is the potential market for a product overseas? (ii) Who are the present and potential customers across the boundaries of a nation? (iii) How can the international marketer best appeal to this market? (iv) How successful is the international marketing programme?; and (v) What are the weak areas in the international marketing programmes?”

International marketing research is similar to domestic marketing research, but it involves two additional issues. First , information must be communicated across cultural boundaries. It means that executives in India must be able to translate their research questions into terms that customers in Japan can comprehend. Then Japanese answers must be put into terms; i.e., reports and data summaries that Indian managers can understand. For tackling such difficulty, there are often internal staff and research agencies that are quite experienced in these kinds of cross-cultural communication tasks. Second , the environments within which research tools are applied are often different in different markets around the world.

The international marketing researcher must develop the ability for imaginative and smart application of tried and tested techniques in sometimes totally new settings. However, the frequently differing emphases on the kinds of information required, the often limited variety of appropriate tools and techniques available, and the difficulty in implementing the research process constitute the challenges encountered by most international marketing researchers.

Significance of International Marketing Research

  • It helps in explaining the change in the status of a company engaged in international marketing.
  • It helps in examining the international market for a new product.
  • It enables in determining whether a new company is justified to go in for the international market.
  • It helps in making appropriate and suitable decisions regarding different international marketing problem areas.

Process of International Marketing Research

The following steps are involved in carrying out international marketing research-

1. Defining the Research Problem: 

The first step in the marketing research process is defining the research problem. This denotes that the objective or purpose of the research study should be clearly laid down. This is essential to give a clear direction to research and to avoid confusion. The research process thus begins with defining the research problem and establishing specific research objectives. Market researcher must be sure that the problem definition is sufficiently broad enough to cover the entire range of response possibilities, and not be clouded by his self-reference criterion. Defining the research problem is vital in collecting the required information, avoiding gathering irrelevant information, and analysing and interpreting data. Thus, defining the research problem may be the pivotal task in the entire study. In defining the problem, two important considerations are taken into account, that is market structure and product concept. Market structure denotes the size of the market, its stage of development, the number of competitors and their market shares, and the channels through which the market is reached. The meaning of the product in a particular environment refers to the Product Concept.

2. Carrying out Situational Analysis: 

Situational analysis helps in defining the research problem more clearly and may also enable the formulation of the research hypothesis. Situational analysis is particularly significant when marketing research is conducted by an outside agency, because the situational analysis is intended to familiarise the researcher with the company and its environment, hence making the problem more comprehensible to the researcher. The researcher analyses the situation by obtaining relevant information about the company, its competitors, and other information pertinent to the problem.

3. Conducting Informal Investigation: 

This stage is in fact an extension of the previous stage. Situational analysis is mainly confined to information from company sources, but in this stage, the researcher collects more information from external sources, such as competitors, middlemen, advertising agencies, customers, etc. In some cases of research problems, the required information will be obtained by this step so that it will not be necessary to continue the research. But, if the formal investigation reveals the necessity for a further investigation, the next step will have to be taken; i.e., formulating a research design.

4. Formulating a Research Design: 

A research design is the specification of methods and procedures for obtaining the required information. It is the overall pattern of the framework of the research project that stipulates what information is to be gathered from which sources and by what procedures. A research design thus spells out the type of information required, the sources of the information, and the methods or techniques of data collection.

5. Collection of Information: 

As the research design states the information requirements, sources of information, and methods of data collection, the next step taken will be the collection of data. The marketer’s lack of familiarity with a country’s basic socio-economic and cultural patterns results in a huge demand for information, which can be available both from primary as well as secondary sources. Availability, reliability, comparability, and validating of data are some of the problems encountered with secondary data. Most countries do not have governmental agencies that collect data on a regular basis which might be needed by a marketer.

6. Processing, Analysis and Interpretation of Data: 

Once the data have been collected, the next step in the research process is the analysis and interpretation of findings in light of marketing problems in order to produce meaningful guides for management decisions. Presentation of research findings is the final step, for which the data must be analysed and interpreted. The raw data collected have to be processed and presented in an appropriate form, such as tables to make them easily amenable to analysis. Analysis should be followed by interpretation, which consists of expressing the findings in more meaningful terms, such as percentages, and drawing useful inferences from them.

7. Presentation of Research Findings: 

The information extracted from the respondents will not serve the intended purpose unless provided to decision-makers in a timely manner. High-quality international information systems design will be an increasingly significant competitive tool as businesses are going international and resources must be invested accordingly. The research findings should be presented in an appropriate form depending upon a number of factors like the nature of research, its purpose and use, the persons who use them, etc.

