Page 169 - DMGT506_CONSUMER_BEHAVIOUR

Consumer Behaviour

Notes serves better in terms of fulfilling Chinese people's sense of cultural superiority and
shortening the psychological distance between a Scandinavian brand and customers brought
up in Chinese culture.
In a word, IKEA Shanghai's marketing performances illustrate one principle when
designing the marketing mix-the company must integrate each one of the 4P (product,
price, place and promotion) coordinately and pay due attention to various factors that
contributes to effective marketing. Usunier's approach of examining marketing strategies
from a cultural perspective has been enlightening but his conclusion of culture's ultimate
influences on marketing decisions is still questionable. Multinational companies like
IKEA face more complicated marketing environments when dealing with customers
cultivated in different cultures in the times of globalization. There exist other concerns
apart from culture, such as the local marketing environment, the company's long-term
strategic plan, etc. The message is: be culture conscientious, performing locally as well as
be customer value oriented, holding a global view.
Question
Comment on the localization of promotions in China by IKEA.
Source: www. lup.lub.lu.se

12.4 Summary

There are two variations of cultural influences within a given country. Sub-cultural
influences refer to distinguishing differences in values, customs, beliefs, and traditions
among different relatively homogenous groups within a country's larger society.
Sub-cultures may be based on religion, region, language, age, and gender etc. In India,
there is great diversity of sub-cultures based on region, religion, language, caste and sub-
caste systems etc.
Cross-cultural influences are norms and values of consumers in foreign markets that
influence strategies of multinational companies marketing their products and services
abroad.
Analysis of culture and sub-culture enables marketers to segment their markets and
fine-tune their marketing mix strategies to meet the specific needs, motivations,
perceptions, and lifestyles shared by them.

12.5 Keywords

Age cohort: A group of people with a similar age
Etiquette: The customary code of polite behavior in society or among members of a particular
profession or group.
Monochronic cultures: cultures that place a great deal of importance on managing and controlling
time

Personal Space: closeness to an individual without making him uncomfortable
Polychronic cultures: cultures in which people like to do multiple things at the same time
Sub-culture: different cultures within culture
Stimulus Diffusion: sharing of ideas between different cultures

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