This is how you succeed with your marketing efforts on a global market
Global companies face the ever-present challenge of combining their brand consistency with the different local contexts in which they operate. In order to succeed in all of your markets without renouncing your identity, you must be able to see both the micro and macro perspective of your business and organization. This places great demands on how to carry out surveys in order to develop one’s business.
Novus has extensive experience in conducting multinational surveys, and since 2022 is Sweden’s representative for Gallup International. As part of this, last autumn we were commissioned to analyze a question in Gallup Internationals GIA@75 survey. The data contained responses from 64 countries’ respondents, divided into nine regions, and the question itself was a number of forward-looking statements, with which respondents could agree or disagree, or alternatively choose not to take a position.
Local contexts influence
It was clear in this survey that countries look at, and answer questions, in different ways. For example, not all questions were asked in all countries, as they could be considered offensive. In addition, differences could be seen in response patterns for different countries. While some countries’ respondents clearly took a stand (MENA, Asia), other large proportions had “don’t know” answers (Europe, America), which could indicate a caution/concern to express their opinions or a more thoughtful approach. In some respects the differences between the regions were greater than in others, such as, for example, same-sex marriage and the future of fossil fuels. The MENA countries tended to stand out from the rest of the regions overall, as well as Afghanistan when it came to AI and extraterrestrial life. EU-Europe and North America had generally similar response patterns in this study. It is notable, however, that Europe had a distinctly lower belief than other regions that the dollar will be the world leader in 25 years.
Foundational work crucial in a diversified market
These differences are something that multinational companies must remember to deal with. In order to succeed globally, aspects unrelated to one’s own industry must also be considered in brand work. Disregarding underlying local values can have devastating consequences.
The conclusion is that global surveys are complicated and demand a lot from both the client and the implementer. The quality and consistency of the data collection is of the utmost importance in order to be able to use the data as desired, and the subject of the survey and how the questions are formulated must be thought through carefully before implementation so that the design is workable in and comparable between all participating countries.
All factors affect the conditions for multinational companies to establish and market themselves. You must succeed in thinking homogeneously and acting heterogeneously in order to attract all your markets – this requires both self-awareness and local knowledge!
Anna Andersdotter is an experienced methodological statistician at senior level with extensive experience in managing global and complex market studies. Anna’s deep understanding of advanced analytical methods enables her to effectively support companies in making well-informed decisions in international markets.
Read about how global brands depend on local insights written by Lina Karlsson consultant at Novus.
