A rise in technology has made the world smaller. We know more about others than we ever did
before, and the more we know about others, the more important it has become to
understand their cultures and modes of communication.
This exponential rise in communication has led to the rise of
globalization. Businesses have become more
diverse than ever before. Companies have
innovated and changed their products and brand to better suit a variety of preferences
for people from different cultures.
Many companies have also reassessed and customized their
websites as they go global, speaking to aspired target audiences in their own
languages. I believe that this is the
most important factor when it comes to sharing your idea, concept, product, or
services with someone who does not understand your language. If you want to sell your product to someone
who doesn’t understand you, you’d better learn their lingo and then attempt to
sell.
It is also important to keep the message simple. Even if it is in English or a local language,
it’s best to use simple words easy to understand and easy to translate.
Use the context and style your audience uses when
communicating whether it be through advertisement or website development in order to create relativity.
- For high context cultures, fuse in things that relate to culture, religion, family, or daily life. For example, if you are trying to sell to a party of Indians, incorporate a rich colour scheme like reds, oranges, and purples; add local phrases or puns; use personal life events like weddings to break the ice by emotional appeal.
- For low context cultures, budgeting is vital so more promotions, discounts, and product advantages highlighting comparisons are used. Usually expressions that suggest “we are the best company” or “this is product #1” are used as tactics to attract them.
One other thing I have noticed there was a time when product used to be produced and advertised keeping in view the consumer's needs. But these days, because of the technology explosion, product comes out in the market and consumers adapt themselves to be a able to use it. Actually what I believe is that there are few types of buyers/consumers out there in the market. First category is the people who would just buy anything and everything thats out just to be ahead in the "race". Then there are people who would wait for the first category to try the product to see the success rate. Depending on the success of the product they would decide to buy it or not. Then there are people who consider themselves above this foolishness and say they are content with whatever they have although they can afford it. And then there are those unfortunate ones who would know the use and can benefit from it but financially are not able to afford it. So we have a lot of different people out there and its hard to cater to the masses.
ReplyDeleteI must agree that it can be difficult to "cater to the masses", but through the increased use of technology in communication, companies have been able to understand their target markets better. Age group, gender, ethnic backgrounds, and language are just some factors company's consider to create or change existing products. All done simply to adapt to their old and new consumers.
DeleteMaybe it feels like you would have to adapt to a certain product because it is meant for a different audience, other than you. You don't have to buy it, but you also don't have to criticize it, as it may be used and appreciated greatly by others.
Same as appreciating and accepting others for their different cultural backgrounds.