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With the proliferation of the Internet and e-commerce (electronic commerce), if a business is online, it is a global business. With more people becoming Internet users daily, this market is constantly growing. Customers can come from anywhere. Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce is larger, growing faster, and has fewer geographical distribution obstacles than even business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce. With e-commerce, a brick and mortar storefront is unnecessary.

The advantages of global marketing are:
•    Economies of scale in production and distribution
•    Lower marketing costs
•    Power and scope
•    Consistency in brand image
•    Ability to leverage good ideas quickly and efficiently
•    Uniformity of marketing practices
•    Helps to establish relationships outside of the "political arena"
•    Helps to encourage ancillary industries to be set up to cater for the needs of the global player

On the other, global marketing also faces some challenges, including:
•    Differences in consumer needs, wants, and usage patterns for products
•    Differences in consumer response to marketing mix elements
•    Differences in brand and product development and the competitive environment
•    Differences in the legal environment, some of which may conflict with those of the home market
•    Differences in the institutions available, some of which may call for the creation of entirely new ones (e.g. infrastructure)
•    Differences in administrative procedures
•    Differences in product placement.

Companies need to understand the target market needs, wants, cultures and customs in order to succeed in those geographical areas.

One way to reach consumers from different places is using website. Most company websites today are written in English, assuming English is the international language known by most Internet users.

But based on Internet World Stats data, more than 50% Internet users are not English native speakers. Companies won’t be able to deliver their marketing messages effectively if those messages are only in English. Company websites should be modified to other language versions in order to reach consumers from many parts of the world.

With multi-lingual website, companies will be able to convey their marketing messages in local languages to build market awareness more effectively. In the same time, companies will be able to create emotional bond with consumers because they speak in consumers’ languages which create the association that the companies try to understand consumers.

With high market awareness, companies expect to see high response rates and sales. And if consumers satisfied with companies’ products and services, they will become loyal consumers to companies, even better they will be the brand ambassadors, who will refer companies’ products to their friends and family.



References:
•    Kotabe, Masaki and Helsen, Kristiaan, Global Marketing Management – 3rd Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc – Publishers, Copyright 2004, ISBN 0-471-23062-6
•    Kotler & Keller, Marketing Management - 12th Edition, 2005, ISBN 81-203-2799-3
•    Theodore Levitt, The Globalization of Markets, Harvard Business Review 61 (May-June 1983): 92-102
•    Young, Charles E., The Advertising Research Handbook, Ideas in Flight, Seattle, WA, April 2005, ISBN 0-9765574-0-1
•    Wikipedia, www.wikipedia.org
•    Internet World Stats, www.internetworldstats.com