The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself (Ducker). Though a simple statement, as the world economy grow and consumers change this gets increasingly difficult. Globalization has caused marketers to research different countries, creeds, and cultures to make unique marketing strategies. Globalization isn’t the future of our economy, it’s the now. Advances in technology have made the world a much smaller place. With access to new markets many companies are venturing into uncharted territory in search for profit.
Though its sounds great there are many precautions to take before a company finds a new market. There are barriers to entry: most common among many are tariffs, quotas, and sociocultural variances. Tariffs are taxes put on imports from other countries. The effect of a tariff is to raise the price of the imported product; it makes imported goods more expensive so that people are more likely to purchase domestic products. Quotas are limits on the amount of goods that can be imported. Putting a quota on a good creates a shortage, which causes the price of the good to rise and make the imported goods less attractive for buyers. This encourages people to buy domestic products, rather than foreign goods. Sociocultural differences in religious beliefs or practices, basic cultural assumptions and/or patterned behavior, language, idiom, body language and assumptions about social strata are all among potential trade barriers. Companies like McDonalds, Nike, and Apple are dominating the market with their precise marketing strategies. Let’s take a look at each of these companies and asses how they all master foreign marketing through in their own unique way. Many franchises that market their products on a global scale can either fail miserably or succeed in attracting their audiences overseas.