Comparing & Contrasting American & Japanese Marketing Essay

International marketing or business is uniquely different from the local market because the product price, place and promotion is vastly different from what is been offered to local customers (Johansson, 2000) With the emergence of the information technology, cross border marketing has never been a distant dream. However, it has never been easier even for giant multinational companies to face challenges that come in international business. The biggest challenge comes from the culture which varies from country to country.

In Japan the buyer is the master and the seller is like a servant. This changes the whole dynamic of how products are sold and marketed. The seller is concerned with what the buyer wants, rather than what they want to sell. When the customer’s interest is put before the profit of the company, this can lead to strong and lasting relationships between the buyer and seller.

The impact of national cultures on marketing practices has been such that it brought about the creation of an academic field, with as a lead-researcher, Geert. Hofstede, on whose writings I have based my analysis.

International education activity contributed $16.3 billion in export income to the Australian economy in 2010–11. Because of this it is necessary the companies includes in the market these students. Use of new technologies along with the convenience and speed of the fast food service make the proposed activity to be effective.

The continued accelerating pace of change in globalization is forcing an entirely new level of emphasis on individualized, highly targeted marketing across the many regions and countries of the world. Global marketing today must contend with a wider array of constraints, both economic and cultural, that as ever been the case in the past (Gupta, 2003). These constraints fuel a high level of creativity and focus on how to overcome cultural and economic constraints through rapid product development lifecycles, exceptional levels of supply chain integration (Wu, 2011) and greater focus on relationship market over just selling with a transaction mindset alone (Hansen, 2008). The pros and cons of globalization of form the foundation of today's highly competitive global marketing arena, forcing many companies to be more focused on the strategic and long-range over the tactical while compensation for a rapidly changing cultural mix of factors (Osland, 2003). The pros and cons of globalization are evaluated and the unique factors of global marketing also analyzed.

Some scholars view culture as fragile and if influenced by western marketing principles can compromise the integrity and uniqueness of non-western cultures. The fragility of non-western cultures is compounded with the lack of technology to preserve and document the nuances of their cultures. Global marketing is viewed as the compromising factor of many cultures untouched by western culture experience ethics dilemmas in the administration of marketing. Is cultural

In today’s world of constant change and technological advancements, it is imperative that marketers stay up to date and ready to tackle and challenges. Companies are battling neck to neck in order to make sure the products they offer are available and in the consumers mind. Not only do they have to be concerned about the local target audience. Now the reach is worldwide and the target audience can be a eclectic mix of races and cultures that demand the same product in many different ways. So the challenge faced by marketers is how to satisfy that audience. Looking a various examples, it is clear that while this is an attainable goal, it is not easy. Marketers can

Gao (2013) suggests that there is a need for marketers to develop different products or services when consumers in a foreign culture have different needs. According Gao (2013) The Home Depot had misjudged its target market and didn’t understand its Chinese consumers. “National cultures determines business models, and regional subcultures further refine business models” (Gao.2013). Gao further goes on to argue that is important for international retailers to rearrange themselves and rebuild their business models if they are to succeed in the Chinese market.

One of the challenges for international expansion is to know how to deal with cultural difference. “Some companies tend to overcompensate and become oversensitive to local culture - enough so that they lose the identity of the brand that made them successful in other markets.” (Top Challenges for International Expansion, 2012) Culture is a necessary item that need to consider because the awareness of real market needs is increasing. The most difficult section is to know how to modify the products according to different countries. At the same time, the firm also need to be careful cannot lose their core value. It is hard for the firm to maintain the balance when expand the firm internationally. The failure of many ventures and product launches in foreign countries is be traced largely to the marketer’s lack of familiarity with the foreign culture, customers and languages. (Marketing,

Howard Schultz, the founder of Starbucks, puts it best when he stated: “If people believe they share values with a company, the will stay loyal to a brand” (Fifield, 2015, para. 8). The values Schultz refers too are defined as “the moral principles and beliefs or accepted standards of a person or social group” (Collins Dictionary Website, 2016, expression 5). In this qualitative study, “Branding in The Global Arena: The Role of Culture” (Krueger & Nandan, 2008) the significance of culture in formulating and maintaining an effective global strategy is discussed. This study by Krueger and Nandan examine branding in the global context, cultural dimensions that affect branding including specific examples from China and India, and key issues for global companies. The purpose of this critique is examinee Krueger and Nandan’s study, by examining the articles key components listed above and identifying strengths and weaknesses of the following; the article’s research purpose, methodology, results, and discussion.

Culture is the most significant factor which should be taken into account by the international marketer in overseas markets. Culture is based on history, nation, religious and social value. Understanding cultural difference is important and the sign which is relevant to cultural feature is vital to international communication (Usunier, Lee, 2009). The sign incorporates products, brand, advertisements and the behaviours of customer (Fred, 1996). For instance, some cultures are related to specific products, ‘Tee culture’ in China, ’Beer culture’ in Germany. Thus, marketers need to learn and understand the different culture in order to do the global communication (Keegan, Green, 2008).

Cultural differences across countries create both problems and opportunities for international marketers. Although consumers in different countries may have some things in common their value, attitudes, tastes etc but still it is a difficult task for the marketers to understand consumer behaviour outside their home country. Failing to understand the differences in customs and behaviours of other country can be fall down of company and its product at international level. For example , Burger king went to India without understanding the Indian culture which forced them to close down and same thing happened to KFC when they went to India .So the marketers must decide on the degree to which they will adapt their products and marketing programs to meet the unique need of consumer in various markets.

To be an effective marketer, one must acknowledge that cultures may vary drastically around the world, and that marketing strategies must be adjusted accordingly. Hofstede’s framework of cultural dimensions helps us understand international values and beliefs by analyzing power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long term orientation, and indulgence. The company that I have chosen to analyze is Nivea and its commercials regarding their body lotions targeted to women in the United Kingdom and India. A comparative analysis between these two commercials reveal the cultural differences and marketing strategies that Nivea adopted to sell its products in these two different markets.

2. Background of Country of Origin Nowadays, in this modern and competitive era, in which global marketing is growing day by day, country of origin, as a significant parameter, has been studied in much research, and it is shown that this factor influences consumer behaviour and also their purchasing. The other point that studies demonstrate is that people care about which country products come from and where they are made and consider these factors when evaluating the quality of products, (Parkvithee & Miranda, 2012). The improvement of country of origin goes back to World War 1. At that time, the defeated countries, such as Germany, were forced to put the symbol of COO on their product, by those that triumphed. Studies show that the aim of this act was to punish countries like Germany thereby creating a bad reputation for them (Cai, 2002). Country of origin’s influence on customer purchase intention has been a topic of study for many decades. Different cultures and histories cause dissimilar perceptions among consumers, which may lead to different evaluations about products when they want to choose. There are many parameters

realities of Japanese marketing, especially the traditional distribution system that operates on a philosophy of reciprocity that goes