International Marketing Strategy: A Data-Driven Guide for B2B Teams

The biggest mistake in international marketing? Assuming what works domestically will work abroad.

You can't copy and paste your U.S. marketing into another market. International marketing demands research into product-market fit, buyer behavior, and regional compliance before you spend a dollar.

It can take anywhere between one to two years to penetrate a new market, and then you have to show consistent growth.

While it can be tempting to start big, such as all of Europe, usually that's way too broad. Instead, start at the country or region level. Aim for an area that's big enough to build a sizable campaign list, but small enough that a single marketing strategy suffices.

So, how do you know which country is the right choice? And where do you go from there? Let's dive into the specifics around building an international marketing strategy.

What Is International Marketing?

International marketing is adapting your strategy, messaging, and tactics for customers in different countries. It's understanding how buyers in foreign markets research, evaluate, and purchase, then building GTM efforts that match their expectations. Translation alone won't cut it.

For B2B companies, international marketing means expanding beyond your domestic market to capture new revenue and diversify your customer base.

Why B2B Companies Expand Globally

Four drivers push B2B companies into international markets:

• New revenue pools: Your domestic market has a ceiling. International expansion opens access to buyers you can't reach at home.

• Market diversification: Economic downturns or competitive pressure in one region won't sink your business if you've diversified across geographies.

• Customer pull: Your existing customers expand internationally. You follow to retain the relationship and capture additional revenue.

• Competitive pressure: Your rivals are already there. If you wait, they establish brand presence that becomes harder to displace.

International Marketing vs. Global Marketing

International marketing and global marketing are not the same thing:

• International marketing: Adapts strategy, messaging, and tactics by country or region. You localize content, adjust pricing, and modify your sales approach based on where you're selling.

• Global marketing: Uses a standardized approach across all markets. Same brand, same message, same campaign everywhere.

International marketing works for B2B companies with complex buying committees and regional compliance needs. Decision-making processes, regulatory requirements, and buyer expectations vary significantly by market.

Global marketing works when brand consistency and economies of scale matter more than local relevance. Think consumer brands with universal appeal.

For most B2B companies, the international approach wins. Your buyers care about regional expertise, local data privacy compliance, and sales teams who understand their market dynamics.

Types of International Marketing Strategies

Before diving into tactics, understand the four primary market entry models. Each represents a different level of investment, control, and risk.

Exporting

Exporting is the simplest entry point. You sell products or services from your home market into foreign markets without establishing local operations. Lower investment, lower control. This is the common starting point for B2B companies testing demand before committing resources to a full market presence.

Licensing and Franchising

Licensing and franchising mean granting local partners rights to use your IP, brand, or business model. You get faster market entry with local expertise handling operations. B2B examples include technology licensing agreements and channel partnerships where a local firm sells and supports your product.

Joint Ventures and Partnerships

Joint ventures involve shared ownership or formal partnership with a local entity. You combine your product or technology with a partner's market knowledge and existing relationships. Higher commitment than licensing, but you maintain more control over how your solution is positioned and sold.

Direct Investment

Direct investment means establishing owned operations in your target market: offices, subsidiaries, or acquired entities. Highest investment and risk, but maximum control over brand, operations, and customer relationships. Most B2B companies pursue this model only after proving market viability through lighter entry strategies.

How to Research and Prioritize International Markets

Start with first-party data. Who's coming to your website, and which regions are they from? Pay attention to those who attend webinars, download content, and request demos. Growing interest from a specific country signals where to begin.

In your CRM, pull a list of customers by country and identify commonalities among them. Segment by industry, company size, and annual revenue to see where you are winning the most.

Data provider coverage, quality, and compliance are foundational. ZoomInfo's global data gives you the foundation for international market research with comprehensive company and contact coverage across target regions.

Then layer in third-party data and market dynamics:

• Markets with low barriers to entry: If this is your first international expansion, find a region with demand but limited competition for your solution.

• Market share analysis: What's the competitive breakdown? Is one player dominating? This informs your value proposition and whether you need aggressive pricing to gain initial foothold.

• Lookalike markets: Start with markets similar to your current one. Northern European countries often mirror U.S. market dynamics, making them lower-risk entry points.

• Competitor intelligence: Run competitive analysis on when competitors entered, how they penetrated, and what adoption looks like. Identify differentiation opportunities.

