Cross-Cultural: Strategic Global Marketing, Customers And Cultures (Essay Sample)

CROSS CULTURAL By (Author) Class (Course) Professor School (University) City and State Date Cross Cultural Introduction Culture has a substantial role in shaping people’s behavior and preferences. What people like, dislike, and think about a particular product, brand, or way of marketing have a strong influence on their beliefs towards that product. As the culture and norms vary across cultures, their attitude differs too. For this reason, global organizations need to pay close attention to the cultural forces which shape people’s preferences. Of course, the factors impacting people’s choices and decision making need to be understood to study the target market and segments. It helps the companies to adapt their products or services according to the needs of the customer and surpass the competitors in the fierce competition (Aoyama, 2009, 133). In the contemporary era, globalization has exposed different cultures to each other, and they are getting influenced by each other. It is undoubtedly increasing people’s tolerance towards diversity, but organizations are more challenged to find out the actual preferences, opinions, and distinct choices of different groups of people. Hence, if a company wants to internationalize in the global market, they need to focus on the type of customers they will be reaching out to and the type of culture they live in (Bryman & Bell, 2013, 89). In this regard, cultural values, rituals, symbols, et cetera have a massive role in the decision making the process for customers. Therefore, it is essential for the firms to see everything from a global perspective and observe how different forces and factors work in shaping different cultures so that consumers’ preferences are understood effectively. Importance of Cross Cultures As the globalization is increasing and the continents are becoming more connected, the instances of different cultures’ encounter and mingle are increasing. This encounter is not only having the impact on the personal and social lives of people but also works lives. Its impact in the business world is becoming more important to study than ever before. The reason is that it has always been important for organizations to know the behavior, preferences, and norms of the people they want to target. In the current scenario, when the world is far more connected, in which technology has a key role, people are getting connected more easily. It results in cross cultural encounters (Chetty & Eriksson, 2012, 318). Cross-cultural marriages are also a part of it; connection of two persons who are from different cultures. It is also resulting in a population who is multi-ethnical, who are raised by two individuals from different cultures. In such case, the process of knowing a customer’s preference et cetera has become more complicated than before. On the other hand, it is much more essential in the contemporary era because the competition is fierce and if organizations fail in this, they will not be able to survive. Cross-cultures are not only making it challenging for the organizations to work in a diverse place, but also increases the opportunities for making the products better. For instance, if an organization is only targeting a particular ethnicity, the process of marketing will be much easier because their cultures, norms, and living style are almost the same. Their beliefs on a specific product will be somehow similar. Such as in China, McDonald’s sell Halal food in Muslim countries because it needs to adapt according to the culture of the area. However, the condition becomes more complicated if some customers are in favor of Halal meet while others are not. In such case, it is immensely valuable to make market segmentation properly. Moreover, it is suggested that in such case, culture must be given an essential place in the factors influencing the decisions of the companies because it is one of the indicators that impact the most. Besides, it provides a chance for the organization to adapt their products for a more diverse and more abundant population. Cross-culture has significance in the decision making and HR processes of organizations. Before giving compensations and benefits, employees’ cultural background is crucial to be understood because it impacts their behavior and responses towards them (Child, Hong, & Wong, 2014, 45). For example, Walmart had to leave Germany because of some significant cultural differences. Firstly, the reasons include the fact that German people prefer small neighborhood stores over superstores like Walmart. Secondly, the employees did not like the idea of chanting “Walmart! Walmart! Walmart !” standing in a group and do stretching exercises. Its purpose was to boost morale, but it did not work for German employees. Thirdly, unlike Americans, German people do not like to smile at total strangers, so when the employees did it, the customers were not impressed with it (Macary, 2011). All these things reflect the importance of cross-culture for global organizations. Cultures, Strategic Global Marketing and Customers Increased globalization reveals the need for organizations to change their outlook towards the targeted customers and get prepared for a more difficult target beyond the borders. A report shows that cross-cultural and cross-national approaches can enhance a company’s performance in the global marketing scenario (Agarwal, Malhotra, & Bolton, 2010, 18). To proceed with the discussion, it is crucial to know what factors influence culture and strengthens it. These factors include historical practices, religion, rituals, beliefs, a social construct, and the collective nature of the people. However, when the people are given exposure to different cultures or ideas, it depends on the strength of their old beliefs that they will change or not. It varies from country to country and culture to culture. Some cultures are so tightly knitted and rich that they hardly change or mingle. However, it is a fact that the customs which are not abundant in it adapt and evolve smoothly (Turner, 2014, 232). Local people’s friendliness and acceptability reflect how much more comfortable they will adjust to their cultural values. All such pieces of information are essential in the current period, to make a proper strategic plan to excel in an international market. It also helps the organizations in making market segmentation. In the same way, marketing plans are also made after considering the market segmentation adequately, in which culture has a considerable contribution. If companies do not do so, it will be impossible for them to plan strategies according to the preferences and expectations of the customers. The companies know the fact because they are aware of the competition they have due to cultural indulgence (Rammer, 2008, 200). Localization vs Globalization in Cultural Context When the discussion of cross cultures and marketing arises, the idea of localization and globalization does not get untouched. These two concepts have been getting alternative attentions from several economies from around the world. Localization and globalization are two sides of the same coin and are opposite to each other. Globalization is all about divergence while localization talks about the convergence of economics. For example, globalization supports the idea that economies should get connected to each other and cooperates regarding trade, business, culture and many other socioeconomic factors. Under the same roof comes the concept of global marketing of products and reaching out to people in different cultures to customize the product according to their needs and making the product relevant for them to ensure higher revenues (Tanila, 2011, 39). On the other hand, localization is about making cultures converge and avoid any unnecessary interactions with the outer market that might affect the local businesses. In a global environment, the idea of globalization is more relevant and applicable than localization since the scope of marketing and reaching out to cross cultures is not as consistent in localization. It is because since localization puts an impact on local economies and cultures, there is a lower possibility that in a smaller social setting, not a lot of cultures exist. Nevertheless, localization still plays an active role in supporting local cultures and stops them from fading away under the influence of international cultures. Since globalization is all about how global cultures can connect, it promotes a broader range of cultures. For example, when a song by Katy Perry is advertised in Saudi Arabia, they would customize the cover and sometimes lyrics to make the music and visualization culturally relevant and the effort globally acceptable. In several instances in the business and marketing sector and cross cultural context, globalization plays a more relevant role compared to localization since it allows the companies to consider other cultures and make things appropriate for the target audience while localization has more narrowed down approach. Internationalization and Cultures The idea of globalization leads to the discussion of internationalization of companies and their business operations. It is mentioned in a research by (Letestu & Holmgren, 2012, 8) that due to the never-ending competition on a global level between companies, it is crucial for market participants to focus on internationalization because that seems like one of the most critical to be taken in order to grow in short and a long-term in its operating sector. It is argued that the form and direction of growth of a country depend on the social involvement of the company and its relevance to the current market trends. Whenever a company decides to enter a specific market outside of the culture of its home country, it has to do some digging on the culture of that country at first to determine if it is an excellent mar...