CULTURE & INTERNATIONAL MARKETING

Why understanding culture is essential to the success of an international marketing effort?

Why understanding culture is essential to the success of an international marketing effort?

An increasing number of businesses are realizing that they cannot limit their field of activity in one country and the international marketing becomes imperative for them. Multinationals such as Coca-Cola, General Motors, Philips, Hyundai, Sony, Daimler-Benz, Glaxo-Wellcome, Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Infosys and others tend to be present in most, if not all markets of interest. An important factor in making the decision to enter the international market is to study and understand the country's culture. Today, understanding culture is not only important for doing business in local market but it has become more important in international marketing (Warren, 2002, 14). In the world, cultures are characterized by both differences and similarities, so the marketing specialists are to identify, study, understand, and develop strategies to be consistent with the cultures of the countries where they do business.

Understanding culture is important to the success of an international marketing as it plays vital role in implementation of marketing strategies on international level. For example Health and fitness industry attracts people from all age groups in western nations like Canada, USA, and UK etc. A deep cultural understanding can be a source of competitive advantage for global businesses, as it provides a way for confidence in business, cultural opportunities to leverage other foreign companies are not, generates a different view and local develop cultural empathy. George P. Murdock, cultural anthropologist, identified "universal cultural characteristics" as sports, cooking courtship dance, education, ethics, marriage, mourning, music, religion and others (Terpstra, 2000, 20). The marketer has the opportunity to position the company, its product or brand by referring to culture. Understanding culture in international marketing is important as it ...