business environment

Marketing isn’t what it used to be. In today’s world, more and more companies are doing business in countries around the world, and that means a greater number of challenges for professional marketers. If you’re planning on expanding your business into the global marketplace, it’s important to stay informed on current trends in international marketing so you can pick and choose which would be most effective for your company. Here then, are some of those trends and some basic information about each one.

Social media
One of the most effective tools for today’s professional marketers can be summed up in two words: social media. No longer just a tool for sharing pictures of family and cute pet videos, social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more are now an undeniably common way to market and advertise your products and services worldwide. The power of social media as a marketing tool is evidenced by the major league companies that now utilize it with impressive results: companies like Nike, Starbucks, Pampers, NASA, Denny’s and many more can attest to the fact that social media is still a remarkably effective avenue for marketing products and services around the globe.

Video advertising
Live video streaming is a feature that has become increasingly popular among social networks. Using live video streaming for international marketing and advertising efforts is particularly effective for its ability to give consumers and potential customers the opportunity to experience a “real-time” event no matter where they are on the planet. Several companies have found live streaming to be a particularly useful way to conduct question and answer sessions with viewers. This kind of active participation creates a unique connectedness between the business and its customers, greatly enhancing loyalty to the brand on the part of the participants and allowing the viewers to provide live testimonials about the product or service.

AI (Artificial Intelligence)
International companies are currently exploring the power of AI to more effectively track and analyze consumer shopping behaviors in countries around the world. This type of information was, until just recently, an extremely time-consuming and challenging set of statistics that was typically only reserved for the largest, most profitable companies which had the manpower required to collect and analyze the results. But thanks to AI, this type of information will soon be within the grasp of marketers working for virtually any size organization.

Cross-sector marketing
Put very simply, cross-sector marketing refers to the practice of utilizing the popularity of other brands to increase the reputation and success of your own. The fast-food industry provides a good example of cross-sector marketing at its most basic level. Studies have shown that fast-food restaurants that are clustered together within a short distance of one another report markedly higher sales than those in more isolated locations. This may sound counterintuitive, but the fact is that several different fast-food restaurants located within the same few blocks provide the consumer with a great variety of choices and increase the likelihood that shoppers will stop to eat. Professional marketers project that cross-sector international marketing will become more commonplace in this coming year, including an increase in strategic partnerships to gain a greater level of success for all those involved. Marketing is, without a doubt, not what it used to be. The fact is that our digital age provides marketing professionals with more opportunities than ever before. Although all these trends are important to keep in mind, remember that the most important aspect of any international marketing campaign is something much more basic: you must be able to effectively communicate with consumers and customers in other countries. And that will mean employing the services of an experienced, professional translator. The first step in your international marketing efforts can take place today by contacting a reputable translation company and finding the translator that best suits your company’s needs.

International shipping is oftentimes misunderstood. In fact, there are countless businesses that can benefit from implementing import and export procedures but do not do it because they believe something that is incorrect.

There are some factors that you want to take into account and that are correct. For instance, shipping cost differences can easily appear when comparing different countries and products. Also, it is possible that you get location differences. When you ship something from New Zealand to Australia you might pay a price but when you ship the same items from Australia to New Zealand, the price tag might be different.

Below we will not talk about the facts that you already know. We will focus on 3 international shipping myths that need to disappear.

You Have To Deal With Hefty Paperwork
Most business owners believe that international shipping involves countless forms and basically a lot of paperwork. If a lot of paperwork would be in place, the shipment is going to take forever. This is not actually the case.

The truth is that most international shipments just require a few documents. When you work with a highly trusted shipping partner, your life will be a lot easier. Basically, it is the freight operator that should take care of all the paperwork for you. This offers improved clarity about duties with customs.

You Are Charged More Based On Product Numbers
When you ship something, it is normal for the freight forwarder to take into account package sizes and weights. However, numbers of products shipped do not count when looking at shipping costs. A huge part of shipping cost is actually package size and dimension. Most of the carriers will fix shipping charges based on box dimensions.

Remember that most shipping companies offer estimated shipping costs that you can check before agreeing with the terms of the contract you sign. Also, it is a very good idea to let the shipping firm handle packaging. This is because of the experience factor, which would lead to minimal pay amounts.

International Shipping Is Very Expensive
Obviously, international shipping costs more than regular, domestic shipping. This is completely normal. However, many service providers nowadays offer incredible rates for shipping various products. There are also some extra offers that exist when some conditions are in place.

Keep in mind that the competition between the freight forwarders is very high. This is especially the case when dealing with unexpected situations that lead to lower shipment volumes, like the current coronavirus pandemic.

Final Thoughts
These 3 international shipping misconceptions are a whole lot more common than what you might initially believe. You should never think of them as being correct. As it was shown, the truth is completely different.

The good news for every single business is that the internet evolved at a huge rate in the past few years. You can so easily check rates that are offered by countless shipping providers. My personal recommendation is that you contact local operators. They are the first ones that you have to trust because they want to build partnerships with local businesses for increased stability.