Do you dream of taking your brand international? Making it shine in Paris, London, or Stockholm? (We approve of the ambition 🌍).
But before you buy your plane tickets, you’ll need to adapt your marketing strategy for international markets. At Donutz Digital, an international paid marketing agency, this is our daily bread, so we’re going to share our best advice with you.
How to go from a local brand to global success? We’re sharing our best recipes, tested and approved by our clients around the world.
Why Target International Markets?
Going international is like adding toppings to your donut: it gives more taste, more flavors, and often more customers. But be careful, it’s not a magic option to use anytime. Your business needs to be ready.
The (Good) Reasons to Take the Plunge:
- Find new customers: you expand your playing field, and therefore your potential customer base. Useful when your local market starts to feel a bit saturated.
- Reduce your risks: by diversifying your markets, you avoid putting all your eggs in one basket (and in marketing, that’s rather recommended).
- Stimulate innovation: new markets = new challenges. And challenges mean new ideas. It’s often abroad that you discover practices that evolve your entire company.
How to Adapt your Marketing Internationally?
1. Do your Homework (Aka a Real Market Study)
Each market has its own rules. What works great in your country can be a huge flop abroad. Before launching into Google Ads or Meta, take the time to:
- Understand buying behaviors
- Analyze local competitors
- Identify the expectations and values of the target audience
In short, be curious. (And no, it’s not cheating to ask a local expert 😉).
2. Localize, Don’t Translate
You probably know this phrase: “Lost in translation”? It’s never been truer than in marketing. A good French slogan can become a disaster in a literal version.
Adapting your message means speaking the language AND the culture of your audience. This includes:
- The tone
- Cultural references
- Visuals, colors… even emojis can change meaning depending on the country
At Donutz, we work with native experts. We speak the language and understand local codes. Let’s discuss your projects.
3. Choose the Right Channels
Facebook, TikTok, Line, WeChat, Pinterest… Each country has its star platforms. And sometimes, the ones we love here are barely used elsewhere.
Audit the most used local channels, and build your strategy around that.
Know your Consumers
It’s not about being content with numbers and KPIs. To really understand a market and do international marketing, you need to go further: what makes your customers tick? What are their buying motivations? What do they expect from a brand like yours?
In Germany, they might buy for quality. In Scandinavia, for sustainability. And in the United States, for storytelling (and 5-star reviews).
Good international marketing is marketing that listens before speaking. And that’s great because we love to ask the right questions.
Cultural Pitfalls to Avoid
An innocuous image in your country can be perceived as offensive elsewhere. A joke can become bad publicity. A poorly chosen word can drive away your prospects.
Some advice:
- Work with natives (we’re repeating ourselves, but it’s vital)
- Test your campaigns before launching them on a large scale
- Be humble: you’re going to make mistakes. The important thing is to learn quickly.
In Conclusion: What to Remember for Successful International Expansion
✅ Conduct a serious market study
✅ Adapt your message (really)
✅ Choose the right channels
✅ Work with local experts
✅ Avoid cultural missteps
✅ Measure, adjust, test, repeat
And most importantly… stay true to yourself. An authentic brand, firmly rooted in its identity, has every chance of shining abroad. It’s just a matter of learning to speak the language (and culture) of your future customers.
Want us to help you prepare for your international takeoff? Get in touch with our team. We’re ready to board 🛫
