When the Web offered us the opportunity to market globally from a single Web site, many of us thought the paradigm was finally broken. Now we could think and act globally from the comfort of our own domains. It is difficult for decision makers in a U.S.-based head office to anticipate a problem such as this and to address the problem when it surfaces. Global marketing requires a thorough knowledge of local issues. Addressing the Issues of Global Marketing Over the next several months, I will review the key issues you must address as you expand the success of your venture, however big or small, beyond the U.S. market.
Some countries are more wired than the U.S., while others have very little Web penetration at all.
Online purchasing by country or region. This is not directly related to how strong Web penetration is in the country. Although the language spoken at home versus that spoken in the workplace is clearly an increasingly complex issue in the U.S., there are many countries with more than one official language. Legal and tax issues. These issues can be especially complex, particularly with certain categories, such as children's products, in which safety codes are convoluted and rapidly changing.