Marketing Across Cultures: Chapter 15
Intercultural marketing communications 2: Personal selling, networking and public relations
The four dimensions in market communications are: advertising, sales promotion, personal
selling and public relations.
The meaning of ‘commerce’ is social interaction between a buyer and a seller. Employees
in companies should pass on information they receive from ‘the voices in the market’ such
as e.g. requests for new services or complaints by customers about the product or about
packaging, etc. This area of marketing is also referred to as ‘relational marketing’ (2000:
506).
The example of Tubeless tyres (it was not possible to pass on information that some cars
had rims that were less suitable for fitting tubeless tyres).
Is the consumer ‘king’ and what does this expression really mean? According to Usunier,
consumers are outsiders, forgotten and without personal contact with manufacturers.
(Distribution channels are shock-absorbing mattresses).
Personal contacts require knowledge of 1) the way in which status is shown in different
cultures, 2) who are the influential persons to contact and 3) what is the decision-making
process like? (The African example from Guinea shows the importance of recognizing the
influential persons). Personal and organizational credibility are important factors.
Sometimes it is necessary to use sales assistants or market researchers as contact
persons before the executive officers get involved. Credibility may be established better
that way.
The example of the Japanese ‘message-boy’, who scrutinizes people’s faces to find out
whether they are interested in a deal. (An export-import firm in Algiers heard of a tender for
an oil refinery soon to be published. Many institutions were involved from the outset and
the Japanese way of proceeding turned out to save a lot of time with the effect that they
managed to submit their tender on time unlike their competitors.)
Networks
Networks are very common in business. Usunier provides the example of chinese guanxi,
a concept referring to an Asian form of business connection. Characteric features are the
continuity of business relationships and co-operative rather than competitive behaviour.
Selling
There is a difference in meaning and status of the notions ‘sale’ and ‘negotiation’. In sale
the business condition is fixed whereas in negotiation it is possible to discuss the terms of
business. Selling involves persuasion, but selling approaches differ in different parts of the
world.
Selling styles
A distinction is made between soft sell and hard sell approaches. In the soft sell approach
the sales person shows concern for the customer and tries to be a problem solver. In the
hard sell approach the sales person is concerned about achieving a sale (striking a deal)
and is more interested in taking orders than in solving problem for the customer. This
leads to different selling styles around the world. (See p. 513).
Marketing Across Cultures: Chapter 15
Intercultural marketing communications 2: Personal selling, networking and public relations
Cateora (1983) has suggested a number of selling styles:
Soft sell approaches should be used in Asia and the UK, while the hard sell approach can
be used in Germany and Italy. Hall’s theory about high-context and low-context cultures is
useful here as are Hofstede’s cultural dimensions. The status of the sales person varies
according to whether a culture has a high or low power distance. Generally, the sales
situation is a low power/low status situation while negotiation is a high power/ high status
situation.
Incentives for sales representatives
Usunier uses Hall’s as well as Hofstede’s parameters to clarify the sales incentives issue.
Sales incentives differ from one culture to another depending on power distance,
masculinity/ feminity, individualism/ collectivism and context of communication (HC or LC
cultures). (See p. 517) In a feminine society sales persons who do not meet their sales
targets are assisted. In the masculine society this is different in that sales persons who
underperform are warned and finally dismissed. Table 15.3 shows basic sales force
compensation systems, sectors and the cultural values involved.
Public relations across cultures
PR is designed to omprove, maintain or protect a company product or image. The
purposes of PR are 1) to maintain a favourable image and 2) to maintain goodwill in critical
situations such as strikes, accidents, etc. In a crisis a company will have to strike a
balance between secrecy and openness where it tries to explain what went wrong and
how this can be avoided in future. Reactions to crises are influenced by culture, which is
shown in different examples (Major pollution by a Swiss pharmaceutical company in the
Rhine river where the company kept a low profile, and the JAL air plane crash which led
to the resignation of the JAL president. PR is not advertising or an attempt to sell.
PR is about managing relationships; but it is more difficult for foreign companies to counter
criticism because they sometimes tend to overreact because of cultural
misunderstandings. The case of the Nestlé infant formular advertising is an example of
poor PR, which they later tried to compensate for through consumer education
programmes. Nestlé failed on a number of counts: 1) they were not aware of the illiteracy
problem, 2) they did not pay attention to people’s reading habits, and 3) the message was
ambiguous (because the product was only good if used properly.
Bribery
There are various types:
1) Small and large gifts.
2) Percentages paid (e.g. in plane contracts)
3) Tips (to pass through customs; a supplementary income for poorly paid civil
servants).
There are different ways of indirect bribery methods. (Slush funds, brown paper packets,
phoney consulting contract with the purpose to channeling money into Swiss bank
accounts for later withdrawal; over-invoicing).
Marketing Across Cultures: Chapter 15
Intercultural marketing communications 2: Personal selling, networking and public relations
Bribery is an ethical issue, towards which different cultures have different attitudes.
However, it may seriously damage the reputation of a company if its employees get
involved in bribery.