Globalization is the process of interaction and integration among countries, groups or organizations, and people. It is driven by international trade and investment by means of information technology. It is due to globalization that the world is becoming more and more connected with each other. The doors of opportunities are now open for organizations to expand their business all over the globe. However, besides the advantages of globalization of businesses, there are also certain issues that must be considered. For example, a particular brand or product may not business well in one country, but stands out from the other. There can be various reasons to such issues like cultural differences, political, environmental, and economic conditions, etc. This article will focus on the cultural differences that may affect the sales of any product. It will also discuss examples of the top organization making blunders while introducing products in the new culture. Later on, it will highlight the points that organizations must consider in such situation.
Examples of Cultural Differences Failing the Product Sales
There are a number of examples found in the global market in which the business did not go well in other countries due to cultural differences. There are certain terms of language, norms, and moral values that contradicts between different cultures. Several years ago, an automotive company developed a highly successful car at one of its divisions in the United States and named it “Nova”. This sporty little car did huge business and became very popular. The organization planned to introduce the same car in Mexico. However, the car did not go over well. After investigation, it was determined that the word “Nova” means “No go” in Spanish.
Similarly, a golf ball manufacturing company introduced new packaging of four balls in one pack for convenient purchase in Japan. However, in Japanese language the word “four” is pronounced as like the word “death”. This made the four balls packaging unpopular in Japan. Another example of the product failure due to cultural differences is of the Pepsodent Toothpaste. The company tried to sell its toothpaste in Southeast Asia. It emphasized through commercials that Pepsodent whitens your teeth. However, it was found that in Southeast Asia, local communities chew betel nuts to blacken their teeth as they consider it attractive. Therefore, the sales of Pepsodent in Southeast Asia were unable to make a good profit .
In 1987, Braniff Airlines fitted leather seats in coach class of the airplane. The reason of these leather seats was primarily to increase the lagging sales and earn larger profit. Braniff Airlines, being an American company, used in the English language to advertise their renewed coach class. The company used the slogan “Fly in Leather”. However, when it was later translated in Spanish, Braniff failed to realize that the slogan “Fly in Leather” meant “Fly Naked”. The slogan affected the reputation of the company and so the sales. The examples indicate that it is highly important to consider all perspectives of the global market before introducing a new product; since promotional messages in one culture may be conceived differently in the other .
How to Launch a Product or Brand in a New Culture
Culture is composed of various dimensions, including religion, social organization of society, customs and rituals, attitudes and values towards domestic and international life, political system, literacy levels, language, and aesthetic systems. An overall culture, language, and emotional value and slang language are considered as the most important aspects that could affect the image of new product. While designing global marketing strategies, organizations first need to conduct thorough analysis of the culture. It must analyze how consumers would react to the launch of particular products in each international market. For avoiding blunders, organizations must focus on the cultural differences and keep on exploring the culture to the depth. Avoid ethnocentrism and design the marketing strategies as according to the new culture. Organizations should market the product and convey their message in a way that potential customers understands it. If the organization gets successful in conveying their product’s message, then promotional campaign would probably bring positive feedback too. Organizations must not be over-confident or over-optimistic regarding the potential of the product and do best of analysis and exploration of culture. They should question, how the people make decisions. Show emotions and conduct relationships? How the culture communicates? What are social rules and ethics? Such questions would clear doubts and ensure the success of product in a new culture .
Conclusion
The world is a mix of diverse cultures. Each culture has different norms, values, language, and beliefs. Globalization is interconnecting the world cultures and merging them into one global market; however, organizations still have to face strong resistance if they tend to induce different norms in a particular culture. As discussed, there are various examples of big organizations whose products failed to do well. However, with thorough analysis of the cultures and communities can help the organizations in ensuring the success of any product in a new culture.
References
Frederick, S. (2011). Top 10 International Business Mistakes. Retrieved from Larson Allen: http://www.larsonallen.com/EFFECT/Top_Ten_International_Business_Mistakes.aspx
Fromowitz, M. (2013, Oct 7). Cultural Blunders: Brands Gone Wrong.
Wintranslation. (2011). Culture and Why it Matters to Your Business. Wintranslation.
