With the U.S. economy continuing to just stumble along, many of our clients are looking overseas for growth opportunities, whether in the BRIC countries or elsewhere. Before entering these new markets or taking a larger position in markets outside the U.S., the first step is research.
This new research may investigate the economic climate, competitive positioning, brand perceptions or cultural factors and it may be an original study or it could involve the review of available secondary research. Regardless of the specific form it takes, research is an essential element to resolving the
many unknowns that exist in international business.
We recently completed a global branding research project for a client which provides a good example of the types of elements that need to be considered when working internationally. Our client already had a presence in a number of countries across Europe and Asia, but before making a change in their brandmark, they asked JMG to conduct a study across those countries to look for any cultural associations that could create an issue.
It was interesting to see both the U.S. influence that exists in many countries as well as the very different interpretations of U.S. creative elements expressed by the respondents in the global study.
Conducting ongoing research like this is a key part of doing business internationally; as changes are made to the global marketing strategy, they must be tested throughout the markets involved to ensure there are no unintended meanings.
There are several factors to keep in mind when conducting global research.
Target Audience
Determining who your actual targeted audience is and how to reach them can be far more complicated internationally than in the U.S. When looking for sufficient incomes to make purchases, the audiences can be very diverse based on country, from the middle-aged professional in Europe to the young industry worker in China or India. The means of reaching them for research purposes, and ultimately for marketing purposes, can be difficult to determine without experience in that specific country.
Regional Differences
With many countries, regional differences can be so significant they basically create countries within countries. Dialects can vary so much that multiple versions of a survey may need to be created or separate interviewers hired for different regions. The differences within a country in industrial development and urbanization also create large regions that are often bypassed from a research and a marketing standpoint because of the difficulty in reaching the target audience in those regions. While some brands have made it a point to penetrate these regions (e.g., Coca-Cola), there are many companies who only focus on a single, homogenous region of a targeted country.
Local Partners
Depending on the target audience, the region and the method selected to reach the audience, partnering with a local research company can be the most efficient manner to accomplish some international research. There are some aspects of global research that can really only be addressed by people on-site, whether it's finding the right people to conduct interviews in six different dialects or knowing when is the best time to try and reach a particular segment of the local market. When that local perspective is needed, it is essential the right local partner be selected. JMG has developed partnerships that enable us to mobilize the needed local resources if a project requires a more hands-on approach.
While these are three of the biggest factors in conducting global research, there are many more. Ultimately, each global marketing effort requires a customized solution, and the first step toward that solution is a customized research study that lays the essential groundwork for a successful venture. If you'd like to discuss some of the other factors involved in global research or what your first step might need to be, get in touch. We're happy to help.