International marketing (IM) or global marketing

International marketing (IM) or global marketing refers to marketing carried out by companies overseas or across national borderlines. This strategy uses an extension of the techniques used in the home country of a firm.It refers to the firm-level marketing practices across the border including market identification and targeting, entry mode selection, marketing mix, and strategic decisions to compete in international markets.

According to the American Marketing Association (AMA) "international marketing is the multinational process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives."

In contrast to the definition of marketing only the word multinational has been added.In simple words international marketing is the application of marketing principles to across national boundaries. However, there is a crossover between what is commonly expressed as international marketing and global marketing, which is a similar term.

Introduction to International Marketing

International marketing is simply the application of marketing principles to more than one country. However, there is a crossover between what is commonly expressed as international marketing and global marketing, which is a similar term. For the purposes of this lesson on international marketing and those that follow it, international marketing and global marketing are interchangeable.

The intersection is the result of the process of internationalization. Many American and European authors see international marketing as a simple extension of exporting, whereby the marketing mix 4P's is simply adapted in some way to take into account differences in consumers and segments. It then follows that global marketing takes a more standardized approach to world markets and focuses upon sameness, in other words the similarities in consumers and segments.

Differences between domestic marketing and international marketing

There are various differences between domestic marketing and international marketing. Due to a language barrier it is more difficult to obtain and interpret research data in international marketing. Promotional messages needs to consider numerous cultural differences between different countries.This includes the differences in languages, expressions, habits, gestures, ideologies and more. For example, in the United States the round O sign made with thumb and first finger means "okay" while in Mediterranean countries the same gesture means "zero" or "the worst". In Tunisia it is understood as "I'll kill you" meanwhile for a Japan consumer it implies "money".Even among the 74 English-speaking nations a word with the same meaning can differ greatly from the English which is spoken in the United States as the following example shows:

Truck: lorry (Britain and Australia)

Festival: feis (Ireland)

Benefits of International Marketing

• Survival and Growth 
• Sales and Profits 
• Diversification 
• Inflation and Price Moderation 
• Employment 
• Standards of Living 
• Understanding of Marketing Process 
• Enhances the domestic competitiveness 
• Takes advantage of international trade technology 
• Extend sales potential of the existing products 
• Enhance potential for expansion of your business 
• Gains a global market share 
• Reduce dependence on existing markets 
• Stabilize seasonal market fluctuations