4.3.3 Cultural/Social factors

• Cultural & Religious factors comprise of set of values and ideologies of a particular

  community or group of individuals e.g. many Indian consumers not eating beef
• Social factors refer to how consumers in a particular country may behave e.g. Indian

  society is becoming more healthy, they are less brand conscious than Chinese consumers
• Economic factors are to do with income e.g. that average income per capita in India is

  low at about $2,000 per year
• Inappropriate promotional activities

  e.g Nestle put an image of a white baby on milk powder in Africa,usually in Africa they just put an image of what the product is on the package due to illiteracy,so they thought the product was ground up babies
• Different tastes

  consumers in a different country may like different thnings e.g Indians prefer spicier food
• Cultural differences

  differences in beliefs/religion may mean certain products will be less successful e.g Most Indians can't eat beef (culture,cows worshipped)
• Language

  Vauxhall called what now is the corsa, 'Nova' in Spain which when translated means 'no go' in Spanish
• Unintended meanings

  e.g Plopp chocolate bar from Sweden attempted to sell it in other countries but it didn't sell, Plopp and chocolate don't work.
• Inappropriate/inaccurate translations

  e.g Mercedes called themselves 'Bensi' in China means 'rush to die' in Chinese
• An implication of firms getting social/cultural factors wrong is that it will damage their brand image and their product won't sell
• Evaluative point : However, there are other important factors such as average income of consumers
• Cultural/social factors a business would have to consider when

  looking to trade internationally

  • Different tastes
  • Cultural differences
  • Language
  • Unintended meanings
  • Inappropriate/inaccurate translations
  • Inappropriate branding and promotion
  • Average income
  • Income distribution

  Other factors could also have an impact such as the climate of the country (on clothing,chocolate etc.)