Marketing Organisation Management - International Markets Expansion Driven Growth Challenges

Executive summary: International markets expansion is usually a period of company growth. Given that demand creation is prioritised, it also usually an exciting period for brand marketing and creative professionals. However, international markets expansion can also be a period of pain, confusion and internal tensions. The scale and scope of adjustments to be made to the marketing organisation is often wrongly under-estimated during times of international markets expansion driven growth. In cases when it is, pains of mismanaged growth are often so big that they undermine benefits of new market entry.

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When it comes to ensuring brand business growth one of the most impactful strategies is international markets expansion. Introduction of your existing product or service offering to new customers in markets outside of your home market is deemed as one of the fastest and most profitable ways to grow as a brand. While it may differ across industries and product categories, international market expansion for many consumer products and services is essentially an export endeavour. As it mostly presupposes maintenance of supply chain, production and new product development processes identical to those in the home market, success of international market expansion comes down to success in international markets demand creation. Crucial role in ensuring success of international markets demand creation lies within the brand marketing and creative strategy management - definition and execution.

Crucial role in ensuring success of international markets demand creation lies within the brand marketing and creative strategy management - definition and execution.

Brand expansion into international markets is an exciting, but also challenging period for brand marketing and creative professionals. Successful entry and expansion into new market requires thorough research, understanding and accounting for local market nuances and consumer preferences in brand marketing strategy definition and execution. While adaptation of your brand to diverse external market and competitive environments in international markets is an obvious and sizeable challenge, equally important, yet often disregarded challenge is the marketing organisation set-up and management during the period of international markets expansion driven growth.

Often disregarded challenge is the marketing organisation set-up and management during the period of international markets expansion driven growth.

Organisational and Operational Challenges of Marketing Organisation During International Market Expansion

International markets expansion is usually a period of company growth. Given that demand creation is prioritised, it also usually an exciting period for brand marketing and creative professionals. Budgets are increased and they get to do what they love - build marketing programs that attract attention and convert new customers. However, international markets expansion is also usually a period of pain, confusion and internal tensions. Growing brands means growing marketing teams, and growing teams means growing pains.

Growing brands means growing marketing teams, and growing teams means growing pains.

Brand & Creative Strategy Transformation

As the brand expands from its original / home country, venturing into new markets and customer habits, it often learns that its communication mix even positioning from local country isn't applicable in new markets as it simply doesn't resonate or it might be even at odds with local markets. Questions arise about whether and how to include this requirement for change into the brands' original DNA.

Creative strategy often needs to be updated as brand visual and creative environment simply doesn't hold up to new markets and new contexts. Creative production strategy also requires updating to account for new cultures, new product use cases and users. Questions of creative production, localisation, trans-creation and translation surface.

Marketing Organisation Growth and Change

With company growth and number of markets, brand marketing organisation grows as well. While growth is nominally a good thing, being a subject, instead of of a driver of change, can be quite painful. As marketing organisation grows, new roles are created, new team members are onboarded and more points of view about just about everything become something to manage. For brands expanding internationally into markets, that means that local marketeers perspectives, needs, concerns and plans need to be accounted for. This sometimes might be in odds with the central / home teams established ways of working.

While growth is nominally a good thing, being a subject, instead of of a driver of change, can be quite painful.

Moreover, as brand marketing, campaign management, creative production and in general marketing professionals work is heavily dependant and built on individual ways of working, sudden inflow of new people, new markets, new goals can create quite a confusion in how things should be done and accountability. Something that was previously assumed, now becomes challenged.

Tensions between Central and Local Marketing and Sales Teams

With new markets and local market specifics, an inevitable question of 'global' vs 'local' takes center stage. In case of international expansion with local marketeers' presence there will be an inevitable tension build up between what should be done locally, what should be done centrally.

