Building a B2B brand in a foreign market isn’t achieved overnight. Different economic, social and cultural considerations may make replicating your home market’s marketing program difficult.
Think about the following. Are the channels you use in your home market used in the new territory your brand plans to enter? Are there similar channels or different ones you should consider? Is there a specific marketing plan designed for the new foreign market? Who will translate your brand/product collateral (if content in a different language is required)?
As you can see, expanding to a new market opens questions you should pay attention to if your goal is to develop a solid brand image and build long-lasting relationships with your customers in the new market.
In this article, we’ll share our top strategies for international marketing.
Should You Have an International Marketing Strategy?
Your international B2B marketing strategy will undoubtedly differ from your home marketing plan. Why? As we have explained, marketing a brand in a new territory implies new variables you must consider.
New markets mean buyers that come with new purchasing habits. Suppose you work for a technology company. Buyers in your domestic market may be familiar with product X or Y, but assuming that prospects in the new market will also be aware of it is a big mistake. It puts you at risk of creating the wrong content or not targeting the buyers’ pain points in the new market.
Another important point that deserves consideration is the length of the sales cycles in foreign markets. In your domestic market, buyers may require fewer touchpoints, but in the new markets, buyers may need to receive more content before becoming sales-ready.
Along with the cultural differences come language nuances. If your brand is translating product or brand collateral, ensure that the translation is localized to reflect the proper way of communication in the new market. Double-check with your local team to ensure the translation uses the correct terms and expressions.
Start from a local perspective and focus on local particularities, such as idioms and preferred methods of communication. Take your time to understand the new market, and you’ll avoid wasting resources and energy.
To help you achieve your objectives successfully, here are our 7 international marketing strategies that will propel your foreign efforts.
7 International B2B Marketing Strategies for 2024
When starting an international B2B marketing campaign, these seven key strategies will help you ensure that your brand effectively establishes multiple touchpoints to connect with its audience throughout the purchasing journey.
- Research the B2B Marketing Trends in the Region Your Brand Is Expanding To
Not all territories are equal. Some areas adopt new B2B marketing practices faster, while others use a more traditional approach. So, before starting any activities, take the time to understand your target market.
Research what marketing tactics are used often in the new market and what the most used channels are, for example.
Considering the new market’s cultural and economic context is also fundamental. In Latin American countries, for example, there’s a strong connection between politics and the economy. When governments change, public spending halts temporarily.
- Take Your Time to Plan (Don’t Rush It)
Once you have conducted your research, take your time to plan: understand the pain points of your potential customers, define objectives, identify the different stages of your company’s buyer’s journey, and plan how you will communicate with your audience.
The marketing plan must outline how you will execute it and how each step will contribute to achieving your objectives. A clear and concise marketing strategy will significantly influence the success of your efforts. For more information, read this article on marketing fundamentals.
- Hire a Technical Translator Who Knows Your Industry
Translation and localization are the most used practices when entering a new market. After researching your new audience and determining what products or services make sense for the new market, it is natural to consider translating and localizing collateral.
Who you hire to translate your brand/product documents is an important decision. Hiring a general translator will slow down your international marketing efforts as your team will spend more time verifying the accuracy of the translation.
General translations (instead of specialized B2B translations) leave a poor image of your brand. They confuse buyers and suggest that your brand doesn’t care enough about the market it is trying to win.
Some time ago, we wrote this article on the top issues to avoid in your technical translations. Check it out to be ahead of the game.
- Define a B2B Public Relations (PR) Plan
In B2B marketing, it’s easy to confuse PR with marketing. But be aware that media editors and reporters don’t appreciate pitches disguising promotional literature as editorial content.
A good Public Relations plan focuses on providing value to the market through a robust content and community involvement program. To attract customers’ attention, besides the valuable content, you should utilize various channels and formats such as text, audio, video, etc.
A strategic B2B PR program should consider the values and characteristics of the new market. One of the goals of a Public Relations plan is building a positive image for your brand. To avoid disconnections between your company and the audience you’re trying to win, check on the values and the social aspects that matter.
Doing so will help you design initiatives to present your brand as a valuable member of your new community. If you need some inspiration, check our 5 recommendations for B2B PR.
- Launch Your Local Social Media Channels
Social media platforms are an essential ingredient for a successful B2B marketing strategy.
If your brand’s goal is to grow in a foreign market, it’s critical to launch dedicated local social media channels to engage the local audience in their language. It demonstrates that your brand cares about the new market and wants to build as many local connections as possible.
Once you’ve opened local accounts on the platforms you want to use, post consistently, continually delivering value to your potential customers. B2B social media marketing relates to B2B Public Relations because the essence of both practices lies in providing value to an audience.
As the first strategy highlights, an international B2B marketing plan must consider cultural context because it determines how people and brands engage on social media.
Additionally, it could be an excellent chance to innovate. Check what B2B social media tactics are prevalent in your mother country but haven’t been implemented in the new region. Although it was written some time ago, reading our article on B2B Social Media in Latin America could help.
- Focus on Creating Content That Provides Value For Your Audience
elevant content is essential to differentiate your B2B brand from its competitors. Work closely with your local sales team to understand the questions leads frequently ask in the sales calls. Make it a priority to produce high-quality content that responds to such questions, and it will position your company as an industry leader.
Learn more about the importance of content marketing for B2B brands.
- Attract, Engage and Convert New Customers
Generating sales-ready (or “bottom of the funnel”) leads is a gradual process that starts with attracting the right people to your website and nurturing them with relevant content.
Once “warmed up,” leads are finally ready to convert into customers and brand promoters. Generating quality leads requires planning and consistent efforts. Many B2B brands are using inbound marketing as their central strategy to attract high-quality leads.
And there you have them! You can use many different strategies to reach your international B2B marketing objectives.
Takeaways and Conclusion
The most important takeaway from this article should be that entering new markets requires proper planning and consideration.
Don’t fall into the trap of applying your home strategy to save time and money. In marketing, acting fast while suggesting agility may also mean making mistakes.
But as we said earlier, start small and take your time to understand the new market. Good luck with your global B2B marketing endeavors.
* Luisa Moreno is the Chief Operating Officer of Signalis Group.
