Cindy King's International Business Blog » business models

What Is Marketing?

Cindy King — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 23:00:08 +0000

I recently received a flow of questions online around the topic of marketing from people with a website who want to get international clients.

Now…

There are many definitions of marketing. There are countless books and marketing experts that can give you an accurate definition of marketing.

What Is Marketing?

And today, I really only want to raise the question.

But here is a short definition:

Marketing makes people want what you have. It makes your product or services desirable. In fact, marketing should make your product or services so desirable that your prospects are ready to buy it.

Lack Of Marketing

You see, the problem is…

Some internet marketers do not seem to take marketing into their international business equation. This is often because

They confuse an online presence and online visibility with international web marketing
The think domestic marketing online is equivalent to international marketing

Marketing Actions

So what does marketing entail?

You define a strategy
You use marketing tactics

For example…

Article marketing is more than the marketing tactics:

Writing articles and publishing them online.

You also need to include the article marketing strategy if you want to make your readers want to take action.

You need to think through your article marketing strategy:

Who are you writing for?
How well do you know this audience?
What can you write that will interest them?
What do you want them to do?
How can you get them to do this?
Do you know how your audience will respond to your strategy?
How will your audience find your articles online?
Will your audience find you?

A Good Marketing Strategy

A good marketing strategy is based on how you well you know your audience.

Your communication must be right for your marketing to make your audience want what you have to offer.

Mindset Differences Between Offline Marketers And Online Marketers

Cindy King — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 23:00:24 +0000

International Web Marketing

I recently wrote that I have noticed a trend here in Europe towards seeking web marketers with traditional offline marketing experience. I have also already mentioned I’m currently reading Akin Arikan’s book Multichannel Marketing. It is a great read and I highly recommend it to all internet marketers. Akin Arikan uses a great way to describe the difference between Offline Marketers and Online Marketers. This is what he says:

Online Marketers have a mind-set comparable to the film Matrix. = They know how to deal with lots of data streaming in from all different sources. Offline Marketers have a mind-set comparable to the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. = They know what the best questions to ask are.

This is a great analogy. Offline marketers have more experience, or at least there is more history to reference. This is why they have learned how to ask the right questions. I wonder if this explains the European hiring trend I have noticed here in Europe.

Study Traditional Paths To International Business Development For More Online Success

Cindy King — Wed, 14 May 2008 10:00:40 +0000

International Business Development Strategy

In the past when businesses wanted to expand internationally, there were only 7 ways to take action:

Sell Directly To Your Foreign Clients From Your Home Offices
Open A Local Office To Represent Your Business
Create An Overseas Subsidiary
Hire A Sales Agent To Sell To Foreign Markets
Find A Foreign Distributor
Develop A Franchise Overseas
Enter Into A Joint-Venture

If you would like to read about the advantages and disadvantages of each of these options, you will find more on Get International Clients.

Today, of course, Internet Marketing opens a new doorway.

Many online businesses have international clients. Some online businesses actively market to international audiences, but most do not. It is easier to stay with one domestic website and kid yourself you are marketing globally because “the internet is global”.

Even fewer international online businesses use a mixture of marketing channels both online and offline. And yet is obvious that a good mixture of multi-channel marketing gets more international sales. Good multi-channel marketing requires serious foreign market research for best results. And it often requires a budget few small businesses want to get into.

Online businesses actively marketing to their international audiences need to stop, and take a few steps away from their online business, to look at the other paths to successful international expansion.

There are a few traditional business development strategies that might be interesting to look into. Hiring a sales agent in your target foreign market, who gets paid on commission, is an option most online businesses could look into.

Online businesses can tumble into international sales without any preparation. This is a wonderful opportunity to look closer at all of the options for international expansion.

More In These Get International Clients Business Guides:

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Study Traditional Paths To International Business Development For More Online Success

Define International Business

Cindy King — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 09:39:51 +0000

International Business Development Strategy

I came across quite a few questions lately on the subject of defining “International Business”. Here are some of the questions and my thoughts on how to find the best answers for your business.

UPDATE: After reading this article many international business students ask me to spell out international business theories for them. This is not what this article is about.

My blog tries to raise awareness of cultural differences and how this impacts international business professionals in the field. It is based solely on my own personal experience and it’s about developing the personal skills you need to be successful in the field.

One of the very first cultural differences international professionals encounter is the cultural differences in what international business represents to people from different countries.

What Is International Business?

Dealing with so many different cultures and with extensive field experience, I tend to apply the simplest of definitions:

International business =
Business transactions crossing national borders at any stage of the transaction.

But then very often other questions crop up.

When I Export Products Do I Have An International Business?

There are distinctions to be made between:

A company that sells their domestic products to different countries through export/import agents, and
A company that knows how to adapt its marketing, sales, products and business strategies to sell to clients in different countries

A company with in-house international expertise across all business activities has an international business without a doubt.

Some people would say that a company, where a third party international sales agent takes care of all aspects of the international sale, is not an international business.

There are of course companies at varying stages between these two scenarios. And companies often progress through these different stages as they develop their international business.

There is no real “yes” or “no” answer here. It depends what definition you give to “international business”. But you do need to know your definition of “international business” and no matter which one you use you should also convey this definition to others when speaking about it.

What Is International Business Versus Global Business?

To answer this question it really depends which hat I decide to put on.

If we are going to discuss the theory of international business, there are some fine differences. But this is not a university and my response is based on my many years of field experience in international business.

Here is my current reality: In conversations across cultures the terms “international business” and “global business” refer to the same thing.

The question of different meanings for these terms has its place in classrooms and also for in-depth strategy sessions.

Today, if you are in the field, academic definitions of “international business” are not easy to translate into the cross-cultural reality of business. The boundaries of definitions become fuzzy and inadequate.

Remember, both “international business” and “global business” mean that you have to adapt your business to the outside world. Herein lies the true meaning of international business for me.

You need to learn how to adapt your business to your markets in different cultures

Successful international businesses or global businesses seem to become free of their own national boundaries. They simply become very competent at navigating through the whole world market.

The Differentiating Factor: An International Mindset

When determining whether a business is international or not, and when comparing how one business could be “more international” than another, perhaps the best thing is to look at the company’s mindset:

How real are your international client relationships? Do you connect with your international clients?
Is your “international business” only about your company? Or do you make an effort to understand your international client?
What do you do to adapt your business to your international markets?

International business has more to do with a mindset and the answer to these questions will give you a company’s real international business value.

Cindy King's International Business Blog » business models

What Is Marketing?

What Is Marketing?

Lack Of Marketing

Marketing Actions

A Good Marketing Strategy

More On International Marketing

Mindset Differences Between Offline Marketers And Online Marketers

More On International Web Marketing

Study Traditional Paths To International Business Development For More Online Success

More On International Business Development Strategy:

More In These Get International Clients Business Guides:

Define International Business

What Is International Business?

When I Export Products Do I Have An International Business?

What Is International Business Versus Global Business?

The Differentiating Factor: An International Mindset

More On International Business Development Strategy:

More In These Get International Clients Business Guides: