Discuss the role of International Marketing Communication in the International Marketing Strategy of a Company.

The purpose of International Marketing Communication in the International Marketing Strategy of a Company is to inform, to persuade and to suggest to act as per the communication. Marketers undertake international marketing communication activities to ultimately achieve the following objectives:

To remind users about an existing product/ service: Manufacturers continue to promote their products to maintain the buyers interest. This is necessary to meet the challenges posed by the competitors who introduce new products in the market. Existing customers have to be communicated regularly in order to encourage repeat purchase.

To create an international brand image: Business firms get into marketing communication exercises across national borders in order to establish an image for the brand and create customer loyalty. When customers develop brand loyalty, they are not inclined to shift to other brands easily.

To intimate international customers about new uses of a product: Marketing communication is used to convey new uses of an existing product to the international customers or to draw their attention to some new features of the product. This object of marketing communications is meant to convince the customers about the superiority of a product in comparison with competitors products in the same line. This has a great strategic advantage during positioning or repositioning of the brand.

To highlight brand character internationally: For certain products, consumers may feel that a particular characteristic is very important. It may determine the buyer’s choice of a particular brand out of several competing brands. If the product has that feature, marketing communication is used to stress it and demonstrate its advantages. Similarly, if the product has a special feature, which is linked with a desirable consumer benefit, marketing communication is used to emphasize it.

To dealer support in local markets in different countries: Sometimes the aim of a marketing communication effort is to provide support to dealers and distributors in local markets of countries where the product has been introduced. Thus, there are many advertisements in newspapers, in which the addresses and details of local dealers and distributors are mentioned along with the particulars of the product.

To increase retail trade through special promotional offers: The objective of marketing communication is also to increase retail sale through off-season or special festival discounts, gift schemes, clearance sales, etc. The objective of such communication exercises is to draw the attention of customers towards the special offers.

To introduce a brand in foreign markets: Marketers engage in communications exercises to introduce brands in foreign markets. The foreign market may know about the company manufacturing the brand, but not the brand in question.

To introduce a marketer in new international markets: Introducing a new company in a new market requires dissemination of information about the history of the company in the parent country, its product line, etc. Hence, the pressing need for international marketing communication.

Thus, International marketing communication creates awareness about the new product. Customers come to know about the features, quality, price and other characteristics of the new product. International marketing communication induces potential customers to buy.