International Marketing

International marketing is where the marketing activities of an organisation include activities, interests or operations in more than one country and where there is some kind of influence or control of marketing activities from outside the country in which the goods or services will actually be sold. Sometimes markets are typically perceived to be independent and a profit centre in their own right, in which case the term multinational or multidomestic marketing is often used.

The key difference between domestic marketing and marketing on an international scale is the multidimensionality and complexity of the many foreign country markets a company may operate in. An international manager needs a knowledge and awareness of these complexities and the implications they have for international marketing management.

Perlmutter (1995) identified nine cross-cultural management incompetencies which led to failure across a spread of country markets. He defined these core incompetencies as ‘the bundle of activities and managerial skills that are mis-matched in a great variety of countries where firms do business’. The first three are interrelated and relate to the failure to be market driven.

1 Inability to find the right market niches.

2 Unwillingness to adapt and update products to local needs.

3 Not having unique products that are viewed as sufficiently higher added value by customers in local markets.

4 A vacillating commitment. It takes time to learn how to function in countries such as Japan.

5 Assigning the wrong people. Picking the wrong people or the wrong top team in an affiliate.

6 Picking the wrong partners. There is a list of difficulties in building alliances; a main limitation is picking partners who do not have the right bundle of capabilities to help reach the local market.

7 Inability to manage local stakeholders. This includes incompetence in developing a satisfactory partnership relationship with unions and governments.

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