Introduction

It is essential for organizations to promote their brands well among their customers, not only to outperform their competitors but also to survive in the long run. The primary purpose of marketing communication is to tell customers about the benefits and values that a company’s product or service offers to them. Brand promotion increases awareness about products and services and ultimately increases their sales, leading to high profits and revenue for the organization. Global communication; and branding and advertising can help you market your product or service in many different countries around the world. 

Communication in Marketing

Communication can be defined as transmitting, receiving, and processing information. When a person, group, or organization attempts to transfer an idea or message and the receiver is able to comprehend the information, communication takes place. Brand communication is undertaken by organizations to create popularity for their product among the end-users. Brand communication goes a long way in promoting products and services among target consumers. The process involves identifying target consumers and promoting the brand among them through means of Advertising, Sales Promotion, Public Relation, Direct Marketing, Personal Selling, Social media, etc. 

Factors Influencing Communication Decisions

Different countries interact in business-related activities on an everyday basis. There are different economic, social and cultural differences among them. These differences prove to be obstacles in business communication. Knowledge of such factors eliminates the common mistakes and misunderstandings involved with business communication between different cultures. There are various factors which influence business communication decisions in international markets. These are explained below.

1. Advertising

According to American Marketing Association, Advertising is “Any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods or services by an identified sponsor.” It is a means by which a firm communicates with potential customers, highlighting its product. 

Global advertising is the use of the advertising appeals, messages, art, copy, photographs, stories, and video segments in multiple country markets. A global company that has the ability to successfully transform a domestic campaign into a worldwide one or to create a new global campaign from scratch is at an advantage relative to competitors who make the same discovery at a later point in time.

Global campaigns with unified themes can help to build long-term product and brand identities and offer significant savings by reducing costs involved in producing advertisements. Global advertising also offers companies economies of scale in advertising as well as improved access to distribution channels. Where shelf space is at a premium, a company has to convince retailers to carry its products rather than those of competitors 

In the case of food products, There are two major decisions that a firm has to address:

1) Specific advertising message and media strategy

The major question faced by firms is if the specific advertising message and media strategy needs to be changed from country to country. Local country managers can share important information, such as when to use caution in advertising creativity. Given below is an idea of how ads need to be formed, keeping in mind the regional thought process and culture: 

These differences can be used as a guide in creating standardized appeals in terms of clusters. For example, a standardized ad employing a rational appeal could be translated as appropriate in Austria, Belgium, Italy, and the United States. 

Example: 

Some Examples of Cultural considerations are:

• Images of Male/female intimacy are in bad taste in Japan, and illegal in Saudi Arabia

• In Germany, France and Japan, a man enters a door before a woman. 

Many German companies prefer ads that present a rational argument for a product’s superiority. This is typical of ads for beer, automobiles, and food products. 

2) Which medium to use when communicating

Another issue faced by advertisers is which medium to use when communicating with the target audience. The available alternative media can be broadly categorised as:

1. Print media: daily and weekly newspapers to magazines and business publications with national, regional, or international audiences

2. Electronic media: broadcast television, cable television, radio, and the Internet

3. Other media: outdoor, transit, and direct mail advertising

Globally, media decisions must take into account country specific regulations. Even when media availability is high, its use as an advertising vehicle could be limited. 

In Europe, television advertising either does not exist or is extremely limited in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The time allowed for advertising each day varies from 12 minutes in Finland to 80 in Italy, with 12 minutes per hour per channel allowed in France and 20 in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. 

2. Public Relations

Public Relations (PR) is the department or function responsible for evaluating public opinion about, and attitudes toward, the organization and its products and brands. Public relations personnel also are responsible for fostering goodwill, understanding, and acceptance among a company’s various constituents and publics. According to Marla Aaron, “Public Relations is communicating your organization’s messages at the right time and in the right place to the right audience. With the proliferation of tools and technologies, we can measure the value of those efforts and how they align with a business’ overall mission.” 

