Consumer Buyer Behaviour

Society is set up into a hierarchical triangle that essentially determines social class. A social class is any person or group of people with the same educational, social or economical status. Social class can be broken down into many different categories such as race, age, gender, economic status, educational status and many more. Social class can be measured in many different ways such as financial status, family values, appearance, and demeanor. In America there are six main economical social classes which are the: Very poor, Poor, Working class, Middle class, Upper middle class, and the ruling class.

Cultural differences between nations often require a company to have multiple marketing strategies. What may be acceptable in on country may not be acceptable in another country. The cultural differences require companies to develop marketing plans that are suitable for each individual culture. Not being aware of and understanding the cultural differences can create costly and embarrassing errors that may actually offend those in other countries. Cultural differences can affect the colors of products, the graphics used on packaging, and how the product is communicated to the foreign target market.

Social Class is a division of a society based on social and economic status. In today’s society there are three main social groups in America: upper, middle, and lower class; these rankings are contributed by mass amounts of factors, but one of the main factors that people cannot control is their race and ethnicity. Race and ethnicity, likewise as gender, can also play a part in a variety of other concerns such as, education level, income, and where you reside.

It is first important to understand the meaning of social class. Sociologically speaking, the term social class is a way to divide individuals based upon their economic and social standing within the larger system of economic production. In the United States, the five most common social classes include: upper class-elite, upper middle class, lower middle class, working class, and poor. It is assumed that the more money one has, the higher their class status will be however there is always the possibility for outliers. Social class controls several aspects of our lives and is an extremely important factor when determining potential opportunities.

1. Using the tricomponent attitude model, compare the differences in attitude of consumers towards Kraft Foods versus their attitude towards Vegemite.

Today, technology continues to evolve from the gadgets like, wireless internet, smartphones, tablets etc. it is more convenient for them to browse a hotels to stay in and the best hotels or restaurants to visit. Few years from now all the hotels and restaurant will be fully supported by the technology, more and more customers will be stun to hotels and restaurants because of the impact of

The global hotel industry is currently thriving with business, encouraging new players to enter the market and compete for profits. To be successful, firms must look to expand into new markets to gain a greater share of wallet by leveraging core competencies to increase competitiveness. In 2007, it was evident that the global hotel industry had become highly concentrated in that “about 15 percent of the world’s hotel rooms [were] concentrated in the hands of 20 brands” (Papiryan). Research also indicates that the luxury hotel segment was experiencing a significant amount of growth in 2007 through the increase in hotel capacity and the introduction of new brands into the hotel market. To differentiate offerings, hotel

De Mooij, M. (2010). Global Marketing and Advertising: Understanding Cultural Paradoxes (3rd ed.). Sage Publications Asia-Pacific, Singapore

Undoubtedly, culture is known to be a wide area depending on the areas it may be referring to, and different studies have provided detailed yet unique definitions for this notion. This paper is revolving around the specific role of culture in international market while considering the fact that it is an important element for successful business operations in international domain. Researchers of different areas have been providing different definitions for this term resulting in sufficient explanations about the ways it is being perceived among different populations. The first known scholar, who stepped into the analysis of culture as per the market sector is Geerte Hofstede. Therefore, the paper is focusing on different approaches towards culture, that is, the ways through which cultural differences are able to influence the marketing operations across the globe.

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,

Social class is the social influence in which members of society are divided into a hierarchy of distinct status classes, in turn members of each group hold a higher or lower social status than those of other classes. Those who are grouped into the same social class standing generally share the same occupations, lifestyles, and social status. Perhaps the most straightforward model to explicate social class is a three-tiered style which includes the upper class, the middle class, and the lower/working class.

Now and again, these topics may convert into changing desires for business organizations and arrangements. Based on the changing desires and needs and wants, “people 's purchasing behaviour ultimately, are shaped by their environment and their values. Therefore, when you are creating new products or services in different countries or regions, it is important to conduct research beforehand about the target market. Consider characteristics like the role of gender in the culture, their decision-making process and what they value the most”(Innov8 Education Solutions, 2017). Based on that, it is clearly stated that the importance of understanding the different culture is just cannot be ignored, and should be implemented to enter the market also understanding the consumer’s behaviour in the market. Besides, the importance of understanding the cross cultural communication through the brand that the company wants has to be accepted in the cultural or even in the society.

The marketplace is becoming gradually more connected and globalized, resulting in an even greater impact of cultural differences on consumers’ behaviour (Maheswaran & Shavitt, 2000).

Culture indeed plays a very important role in deriving the Marketing strategies of a Firm. A good marketer is the one who adapts to the culture he is selling in and alters his Marketing Mix accordingly. In the current assignment we have selected China, one of the BRICS Nation, and analyzed how different aspects of the Chinese Culture impacts the Marketing Mix and how a marketer should respond to ensure he could grab a good market share while working in China.

While business strategy plays a key role in successful collaboration and building a global brand, understanding the culture of the country being invested in is paramount. The culture dictates the methodology and approach for numerous operating models and a lack of research and understanding of the culture can quickly lead to demise for a company seeking to expand. A considerable amount of companies fail to complete substantial or intensive research before expanding their businesses beyond the United States border (Chung & Smith, 2007) and as a result do not set themselves up for optimal success. An area of extreme significance for the business in which the understanding of the local culture has far reaching effects is marketing. The onus is on management to do their research and put together a marketing team that understands the cultural dynamics and can tailor a marketing package that suits that dynamic (Jensen, 2015). In preparing their product or service for market, management needs to critically review the marketing strategy to ensure the marketing strategy is localized to the culture being operated in and is not part of a one size fits all marketing strategy.