市场营销期末论文全英

《市场营销》期末论文

The importance of culture in international marketing

Abstract:Culture is the way that we do things around here. Culture could relate to a country (national culture), a distinct section of the community (sub-culture), or an organization (corporate culture). It is widely accepted that you are not born with a culture, and that it is learned. The definition of culture offered one text is “That complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man person as a member of society.”Therefore international marketing needs to take into account the local culture of the country in which you wish to market.

Key words: international marketing culture importance learn customer

Culture is a problematic issue for many marketers since it is inherently nebulous and often difficult to understand. One may violate the cultural norms of another country without being informed of this, and people from different cultures may feel uncomfortable i n each other’s presence without knowing exactly why (for example, two speakers may unconsciously continue to attempt to adjust to reach an incompatible preferred interpersonal distance).And in business, learning about cultural differences — food, attire, language and technology — can lead to closing a deal rather blowing it out of the water.

In recent years, international customers require packaging, labels, literature and advertising materials prepared in their native languages, said Noriega, vice president of Pharmakon Laboratories Inc., a pharmaceutical manufacturer in Tampa.

"When I first started everything could be in English with some exceptions, " he said. "The transition has occurred that things have to be in local languages. You still conduct a lot of business in English, but when you have face-to-face contact with customers overseas it is very important that you establish relationships."

Differences in laws, accounting principles, exclusivity agreements and contracts also are important international issues for educators to examine, he said.

Culture helps marketing managers to assess the cultural nature of an international market. It is very straight-forward, and uses eight categories in its analysis. The Eight categories are Language, Religion, Values and Attitudes, Education, Social Organizations, Technology and Material Culture, Law and Politics and Aesthetics.

Language

With language one should consider whether or not the national culture is predominantly a high context culture or a low context culture (Hall and Hall 1986). The concept relates to the balance between the verbal and the non-verbal communication.

In a low context culture spoken language carries the emphasis of the communication i.e. what is said is what is meant. Examples include Australia and the Netherlands.

In a high context culture verbal communications tend not to carry a direct message i.e. what is said may not be what is meant. So with a high context culture hidden cultural meaning needs to be considered, as does body language. Examples of a high context cultures include Japan and some Arabic nations.

Religion