Global Marketing In Light Of the Internet

The Oxford University Press defines global marketing as “marketing on a worldwide scale reconciling or taking commercial advantage of global operational differences, similarities and opportunities in order to meet global objectives. ” The emergence of the Internet in the early 1990s and its gradual commercialization through the early 2000s would coincide with the globalization of media and cultural products. Brands around the world have since attempted to take advantage as well as keep abreast of the commercial, technological, and cultural trends around Internet marketing .

Time and Space Compression

The Internet’s most obvious benefit is the elimination of geographic and time constraints. Organizations have quickly realized that operating costs can be significantly reduced by moving services from physical locations into the digital world. Employees can work remotely from locations hundreds or even thousands of miles away from office headquarters, delivering the same services to clients and customers as employees working on-site. Virtual help desks can be outsourced, allowing technical staff to log into online systems to assist customers located in distant cities, states, and countries.

This same immediacy applies to global marketing, as it allows brands to reach consumers in various ways and offer a wide range of products and services simultaneously. The scope and reach of the Internet is especially beneficial for companies looking to deliver public relations, advertising, and sales messaging consistently across a broad and diverse audience.

The costs of traditional media (television, radio, print and billboard advertising) limit this kind of reach to multinational markets. For small businesses, eMarketing opens up access to potential customers around the world, all for much less the cost than traditional advertising.

The Internet’s accessibility and low barrier to entry enable anyone with an Internet connection to book a flight, test drive a service, or purchase a product with just a few clicks of a mouse. Moreover, the perpetual nature of the Internet makes business occur 24 hours per day, seven days per week, 52 weeks per year. By speeding the time between the delivery of marketing communications and the gathering of consumer responses, the length of the consumer buying cycle is reduced and the volume of lead generation is increased.

Demographics and Targeting

One of the biggest challenges of global marketing is not only communicating a consistent message and brand image, but developing a deep understanding of the cultural differences that separate consumer markets from one another.

Luckily for global companies, web monitoring and tracking tools have become increasingly sophisticated and offer insights into consumer behavior both online and offline. The nature of the Internet is such that users tend to organize themselves into far more focused groupings and in greater concentrations than in offline settings. For example, social networking websites and personalization features can offer valuable information for global marketers looking to access hard-to-reach and overseas markets.