Cindy King's International Business Blog » segmentation

More Segmentation = More International Sales

Cindy King — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 23:00:55 +0000

Marketers are on the path towards more segmentation. This is true today and it is also true for the years to come.

The Bad News

In an economy of downsizing and increasing job responsibilities, this is probably bad news for most marketers.

You see, segmentation means more number crunching. You know, the roll up your sleeves type of task.

Segmentation will involve number crunching even if your company invests in good software to track the numbers. These software solutions simply need to be used properly to get the right information out of them… and this also involves rolling up your sleeves.

Why Segmentation?

As a cross-cultural marketer segmentation is part of my world.

This is easy to understand. International marketing has always inherently involved market segmentation. The geographic segmentation is obvious and businesses rapidly understand the need for cultural segmentation.

But I also notice other marketing segmentation trends. And there are a few of them today.

Generational Marketing

The generational marketing trends in North America talk about Boomers, Generation X’ers, Generation Y’ers.

This generational marketing can be challenging for some marketing segments where Boomers are tech savvy for example. And it can be confusing for some international marketers where markets are not as clearly defined.

Segmentation can help you find the answers you need for effective marketing.

Ethnic Marketing

The election of President Obama has placed ethnic marketing in the limelight, even if this trend was well established prior to this.

Researchers have recently highlighted how several leading countries, including the US and France, will have ethnic majority populations in our lifetime.

This means that marketers will need segmentation to improve their ethnic marketing. Ethnic marketing will definitely be needed during this period of change.

And again segmentation is key to ethnic marketing.

More International Sales

The good news is that as marketers are being forced to the task of segmentation, budgets and processes will be aligned to meet these needs.

The improvement and development of segmentation will benefit international sales. Businesses will be able to apply these processes to developing international sales more effectively.

And this is something I am looking forward to. Several current marketing trends will help businesses in developing their international sales.

Earlier this week I wrote about the similarities between good international communicators and good social media communicators. With the rise of customer-centric marketing and social media, this also means that more people will have the soft skills needed for international business development.

With soft skills and good measurement processes international sales will be easier to target.

How Cultural Differences Influence Marketing Segmentation

Cindy King — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 23:00:44 +0000

Cross-Cultural Marketing

Yesterday I wrote about how segmentation is a current best marketing practice.

Segmentation for multichannel marketing – You need segmentation today to market to today’s consumer who uses a wide variety of communication channels.
Segmentation is inherent to your web statistics – You need relevant marketing tactics to be able to use these statistics to improve your results.
Segmentation is the foundation of international business development and multicultural marketing.

Cultural Differences In Perception Of Segmentation

Living in France, it is very clear to me that there is only so much you can do with segmentation.

You see, France has a cultural history of promoting human rights. There is an obvious national pride in this and there is also other cultural consequences. These consequences effect how society views certain aspects of segmentation.

For example, let’s just look at what is visible…

I find racial prejudice to be much more culturally unacceptable here in France than in many other countries. The French public figures who are against any form of prejudice seem to get much more attention, recognition and public goodwill than in other countries. The public always rallies around when this button is pressed.

Market Segmentation Barriers In France

But it is not just about appearances. France also has laws that were passed to uphold these beliefs. And some of these laws prohibit the tools marketers need to carry out multicultural marketing for example.

In France laws severely limit the type of personal information you can collect, keep and use. And this makes multicultural marketing within France a challenge.

Earlier this week, I spoke with the French Ethnic Marketer, Jean Christophe Despres. He says that you cannot compare multicultural marketing here in France to multicultural marketing outside of France.

Yes, he helps France manufacturers sell their ethnic products to the right French ethnic groups. But imagine the hoops you have to go through when it is illegal to have any list of people segmented by their ethnic origin.

Cultural Differences In Segmentation Of Foreign Markets

And this is an obvious example. In other countries the limits of market segmentation may be just as real due to other cultural differences.

Cultural differences in perception of what is right
Cultural differences in freedom
Cultural differences in political environments

Segmentation For International Markets

Getting back to international business development.

On a primary level:

Country and culture segmentation gives you stronger marketing.

On a secondary level:

You need different segmentation processes within specific countries due to cultural differences

Comparison With Current Marketing Best Practices

And if we go back to yesterday’s parallel between current marketing best practices and international marketing…

This actually follows multichannel marketing:

On a primary level:

Segmentation gives you a more relevant message at the right time.

On a secondary level:

Your segmentation processes within each channel will probably need to be different

Where Current Marketing And International Best Practices Meet

Interested in developing your international business?

Invest time and effort in improving your use of current marketing best practices. In the end, you increase sales for both domestic and international markets.

What do you think?

What difficulties in international market segmentation have you encountered due to cultural differences?
What cultural differences have you found to effect international market segmentation?
How do you carry out international market segmentation?

Brush up your international skills…
Read more on Cross-Cultural Marketing:

A Future For Ethnic Marketing
Cross-Cultural Web
How Cultural Differences Influence Marketing Segmentation
Marketing Segmentation Grows Both Sides Of Your International Business
Sophisticated Marketing Methods And International Sales
Why International Marketing Needs To Do More

Use these skills in your international tactics on the…
Get International Clients International Sales Road Map:

Multicultural Marketing

• Do you know the difference between Multicultural Marketing and Cross-Cultural Marketing… and when to use them? Find out more in Step 4 on Get International Clients

Marketing Segmentation

Cindy King — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:00:35 +0000

International Marketing Basics

The need for marketing segmentation is all around us. Here are several examples of segmentation in marketing:

Web Marketing

To get the full value out of your web marketing you need to test and track your results.

A/B testing is simple enough to put in place. In fact, pay attention and you will notice that all of the most successful web marketers test their marketing results. This is how they learn how to sell to their markets online.

A testing strategy helps you learn more about your markets. It also shows you how to sell to your markets.

Just starting an international marketing campaign? Imagine starting your week with this question:

What am I going to test this week?

And if you have more than one product to promote online, you can easily begin every day with:

What am I going to test today?

The secret is learning more and adjusting your web marketing step-by-step. This is how small companies take the online advantage over big companies.

Email Marketing

Effective email marketing also involves testing and tracking results.

Direct response marketers are now testing their campaigns online first. Before investing in mailing their direct mail packages, they want to know what works best.

This is another example of segmentation for testing.

Multichannel Marketing

Today’s marketer has markets using different communication platforms, or channels. Communication through different marketing channels is an obvious necessity.

But how do you choose which channel? Well, you need to:

Pick up the conversation with your market at the right spot.
Or, continue the conversation further down the road.

This is more of a market segmentation.

International Marketing

For successful international business development you need country-specific marketing. And even culture-specific marketing.

This is also involves segmenting your marketing.

Is Marketing Segmentation Easy?

Segmentation certainly appears to be a necessity. But there is a slight barrier to segmentation. It appears to multiply the work.

It is also interesting to note the trend to avoid extra work and look for easy solutions.

Does segmentation offer an easy business advantage for the businesses that make the effort?

You can also think of segmentation as bringing more clarity. And clarity makes business easier.