In today’s world, the line between online and offline marketing gets blurry. Offline marketing includes activities like newspaper ads, billboards, and posters while online marketing includes email marketing, blogging, and social media.)
Since the advent of social media, people have been asking, “How do I market globally?” The short answer is: you don’t. Instead, you need to market locally and then expand your efforts to other countries.
The strategy behind this is fairly simple. The more countries you can target, the more likely you are to reach a larger audience. This is especially important if you are trying to grow your business or product globally. For example, if you are a clothing company and you want to expand your reach to Europe, you can’t just set up shop in Paris and expect customers to come running.
You need to establish shop fronts in countries such as Germany and Italy if you want to reach that audience. So how do you go about establishing these shop fronts?
Let’s take a look at the step-by-step guide to marketing globally.
Identify Your Target Audience
If you’re reading this blog post, then you’re probably already aware that knowing your target audience is one of the most important aspects of global marketing. You also know that your target audience will vary in different countries and markets. For example, the American market is completely different from the Italian market. So it’s important to understand the differences in order to properly market to each audience.
The first step is to identify a few key areas where you want to gain traction. For example, maybe you want to open a shop in Paris. Or maybe you’re considering a move to Singapore and you want to establish a foothold there. Whatever your reason, having a clear picture of your target audience’s profile will help you determine where you should be focusing your efforts.
Establish Local Offices
In order to market globally, you need to establish local offices in multiple countries. The best way to do this is through affiliate marketing. With affiliate marketing, you earn a commission when someone clicks a monetized link or buys a product that’s promoted on your site. For example, you’re an Australian business seeking to establish a foothold in the United Kingdom market. You can create an office in the UK and run ads there, or you can create an office in Australia and run ads there. The choice is yours.
The advantage of this approach is that you can target the right audience. If you run ads in Australia, then you will reach Australian consumers. If you run ads in the UK, then you reach UK consumers. This is important because not all countries behave exactly like the US. For example, the UK loves a bargain and will click ads for deals, while Scandinavian consumers dislike pop-ups and will opt out of receiving newsletters and offers from unknown sources.
Set Up Shop
Now that you have a base in one or more countries, you can set up shop. If you’re looking to open a store, then consider this the ‘physical’ equivalent of an online marketplace. Essentially, you are providing a platform for other businesses to promote their products and services. You don’t need to have a shop to do this, but having a shop front is the best way to attract customers and establish credibility. Establishing a shop also provides a physical address for customers who want to find you online. If you have a shop (or plan to open one), then take the time to find a suitable name for it. If you have multiple stores in different countries, then finding a unifying name is crucial. The more you put into finding a suitable name, the more you will get out of it. You can use a combination of the person’s first name and last name, or you can use an initial or a mononym. Think of a unifying theme for your shop names: if you run multiple shops in different countries, then try to find a way to connect them all under one roof. For example, if you run a French shop and an Australian shop, then you might want to consider connecting them under the Heaux-T-shirt brand. (Of course, you don’t need to be limited to one shop name; you can have multiple shop names as long as they’re all connected.)
Get the Word Out
The final step in marketing globally is getting the word out. Once you have a shop name and a few products to promote, the next step is to start telling other businesses about your new venture. Don’t worry – we’re not going to bombard you with hundreds of emails. We’ll keep it short and sweet. Most importantly, make sure that you tell people who you really are and what you’re doing. This is particularly important in the startup world where there might be numerous businesses claiming to be a particular brand or offering a particular service. You don’t want to get tangled in a web of deceit so make sure that you stand out from the crowd by being honest and upfront from the get-go. You can also use other marketing methods to gain traction (like SEO) but without a shop front, your efforts will probably be less effective. Having a physical address is also a great way to attract potential customers.
Hopefully, this article gave you a decent idea of how to market globally. As we mentioned earlier, the line between online and offline marketing gets blurred these days. More and more businesses are realizing the importance of having an offline presence, so keep that in mind.