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International Marketing: How To Maximize Your Global Reach International marketing can be a massive project and intimidating at first. Read this article to explore the ins and outs of the process and learn how to take your brand global.

By Entrepreneur Staff • Mar 30, 2023

Pursuing an international level of business can be intimidating. How do you get started with taking your business global? What does international marketing entail, and are you ready for it?

Why is international marketing important?

The first opportunity is simple: More customer opportunities mean more business. Increasing your business borders beyond domestic marketing allows your company to exploit new and different markets. This increases your customer base, which is critical for growth in sales.

Because domestic marketing revolves around one market, your business also relies on that market. Increasing your marketing territories allows for risk diversification because you are marketing in multiple markets simultaneously.

Increasing your borders also comes with new resources. International marketing can give companies access to new resources, such as raw materials, labor and technology. This can help companies improve their production processes and reduce costs.

This push for international engagement also emphasizes innovation within a company. Because of the different levels of competition, this teaches companies how to operate at these different levels and adapt to certain market situations compared to others.

What are the benefits of international marketing?

There are many reasons to go international in your marketing ventures, the two primary motivators being more extensive reach and revenue diversification.

Expand your reach worldwide

International marketing provides you with an advantage over other domestic companies. It allows you to bring your product to a part of the world that needs it or wants it more than your home market.

This provides you with a more significant amount of customers to attract. It enables you to target customers from different countries, backgrounds and cultures.

Diversification of revenue streams

Internation marketing also enables a business to rely on multiple streams of revenue. Because international markets do not rely solely on one another, you can succeed in one country while having a dip in revenue in another while overall having a profit gain because you had both revenue streams coming in.

This access to new markets also provides expansion of product lines because different have different needs that your company can learn to cater to.

By diversifying their revenue streams, international marketing can also help companies forget about the worry of currency fluctuations affecting profit in their entire market.

Related: Why Diversifying Business Revenue Streams Is Crucial To Your Success

How to plan an international marketing campaign

So how can you get started? The task can be daunting, but taking it one step at a time can build a solid marketing strategy for your international interactions.

1. Market research

Identifying and segmenting your target market in international marketing is critical to ensure that your marketing efforts focus on the most promising opportunities. After conducting market research, sorting the massive amounts of data you collect can be intimidating. Fortunately, there are several ways to streamline and simplify this process.

Look for commonalities between potential customers in different regions. This could include shared values, interests or purchasing habits. These commonalities can help you segment your target market and create more targeted marketing campaigns.

You can also look at your competition. Your competitors' failure and success can help identify regions you should target or avoid. This can indicate where the best opportunities for your product or service lie.

Related: The Best Ways to Do Market Research for Your Business Plan

2. Create your marketing plan

Thanks to technology and the evolution of communication, there are more ways to get your product out there. Specific methods are most effective in certain situations, such as short campaigns to appeal to the younger generation or a more detailed approach for the older.

Adapting your messaging in international marketing to suit the cultural nuances of each market is essential for success in global markets. Be sure to maintain a consistent message that resonates with your target. This can be a super powerful practice to develop in the marketing world.

The easiest way to connect with your audience is to remain culturally sensitive. Still, be careful with the imagery and language you use to grab your audience's attention.

Your tone can significantly impact how your targets interpret your message and product, so always keep that in mind.

3. Localize your brand method

This method refers to adapting to your surroundings: Not only remaining culturally sensitive but looking for ways to make your product or service appealing based on your surroundings, whether adapting language, imagery or advertising strategies.

These adaptations should aim to resonate with the local market. You don't want your customer to be able to tell that you are a foreign producer based on your marketing alone.

Adopting a localized approach to branding and marketing can help you build stronger relationships with customers and improve their competitiveness in different markets.

It can also help you avoid cultural missteps and ensure their marketing messages are relevant and practical.

Related: Keep It Local: The Importance Of Localizing Your Franchise Approach

4. Implement, test and improve

Improvements will always need to be made in any endeavor, especially in a venture of this scale. Test your marketing campaigns in different regions and analyze the results. You can then use this feedback to refine your strategy and improve your marketing campaigns.

What is the best marketing channel for your global campaign?

When discussing methods of marketing, many come to mind. While there is no perfect method, there are benefits that specific methods provide over others.

Below are summaries and guides to using the different tools provided in the marketing world. The best part is you aren't limited to one method.

