Multi-national corporations have to do their research on other countries before they decide to expand and franchise there. With faster communication, transportation and financial flows, the world is rapidly shrinking. International trade is booming. Imports of goods and services now account for 24% of gross domestic product worldwide. However, sometimes corporations fail to understand the culture of countries that they target as marketing opportunities, therefore not being able to market their brand successfully.
Culture is defined simply as the learned distinctive way of life of a society. Each country has its own traditions, cultural norms and taboos. When designing global marketing strategies, companies must understand how culture affects consumer reactions in each of its international markets. In turn, they must also understand how their strategies affect culture. In the global marketplace, extension of products and services into foreign markets often faces unanticipated cross-cultural challenges involving consumer cultural behavior. For example: in Japan, “Diet Coke” was renamed “Coke Light” after the firm learned that the word “diet” carried an embarrassing connotation.
A “blunder” is a careless mistake usually caused by a person’s ignorance, poor judgment or confusion. International marketing blunders represent avoidable mistakes made by companies in foreign markets. Many types of blunders result from ignorance of culture. If international marketers are misinformed about the cultural characteristics of a foreign market they may stumble into blunders. A simple cultural oversight can lead to considerable embarrassment and customer disappointment. Companies should not overlook the importance of learning the culture in international markets.
Places and people differ. The Japanese tend to be very polite, the Australians characteristically blunt. Red means