The internationalization of American business is proceeding with increasing pace. The globalization of markets and competition necessitates all managers to pay attention to the global environment. International marketing is defined as the performance of business activities including pricing, promotion, product, and distribution decisions across national borders. The international marketing task is made more daunting because environmental factors such as laws, customs, and cultures vary from country to country. These environmental differences must be taken into account if firms are to market products and services at a profit in other countries.
Key obstacles facing international marketers are not limited to environmental issues. Just as important are difficulties associated with the marketer's own self-reference criteria and ethnocentrism. Both limit the international marketer's abilities to understand and adapt to differences prevalent in foreign markets. A global awareness and sensitivity are the best solutions to these problems, and these should be nurtured in international marketing organizations.
Three different strategic orientations are found among managers of international marketing operations. Some see international marketing as ancillary to the domestic operations. A second kind of company sees international marketing as a crucial aspect of sales revenue generation, but each market is treated as a separate entity. Finally, a global orientation views the globe as the marketplace and market segments are no longer based solely on national borders-common consumer characteristics and behaviors come into play as key segmentation variables applied across countries.
