Marketing across Different Cultures in Pakistan

Abstract

Companies when decide to go in different markets keep in mind that the culture where they present their marketing campaigns should be according to their lifestyle, educational level, moral values and religious restrictions. So for this element to be catered they opt to standardize their activities across the cultures or either adapt according to the requirements of the culture of that particular region. In international setting the cultures vary too much so the standardization is not only option neither complete adaptation is the solution so there should be a balance between the two. Marketers come up with lots of research and knowledge about a particular region. If they do not consider the cultural needs in a particular market where the people are sensitive to the culture that ultimately will affect the profitability of the business, which is the core reason to run an industry. Standardization or adaptation has been a matter of debate from past few decades. When we standardize the product compromising on the cultural needs that is a phenomenon which saves the cost but ultimately the customer perception will change and they would not be able to relate to the product through the promotions. So save this relation between a customer and a brand it’s equally important to adapt according to the culture of the people to whom we offer our product. In this way they can relate to the product and have feeling of owning the brand and as a result the profit of the company is boosted. Researchers and theories had established the fact that standardizations boost up the performance outcomes of the company but recently the adaptation strategy is no longer measured to be an unyielding choice. To that effect it would perhaps be superior to look outside the dichotomy of standardization or adaptation of promotional strategies, which actually do not associate that which one is better option to be taken. In Pakistan we see different cultures being practiced in different regions. The main difference is of language and educational level.Then we see that some people are more prices sensitive and others are prone towards the better quality so they are ready to pay higher price.Marketers touch this point of differences and make the campaigns that are suited in a specific region.It has a deep influence on the perception building of the customer when the campaign they do to promote their 3 product is according to the values of the people who specifically belong to a culturally different region. Based on the research and findings we concluded that for a company it’s a matter of fact to consider both options in the mind that are standardization or the adaptation of the promotions. Companies should strive to take mechanisms of both approaches in order to make their campaigns successful in the long run.