If you are thinking about exporting, here are some basic recommendations before you start your international marketing plan.
In recent times , commercial prospecting, meetings and face-to-face presentations have presented strong temporary barriers, but why not say it, also structural ones . As we mentioned in a recent post, the buyer looks for information, searches the Internet, contacts possible prescribers or asks colleagues in the sector before establishing contact with the sales team. It is unnecessary to explain the temporary factors that have reduced and minimized commercial trips since the pandemic.
B2C companies, those that sell to individuals or consumers, are clear about this. Today, it is difficult to imagine the medium-term survival of those companies that do not have direct contact with the end consumer. With all retail trade closed or restricted for months, those who have not been aware that their future is at stake online have probably been convinced too late of the veracity of this statement.
In the case of B2B companies , those that sell to other companies, the reality is not very different. Their future is also played out on the Internet, or rather, in a multi-channel space, where contact with target customers can be in person, by telephone, by email through social networks, etc.
A digital marketing plan allows us to always be present in the market, regardless of the situation.
International digital marketing plan
Developing an international digital marketing plan does not mean creating an e-commerce site , but rather looking for alternative communication and sales channels to the traditional ones. Nor is a digital marketing plan necessary as a complement to a physical presence in the market. In fact, a digital marketing plan can be developed to speed up the creation of commercial networks.
An international digital marketing plan allows us to ALWAYS be present. Contingency plans and uncertainty have cut marketing budgets significantly, but now is not the time to disappear from the market.
Strategic Marketing before the Digital Plan.
A common mistake in international marketing plans is trying to replicate national strategies in any international market. Regardless of the specific customer profiles, the knowledge of our product and/or service offering, the intensity of the competition, etc., there is a tendency not only to position ourselves in a common way, for example by establishing very similar price or product strategies , but also to communicate in the same way, using the same messages and channels.
An international marketing plan, to be able to be defined as such, requires segmentation by market and providing each of them with strategies and operational actions that are specified in a budget and measurable objectives. A similar pattern applies to an international digital marketing plan. We cannot position ourselves in the same way in any market, our distribution, price and product strategies can vary, our clients can perceive us differently depending on the market. Our digital marketing plan must adapt to this reality. There is little point in translating a website into multiple languages if we do not adapt the content or messages to what our target client expects from us.
The joint work of the sales and marketing teams in a company is vital in this regard . Both must answer the following questions before proposing any initiative:
In which markets can I be competitive?
How can I position myself?
What is the level of local competition? And what about international competition?
Should I go all in with my product portfolio or taiwan whatsapp mobile phone number list just a portion of it?
Is physical presence in the market important? What structure is it?
This last question largely determines the direction, scope and objectives of the digital plan. If we do not need any type of structure and we have determined in our analysis that a market is a strategic target for our company, we could decide to create an e-commerce.
The establishment of an online and international sales channel has very serious implications, so it is difficult to think of this international sales alternative if the company does not already have an e-commerce in the national market, where it has already gained experience managing all aspects of online sales. Of course, if the company already has the experience, it is a viable alternative that has aspects to analyze:
Tax and legal aspects
Logistical aspects that affect delivery times
Pricing policies consistent with a physical sales network
Direct contact with our target customers is essential and we will hardly achieve this through a distributor.
In the initial stages of the export process, companies choose to enter the market through distributors who, in the vast majority of cases, have exclusive rights over the territory. Depending on the technical complexity of the products, the distributor itself provides the technical service or after-sales service. The advantages of the role of a distributor are obvious:
