Cultural Influences on Marketing Strategies

by Janet Hunt

Companies that are growing are always on the lookout for new opportunities. Some of these opportunities present themselves in new countries. Product diversification and growth may demand a product to be introduced on a global level. To develop a successful marketing strategy, an organization must take into consideration the cultural influences of the society where a new product is being introduced. People make decisions about consumption of a product based on these cultural influences.


Values of a society dictate what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Some countries, such as the United States, are more individualistic, with citizens making purchasing decisions based on personal preferences. In other countries, such as Japan, people tend to make purchasing decisions based on the welfare of a group, such as the family. The way this plays out in marketing strategies is that ads focused on individuals do better in individualistic countries while group advertising works better in countries with collective group values.


Symbols in relation to cultural influences refers to language, both spoken and unspoken. Language is a symbol of cultural pride. While some foreign influence may be acceptable, a culture may want to preserve its specific cultural heritage. A marketer would need to conform advertising in such a country into language symbols acceptable to the population of that particular country. Other forms of culture symbols include folklore, drama, dance and music.


Rituals are patterns of behaviors that are learned and repeated. Rituals play an important role in how life events, such as births, marriages, graduations and funerals, are conducted in different cultures. Life is also full of smaller rituals such as watching a television show at a certain time or having dinner every Tuesday at your favorite restaurant. Rituals play an important role in marketing strategies as they focus on consumers' everyday interactions and how these interactions will play into the promotion and selling of a product or service.

Thought Processes

Thought processes may vary among different cultures. This could affect the way a marketing strategy is perceived. People who are part of one culture may take in the whole picture in an advertisement and be able to report specific details of what they have seen, even in the background; those of another culture may only see and identify with the central figure and ignore background items altogether. This would affect the way a marketer presents his message based on cultural thought processes.

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