Global marketing is the process of coming up with an idea and then putting across a final product or service across the world with the expectation of reaching the international market. With advanced communication and transportation channels, the world is rapidly shrinking and the global market rapidly expanding. This makes the introduction of products and services that were only existent in one country easier to find their way into the international market. When done correctly, global marketing can catapult a company from one level to the next one in no time. Since global markets are expanding fast, when advertising in these markets, different strategies have to be implemented depending on the region the company is looking to introduce its products and services.
Global marketing is not a standardized process that can be taken global although things such as packaging and the company logo can remain standard. In order for a global advertising strategy to be efficient, it has to include all the functional features of a business. The strategy must also have a well-defined objective that clearly states what the company seeks to accomplish in the international market.
When advertising globally, mistakes are bound to be made. Some are small which end up just derailing some company activities while others are huge, and cause the company huge embarrassments some of which the company never recovers. Here are some examples of mistakes that are commonly made when advertising globally:
- Getting the name of the product wrong- this occurs when a company tries to translate the product’s name into a foreign language.
- Search Engine optimization is a powerful tool for companies that want to be seen on the World Wide Web. However, most companies assume that the keywords used will still have the same meaning when translated into the different languages spoken in different countries and, therefore, do not bother to change them.
- The use of smart phones to access the internet is rapidly increasing and fast replacing the use of PCs, but many companies fail to make their websites phone user friendly, which is optimizing the website for smaller screens.
- There are many differences when it comes to culture of the people living in different parts of the world. Many companies, however, fail to put into consideration the culture of the people the advertisement are meant to impact.
- When advertising globally, some companies also fail to offer their web content in other foreign languages which in turn leads to neglect of those that prefer browsing using their native language.
Research carried out by the European Commission shows that above 80% of consumers will not purchase a product, whose information is not offered in their language. Another research carried out by the Common Sense authority shows that, above 70% of consumers are more likely to purchase a product if its information is offered in their language than foreign language.
When it comes to choosing a brand name, it is surprising how many global companies continue to choose names that are considered inappropriate in particular cultures despite having heard of the many companies that have done the same mistake. This, however, happens when the company is still new and is not intending to launch the company globally. The company’s product, however, has significant success, and it is launched globally, but the name remains the same.
One example of an advertising mistake was when Nike used flames to symbolize air, in their ‘Nike Air’ logo found on their running shoes. Unfortunately, the symbol used looked very similar to the Arabic word for Allah. The Muslims were very much offended by this and Nike had to remove thousands of the running shoes from the market. The relationship between the Muslims was also damaged, and Nike had to work hard so as to repair the damage. This global advertising mistake occurs frequently while it can be easily avoided. People now have greater access to information through the use of the internet and, therefore, are able to pick up on issues very fast and talk about them.
Some of the measures that Nike and any other company should take to avoid such mistake is to:
- Make sure that it understands the market and the people that live in the country they are intending to introduce their product. Visiting the country and conducting research on the people and their culture would go a long way in preventing such a mistake.
- While doing research on the people, make sure their language is understood. Hiring a professional translator will also help in preventing linguistic and conceptual misinterpretation.
In cases where the advertising is being made through websites, the company can start at small levels. It is not a requirement that the entire website content need to be translated into all the different languages. The company can start by translating information about their most common products. It can also opt to translate the website content into one or two languages for starters. The languages, however, have to be from the countries they feel have the largest market and the product will have greater success.
References
Gillespie, K., Jeannet, J.-P., & Hennessey, H. D. (2010). Global Marketing. Stamford: Cengage Learning.
Graham, F. (2011, June 23). Firms Ignore the Foreign Language Internet at Their peril. Retrieved from BBC News Business: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13878064
Norambuena, P. (2013). 10 Most Common Naming Mistakes. Retrieved from Interbrand: http://www.interbrand.com/en/knowledge/papers-and-articles/10-Most-Common-Naming-Mistakes.aspx
Wintranslation. (2010). Going Global: How to Succeed in International markets. Retrieved from Wintranslation: http://www.wintranslation.com/wp-content/uploads/Going_Global_white_paper.pdf