• Cultural dynamics: Understand regional privacy regulations, communication norms, and business etiquette. What works in U.S. outbound may be offensive elsewhere.

Read More: International Go-to-Market Strategy Guide

Size and Prioritize Your International TAM

Pull customer lists by country from your CRM and identify commonalities. Segment by industry, company size, and annual revenue to reveal your total addressable market by region.

Use firmographic and technographic data to estimate TAM precisely. How many companies in each target region match your ICP? What's the concentration in your target industries? ZoomInfo's global coverage provides the company, contact, and technographic data you need for this analysis.

Define Country-Specific ICPs and Buyer Personas

Your ICP varies by region based on industry mix, company size distribution, and buying behavior. Identify commonalities among customers by country in your CRM, then build lookalike lists for each target market.

"Using intent, and particularly technographics, insight into the technologies a company currently has installed and the technologies they're actively researching, can really help tailor your messaging," says Ashley Eleveld, senior manager of international demand generation at ZoomInfo. "It's also valuable information for your sellers because it enables them to have more relevant conversations with their prospects."

Layer technographics and intent data into your persona definition. Which technologies do accounts use, and what are they researching? This intelligence shapes your messaging and sales approach.

Build Region-Specific Account and Contact Lists

After defining ICPs, build actionable account and contact lists for each region. This is where strategy meets execution.

You need accurate, compliant data that covers your target geographies. You can't prospect without reliable contact information or run outbound if your data doesn't meet regional privacy regulations.

"As a global business we rely on data to drive multiple business functions. ZoomInfo's platform is fantastic, it's the best tool for sales and cold business development," says Kintec Global Recruitment.

Use Firmographic and Technographic Filters

Start with firmographic criteria that match your ICP, then layer in technographic filtering to identify companies using complementary or competitive technologies.

Technographic data shows you what technologies companies have installed and what they're actively researching. This helps you prioritize accounts based on fit and timing.

Key filter types to apply:

• Firmographic filters: Industry, employee count, revenue, headquarters location

• Technographic filters: Current tech stack, technology research signals

Layer in Buyer Intent Signals

Intent data identifies accounts actively researching solutions like yours. Prioritize outreach to buyers already in-market rather than cold prospecting your entire TAM.

Intent helps you "tailor your messaging" and enables "more relevant conversations," as Eleveld notes. When you know an account is researching your category, you can time your outreach and customize your pitch accordingly.

Intent signal types to monitor:

• Topic surge: Accounts consuming content about problems your product solves

• Competitive research: Accounts evaluating your competitors

• Hiring signals: Accounts posting jobs that indicate new initiatives or pain points

Adapt Your Messaging for Local Markets

Language is a barrier if you're selling from an English-speaking country into a non-English-speaking market. Tap into local speakers or hire an agency for translation and localization.

But language is just one element. To nail your messaging, understand your audience's business context, values, and culture.

Key questions to answer:

• Fiscal calendar: What's their fiscal year, and what are quarterly priorities like hiring, planning, or budget spending?

• Time zone and working hours: When should you reach out, and when are they making decisions?

• Industry classification: How do they categorize themselves, and does it differ from your taxonomy?

• Content preferences: Do they rely on blogs and webinars or prefer press releases and whitepapers?

• Language comfort: What language do they conduct business in? How comfortable are they with English? This determines if localization is necessary.

• Market orientation: Are they a local economy, or do they operate internationally?

• Digital maturity: Where are they in terms of digitization? This shapes how you reach them.

• Pain points: What specific problems are they trying to solve?

• Purchase barriers: What prevents them from buying, and how can you remove those obstacles?

Localization vs. Standardization Decisions

Standardization is efficient but may miss cultural relevance. Localization is effective but resource-intensive. For B2B, the right approach is usually a hybrid: standardize your product and brand identity while localizing messaging, sales approach, and compliance.

Your core value proposition can remain consistent, but how you articulate it, the proof points you emphasize, and the buying process you design should adapt to regional expectations. Know when localization is necessary based on language comfort and business culture in your target market.

Select the Right GTM Channels by Region

Once you understand your target, build your digital marketing plan around when, where, and how you go to market.

There's no universal playbook. Your channel mix depends entirely on what works in your target market.

Example: In Germany, XING is a popular professional networking platform alongside LinkedIn. Research which platforms your target audience uses most actively in each market.

