How Culture Can Impact Marketing Strategic?

Businesses that want to enter a new market must do analyze customer behavior to understanding them and make a decision on what is marketing strategy that able to meet buyers. In what I've believed that culture plays important role in how businesses will be successful. Answering the question of how culture can impact marketing strategy,  understanding strategic glocalization will give the business a golden opportunity in a new environment.

We can not treat the customers in the same way especially if you want to sell the product in different regions or even globally. Understanding local will give us some sort of view on what customer thinks, acts, behave on the product they consume. The decision that they make is based on culture. This is where a marketer should work; knitting opportunity on how to create a product that aligns with the culture. With this particular product, it most likely acceptable in the market.

Sometimes, or many times, businesses fail to identify culture as an issue because they mostly focus on getting profit and thrive without realizing what they dealing with those processes. I agree that looking into deep about the people such as how they live, what food they like, their jobs, etc, is not easy, but all of them are the key to know them better because they are potential customers. What I've seen in this case that sometimes businesses overconfident to invade the market. As a result, they are unsuccessful to surpass the market. Maybe you have read or heard that Dunkin' Donuts failed in India, Starbucks not succeed in Australia, and also 7-Eleven collapsed in Indonesia; how that happened?  The answer is that culture affects customer's decisions. If the product does not meet what they desire, your business will break down easily. 

Now, what is a marketing strategy that will lead businesses to resound in a distinctive market? Talking about it maybe some of you have ever heard this strategy called glocalization. Glocalization is a combination word of "globalization", and "localization. In short words, for easier understanding, it means think global, act locally which is that the products sell or distribute across the region/ world, but adapting the local market. Together with culture, local identity, and knowledge, will create a product accepted by consumers. Yet, the brand still exists with its standardization that comes along as a company when entering the marketplace such as; it could be the logo and employee uniform.

For example, KFC Indonesia offers not only fried chicken but also rice for the package. Rice is a part of Indonesian culture; eating for breakfast, lunch, dinner, must with rice. In Malaysia, in a special event, McDonald's has a menu called Nasi Lemak McD. Maybe you are wondering since when McDonald's and KFC offers rice on their menu. That's how they did to engaging with the customers. If both of them doesn't aware and ignore the culture where the products will be sold as a result in just a short time they will fall through. 

In 2018, I wrote a paper, a study case on this particular strategy marketing. Maybe I will post it on my blog later. For me, glocalization is a unique way of how the marketer approaches potential customers. I think businesses that want to expand their market should learn and take this as a prime issue because culture can impact marketing strategy.

Note:

• Written by Acik Mardhiyanti
• Do not copy this article without permission