Marketing Across Cultures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing Across Cultures - Essay Example With this manipulation of elements, a firm can achieve its objectives in the market that it targets. The elements of the marketing mix are â€Å"product, price, promotion, and place, also referred to as the four Ps† (Bennet, pp. 44, 2009). The firm does not manipulate all of these elements to a significant degree every time it is marketing across cultures. However, the selections of elements, which require manipulation, are only possible in the light of the characteristics of the culture. For this reason, examples, such as the ones stated below, can help to elaborate this fact. The management of the marketing effort is also highly affected by the differences in the cultures of the firm's different target markets. The four functions of the marketing management are analysis, planning, function, and control (Maister, pp. 133, 1997). The degree of importance which management gives to each function is dependent on the characteristics of the market that the firm targets. For example , the characteristics of a market existing in one culture may emphasize the importance of planning above all the other functions, while a market in another culture may necessitate the control function to be the one the firm invests in the most. Again, the true effect of the culture on the marketing management can only be understood through in-depth analysis and examples. According to a case study, which studied international marketing by shedding light on Ikea’s operations in Shanghai, they learned that â€Å"the company must think globally and act locally in hope of building long-term customer relationships and capturing customer value. In marketing decisions, culture does not hold an ultimate status but still calls for due attention as much as other factors, such as the marketing environment and the company’s strategic plan† (Pan, pp. iii, 2005). This is an example of such a case, were marketing across several different cultures has led to a difference in the marketing elements employed, and will thus be useful in understanding the phenomenon.  Similarly, one can deduce that the strategic management that a multinational company does is on a global scale, following the rules it abides by in any part of the world. Whereas the local marketing strategies are designed locally, depending on the target market and culture of the country of operation (Doole and Lowe, pp. 218-225, 2008). Product: One of the elements in the marketing mix, which is majorly affected by the culture to which it is being employed in, is the product itself.