In today’s extremely globalized world, it is imperative to consider any marketing and sales strategy from a cultural perspective.
Thomas Friedman, in his book, The World is Flat outlines three stages of globalization. He writes “In Globalization 1.0, which began around 1492, the world went from size large to size medium. In Globalization 2.0, the era that introduced us to multinational companies, it went from size medium to size small. And then around 2000 came Globalization 3.0, in which the world went from being small to tiny.”
The world is indeed tiny, and with access to different countries’ consumers with the click of a button, it is now vital to consider cultural influences in every aspect of business. Marketing strategies that aim to target large groups of people should be tailored to be internationally relevant. Here are a few tips for marketers to keep up in a globalized economy:
Know Your Audience
It is integral to know your audience. Always remember that what works for one set of people might not work for another.
We’ve talked about this in a previous article: what to consider when taking a brand overseas. Internationally, this means that replicating a campaign that was successful in one country is not always the best route to follow when marketing the same product to another country.
Consider Procter & Gamble as an example. When the company started selling Pampers in Japan, it used the image of a stork delivering a baby on its packaging. This image worked wonders in the US, but not so much in Japan. The company later found that the Japanese market was quite confused by this imagery, as stories of storks bringing babies aren’t part of Japanese folklore.
Rather the Japanese stories center around giant floating peaches bringing babies to parents. Procter & Gamble would have thus had more success had they chosen culturally relevant imagery for their marketing campaign, as opposed to copy-pasting a successful United States campaign onto a Japanese audience without prior research.
Pay Attention to Detail
The phrase “it’s all in the details” couldn’t be more relevant when it comes to international marketing. From labeling and branding, to translation of slogans, cultural considerations should be implemented in all aspects of marketing. In an article featured in the Chron, Janet Hunt writes that there are four broad cultural factors to consider in any marketing strategy. These are values, symbols, rituals and thought processes.
Values define what sort of behavior is acceptable and unacceptable. It would thus make sense that cultural values especially play an important aspect in user preference and in purchasing decisions.
Symbols are vital in terms of campaigns and branding, and can be both spoken and unspoken. Language can fall under the category of symbols, as it is interconnected with how cultural heritage is showcased.
Rituals are “patterns of behaviors that are learned and repeated.” They play into the promotion of a product, as rituals give insight into the daily interactions of the user.
Thought processes vary from person to person, but can also vary from culture to culture, and country to country.
Keeping these four cultural factors in mind during an international marketing campaign will help to make sure no details are overlooked.
Communicate With Other Departments
Global marketing often requires a high degree of communication and collaboration with other teams.
It’s best to be on the same page with customer service teams and public relations teams, as these also need to be localized to be effective. The Annenburg Scool of Communication and Journalism, USC states that marketing and PR departments are slated to work more closely together over the next five years, with some executives predicting the two departments merging into one.
Cross-cultural management is an essential skill for a career in PR, especially when it comes to smoothing over unintentional tensions that might occur.
The Hongkiat cites the example of a 2003 Hong Kong Tourism Board slogan “Hong Kong will take your breath away.” Unfortunately, this occurred right before the SARS outbreak, where shortness of breath is one of the major symptoms of SARS. This example highlights how a lack of consideration of current cultural issues can be quite detrimental, and it showcases exactly why it is necessary to have a culturally-savvy PR team on board to smooth things over.
To successfully market a brand in today’s international economy is no easy feat. The best way to do this is through extensive research before the launch of a campaign, while collaborating with all departments – even those that are tangentially involved.
Furthermore, cultural stereotypes and generalizations should be strongly avoided. Accepting and embracing cultural diversity, and using these differences to one’s advantage, is the way forward for businesses in this globalized world.
About the Author: Avery T. Phillips is a freelance human being with too much to say. She loves nature and examining human interactions with the world. Comment or tweet her @a_taylorian with any questions or suggestions.