Budget allocation follows revenue targets. If you want 10% of revenue from Spain, allocate 10% of your marketing budget to Spain. How you distribute that across channels depends on what performs in that market. Test and optimize continuously.

Navigate International Data Privacy and Compliance

Compliance requirements for B2B data and outreach vary by region. What's acceptable in the U.S. may violate regulations in Europe or Asia. Understand the rules before you prospect.

GDPR governs Europe, CCPA applies in California, and other countries have their own frameworks. Regulations vary by country, and ignorance is not a defense.

ZoomInfo maintains enterprise-grade compliance standards across all regions. When building international lists and running outbound campaigns, you need a data provider that handles compliance for you. For more detail, review the regional privacy regulations guide.

Key compliance considerations by region:

• EMEA: GDPR consent requirements for data collection and outreach

• North America: CCPA for California residents, CAN-SPAM for email marketing

• APAC: Varies by country; research specific requirements for each target market

Coordinate Your International GTM Execution

International success requires cross-functional coordination. Marketing can't operate in a vacuum.

Once a marketing qualified lead (MQL) becomes a sales qualified lead (SQL), your team must be prepared to sell in that foreign market. When the lead becomes a customer, your customer success team needs to support them long-term. Marketing is one step in the buyer's journey.

"You have to have the right people on your team," says Matt Balaschi, director of sales at ZoomInfo. "People who are okay with rapid change and uncertainty, rather than just continuing to do what works. You're going to have to try new things that may not succeed, regroup and try again."

Align Sales and Marketing on Shared Account Lists

Sales and marketing must work from the same account and contact data. When marketing generates interest in a region, sales must be prepared to engage in that market's language, time zone, and cultural context.

Shared account lists prevent duplication and ensure consistent messaging. When marketing runs campaigns in Germany, sales needs visibility into which accounts are engaging and what messaging resonated.

When sales has conversations, marketing needs to know which accounts are in active deals to adjust nurture campaigns accordingly.

Establish Local Presence and Partnerships

After initial market penetration, consider opening a local office. If that's not feasible, establish presence through other means.

Ways to build local presence:

• Events: Hold or attend events in your target market. If physical events aren't possible, run virtual events in their native language.

• Partnerships: Work with channel partners, agencies, or local sellers who have existing relationships and market expertise.

• Local hires: Hire country managers with established networks. In trust-based markets like Japan, local relationships are essential.

Don't be afraid to outsource. If a company has successfully penetrated your target market, figure out who they hired and whether they could help you.

Measure International Marketing Performance

Establish domestic benchmarks and compare your international performance against them. Measure by region to understand what's working where.

At first, it's not about dollars. It's about landing those first few deals and building a name for yourself.

Key international marketing KPIs to track:

• Pipeline created by region: How much pipeline is each market generating?

• Conversion rates: How do regional conversion rates compare to domestic benchmarks?

• Win rates: Which markets convert pipeline to revenue most efficiently?

• Time to close: Do international deals take longer to close than domestic deals?

• CAC by market: What does it cost to acquire a customer in each region?

Track Pipeline and Revenue by Region

Compare international metrics against domestic benchmarks. Identify which markets are generating pipeline, which are converting, and where to double down or pull back.

Regional performance tracking tells you where your strategy is working and where it needs adjustment:

• High pipeline, low conversion: You have a sales execution problem.

• Strong conversion, low pipeline: You need more marketing investment.

International Marketing Strategy FAQs

What is the difference between international marketing and global marketing?

International marketing adapts strategy and messaging by country, while global marketing uses a standardized approach across all markets.

How do I choose which international market to enter first?

Start with first-party data showing web traffic and engagement by region, then validate with CRM analysis of where you're already winning customers.

What data do I need to build international account lists?

You need firmographic data (company size, industry, revenue), technographic data (tech stack), and intent signals (research activity) that meet regional compliance requirements.

How long does it take to penetrate a new international market?

Expect one to two years to penetrate a new market, then focus on showing consistent growth rather than immediate revenue.

Do I need to localize all my marketing content for international markets?

Translation is baseline, but true localization requires adapting messaging, sales approach, and compliance to match regional buyer expectations and regulations.

Scale Your International GTM with ZoomInfo

Need a go-to-market platform to help you build global lists, reduce digital waste, and speed up the sales cycle? ZoomInfo's global data coverage and GTM platform capabilities give you the foundation for international expansion. Talk to our team or start your free trial.