• Unit 9: Cultural Influences

    Culture acts as the lens through which consumers view products and helps determine product priorities that lead to a product's success or failure. Myths are stories containing symbolic elements representing a culture's shared emotions or ideals. The story usually focuses on a conflict between opposing forces, such as good versus evil. The outcome serves as a moral guide for listeners. They reduce anxiety because they provide people with guidelines about their world. Many marketers create their own myths that are passed along to employees, consumers, or the media.

    Cultural selection is the process by which many possibilities competing for adoption get winnowed down from conception to consumption. Global marketers need to adopt a strategy for implementing their products worldwide that will not offend the people of the country they are marketing to.

    This unit covers the influence of domestic and international culture on consumer behavior.

    Completing this unit should take you approximately 3 hours.

    • Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

      • explain the critical role that demographics play in influencing consumer behavior;
      • compare the nature of generations and develop an understanding of the generations in the United States;
      • identify how social classes are measured, how social class membership is determined, and the measurement problems that marketing managers must deal with; and
      • contrast the various ethnic and religious subcultures and the unique opportunities and challenges they present to marketers.

    • 9.1: Culture Myths and Rituals

      Myths are stories containing symbolic elements representing a culture's shared emotions or ideals. The story usually focuses on a conflict between opposing forces, such as good versus evil. The outcome serves as a moral guide for listeners. They reduce anxiety because it provides people with guidelines about their world.

      Rituals are sets of symbolic behaviors that are acted out in a set order and repeated periodically. Consumers tend to be very ritualistic. The morning cup of coffee at Starbucks as part of the morning commute ritual can be an everyday or regular ritual. Organizations capitalize on these rituals by supplying "artifacts", such as wedding supplies, birthday candles, or gift registries, needed to perform these rituals.

      • Culture Explained Page

        Different cultures have different values, and marketers need to adjust their marketing strategy to reflect the culture that is being targeted. The product or service should reinforce the targeted culture's beliefs, values, and customs or risk losing sales or reputation. This chapter defines culture and then discusses how it is learned and maintained. Marketing for other cultures is one of the biggest challenges organizations face in today's global economy. The Internet is littered with stories about global marketing failures. Look up "global marketing fails" to see some of them.

      • Gender and Culture Page

        Gender stereotypes can also shape attitudes and inform judgments and behavior. Read this chapter to learn how gender and gender roles can shape consumer attitudes and decision-making in various cultures.

    • 9.2: Global Marketing

      Innovations often spread worldwide soon after they are adopted in the U.S. In fact, some innovations are adopted overseas faster than they are adopted in their homeland. Speed to market can be very costly if the company ignores or receives bad advice for interpreting the norms and cultures of another country. If the company is fortunate, it will create a humorous story. Companies that aren't so fortunate may insult the country's people, thus losing any opportunity for success in that country or paying fines for their cultural ignorance.

      • Product Innovation Page

        The same marketing principles that lead to success domestically also apply to global markets. The challenge for marketers is to know what to modify for global success. Read this article to learn how companies can adapt the marketing mix to meet the needs of the different global markets.

      • Entry Strategies in Global Markets Page

        As discussed in earlier sections, global marketing requires careful planning and execution. In most cases, the entry strategy for each country will require modification. Read this article to learn about the different ways of selling products and services in global markets.

    • Unit 9 Study Resources

      This review video is an excellent way to review what you've learned so far and is presented by one of the professors who created the course.

    • Unit 9 Assessment

      • Unit 9 Assessment Quiz
        Receive a grade

        Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.

        • This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
        • You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
        • You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.