International Web Marketing Mix
Internet marketing is sophisticated with regards to Search Engine Optimization. The search engines change their methods so often that some businesses are deciding not to invest heavily in SEO.
Internet businesses focus their marketing to connecting with people. Good web marketing has more to do with creating meaningful relationships with readers than ever before. This is why we talk about customer-centric marketing.
Are you marketing to the right cultural target?
The dilemma is that you cannot really contain your website to one location. This means that your web marketing reaches people from diverse cultural backgrounds. If your website is in English for example, your readers will come from all over the world. Some will be native English speakers, but many will be non-native English speakers.
The question is whether you want to target your web marketing to one specific country, or whether you want to target a wide international market.
How do you market to such a diverse audience?
If you want to market to your international audience you have two choices:
- Culture-specific marketing which often includes “localization” and country-specific websites. This is the best way to go if you know which countries you want to target. This type of marketing creates the strongest connection with your international audience. It gives you the best sales results. But it has a major drawback. It demands a heavy investment… and not everyone can afford this initially.
- Multicultural marketing, or one marketing for a diverse cultural audience, takes into account the wide variety of cultural audiences. This means one website, with one content, where you market to a broad international audience. This can be a solution for businesses that want to “test” the international appeal of their products. You will probably need further testing before expanding into cross-cultural marketing or culture-specific marketing to specific countries to increase sales further. But multicultural marketing for a broad international audience can help you identify possible sales regions, trends, local contacts with minimal investment and low risk.
What are the options for small businesses?
A small business interested in getting international clients can opt for a website in English, written specifically for a wide multicultural audience. As feedback comes in, some country-specific web marketing tactics can be used to develop the international marketing further.
This type of website is slightly different from a website specifically targeting an all-American audience, or an all-British audience, or an all-Australian audience. The main differences are in eliminating the marketing that pushes international clients away and a focus on international trust-building marketing.
Word of caution: There is one scenario where you need to be careful of implementing multicultural web marketing.
- Businesses with a culturally specific brand. These culturally targeted brands would probably lose their competitive advantage when adapted for a multicultural audience.
What about all of the other businesses out there?
Internet marketing is a great tool for international business expansion.
An initial international expansion phase which includes multicultural marketing to your web marketing plan gives businesses feedback on their international business development potential. You can progressively try country-specific web marketing campaigns to test a few individual markets, before proceeding with culture-specific marketing or cross-cultural marketing and localization.
The interesting thing about internet marketing is the international market potential you uncover can surprise you. You can uncover market segments and cultural markets never before imagined.
International marketing can be fun. Do you have any interesting stories or problems to share? Have you moved from SEO marketing to people marketing? And did you notice anything in particular with your multicultural audiences? Please share your stories here below.
More On International Web Marketing Mix:
- 3 Ways To Improve Your International Marketing Plan
- Choice Of Internet Marketing Methods
- Company Websites Still Brochures In Some Countries
- How To Give Turbo Power To Your Multicultural Internet Marketing To Actually Get International Clients
- Use A Multicultural Internet Marketing Strategy To Develop Your International Business
- Using Foreign Language E-Communication Tools
- Web Marketing For International Sales
- What Set Of Marketing Methods Do You Need For International Success
Business Guides On Get International Clients
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