Illustrate the impact of social and cultural environment on the marketing of industrial products.
Ans. The social and cultural environment encompassing the religious aspects; language; customs; traditions and beliefs; tastes and preferences; social stratification; social institutions; buying and consumption habits etc are all very important factors for business. What is liked by people of one culture may not be liked by those of some other culture. One of the most important reasons for the failure of a number of companies in foreign markets is their failure to understand the cultural environment of these markets and to suitably formulate their business strategies.
Many companies modify their products and/or promotion strategies to suit the tastes and preferences or other characteristics of the population of the different countries. Significant differences in the tastes and preferences may exist even within the same country, particularly when the country is very vast, populous and multi-cultural like India.
For a business to be successful, its strategy should be the one that is appropriate in the socio-cultural environment. The marketing mix will have to be so designed as best to suit the environmental characteristics of the market. In Thailand, HeleneCurtis switched to black shampoo because Thai women felt that it made their hair look glossier.
Even when people of different cultures use the same basic product, the mode of consumption, conditions of use, purpose of use or the perceptions of the product attributes may vary so much so that the product attributes, method of presentation, positioning, or method of promoting the product may have to be varied to suit the characteristics of different markets.
The differences in language sometime pose a serious problem, even necessitating a change in the brand name. For instance, Chevrolet’s brand name Nova in Spanish means “it doesn’t go”. In some languages, Pepsi-Cola’s slogan “come alive” translates as “come out of the grave”.
The values and beliefs associated with colour vary significantly between different cultures. White indicates death and mourning in China and Korea; but in some countries, it expresses happiness and is the colour of the bridal dress. Boeing an United States based aero-space manufacturer has felt the impact of an unwritten “buy national policy” in Europe. As a result, the market share of Airbus for commercial planes which is a consortium of European countries grew to 50 percent. The market share of Boeing in Europe declined resulting in a loss. Boeing attempted joint venture with Russian, Ukrainian and Norwegian partners and hired a designer to decorate a facility to watch the launch of the Sea Launch rocket. The designer decorated the facility in black which is considered as bad luck colour in Russia. The Russians were furious to see black colour. Boeing repainted the facility with a shade of blue to avoid a cultural blunder.
While dealing with the social environment, we must also consider the social environment of the business which encompasses its social responsibility and the alertness or vigilance of the consumers and of society at large. Marketing people are at interface between company and society. In this position, they have the responsibility not merely for designing a competitive marketing strategy, but for sensitizing business to the social as well as the product, demand of the society.
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