Marketing and Self-reference Criterion

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.

Managers' unfamiliarity with other cultures, to make matters worse, some managers will ascribe to others their own preferences and reactions. For example, selling beefs by self-reference criterion business in Muslim countries will be failed.

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.

companies need to have a plan to create demand for their products. Consumer ethnocentrism can be moderated by aggressive marketing tactics. Western companies are trying to get into emerging markets and Russia, a former communist country, is a target for these companies. Consumer ethnocentrism in Russia has been a predominant barrier to success of foreign products in Russia and in Russia some distinguish between domestic products that are described as in-group products and foreign products that are described as out-group products (Puzakova, Kwak, & Andras, 2010). Research shows that the Russians view foreign products of superior quality, but remain ethnocentric in their consumer behavior (Puzakova, Kwak, & Andras, 2010). Using marketing communications the negative attitudes that are present with buying foreign products can be alleviated. The advertising efforts can be used to explore more moderate behavioral consequences of consumer ethnocentrism with initial contact being met with anxiety, but more subsequent positive contacts leading to comfort (Puzakova, Kwak, & Andras, 2010). The U.S. firm attempting to tap the large Russian consumer market needs to have a strategic marketing

Be aware of judging other people's behaviour, expectations and beliefs according to the standards of your own culture.

Dudovskiy (2012), wrote Self Reference Criterion, is closely connected to ethnocentrism which is the tendency to view one’s culture to be superior to others. We can learn methods from each other, not because one country or culture is more advance than another.

This is an international marketing strategy that largely focuses on the commercial efforts and advertising on the benefits of concentrating on local markets rather than using global or universal approach. This, therefore, means that the company will employ work towards understanding culture of different local markets in various countries and try to enter into the studied market using the demographics in that area. The greatest effort required in this strategy is using advertising as well presentation to try and appease local sensibilities in various countries rather than applying a mass market strategy. So that this strategy can be successful it is crucial to carry out extensive research in different countries that the company hopes to invest (Leontiades, 2010). By learning how the company can be able to create a good connection with the consumers in various countries using multi-domestic strategy can assist to build a lot of tactics which can be integrated into markets that have many similarities. Learning how to closely associate with customers will also assist customize marketing and advertising efforts to match with the present local culture. Although multi-domestic strategy may be somehow expensive to employ its end result are more profitable to the company. When the company’s products are able to

Findings – Results reflect that for a product to be communicated across cultures different dimensions has to be taken care of because of huge cultural difference prevailing. Organizations have to carefully examine these factors to successfully design advertising appeals for a product to be adapted globally because of the cultural sensitivity attached to it.. Eventually, organizations would have to create differentiation based on psychological attributes based on value dimensions.

The progress of humanity and human beings can be attributed to one important factor and that is the strong capability of human beings to understand and adapt to cultural differences. Respecting cultural differences has brought the human beings close together and has tied them in a strong bond. The conquering of the cultural differences has also introduced us to a new terminology, global economy, which is a global system of production, distribution and consumption. The world has become a singular unit because the pace of economic development has accelerated due to an increase in marketing not only at a local level, but also at a global level. Global

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate why it is essential to understand cultural differences to achieve success in the 21st century. The paper focuses on the adaptations that different industries are incorporating into their business practices to meet the needs of the global consumer. In particular, the paper attempts to address the adaptations that industries are undergoing to cater to ethical and migration related requirements of the consumers.

In any culture, communication can be difficult. However, when it comes to two different cultures communicating, that communication gap can be much greater. Communication barriers including ethnocentrism, stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination, play major roles in understanding another culture. Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's own cultural way of thinking is superior to all other cultures. It becomes a barrier in intercultural communication when and individual refuses to believe that another culture's beliefs have any value. Ethnocentrism prevents one from seeing another individual's point of view and greatly hampers empathy (Hybels & Weaver, 2007).

Business is not conducted in an identical fashion throughout the world from culture to culture, with this being the case communication difficulties can arise and create problems with individuals from different cultures. Experts believe that one of the key part to communication difficulties among different cultures is ethnocentrism; ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s own culture is innately superior to another’s. This may not be directly understood for business people as they are superior but often in business, people see their own culture as being logical and sometimes find difficulties seeing

In international market, understanding consumer needs and desired is extremely important to the corporation in order to market their products and services properly into the market. Consumer behaviour is a process in where individuals or groups select, buy, use and dispose of the products and services to satisfy their needs and desires. The organisation simply cannot understand consumption unless they consider its cultural context, as culture shows how people view leads to their acceptance. Therefore, the effect of culture on consumer behaviour is powerful. This paper will discuss in more details about that and further consider whether culture has the greatest influence on consumer behaviour.

Understanding cultural variances in the world of business, is extremely crucial in developing valuable relationships in a global market for your company. Effective communication and the ability to understand how to respond in certain situations, can be vital in your company’s success. It is also important to establish your credibility with proactive behavior, openness, research, and showing flexibly (Bovée & Thill, 2016).

As with most international products and services decisions an organisation can either adapt or standardise their promotional strategy and message. Basic marketing concepts inform businesses that they will sell more of a product if they aim to meet the needs of their target market. In international markets, consideration of the consumers cultural background, buying habits, levels of personal disposable income etc in order to deliver a tailored marketing mix program to suit their needs. This report will consider the Cultural factors affecting transnational business development if TK Maxx was to enter