BUS203: Principles of Marketing

The word "multicultural" is including people who have different customs and beliefs and multicultural consumer is any consumer who has two or more cultural or ethnic background or affiliation; in fact, they exhibit a contextual cultural identity that allows them to show different features of lifestyle, culture, etc. (the Wharton University of Pennsylvania, n.d). Therefore, marketers have to spot that they must develop their approach to account for this dynamic and fluid identity. While overall standards for a "good ad" are similar across group, cross-cultural customers actually need personal relevant to create ads more attractive to them.

In multicultural environments, the overall makeup of society is diverse, influencing the need for a multi-cultural approach to marketing strategies. The saying "one size fits all" no longer applies and strategies must be established to successfully communicate with all cultures through marketing techniques. 'Culture' has a large influence on marketing strategies as it affects communication channels, consumer behaviour and advertising standards and norms. De-mooij also acknowledges that consumers are not the same worldwide, and their thought patterns and purchasing decisions differ depending usually on overall wealth of the country and other socio-economic factors.

Adopting multicultural marketing strategies also allows businesses to gain a unique competitive advantage. It has been proven that consumers make purchasing decisions based on social, personal, cultural and physiological factors. Once these factors are recognized and the marketer knows what factors entice a multicultural consumer to purchase, strategies can be executed to appeal to the market through their physiological needs.