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What Is the Relationship between International Trade and Marketing?
International trade and marketing are related because marketing is an essential component of trading. A business has to market its products to create awareness and to promotion. This may be done through including local culture in products, translating commercials, and conducting market research. The organization may then want to conduct business internationally, by trading goods and services beyond the territorial boundary of its country of origin. International trade is a consequence of globalization, which has created an accessible market beyond geographical boundaries.
This accessibility of foreign markets means that an organization has to observe local customs and other norms, so as to properly position itself and effectively market its products. This link between international trade and marketing is a delicate one that must be handled carefully if the company is to succeed. For instance, a fast food chain trying to penetrate an international market might make concessions by including its own version of some popular local snacks on the menu. The company might use the inclusion of this local snack as an angle to market itself to the local market. Such a marketing tactic might enable it to stand out among similar competitors offering the same type of foreign fare.
The dynamics between international trade and marketing can be seen in the use of the local language to market the product in an international market. For instance, if the company has an English origin, it will not use its English jingles and TV commercials to market the same product in an Asian market. Such a product must be promoted in the local language due to the laws of international trade and marketing. The company might even make several versions of the same TV and radio commercials if the country has several major languages.
A company that is trying to sell itself to a new market will also conduct market research into the connection between the customs of the local people in relation to their attitude toward products like the company has to offer. For example, a corned beef or sausage factory might modify the contents of its sausage to reflect the beliefs and culture of the local population. If it is against the beliefs of the population to eat pork, the company will have to exclude it as an ingredient in the manufacturing of products. The company will also study the median per capita income of its new market so as to figure out how this will affect the spending habits of potential consumers. These are all marketing issues related to international trade.
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![International trade and marketing are related because marketing is an essential component of trading.]()
By: michaeljungInternational trade and marketing are related because marketing is an essential component of trading.
Discussion Comments
@fify--I went to India last summer. There were a lot of American restaurants and brands there, but everything was modified. For example, a hamburger is a veggie-burger in India.
@fify-- You made a good point, this is one of the difficulties of international trade. Sometimes marketing can overcome these issues and other times, it's not enough.
Before a company decides to open up to an international market (or any new market) however, the company does what is called a market environment analysis. In this analysis, all sorts of factors are analyzed, whether it's political, economic or cultural.
If a country is not culturally or politically suitable to do business and trade, the company will not work there. So the answer to your question is that a company is not going to work in a country where it won't be able to do business.
Anytime a company starts trading with another culture however, marketing plays a very important role. The new potential consumers are introduced to the company and its products with marketing campaigns that make the product look like its their own. This might be done by working with a well known celebrity from that country or running different programs in the country to gain the consumers' trust.
How can a company market their product in another country if there is a negative perception in that country about the company and its origin?
For example, I know that McDonald's is in many countries now but it's also seen as a symbol of capitalism and might trigger negative emotions in certain places. How does the company overcome this? What kind of marketing strategies work in this situation?
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