The Primary Obstacle To Success Marketing Essay

The Primary Obstacle To Success Marketing Essay The primary obstacle to success in international marketing is a persons self reference criterion (SRC) in making decision, that is, an unconscious reference to ones own cultural values, experiences, and knowledge as a basis for decisions. The SRC impedes the ability to assess a foreign market in its true light. if we talk about in basic terms then SRC means to forget about self like if a company is going to some another country then the going company will have to take care about the culture etc of the host country and will have to forget about our culture like McDonalds when entered India they sold product aloo tikki burger in spite of their beef burger. In international marketing scenarios, we are talking about working in different cultural environments and hence a self referenced behaviour may not be the correct behaviour from the perspective target culture. Hence, realization of this difference of culture and the possibility of self reference criterion is important in internationa l marketing. This is not such a big issue in domestic marketing since the cultural difference is not major. Animals provide a good illustration of the impact of the SRC on the thinking process. Americans and Europeans commonly treat dogs as family members, addressing the animals affectionately and even letting dogs sleep on family members beds. However in Arab, view dogs as filthy animals. Some in the Far East go so far as to cook and eat dogs. A consumption habit viewed as revolting and compared to cannibalism by Americans. Hindus, in contrast, revere cows and do not understand how Americans can eat beef, especially in large quantity. In order to investigate a phenomenon in another country, a researcher or marketing manager must attempt to eliminate the SRC effect. The marketing challenge is to create a product that fits the needs of a particular culture. The presence of the SRC, if not controlled, can invalidate the result of a research study. Lee suggests a multi step approach to remove the undue influence of the SRC. First the problem should be defined in terms of the culture of the researchers home country. Second, the same problem is defined again, except that it is defined in terms of the cultural norms of the host country. Third, a comparison is made of the two cultural composites. Any difference noted between the composites indicates an existence of the SRC, necessitating another look at the problem with SRC removed. To illustrate the impact of the SRC, consider misunderstanding that can occur about personal space between people of different cultures. In the west, unrelated individuals keep a certain physical distance between themselves and other when talking to each other or in groups. We do not consciously think about that distance; we just know what feels right without thinking. When someone is too close or too far away, we feel uncomfortable and either move further away or get closer to correct the distance, we are relying on our SRC. In some cultures, the acceptable distance between individuals is substantially less than that comfortable to westerners. When they, unaware of another cultures acceptable distance, are approached too closely by someone from another culture, the unconsciously confusion results for the parties. Westerners assume foreigners are pushy, while foreigners assume westerners are unfriendly and stand-offish. Both react to the values of their own SRCs, making them all vict ims of a cultural misunderstanding. http://www.citeman.com/7414-the-self-reference-criterion-and-ethnocentrism-major-obstacles/ Ethnocentrism and the SRC can influence an evaluation of the appropriateness of a domestically designed marketing mix for a foreign market. If US marketers are not aware, they might evaluate a marketing mix based on US experiences (i.e. their SRC) without fully appreciating the cultural differences that require adaptation. Esso, the brand name of a gasoline, was a successful name in the United States and would seem harmless enough for foreign countries; however in Japan the name phonetically means stalled car an undesirable image for gasoline. Another example is Pet in pet Milk. The name has been used for decades, yet in France the word pet means, among other things, flatulence again, not the desired image for canned milk. Both of these examples were real mistakes made by major companies stemming from reliance on their SRC in making a decision. In US culture, a persons SRC would not reveal a problem with either Esso or pet, but in international marketing, relying on ones SRC could pr oduce an inadequately adapted marketing program that ends in failure. Question B To enter a foreign market, a manufacturer has a number of strategic options. Many companies employ multiple strategies. Polycentricity is a strong orientation to the host country. The attitude places emphasis on differences between markets that are caused by variations within, such as in income, culture, laws and politics. The assumption is that each market is unique and consequently difficult for outsiders to understand. Thus, managers from the host country should be employed and allowed to have a great deal of discretion in market decisions. A significant degree of decentralization is thus common across the overseas divisions. On the other hand egocentricity is a compromise between the two extremes of ethonocentricity and policentricity. It could be argued that this attitude is the most important of the three. Egocentricity is an orientation that considers the whole world rather than any particular country as the target market. A geocentric company might be thought of as denational ized or supranational. As such international or foreign departments or markets do not exist because the company