Social media

Because of the nearly worldwide accessibility, social media is a significant first step to consider when marketing internationally. It can be super cost-effective because it is almost always less expensive or even free compared to traditional marketing methods.

This can allow even the smallest businesses to market internationally, allowing them to compete with the largest companies.

Social media also provides an avenue for targeted advertising and improvements using data analytics. Social media platforms allow marketers to target specific audiences based on demographics, interests and behavior.

This helps ensure the marketing message reaches the right people, and you get the most out of your marketing efforts.

However, some downsides might make this method ineffective for your international marketing needs. Because of its popularity, this also means that it will be a very crowded space to advertise in, making it difficult to stand out and reach your audience.

It can also be time-consuming to create exciting advertisements to generate clicks. This also comes into effect with the constantly changing algorithms.

Because social media is constantly updating its algorithms, it's hard to maintain an effective and consistent marketing strategy. This is another reason social media might not work for you.

Related: How Social Media Helps Define Brands as a Marketing Platform, Make the Most of It

Search engine optimization (SEO) is another option to market your brand internationally. It is a digital marketing technique designed to direct traffic to a particular website.

SEO optimizes a website's content to improve its ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs) using specific keywords or phrases.

Once again, this method of marketing has both upsides and downsides. SEO does significantly improve your visibility in any search engine. It makes your website stand out, making it easier for potential customers to find you.

SEO can also be cost-effective compared to other digital marketing. Additionally, it increases the organic traffic to a website, which can increase the return on the investment (ROI) compared to paid advertising.

It also has its downsides. SEO has a significant weakness when it comes to language barriers. This can render your SEO marketing ineffective in countries with language barriers.

Additionally, when it comes to international marketing, businesses may face significant competition from local companies in global markets, making ranking well on search engine results pages challenging.

There are also technical barriers to consider. You will find differences in regulations and algorithms across borders, even technologically. Technical issues can also affect the effectiveness of SEO strategies for international markets.

Related: What Is SEO and How Can it Improve Online Success?

Not to be confused with SEO, paid-per-click (PPC) advertising is usually implemented through a search engine. Because search engines are a mode of research across nearly every subject, they also can be effective in international marketing. Search engine advertising is an effective method to use these search engines for your campaign.

In PPC advertising, the ad is placed on a SERP in the hopes that, after a click, it will lead to a subscription, order or other interaction. To implement a PPC advertising campaign, a business owner must choose a platform to advertise on.

Fortunately, there are many popular and reliable resources, like Google or Bing ads. The business can then create ads and choose keywords relevant to its target audience.

When someone searches for those keywords, their ad may appear on the SERP. Businesses can adjust pricing on how much they want to prioritize their ads in certain spots on a webpage, and these services deliver with consistent accuracy.

If you want to optimize your P-P-C campaign, here are a couple of standard steps:

  • Utilize the most relevant and cost-effective keywords.
  • Write a compelling advertisement.
  • Take advantage of the targeting options within your program to target your preferred audience.
  • Always be watching for areas of improvement in your ad campaign

While maybe a more prehistoric tool, email advertising can be an effective way for international marketing when used strategically. Emails can have targeted messaging and segment their lists by geography, language or other categorization methods.

Companies also use personalized emails to contact their customers, effectively creating a sense of connection. You can do this with the customer's name, past purchases or other data types, like birthdays.

While it can appeal to a wide variety of people, segmented emails can still be ineffective to different groups of people because of their generalization.

Ensure this tool is adequate for your target before launching a more extensive campaign. You can accomplish this with analytics or smaller test runs of a campaign.

Traditional marketing channels

While you should be open and ready to utilize the newest technology is important, sometimes the oldest methods are the most effective.

Some older methods still used and effective today are blog posts, events and mail newsletters. While minimizing the reach and inclusion of multiple regions internationally, all of these methods can still be very effective for a specific group.

Related: 8 Powerful Ways to Market Your Business on a Limited Budget

What are some examples of successful global marketing?

So the practice has been discussed, but what are a few examples of the most well-known names in international marketing?

1. Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola is a great company when referencing an excellent example of global marketing. Because of how well-known it is, people often remember the lessons taught through the principles and practices executed during its marketing.

This industry-dominating company demonstrated a fundamental characteristic throughout its marketing efforts: consistency.

For over a century, Coca-Cola has maintained a consistent brand image and messaging worldwide. This consistency has established the brand as a global icon and created a sense of familiarity and trust among consumers.

