CROSS CULTURAL CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

CROSS CULTURAL CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Cross cultural marketing: Objectives and Policies

Cross-cultural marketing is defined as the effort to determine to what extent the consumers of two or more nations are similar or different. This will facilitate marketers to understand the psychological, social and cultural aspects of foreign consumers they wish to target, so as to design effective marketing strategies for each of the specific national markets involved.

A company can enter a foreign market as a

??Domestic exporter

??Foreign importer

??Foreign government-solicit the firm to sell abroad

The firms objectives could be:

??To determine how consumers in two or more societies are Similar / different and devise suitable, appropriate strategies

??Devise individualized marketing strategy if cultural beliefs, values and customs of a specifi c country are different

Characteristic features of a firm going global:

1. High market share in the domestic market

2. Advantageous economies of scale

3. Access to marketing/manufacturing bases across global borders

4. Availability of resources and capability to absorb huge losses

5. Product/technology clout

6. Cost and differentiation advantages

Problems in Cross Cultural marketing

1. Problems related to product selection: The marketer going for cross cultural marketing has to select the customers/ market not on the basis of the superficial similarities of age or income, but by using the real motivating factors that prompt them to accept or reject products.

2. Problems related to promotion/marketing communication: e.g. Ariel in the middle east and also Pepsi

3. Problems related to pricing: the marketer has to adjust his pricing policies according to the local economic conditions and customs.

4. Problems related to selection of distribution channels: in Japa n, P & G

used this to sell soap

Cross-Cultural Consumer Analysis

To determine whether and how to enter a foreign market, we need to conduct some form of cross-cultural consumer analysis. Cross-cultural consumer analysis can be defined as the effort to determine to what extent the consumers of two or more nations are similar or different. Such analysis can provide marketers with an understanding of the psychological, social, and cultural characteristics of the foreign consumers they wish to target, so that they can design effective marketing strategies for the specific national

markets involved.

Similarities and differences among people

A major objective of cross-cultural consumer analysis is to determine how consumers in two or more societies are similar and how they are different.

Fight for ones

beliefs/positions

Individualistic Clear-cut Specific Display emotions in public Result oriented Make a short story long Verbal communication important Interested in what is spoken

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