Topic:

International Marketing

Research question:

Is cultural differentiation essential in International Market?

Method:

Systematic review

Findings:

When a company moves to a foreign market, it must learn how to deal with that
market’s particular culture. A country’s culture can mean its language, religion,
norms and so on. A company needs to take many different factors into account
when moving to a foreign market and certain markets are riskier than others. If a
Swedish company would expand to Norway, there may not be that many cultural
differences, but if the new market is South Africa for example, then certain
questions regarding cultural differences would come up.

Cultural differentiation isn't a strong entry barrier but it's something you need to take in
count, we live in a western world and you only have two options, you focus on selling to
the western world or you focus on being the power of your culture.

Here are some significant cultural factors that businesses intending to move to the
international stage should consider.

1. Language
Languages are some of the major cultural differences in marketing that companies
ought to understand before they market their products and services in a foreign
country. Previously, grave mistakes have occurred during translation, which has led
to devastating effects. One of the most memorable embarrassing mistakes in
international marketing happened when General Motors was marketing its cars by the
brand name ‘Nova,’ which in South American local languages, translated to, ‘it won’t go.’
These mistakes obviously don’t help the company to sell its products. Therefore,
companies need to pay attention to language and translations to avoid business failure.

2. Purchasing Power/Pricing
In as much as pricing strategies appears to be economic factors, they are important
cultural differences in marketing. It is common knowledge that some cultures have a
higher purchasing power than others. For example, people in the United States have a
higher purchasing power than those in Africa. This plays a significant role in how you
should price your products and services. In addition, it should be taken into
consideration that some people have high purchasing power, but tend to hold money
rather than spend. Therefore, you have to come up with a strategic marketing plan that
will make people exercise their high purchasing capability.

3. Consumption Habits
As a marketer, you are already aware that personalities and cultures combine to shape
the consumption behavior of individuals in a particular country or region. Before
marketing your products, you need to determine whether individuals in a specific
country make individualistic or collective buying decisions. This will help you to
formulate a marketing approach that appeals to personality or a strategy that pulls the
entire society. You’re also required to understand the psychological and societal factors
influencing buying decisions.

4. Age/Demographics
Just like in domestic marketing, age and other demographics significantly contribute to
cultural differences in marketing. For example, in developing countries, literacy
levels among senior citizens, especially those above 60 years is very low. Therefore, you
may decide to target your marketing message not directly at this demographic group,
especially when selling digital devices. Moreover, you’ve to understand the dominant
demographic groups in a country before you can modify your marketing messages. This
will help your country to appeal and communicate to the majority rather than the
minority.

5. Taste and Preferences

Eating habits are further important cultural differences in marketing that multinational
companies need to understand. For a food selling company, it is essential to understand
the eating habits of a particular region before marketing its menu. For instance,
McDonald’s and other fast-food companies had to start offering vegetable products in
India rather than meat products. Likewise, these companies have started to increasingly
cater to international tastes, like rice dishes for the Asian market.

6. Religion

Religious beliefs are important cultural differences in marketing that should be

considered when selling in foreign markets. They influence how a particular society
perceives various products and services. Organizations have to understand the impact
of religion and its role in society. For example, in Muslim countries, marketing secular
women outfits might be off as the religion in these countries requires women to dress in
a modest way, which is highly regulated. Besides, some marketing messages have been
at loggerheads with religious groupings after their messages were deemed to be
offensive towards a particular religion. Religion is a very critical aspect that companies
need to understand before they can start marketing their products at the international
stage.Most of the cultural differences in marketing are restrictive. However, companies
should make sure that they fully understand all the cultural factors before they can
formulate and roll-out their marketing strategies. Extensive research would help an
international company to understand what is good and bad in different countries and
regions. Most of the companies that have excelled at the international stage have done
so by identifying a product or a service that will be accepted in a particular region.