The Limits to Global Marketing

There are four important limits on the degree to which a company should pursue global marketing.

-Negative industry drivers. Not all industries have the right characteristics for a global strategy. That is, the five “globalization drivers” (market, competition, cost, technology, and government) may not be conducive to a global approach. In particular, lack of homogeneous markets and persistent differences in customer preferences across countries may prohibit globalization of marketing.

-Lack of resources. Not all companies have the required resources (managerial, financial) to implement global marketing effectively. Instituting a global marketing strategy requires some financial resources up front for the necessary investment in advertising prototypes, platform designs, and global communication capabilities. Even more important, a global effort requires managers with international experience and the necessary temperament and administrative skills to deal with the unavoidable managerial conflicts and threats against morale at local units.

-Localized mix requirements. Not all marketing mix elements lend themselves to a global treatment. For example, while product design can often be uniform across several countries, language and cultural barriers make it difficult to standardize salesmanship.

-Antiglobalization threats. Close coordination of strategies across countries can make the firm more vulnerable to antiglobalization actions. As an extreme example, a firm that is not sensitive to local conditions will be a more likely target for terrorist activities.