Chapter 8: Culture and International business
8.2 Culture and Consumer Needs and Wants
Page 252 – 255
Culture influences consumer purchasing all around the world, which creates marketing
opportunities. Cultural influences are very similar to Christmas, just as this time of year
creates opportunities for toy manufactures; cultural habits create markets for Canadian
products.
A major problem in selling products to different cultures is a lack of knowledge of that
culture. Businesses should never assume that just because a product is successful in
Canada doesn’t mean it will be in other countries. Canadian marketers need to know
why someone in another country would want their product.
Much of the success of products introduced into other cultures depends on a
combination of consumer demand and the way the products are being marketed. The
promotional campaign should be researched to ensure that the product or service and
its marketing message are relevant and positive in the cultural context of the importing
country.
Christmas is a major holiday that gives many opportunities to places such as, China,
Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea, or Japan. Even though Christmas in not celebrated
here because most toys and Christmas items are manufactured in these countries.
Many North American retailers do 50 percent of their business in the six weeks before
Christmas. For example the Canadian toy market, which is worth more than a billion
dollar annually, sells more than half of its total annual sales at Christmas. In the United
States the toy market is worth $35 billion and 85% of these toys are imported.
Jaffa Citrus and Cultural marketing
Some cultural customs and attitudes are not so well known in the international
marketplace. International marketers must know of these customs and attitudes to
successfully enter the foreign market.
Jaffa Citrus Fruit is one example of cultural marketing. Jaffa is the brand name of Citrus
Fruit Marketing Board of Israel. This is a group of independent citrus growers that pool
their resources to create an effective marketing campaign for different countries. Jaffa
has been very successful in Europe because Jaffa sees the world as composed of
individualized markets that are based on unique cultures. Jaffa creates a marketing plan
according to that countries specific taste.
Example: In France Jaffa addresses its Florida competition by emphasizing that Jaffa
grapefruit looks better then Florida grapefruits, thereby appealing to French consumers’
interest in style and visual appeal.
Adapting to Cultural Differences
Canadian manufacturers and producers may be able to find new markets in other
countries, but they will first need to understand consumer cultural differences.
Businesses have to be ready to take cultural differences into consideration when they
go into international markets. Before spending money on advertising and promotion
each company would have to look closely at the culture in each country and at how that
culture affects consumer needs and wants. For example a Canadian company who
makes sweatshirts would have to investigate to see if consumers would buy their
products in other countries and if they are considered stylish outside North America.
If second cup, a very successful coffee chain in Canada were going to expand
internationally they would have to answer a number of questions about consumer needs
and wants in the country they were considering venturing into. For example:
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Is coffee a popular beverage in this particular market?
Does Second Cup mean anything to the consumers in this market?
Are there cultural associations with drinking coffee in other countries that would
make Second Cup products hard to sell?
Will people buy take out coffee or prefer to drink it in the coffee house?
The Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission appointed an organization to find
why fewer apples were sold to Finland and Israel then in previous years. To find out the
cause of this, the organization asked the following questions:
-Do consumers in these markets eat apples?
-Do they cook with them? Do they drink cider?
-Do consumers prefer a more locally grown fruit because they are more accustomed to
it?
-Are consumers aware of Canada’s high apple quality? How could they be made
aware?
-Would consumers eat apples as a snack in public as Canadians do?
Questions help to identify the cultural differences of the foreign trade market. Such
questions can help avoid cultural mistakes that could be costly. For example, if eating
in public is considered rude in one country, and the advertisement for a food is a child
eating it on a bus in public, the consumers may reject the apples. Even if consumers
like to flavour, they may reject it if it doesn’t fit their culture.