A company must do more to define its market in a multi-national marketing environment than to decide to be a multi-national company. Defining its market as domestic on the one hand and foreign on the other is insufficient and ignores the real differences that exist between countries. Within the U.S., a company defines its market both broadly and narrowly, considering first a national perspective and then regional issues when they apply to a product. Similarly, a company needs to have a sense of itself as being in a multi-national marketing environment and also address regional and national issues when they apply. The company needs to account for the changes taking place in the world market environment and to develop a global strategy which entails on the one hand an overall strategy and on the other the flexibility to adapt to the requirements of specific regions or countries.
If the company defines its market too narrowly, it will miss the opportunity provided by a broader view. The broader view opens the company to a consideration of the wide variety of market opportunities in different countries, and sometimes to the fact that a regional view might better serve the needs of a product than would a concentration on one country. There are certain economies of scale possible for marketing to a larger market, and too narrow a definition can be very costly with both excessive costs up front and limited returns in the end. Defining the market too broadly is also not a good idea because it misses the subtleties and differences which might determine whether a product is truly successful or not and whether it reaches all the consumers in a given market or misses many of them because they have been lost in the large-scale mix the company is trying to reach. If you define your market too broadly and there are national and cultural differences within that region, you will have undercut your effort badly from the beginning.
There a...