Like advertising, public relations is one of the four variables in the promotion mix. One of the tasks of the PR practitioner is to generate favorable publicity. By definition, publicity is communication about a company or product for which the company does not pay. The Tools that are generally used under Public Relations can be News releases, Media kits, Press conferences 

Public relations professionals who are responsible for international business operations should serve as more than a company mouthpiece. They should be able to simultaneously build consensus and understanding, create trust and harmony, articulate and influence public opinion, anticipate conflicts, and resolve disputes. As companies become more involved in global marketing and the globalization of industries continues, company management must recognize the value of international public relations. 

Public relations practices can be affected by:

• Cultural traditions

• Social and political contexts

• Economic environment 

Reasons for this growth are:

• Increased governmental relations between countries

• Technological development

• Societal issues like the environment

Public relations professionals must understand these differences and tailor the message to be communicated, appropriately. 

3. Personal Selling

In today’s world, one of the fastest ways to convince a person to do something is by communicating with that person. International markets are swarming with firms and their products and services marked by complex technologies and multiple choices, and in cut-throat competition. The role of salesperson becomes quite important as he/she acts as representative of the firm with whom potential customers with directly interact with. The customer always wants to be sure that he or she is getting value for his or her money. The salesperson helps in winning the trust of customer in the firm by making a potential customer an actual one, hence giving the firm some competitive advantage. 

Personal selling is personal communication between a firm representative and a potential customer to persuade prospective customer to buy something their product or service idea. This is in contrast to the mass, impersonal communication of advertising, sales promotion and other promotional tools. e.g., One of the most important factors which contributed to the sales success of Amway Products in India was the door-to-door sales.

The efforts of sales people have a direct impact on such diverse activities as:

• Increase awareness of new products and business ventures.

• Keeping existing products running well in market.

• Provide convenience to customers as products are sold directly at homes.

• Creating a relationship and trust through interpersonal approach.

• Generating actual sales for the firms.

• Direct Feedback from customers.

• Supplement with the product promotion.

• Provides an effective method in explaining firm’s reliability and reputation, product features, clarifying customer doubts and resolving their issues.

One of the major limitations is its high cost, especially in advanced countries.

Decisions taken in personal Selling

a) Size of personal selling effort 

This is determined by importance of the firm’s new product or service and how much is firm is invest in money, time and in other resources

b) Allocation of Sales Effort 

This involves Geographical Allocation, i.e. the area which a given sales person needs to cover or the geographical position assigned to each sales person here he or she has to generate sales for the firm.

c) Allocation of product to sales personnel

A firm might be having a number of products and services to sell. A salesperson can’t sell all the products or services due to his or her physical limitations. Hence the firm needs to focus on what products are needed to be sold by the salesperson. This is done as per demands of the products or services or when a new product is launched.

d) Scheduling

Time is a valuable resource, hence, the firm needs to make crucial decisions scheduling of the personal selling effort.

e) Cost Involved

Budget for personal selling determines the size of personal selling effort and is generally on higher side as it is quite labour intensive. 

4 Sales Promotion

Sales promotion refers to any paid consumer or trade communication program of limited period that adds substantial value to a product or brand. Sales promotion is a vital element of marketing communication policy which accounts for more promotional expenditures than advertising, personal selling and publicity in some countries

• Consumer sales promotions are intended to make consumers aware of a new product, to encourage nonusers to sample an existing product, or to boost overall consumer demand. Example: Coupons, rebates, Loyalty programs, free sampling, etc.

• Trade sales promotions are designed to raise product availability in distribution channels. For example, point of purchase displays, trade shows, etc.

• Business to business Sales promotion is targeted at the B2B market. For example, Price reductions, trade ins, trade shows, etc.  

Objectives of Sales Promotion:

a) Building product awareness

Sales promotion is highly effective in exposing customers to products for the first time. The serve as key promotional components in the early stage of product introduction.

b) Creating interest

Sales promotion is integral and effective in creating interest among customers.

c) Provide information

some sales promotion techniques provide information to customers.

d) Stimulating demand

Sales promotion builds demand by convincing customers to make a purchase.

e) Reinforcing a Brand

After purchase, Sales promotion can be used to encourage additional purchase and also as a reward for purchase loyalty in the form of special promotions.

Benefits of Sales Promotion 

• Provides a real incentive to buyers

• Reduces the perceived risk associated with purchasing a product

• Provides accountability for communications activity

• Provides methods of collecting additional data for database