does not designate anything international or foreign about market. There is a high likelihood that a geocentric company does not identify itself with a particular country. Therefore, it is often difficult to determine the firms home country except through the location of its headquarters and its corporate registration. A subculture is a distinct and identifiable cultural group that has values in common with the overall society but also has certain characteristics that are unique to itself. Subcultures are groups of people within a larger society. Although the various subcultures share some basic traits of the wider culture, they also preserve their own customs and lifestyles, making them significantly different from other groups within the larger culture of which they are a part. Indonesia, for example, has more than 300 ethnic groups, with lifestyles and cultures that seem thousands of years apart. There are many different ways to classify subcultures. Although race or ethnic origin is one obvious way, it is not the only one. Other demographic and social variables can be just as suitable for establishing subcultures within a nation. The degree of intra country homogeneity varies from one country to another. In the case of Japan, the society as a whole is remarkably homogeneous. Although some regional and racial diversities as well as differences among income classes are to be found, the differentials are not pronounced. There are several reasons why Japan is a relatively homogeneous country. It is a small country in terms of area, making its population geographically concentrated. National pride and management philosophy also help to forge a high degree of unity. As a result, people work together harmoniously to achieve the some common goals. One study of the relationship between ethnicity and lifestyles found significant differences among English, French, Italian, and Greek Canadians even when socio demographic variables were controlled. Greek Canadians, for example, are more brands loyal but dislike credit. Each ethnic group, due to size, may require a differentiated marketing strategy. Ethnically speaking, two prominent subcultures emerge: English speaking and French speaking. Studies have repeatedly shown that the French speaking and English speaking households differ from each other significantly in term of demographics, subculture, and consumption habits. French Canadians consumer behaviour is a cross between that of North Americans and that of the continental French, being both similar to and different from those of these two groups. Compare to the French, Quebecers are more direct, less dramatic and less formal. Compare to other English Canadians, Quebecers move far less often and thus have far less need to make long distance phone calls to relatives and friends. Subculture may provide an effective basis for market segmentation. In the case of the United States, African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans spend around $750 billion annually and deserve marketing attention. American firms attempt to attract various sub cultural groups in many different ways. Carnival Cruise Lines has an entire cruise ship (Fiesta Marina) just for the Hispanic market. McDonalds has created a Mac Report series of Spanish infomercials. J C Penney has outfitted 170 stores to carry merchandise for Hispanic and African American consumers. ATT, MCI, and Sprint have advertised their long distance phone services in a variety of Asian dialects. One marketer offered native language coupons giving $24 discounts with each purchase to Chinese Americans. Unfortunately, 2 and 4 in some Chinese communities are close to the words easy and death respectively. Naturally, many customers do not want easy death. In another case, green baseball caps were offered as premi ums during a Chinese New Year celebration. Among older generations, a man wearing a green cap wants to bring public scorn on his wife by telling the public that his is cheating on him. Culture prescribes acceptable beliefs, traditions, customs and values that are then socially shared. Culture is subjective, enduring yet dynamic and cumulative. It affects peoples behaviour in diverse ways through logic, communication and consumptions. Although some cultural traits are universal, many others are unique and vary from country to country. And in spite of national norm, cultural differences as a rule even exist within each country. While there may be a tendency to misunderstand different cultures and subcultures, this temptation should be resisted. Being the force that it is, the culture of one country should not be judged as superior to the culture of another country. Each culture has its own particular values and social practices, and the international marketer will be much further ahead if he or she tries to walk in the other persons shoes in order to understand more clearly that persons concerns and ideas. It is also more important to know what a person thinks than w hat that persons language is. Because of the great differences in language and culture around the world, any firms need to adjust their approach to solving marketing problems in different countries. In a foreign cultural environment, the marketing plan that has worked well at home may no longer be effective. As a result, the firms marketing mix may have to undergo significant adaption and adjustment. However, effective marketing in this environment will thus mandate that the company be culturally responsive. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. International marketing, Analysis and Strategy, Third edition by Sak Onkvisit John J Shaw chapter 1, 6, 9 2. International marketing, European edition by Cateora and Ghauri chapter 1, 6 3. Marketing across cultures, 4th edition by J C Usunier and J A Less Part 1 (1,23), Part 2 (4, 7)