Marketing is a part of culture, the area of knowledge with its own rules of reproduction of culture. Results of studying the processes that are taking place in society show a wide variety of marketing forms, which could have an impact on the perception of culture by individuals. Thus, marketing capabilities have fundamental importance for the development of culture.
As a sociocultural phenomenon, marketing relies on existing in the society of cultural relations, on accepted values and norms between actors in the market. It really depends on traditions of different countries. Some of the countries are more conservative and due to this fact aggressive and bright marketing in such countries will cause rejection but not interest. For example, it won’t work in Turkey or Azerbaijan. The opposite situation will be in the countries with more open-minded culture (like most of the European countries and the USA). Marketing activity is woven into the life of culture, which makes clear the actual cultural and technological function of marketing associated with the creation of sought-after benefit that can meet the growing cultural needs of the society. Culture itself is a means of satisfying needs. Thus, a need is a necessity, the internal state of a person that recognizes that he has a need that has to be met. Marketing, in this case, can be regarded as an external determination (conditionality) of culture, providing its development.
The Cultural essence of marketing entails the ethical and moral fullness that opens up new possibilities for establishing relations between subjects of the market, given the norms of their social responsibility, moral and ethical choices, personal aspects of decision making, and the problems of moral climate in the team. In turn, marketing acts as a factor of regulation of social processes. It acts on the needs of the community, becomes a necessary condition of good governance. Any marketing activity requires reasoned justification. The manifestation of social and cultural regulation of the marketing is carried out through the existing system analysis of the needs of society. We emphasize that the identification of needs, how they change — it is the prerogative of marketing.
The human needs are associated with its economic interests, social demands, traditions and personal experiences that determine the way of life and thinking, value orientations: representations about beautiful and ugly, good and evil, order and chaos, proper and unacceptable.
Thus, it is possible to speak about the needs in economic, social, socio-cultural, aesthetic, ethical, legal, and ideological aspects. This methodological approach allows to enrich the methodological Arsenal of marketing, presents much social technologies used by organizations of culture. This allows them to ensure market success in the ever-changing needs of the modern consumer of cultural goods.
The role of respondents in the buying decision process (organizational buying, family buying, information and influence patterns etc.) may vary across countries (Usunier 161).
The external environment influence occurs in four different directions. First, it determines the availability of goods and services. This function reflects, among other things, the impact of physical, technological and economic factors. Secondly, the external environment determines the General conditions facing the organization customers, including the level of economic growth, national income, unemployment, and the rate of interest on loans. A dominant influence on the General business environment provides economic and political forces. Economic factors are mainly (but not exclusively) the target variables while the policy is naturally inappropriate. Thirdly, external influences determine values and norms that govern inter-organizational and interpersonal relationships between buyers and sellers, but also between competing firms, between customers and other institutions, such as government and trade associations. Finally, external forces that influence information flows coming into the organization-buyer. Here the most important are the transmission of marketing information from potential suppliers through media and other personal and non-personal channels. Information flows reflect a variety of physical, technological, economic and cultural factors.
The last set of factors influencing consumer behavior in different countries of the world is a social and cultural environment. These factors include General and cultural influences emanating from the society in which the consumer lives and the most specific influence – social class to which he belongs, and his or her family. Culture is associated with traditions, taboos and the main relations existing in the social environment in which certain people are. It gives direction for the development of the person and its lifestyle. Cultural norms are rules that guide conduct and are based on values that represent beliefs about what relationships and what behavior would be desirable.
Marketers have always sought to identify cultural shifts, to find out what new goods would be purchased by consumers. For example, as a result, of the shift in culture at present Belarusians have to pay more attention to their own health and physical condition. This shift has caused a sharp rise in sales of sports equipment, sportswear, and foods low in fat.
Also, be aware that the same words in different languages can mean different things, or even have an obscene meaning. Marketers must have a complete knowledge of culture, more so international marketers because they face diverse and different cultures in each country (Paul, 100).
According to many scientists, the consumption is an integral part of the cultural process. Centuries-old traditions of cultural behavior and ways of interpersonal communication are the basis for the consumption of cultural services. Marketing and culture of a country are two interdependent units, as in any country, including any European countries, where the production and sale of certain goods and services are organized – there is the term of marketing.
This notion in different countries is manifested in different ways depending on laws, of manners, the upbringing of people, their habits, and traditions. So the culture of different countries affects marketing strategy of various companies. However, marketing also influences culture, being a direct part of it.
List of sources:
Usunier, Jean-Claude. Marketing Across Cultures. Harlow: Pearson Education, 2009. Print
Paul, Justin. International Marketing: Text and Cases. New Delhi: Tata McGraw-Hill Education, 2008. Print
