Globalization was the latest trend in international business a few years ago, but it has lost its initial efficacy from a branding perspective, giving the reality that customers no longer seem to feel a bond with the generic goods of global companies, catered to them in mass marketing communication programs. Each strategic move, social media post and sales tactic used by businesses help boost their brand or sabotage it. Most businesses actually stopped having a link with the emerging global marketplace with their centralized decision making and ignored its emergence. Consequently, the power of local features emerged, and with it a new concept that sums up the global and the local- glocal. In today’s global economy, the marketer who knows when local specificities make sense and when they don’t is the one who will succeed. “Glocalization” helps businesses to “think globally, behave locally,” and they can do so by using the global brand, thus locating some elements of that brand to fit a specific nation.
It is necessary to know why your local customers have bought your product or service and then compare these sensitivities with those in your new market segment. While the principle of standardization of marketing operations operates at a strategic level, the richness of detail required at organizational and tactical levels is often not sufficient. When adapted to local, most marketing efforts will be more effective. In this way, a pure global marketing approach is not desirable because it does not take into account local problems. Marketers need to consider how their brand suits consumer expectations and how successful their marketing campaigns are in different countries.
Euromonitor International identifies new and fast-moving patterns every year that they expect in the coming year to gain momentum. These patterns lead to changing consumer values and behavior, causing global business disruption. For 2020, the patterns identified revolve around two main themes: convenience and personal control. The first trend is “Beyond Human“, in which the embrace of robots and Artificial Intelligence. “Catch Me in Seconds” trend – contemporary customers are looking to business to assist them in a succinct and impactful way to get the data they need. The trend of “Frictionless Mobility” is all about customers seeking more versatile and customized methods of transport. “Inclusive for All” is a movement for all that focuses on diversity and accessibility. The trend of “Minding Myself” a customer concentrating on their emotional needs and well-being, is related to this. Proudly Local, Going Global sees buyers withdrawing from globalization and hyper-consumption to help local societies more like the awareness and acceptance of various cultural social norms, driven by rising migration.
Often businesses get their rollout plan wrong because they look at their geographical or linguistic proximity, rather than the social sensitivities of the customers. Just because countries are geographically adjacent, when it comes to category picture and use, does not mean that their demographics are similar.