Another trait that is consistent across all successful institutions is innovation. Coca-Cola demonstrated its capacity to innovate throughout the years by simply staying relevant and open to new ideas. They tried different ideas like the 2011 "Share a Coke" campaign, initially launched in Australia but rolled out globally because of its success.

Related: One Thing Coca-Cola, Geico and Under Armour Are Doing That Every Company Should Do Today

2. Starbucks

Starbucks is also a prime example of international marketing at its finest. While it demonstrates several of the same characteristics as Coca-Cola, like consistency and innovation, it also uses its unique brand and personality to have individual habits that make it familiar to the customer.

Starbucks stands above its competition by focusing on providing a consistent and high-quality customer experience across its stores worldwide.

The welcoming ambiance of a coffee shop and free wifi are just two staples of this common theme anybody will find in a Starbucks, which also creates a sense of familiarity in a different way than Coca-Cola does.

Starbucks also localized all of its stores to appeal to the respective markets. In China, you'll often find more tea-based drinks and food items that cater more to that area of customers.

This is just one example, but Starbucks has learned what each culture appreciates and caters to that to make their customer feel more welcome in the appropriate setting.

Related: What Starbucks Teaches About Marketing Commodity Products

Uber is another of many great examples to use when thinking about successful global marketing strategies. Once again, it demonstrates traits like localized marketing, quality customer service and consistency; it also brings an appealing marketing strategy that makes it unique in its industry.

One trait that Uber uses to its advantage is its innovative business model. Their business model of connecting riders with drivers through a mobile app disrupts traditional taxi services.

This has allowed Uber to quickly expand its services to new markets worldwide while offering consumers a more convenient and cost-effective service.

It also emphasizes comfort for the customer. Their tagline, "Wherever you're going, we'll get you there," the simple and recognizable logo and their focus on quality customer service are just one more way they try to differentiate themselves globally; they do this with great success.

These examples across these companies show that there are ways to learn from successful companies and that you'll often find consistency in ideas across companies.

The difference is the implementation of these ideas — how each company uses its respective market to rise above competitors.

Related: How Apple and Uber Create Messages That Don't Feel Phony-Baloney

How can you get started with international marketing?

Measuring the success of your international marketing efforts is crucial to ensure that you are achieving your business goals and maximizing your return on investment. Here are a couple of steps to framework your measure of success:

  • Set specific, measurable and achievable goals to determine what success looks like in your market.
  • Define key performance indicators (KPIs) to help you track your progress toward those goals.
  • Analyze your data to identify trends, patterns and areas for improvement.
  • Adjust your international marketing strategy to optimize your performance and achieve your goals.

Related: Measure the Success of a Marketing Campaign Through the Product and the Brand

Don't be afraid to seek advice and make mistakes, but be ready to learn from those mistakes. Push yourself to not only know your audience statistically but on a more intimate, even if on a larger group level.

Understanding the motivations and fears of your audience can directly help you deliver the best product to them and give you the most success in your business endeavors.

Check out Entrepreneur's other articles for more information about international marketing and other financial topics.

Entrepreneur Staff

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Magnificent 7 profits now exceed almost every country in the world. Should we be worried?

  • The so-called "Magnificent 7" U.S. tech behemoths encompass Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla.
  • In a research note Tuesday, Deutsche Bank analysts highlighted that the Magnificent 7's combined market cap alone would make it the second-largest country stock exchange in the world.
  • However, this level of concentration has led some analysts to voice concerns over related risks in the U.S. and global stock markets.

In this article

The so-called "Magnificent 7" now wields greater financial might than almost every other major country in the world, according to new Deutsche Bank research.

The meteoric rise in the profits and market capitalizations of the Magnificent 7 U.S. tech behemoths — Apple , Amazon , Alphabet , Meta , Microsoft , Nvidia and Tesla — outstrip those of all listed companies in almost every G20 country, the bank said in a research note Tuesday. Of the non-U.S. G20 countries, only China and Japan (and the latter, only just) have greater profits when their listed companies are combined.

Deutsche Bank analysts highlighted that the Magnificent 7's combined market cap alone would make it the second-largest country stock exchange in the world, double that of Japan in fourth. Microsoft and Apple, individually, have similar market caps to all combined listed companies in each of France, Saudi Arabia and the U.K, they added.

However, this level of concentration has led some analysts to voice concerns over related risks in the U.S. and global stock market.

Jim Reid, Deutsche Bank's head of global economics and thematic research, cautioned in a follow-up note last week that the U.S. stock market is "rivalling 2000 and 1929 in terms of being its most concentrated in history."

