CULTURAL IDENTITY

Cultural Identity

Table of Contents

Introduction3

Companies Take Components of Cultural Identity to Decide the Kind of Products/Services to Create3

Social Class4

Social class and its impact on product mix strategy4

Geography5

Impact of geography on the product mix strategy6

Conclusion6

References8

Appendix9

Cultural Identity

Introduction

Culture is extremely essential for marketing at times when organizations seek to plan an introduction of a product or service to a globalized market. Since cultures are susceptible to change, and are mostly willing to receive new ideas of products, they can also become hindrances to market development if a business does not understand the culture it is trying to appeal. Businesses routinely spend time and funds researching a market carefully to analyze what culture it is grounded in and what this culture will be willing to accept.

Culture is the complex of beliefs of human societies, their roles, their behavior, their values, traditions, customs and traditions. Culture is an extremely important concept to understand consumer behavior and that needs to be examined. Culture is the sum of a shared purpose among members of society, customs, norms and traditions2. The basic reason of person's desire or determination is culture (Lenartowicz 2001, pp. 305). The objective of this paper to analyze how companies might take these components of cultural identity into account in deciding what kind of products/services to create.

Companies Take Components of Cultural Identity to Decide the Kind of Products/Services to Create

The factors that affect consumer behavior are the undying obsession of all successful marketers. The needs, processes, and selections that the human brain goes through when making a purchase are often far more complex than the buyer might imagine. Some of the most important factors that affect consumer behavior include psychological factors, personal history, and cultural considerations. How personal beliefs can affect a buyer's decision making is another important psychological consideration. People generally want to buy products that support or reinforce their own beliefs and agendas. For instance, a person who believes in the importance of the local economy may be more likely to buy products which advertise their local manufacturing or roots. Many marketing strategies revolve around understanding the beliefs of certain demographics and tailoring advertisements to suit specific groups (Henry 2005, pp. 766).

A hand lotion that says it is great for construction workers and a bowling alley offering Tuesday discounts to seniors is focusing on personal history factors that affect consumer behavior. The lifestyle, habits, and history of a consumer are all critical to how he or she makes buying decisions. Age, sex, occupation, and income are some of the categories that can influence buying habits. Personal interests and hobbies are equally important to consumer decisions, since a woman who enjoys scrap booking is unlikely to run across the same advertisements or products as a teenager who likes dirt bike racing (Daphne 2007, pp. 199).

Social Class

Social groups, although they do not show in a traditional process of similar lifestyle shows are groups formed by individuals. There are different features of social class. First, the behavior of members of the social class structure, education ...