How do you target your international markets?

2 Segment your international customers

Once you have identified your potential markets, you need to segment your international customers based on their characteristics, needs, and behaviors. Segmentation is the process of dividing your customers into groups that share similar attributes or respond similarly to your marketing efforts. You can use different criteria to segment your customers, such as geographic, demographic, psychographic, behavioral, or cultural factors. For example, you can segment your customers by country, age, income, lifestyle, values, purchase frequency, or preferences. Segmentation can help you better understand your customers and target them more effectively.

3 Choose your targeting strategy

After you have segmented your international customers, you need to choose your targeting strategy. This means selecting the segments that you want to focus on and how you want to position your products or services in each market. You can use different types of targeting strategies, such as undifferentiated, differentiated, concentrated, or customized. For example, you can use an undifferentiated strategy if you offer a standardized product or service that appeals to a broad range of customers across different markets. Or you can use a differentiated strategy if you offer different products or services for different segments in each market.

4 Adapt your marketing mix

Finally, you need to adapt your marketing mix to suit your target segments and markets. Your marketing mix is the combination of product, price, place, and promotion that you use to deliver value to your customers. You can use different levels of adaptation, such as standardization, localization, or glocalization. For example, you can use a standardization approach if you offer the same product, price, place, and promotion in all markets. Or you can use a localization approach if you modify your product, price, place, and promotion to fit the specific needs and preferences of each market. Or you can use a glocalization approach if you offer a global product or service with local variations or adaptations.

Targeting your international markets is not a one-time task, but an ongoing process that requires constant monitoring and evaluation. You should always measure the performance and profitability of your marketing campaigns in each market and segment, and adjust your strategies accordingly. You should also keep an eye on the changing trends and opportunities in the global market, and be ready to explore new markets or segments when the time is right. By applying marketing analytics to your international marketing decisions, you can increase your chances of success and growth in the global arena.