Deutsche analyzed the trajectories of all 36 companies that have been in the top five most valuable in the S&P 500 since the mid-1960s.

Company strategies now more important to returns than macro environment, economist says

Reid noted that while big companies eventually tended to drop out of the top five as investment trends and profit outlooks evolved, 20 of the 36 that have populated that upper bracket are still in the top 50 today.

"Of the Mag 7 in the current top 5, Microsoft has been there for all but 4 months since 1997. Apple ever present since December 2009, Alphabet for all but two months since August 2012 and Amazon since January 2017. The newest entrant has been Nvidia which has been there since H1 last year," he said.

Tesla had a run of 13 months in the top five most valuable companies in 2021/22 but is now down to 10th, with the share price having fallen by around 20% since the start of 2024. By contrast, Nvidia's stock has continued to surge, adding almost 47% since the turn of the year.

"So, at the edges the Mag 7 have some volatility around the position of its members, and you can question their overall valuations, but the core of the group have been the largest and most successful companies in the US and with it the world for many years now," Reid added.

Could the gains broaden out?

Despite a muted global economic outlook at the start of 2023, stock market returns on Wall Street were impressive, but heavily concentrated among the Magnificent Seven, which benefitted strongly from the AI hype and rate cut expectations.

In a research note last week, wealth manager Evelyn Partners highlighted that the Magnificent 7 returned an incredible 107% over 2023, far outpacing the broader MSCI USA index, which delivered a still healthy but relatively paltry 27% to investors.

Daniel Casali, chief investment strategist at Evelyn Partners, suggested that signs are emerging that opportunities in U.S. stocks could broaden out beyond the 7 megacaps this year for two reasons, the first of which is the resilience of the U.S. economy.

"Despite rising interest rates, company sales and earnings have been resilient. This can be attributed to businesses being more disciplined on managing their costs and households having higher levels of savings built up during the pandemic. In addition, the U.S. labour market is healthy with nearly three million jobs added during 2023," Casali said.

Nvidia has an 'iron grip' on the market, says RSE Ventures' Matt Higgins

The second factor is improving margins, which Casali said indicates that companies have adeptly raised prices and passed the impact of higher inflation onto customers.

"Although wages have risen, they haven't kept pace with those price rises, leading to a decline in employment costs as a proportion of the price of goods and services," Casali said.

"Factors, including China joining the World Trade Organisation and technological advances, have enabled an increased supply of labour and accessibility to overseas job markets. This has contributed to improving profit margins, supporting earnings growth. We see this trend continuing."

When the market is so heavily weighted toward a small number of stocks and one particular theme — notably AI — there is a risk of missed investment opportunities, Casali said.

Many of the 493 other S&P 500 stocks have struggled over the past year, but he suggested that some could start to participate in the rally if the two aforementioned factors continue to fuel the economy.

"Given AI-led stocks' stellar performance in 2023 and the beginning of this year, investors may feel inclined to continue to back them," he said.

"But, if the rally starts to widen, investors could miss out on other opportunities beyond the Magnificent Seven stocks."

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International Marketing Management pp 17–22 Cite as

The Steps of International Marketing Planning

  • Ralph Berndt 4 ,
  • Claudia Fantapié Altobelli 5 &
  • Matthias Sander 6  
  • First Online: 24 May 2023

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Due to the higher complexity of international marketing decisions compared to national ones, a systematic, planned approach is of crucial importance. The steps of international marketing planning comprise a multitude of successive phases, which can be summarised into the following steps:

situation analysis and forecast,

strategic international marketing planning,

international marketing mix,

implementing and

control of international activities.

It should be noted that the sequence of phases is not mandatory; there are also numerous feedbacks as well as interdependencies between the individual decision fields.

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Craig, C. S., & Douglas, S. P. (2005). International marketing research (3rd ed.). Wiley.

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Meissner, H. G. (1995). Strategisches Internationales Marketing (2nd ed.). de Gruyter.

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Punnett, B. J., & Shenkar, O. (Eds.). (2004). Handbook for international management research (2nd ed.). University of Michigan Press.

Sander, M. (1997). Internationales Preismanagement. Eine Analyse preispolitischer Handlungsalternativen im internationalen Marketing unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Preisfindung bei Marktinterdependenzen . Physica.

