Abstract: Featured brands relies on high quality customer experience and efficient oral spreading when entering overseas markets. With limited market resources and budget, how to choose the channels and target customers is particularly critical. Based on the consumer behavior theory and the theory of word of mouth, a consumer network characterized by the small-world of particular overseas region is constructed. The consumer intention of purchasing featured brands is further discussed by considering customer experience of sales channels. The impact factors and process mechanisms of the brands' oral spreading between consumer individuals are also analyzed. Using the modeling and simulation approach with the Matlab software, the results of the designed multiple scenarios analysis show that, the higher degree of difference between consumer groups, the obviously slower speed of the featured brands' oral spreading, and the markedly less amount of potential consumers. The performance of varied sales channels show differentiation trends on the brands reputation spreading and the attraction to the target consumers. In response, targeted marketing strategies are suggested to be developed to attract the tight connected consumer groups with influence power. In overseas market with significant difference between consumer groups, the direct traditional channel can help enhance their purchase intention rapidly. But to regional markets of large-scale consumers living discretely while a minority of groups have dominated influence, it helps develop more potential consumers that having high purchase intention by taking the advantage of network channels on consumer coverage. This research can provide theoretical support and practice guiding on consumer groups selection and sales channel design for featured brands entering overseas markets, specially under the complex social background of overseas multiple consumer groups.

Key words: featured brands, overseas sales channels, consumer group, customer experience, oral spreading