Impact of culture on marketing strategies in Dell Corporation

Impact of culture on marketing strategies in Dell Corporation

Learning is an accurate depiction of people’s authentic way of life as well as their specific attributes. Culture includes the way people speak, values, style, norms, dressing style, attitude, and beliefs. Many aspects affect marketing strategies such as competition, target market; however, culture plays a crucial role in consumer preferences. For Dell to be able to market its product successfully, then it has to consider the various cultural practices from different regions and respect them. Marketing strategies have a relation to product planning and promotion to cope with quality and competition in the market (Goi, 2009). The marketing strategies include the 4ps- product, place, promotion, and price. Consumers are attracted to a product that fits in their traditions, norms, attitudes, values, and other cultural requirements.  This paper will precisely discuss the role of religion and cultural variability in marketing strategies used by Dell Corporation.

The first cultural aspect which Dell has to deal with in marketing its products is religion. The main religions known in the globe include Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism. In the middle east, the faith that is mostly practiced in Islam. In this region, religion has paramount importance. Faith impacts marketing strategies in various ways beginning with spiritual celebrations and beliefs. Areas in the Middle East consider technology to be of essence (Lovelock et al. 2009). Thus the company always has the products in high numbers in this area.

Consequently, Dell, when making placement decisions, it should always consider the area where sales are likely to be top. The goal of a company is to still get the product to consumers who are most likely to buy them. The second marketing strategy is the price, which refers to the cost consumers are willing to pay for the product. In the Middle east, consumers attach high value to computers, thus their willingness to buy. However, Dell company also has to put into consideration other associated costs like supply costs, competitor’s prices, and seasonal discounts when pricing the products (Lovelock et al. 2009). Besides, the marketers have to realize when to discount their products like during Islamic celebrations. Consumers are likely to buy more products when they feel that their faith is considered. Promotion is also of much importance when it comes to the success of a product. Promotion includes aspects like advertising, promotional strategy, and public relations. Promotion shows the consumers why they need to buy a product and the price they will pay for it.

The other culture which Dell has to consider is cultural variability in the success of its promotional strategies. The first one is uncertainty avoidance. There are cultures in which people try to avoid uncertainty and always pursue happiness. In western culture, people are risk-takers. This means that it is easy for Dell to make sales in a new market because people are not afraid to try something new so long as they perceive it beneficial. Also, marketers have to put into consideration masculinity vs. femininity practices in a given area. Culture defines the priorities placed in the family, society, and country in decision making (Singh, 2005). In communities like India, the community is mother led. The owner of the wealth, as well as the earning member of the family, is usually the mother. Thus, women make decisions on what has to be done and who will do it. However, in male-dominated societies, fathers are the owners of wealth, and they make decisions on what is to be bought (Singh, 2005). Thus these decision-makers impact the choice of brand and making a final purchasing decision. Therefore, the marketer has to know the type of society they are targeting to highlight them in their promotional campaigns. Thus, this cultural practice affects the place and promotion of marketing aspects.

Conclusion

In conclusion, culture plays a critical role in marketing strategies applied. Marketing strategies in product promotion is such a significant decision a company has to make. Cultural diversity leads to uncertainty in marketing strategies decision making. The cultural differences covered include religion and cultural variability. Cultural variability includes aspects like femininity vs. masculinity and uncertainty avoidance, amongst others. Thus, a good marketer has to study these cultural aspects in the decision making of the various marketing strategies.

References

Goi, C. L. (2009). A review of the marketing mix: 4Ps or more?. International journal of marketing studies, 1(1), 2.

Lovelock, C. H., Wirtz, J., & Chew, P. (2009). Essentials of services marketing (pp. 101-105). Singapore: Prentice-Hall.

Singh, R. (2005). Marketing culture of Finnish research libraries: an analysis of marketing attitude, knowledge, and behavior.