This document outlines 10 common mistakes that international marketers make. These include: not prioritizing long-term partnerships with local partners; assigning inexperienced people to handle international business development; failing to properly research local markets; making ambitious global expansion claims without concrete plans; assuming brand recognition will carry over from domestic markets; using uniform global strategies without adapting to local conditions; relying on too many middlemen that increase product prices; expecting partners to fund brand building activities; refusing to learn from competitors and other markets; and focusing on short-term sales rather than sustainable brand building. The author advocates for relationship-focused partnerships, thorough market research, tailored local strategies, and investment in long-term brand awareness.

1. by Lev Mikulitski
The essence of International Marketing series.
Most common mistakes in International Marketing
or… Why International marketers fail.

2. So, you’re trying
to expand your
company globally.

3. And despite
everything you do…
the business is not
moving into the right
direction.

4. It’s the right time to re-examine
all your activities, perhaps you’re
making all this terrible mistakes.

5. Mistakes to avoid
in International marketing.

6. 1
You don’t really care
about your “partners”.
You are “pushing sales” instead of
building long term value partnership.

7. It’s a
WIN WIN WIN GAME
or loss
!
Think about how your partners will
benefit from you selling them.

8. 2
Unqualified man
responsible for building
your company’s brand.
Not all “good man” can handle
an international business development.
It requires more. Much more.

9. Management is
everything!
You should put your best man to
handle it and you should measure
your every move.

10. 3
Total disconnection
and ignorance.
You don’t really know what is
going on out there.

11. Collect data
as much as you can.
You can’t go there without sufficient market research.

12. 4
You’re saying that you want
to conquer the world.
But this is just talking, talking
and talking. ZERO doing.

13. Make sure your
ambition match
your efforts.
If you declare that you want to go
globally, you’ll have to behave as one.

14. 5
You assume you’re
a world star, just like in
your home market.
Nobody really know who you are or
why they should have you at home.

15. Your no#1
challenge should be
building brand
awareness.
Don’t expect that everybody knows
who you are and what you’re good at.
Most of the time they will not!

16. 6
You use the same
product/market “strategy”
every way you go.
You recycle ideas instead of thinking
about new ones.

17. One size
does not fit all!
Don’t copy paste the same penetration/product
strategy every place you go.
Different places = different game rules.

18. 7
To many middlemen involved in
selling your products.
What makes it most of the time not attractive
in terms of the final price to consumer.

19. Seek the shortest
and efficient path to the
consumer!
It will enable the most attractive
pricing strategy.

20. 8
You expect your channel
partners will pay for building
your brand.
From your point of view,
marketing is a bad word.

21. It is your baby.
If you’re not willing
to invest in it,
no one will do
it for you.
If you’ll put your costs on your channel
partners, they simply stop be your ones.

22. 9
You truly believe
you know everything.
And you’re not willing to learn from
your competitors or other markets.

23. Learn from your
competitors and from
other markets all the time.
The world is changing all the time,
embrace the change.

24. 10
And one last thing:
International marketing
is NOT ABOUT SELLING
like a trader on a Turkish Bazaar…

25. BUT creating sustainable
consumer demand through effective
brand building activities.

26. by Lev Mikulitski
The essence of International Marketing series.
Most common mistakes in International Marketing
or… Why International marketers fail.