Local marketeers prefer localised approach as in the end they are the experts in their market. Markets are actually places of revenue - where money is being made, so challenge to global / regional and any type of central / coordinated roles and teams become stronger. While constructive tension can push the business and the brand forward, enabling it to grow further, embracing new perspectives, the internal dissonance can also create problems for the growth trajectory. Moreover, local business development and sales teams which are ultimately in charge of delivering on revenue targets might become restless when facing lack of agility or responsiveness from the marketing organisation - central or local teams.

While constructive tension can push the business and the brand forward, enabling it to grow further, embracing new perspectives, the internal dissonance can also create problems for the growth trajectory.

Global - Regional - Local Campaign Effectiveness and Efficiency

As number of markets grow, new teams and departments are build planning and executing campaigns becomes much more complex. The question of scalability comes into plan and need for effective coordination between multiple stakeholders becomes paramount. Question of reporting of effectiveness and campaign performance creeps in - as consolidating reporting points across markets and array of agencies, media buying markets and vendors becomes an obvious challenge.

Teams are expected do both deliver on current demand but also build internal infrastructure - ways of working and operational & organisational structure to foster future growth

New Teams and Departments & Agency Relationship Restructuring

Expanding marketing organisation usually means new teams are being formed. As the marketing organisation grows, it slowly but surely absorbs some of the remits that were previously outsourced to different agencies. Building new internal teams in times of growth can be very challenging if not overburdening. Teams are expected do both deliver on current demand but also build internal infrastructure - ways of working and operational & organisational structure to foster future growth. As new teams are being formed they also start fighting for their place in the broader organisation.

For example, formation of an in-house creative studio will mean that some of the work from local marketeers budgets & local agencies will become expected to be shifted in-house. For that to be done in-house studios and agencies will need to built trust and deliver performance for marketeers to be willing to shift their budgets and dependence on new internal partners for delivery against their own KPIs.

As new teams are being formed they also start fighting for their place in the broader organisation

International Market Expansion and Marketing Organisation Change Management

International market expansion is a strategic corporate initiative which requires cross-functional and multi-dimensional changes. It requires strategic management and leadership, acquisition and internalisation of new skills & capabilities, teams, roles, ways of working and collaborating, even culture and corporate values.

The scale and scope of adjustments to be made to the organisation is often wrongly under-estimated.

The scale and scope of adjustments to be made to the organisation is often wrongly under-estimated. In cases when it is, pains of mismanaged growth are often so big that it impacts and sometimes significantly reduces the benefits of new market entry. In worst cases, gaps and failures in organisational alignment of the marketing organisation create missed marked opportunities and undermines growth and expansion plans.

Symptoms like brand fragmentation and inconsistency, ineffective one-size fits all campaigns discounting international markets differences, competitive infighting between central and local teams, missed market share growth plans, inadequate performance tracking, inconsistent brand positioning, lack of stakeholder buy-in, low employee morale and high turnover are just some of many negative effects of mismanagement international expansion.

Shaping international market expansion and ensuing change for marketing organisation as change management projects delivers unifying vision, steps, roles and priorities needed for transition from local to international and in future a global brand.

Managing international market expansion as a change management project brings discipline, structure, and strategic alignment to the process. It enhances stakeholder engagement, mitigates risks, optimizes resources, and promotes continuous improvement.

Shaping international market expansion and ensuing change for marketing organisation as change management projects delivers unifying vision, steps, roles and priorities needed for transition from local to international and in future a global brand.

Preventing and Overcoming Challenges of International Markets Driven Growth for Marketing and Creative Organisation Management

In the past 10+ years we've helped clients overcome and prevent challenges of international markets expansion driven growth, accelerating their strategic initiatives through competitive improvement in strategy definition, internal enablement and scalable execution support. Some of our clients include Nike EMEA (14 WE markets), Uber EMEA (46 markets), WarnerBrosDiscovery EMEA / HBO Max EMEA (17 market), Amazon Ring Europe (10 markets).

In case you're planning or undergoing international markets expansion you face or want to prevent common challenges associated with marketing organisation growth and change either on strategic or executional level feel free to reach out.

We can help you better navigate the complexities of international expansion, ensuring strategic alignment, effective execution, and sustainable growth in new markets through range of services and solution.