International Marketing: Relationship between Products and Culture
Products and Culture
As a marketer, we all know that a product is more than a physical item: It is a bundle of satisfactions (or utilities) that the buyer receives. These utilities include its form, taste, colour, odour, and texture; how it functions in use; the package; the label; the warranty; and any other symbolic utility received from the possession or use of the goods. In short, the market relates to more than a product’s physical form and primary function. The values and customs within a culture confer much of the importance of these other benefits. In other words, a product is the sum of the physical and psychological satisfactions it provides the user.
A product’s physical attributes generally are required to create its primary function. The primary function of an automobile, for example, is to move passengers from point A to point B. This ability requires a motor, transmission, and other physical features to achieve its primary purpose. The physical features or primary function of an automobile generally are in demand in all cultures where there is a desire to move from one point to another by ways other than by foot or animal power. Few changes to the physical attributes of a product are required when moving from one culture to another. However, an automobile has a bundle of psychological features that are as important in providing consumer satisfaction as its physical features. Within a specific culture, other automobile features (color, size, design, brand name, price) have little to do with its primary function—the movement from point A to B—but do add value to the satisfaction received.
The meaning and value imputed to the psychological attributes of a product can vary among cultures and are perceived as negative or positive. To maximize the bundle of satisfactions received and to create positive product attributes rather than negative ones, adaptation of the nonphysical features of a product may be necessary. Coca-Cola, frequently touted as a
As a marketer, we all know that a product is more than a physical item: It is a bundle of satisfactions (or utilities) that the buyer receives. These utilities include its form, taste, colour, odour, and texture; how it functions in use; the package; the label; the warranty; and any other symbolic utility received from the possession or use of the goods. In short, the market relates to more than a product’s physical form and primary function. The values and customs within a culture confer much of the importance of these other benefits. In other words, a product is the sum of the physical and psychological satisfactions it provides the user.
A product’s physical attributes generally are required to create its primary function. The primary function of an automobile, for example, is to move passengers from point A to point B. This ability requires a motor, transmission, and other physical features to achieve its primary purpose. The physical features or primary function of an automobile generally are in demand in all cultures where there is a desire to move from one point to another by ways other than by foot or animal power. Few changes to the physical attributes of a product are required when moving from one culture to another. However, an automobile has a bundle of psychological features that are as important in providing consumer satisfaction as its physical features. Within a specific culture, other automobile features (color, size, design, brand name, price) have little to do with its primary function—the movement from point A to B—but do add value to the satisfaction received.
The meaning and value imputed to the psychological attributes of a product can vary among cultures and are perceived as negative or positive. To maximize the bundle of satisfactions received and to create positive product attributes rather than negative ones, adaptation of the nonphysical features of a product may be necessary. Coca-Cola, frequently touted as a