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Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences Department of Marketing, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

Ralph Berndt

Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Institute of Marketing, Helmut-Schmidt-University/University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

Claudia Fantapié Altobelli

Department of Economics Chair of Marketing, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany

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Berndt, R., Fantapié Altobelli, C., Sander, M. (2023). The Steps of International Marketing Planning. In: International Marketing Management. Springer Gabler, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-66800-9_2

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task of international marketing research

Top 5 Robot Trends 2024

New Technology simplifies Automation

task of international marketing research

1 – Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning

The trend of using Artificial Intelligence in robotics and automation keeps growing. The emergence of generative AI opens-up new solutions. This subset of AI is specialized to create something new from things it’s learned via training, and has been popularized by tools such as ChatGPT. Robot manufacturers are developing generative AI-driven interfaces which allow users to program robots more intuitively by using natural language instead of code. Workers will no longer need specialized programming skills to select and adjust the robot´s actions.

Another example is predictive AI analyzing robot performance data to identify the future state of equipment. Predictive maintenance can save manufacturers machine downtime costs. In the automotive parts industry, each hour of unplanned downtime is estimated to cost US$1.3m - the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation reports. This indicates the massive cost-saving potential of predictive maintenance. Machine learning algorithms can also analyze data from multiple robots performing the same process for optimization. In general, the more data a machine learning algorithm is given, the better it performs.

2 – Cobots expanding to new applications

Human-robot collaboration continues to be a major trend in robotics. Rapid advances in sensors, vision technologies and smart grippers allow robots to respond in real-time to changes in their environment and thus work safely alongside human workers.

Collaborative robot applications offer a new tool for human workers, relieving and supporting them. They can assist with tasks that require heavy lifting, repetitive motions, or work in dangerous environments.

The range of collaborative applications offered by robot manufacturers continues to expand.

A recent market development is the increase of cobot welding applications, driven by a shortage of skilled welders. This demand shows that automation is not causing a labor shortage but rather offers a means to solve it. Collaborative robots will therefore complement – not replace – investments in traditional industrial robots which operate at much faster speeds and will therefore remain important for improving productivity in response to tight product margins.

New competitors are also entering the market with a specific focus on collaborative robots. Mobile manipulators, the combination of collaborative robot arms and mobile robots (AMRs), offer new use cases that could expand the demand for collaborative robots substantially.

3 – Mobile Manipulators

Mobile manipulators – so called “MoMas” - are automating material handling tasks in industries such as automotive, logistics or aerospace. They combine the mobility of robotic platforms with the dexterity of manipulator arms. This enables them to navigate complex environments and manipulate objects, which is crucial for applications in manufacturing. Equipped with sensors and cameras, these robots perform inspections and carry out maintenance tasks on machinery and equipment. One of the significant advantages of mobile manipulators is their ability to collaborate and support human workers. Shortage of skilled labor and a lack of staff applying for factory jobs is likely to increase demand.

4 – Digital Twins

Digital twin technology is increasingly used as a tool to optimize the performance of a physical system by creating a virtual replica. Since robots are more and more digitally integrated in factories, digital twins can use their real-world operational data to run simulations and predict likely outcomes. Because the twin exists purely as a computer model, it can be stress-tested and modified with no safety implications while saving costs. All experimentation can be checked before the physical world itself is touched. Digital twins bridge the gap between digital and physical worlds.

5 – Humanoid Robots

Robotics is witnessing significant advancements in humanoids, designed to perform a wide range of tasks in various environments. The human-like design with two arms and two legs allows the robot to be used flexibly in work environments that were actually created for humans. It can therefore be easily integrated e.g. into existing warehouse processes and infrastructure.

task of international marketing research

The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) recently published detailed goals for the country’s ambitions to mass-produce humanoids by 2025. The MIIT predicts humanoids are likely to become another disruptive technology, similar to computers or smartphones, that could transform the way we produce goods and the way humans live.

The potential impact of humanoids on various sectors makes them an exciting area of development, but their mass market adoption remains a complex challenge. Costs are a key factor and success will depend on their return on investment competing with well-established robot solutions like mobile manipulators, for example.

“The five mutually reinforcing automation trends in 2024 show that robotics is a multidisciplinary field where technologies are converging to create intelligent solutions for a wide range of tasks,” says Marina Bill, President of the International Federation of Robotics. “These advances continue to shape the merging industrial and service robotics sectors and the future of work.”

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Global Robotics Race: Korea, Singapore and Germany in the Lead

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Robots Help to Solve “Japan’s 2024 Problem”

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Staff Shortage Boosts Service Robots – Sales Up 48% 

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