International Marketing Environment

International Marketing Environment

Various markets around the world provide new opportunities for industrial and agricultural producers. It is often beyond the capability of individual agents or firms to access the potential of various markets. Hence, the government plays an important role in providing market research, technical know-how, infrastructure support and promotion to enable the producers to make a mark in the international market (Nelson, 2007). The government can ensure an early entry into foreign emerging markets and gain a first mover advantage. The government must also make efforts to develop long-term relationships with other countries in this regard. These steps may incur costs in the early period but help in reducing significant expenditures and putting off the competition in the longer term.

The governments play a major role in international trade and marketing. They decide whether the trade has to be free or managed. Generally governments do intervene in trade within and outside their countries in order to cater to interests of various groups. These may include local industries, defense, job protection, pricing, political pressures, balance of payments and regulations. The governments exercise this control by means of trade barriers such as tariffs and quotas.

The governments have also a great role to play in economic integration. This has become more important in the modern age of globalization. As a result of economic integration, a group of countries get together to make trade between them easier and free of barriers. This results in the formation of trade blocs and Free Trade Areas. European Union is the best example of economic integration, which has been successful due to collaborative efforts taken by the governments in European nations. Such an arrangement has led to a win-win situation for everybody.

Wide-scale technological changes have made international marketing a reality. The increasing competition and removal of trade barriers have encouraged firms to look for foreign avenues to market and sell their products. This has also led to the emergence of multi-national corporations (Geiersbatch, 2010). Today a large number of organizations carry out international marketing campaigns. This saves considerable costs as well as drives a global message. This has been supported by the use of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter for marketing which absolutely remove the international communication barriers.

However, there are also several cultural impacts of international marketing. Either a firm has to adapt itself to the culture of the various international markets or it has to make sure that the consumers worldwide are able to connect to its marketing tools. When Chevrolet launched Chevy Nova in Mexico, it was rejected because of a negative meaning in the Spanish language. The same was the case with American Motors' Matador. Therefore,