Want your brand to be known across the globe? Global expansion demands a deep understanding of the unique culture, customs, and traditions of your target market. It also requires a broader understanding of consumer behavior trends.
InnoVision Global Marketing has helped countless brands just like yours make their mark all over the world. We’ll explain what you need to know about global consumer behavior trends so you know exactly how to tailor your business strategy to meet evolving consumer demands.
Monitor Global Consumer Behavior
The French writer, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, is credited with coining the phrase, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” The same can be said for branding and marketing. A global expansion strategy without a solid plan in place is merely a dream.
To be successful, you must be armed with the right knowledge and the latest data. Consumer behavior trends are constantly evolving, and you have to follow them closely to know when, where and how to strike.
For instance, several decades ago, social selling didn’t exist because social media hadn’t yet been created. But now, global marketers can leverage the power of social media to their advantage. More than that: it’s vital that they do so.
So how can you be ahead of the curve when it comes to understanding global consumer behavior trends? There are several online tools and databases that track global consumer preferences.
For instance, Statista provides survey data through its Consumer Insights tool. You can access country or territory-specific data if you’re looking to expand to a certain region or access industry-specific data if you want to learn more about consumer preferences in your particular sector.
Deloitte is a professional services network that surveys consumers across a dozen countries on a monthly basis. Use their data to get a sense of consumer financial well-being and spending intent so you can decide whether now is the right time to expand. Factiva is another resource business owners can use to evaluate global risk and opportunity.
Never fly blind when venturing into international waters. Gathering a variety of consumer insights will be instrumental in helping you build the most effective global marketing strategy for your brand.
Decipher Consumer Trends and Preferences
Now that you’re armed with current global consumer data, it’s time to take things a step further. Track the information you gather to more easily identify consumer trends and preferences.
There are some tools that do this for you. For instance, Google Trends enables you to track what people are searching for by region, time frame and topic. This will assist you in identifying the priorities of consumers in your target markets.
If you want to track specific types of data, there are tools you can use to visualize the insights you’re collecting. Canva, for example, allows you to create online charts and diagrams so you’re able to view all the information you’ve collected in one centralized location. Visme is another online tool that allows you to use customizable templates to design graphs that you can then populate with your own data sets.
Once you have this data at your fingertips, you’ll be able to more easily identify patterns and trends and make informed business decisions. For instance, is the performance of a particular industry constant over time, or does it ebb and flow based on market conditions, government regulations, political stability or other factors? Is it consistent across several regions or is a performance variable depending on geographic location? Data visualization is an excellent way to organize consumer insights so you’re better able to answer these questions.
Adopt a Forward-Thinking Strategy
Analyzing consumer data is key in identifying current market trends, but you also need to look toward the future. Where is global consumer behavior headed next? You may be thinking that predicting the future is difficult without a crystal ball, and you’d be right. But once again, there are resources to assist you. For example, Futures Platform is a tool that allows you to compare and contrast future scenarios based on a variety of variables.
Once you have all the data in hand (past, present and future), it’s time to refine your marketing strategy. If you have specific target markets in mind, you may want to collect consumer insights for each of them. For instance, conducting surveys or focus groups will assist you in gathering unique consumer insights for your particular brand.
While collecting consumer data and identifying key trends is the first step in crafting an effective global marketing strategy, it’s only a jumping-off point. Once you’ve narrowed your focus, you should adapt your marketing strategy to your target markets by taking into account each area’s unique cultural identity.
Employing or consulting with local experts can be instrumental in achieving this goal. Marketing professionals with regional expertise can advise and guide you in navigating the cultural sensitivities and linguistic nuances of your target markets. This will assist you in refining your messaging so it authentically resonates with consumers in those areas.
Partner With an Expert
Understanding global consumer behavior comes down to the collection, visualization, analysis and application of key insights. Building an internal team of advisors or hiring an experienced team of global marketing strategists, like the one here at InnoVision, can elevate your brand’s global success.
If you want to better understand global consumer behavior and how to apply it to your brand’s global marketing strategy, contact InnoVision Global Marketing. From crunching numbers and analyzing data to identifying key markets for expansion and crafting an action plan that optimizes results, we will be by your side every step of the way.
So pack your bags and get ready because we’re prepared to take your brand on a journey around the globe.
