Most researchers on marketing and advertisement have paid a lot of attention to customers’ judgments on the products and brands. More specifically they have factored in the cultural factors in marketing and how it influences customers’ tastes and the overall outcome. Customers are known to preferred products from a specific region, country, or continent. This is always caused by the culture of the people and brands of the manufacturing companies. The art of brand globalization is the determining factor and pillar in which global business is built and meant to thrive. The credibility and identity created by the international organizations serve a greater purpose in selling to the global market.

Hypotheses

H1. The acceptance and success of brands and products are determined by the country of origin (COO).

The origin of the product identifies the product through the culture and art of manufacturing. In other words, the national image of a product determines the creativity, craftsmanship, design, and dignity surrounding the product in the market (Salehzadeh & Pool, 2017). Therefore, the relationship between the product and the country of origin can be seen in the characteristics of the product and the country’s profile, for example, the culture of the people.

Shiseido is a successful Japanese Cosmetic company. Even though it has attained massive in Japan, it struggles to penetrate to enter the international market. To gain traction in the American market, it acquires Drunk Elephant for $ 845 million (Avery,2020). Drunk Elephant is a well-known brand, especially among millennials and Gen Z in the local market. This means that Shiseido will only gain acceptance in the American market if it has partners in the country.

Uniqlo is a casual wear brand that has achieved massive success in the Japanese and international markets. This is primarily attributed to the low price of their products which is attractive to customers (Assman,2018). Because of its success in the local market, it has managed to create partnerships with international brands such as H&M, which has enabled it to penetrate the international market.

Louis Vuitton is a French fashion house and luxury goods brand. It offers goods of the highest quality. Because of its Parisian origins, it has management to gain acceptance in the international market, opening flagship stores across major cities globally.

H2. A positive image increases the chances of accepting the product in the global market.

When people love the culture in the country in which the product is from, they will be more interested in buying the product. The results will increase demand for the product in the global market, which will be accepted in the market. For example, Mercedes Benz has maintained its good image and acceptance in the global market due to its maintained policy to maintain safety and road compatibility (Salehzadeh & Pool, 2017). The benefit the customers get from accepting the products determines how the global market will perceive the product. The effect this has on the psychological assessment makes the country of origin an essential role in the marketing process.

A positive image is vital for the success of any brand on the international market. Louis Vuitton is known across the world as a luxury goods brand. The customer knows that they have to invest in a Louis Vuitton bag if they want to appear fashionable. Customers are sensitive to elements such as artisanal skill and the service and atmosphere of the stores. These are all factors epitomized by Louis Vuitton creative a positive perception among the target market.

H3. The customers’ ethnocentrism determines the impact that COO has on product acceptance.

Before a product is designed and produced, the local people’s morals, desires, and emotions in a given country or state are considered. It means that the product, when first produced, is purposed to serve the concerns, tastes, and emotions of people in the country of origin. Besides, standards and conditions are set within the nation’s boundaries that are always created to control the manufacturing of these products (Salehzadeh & Pool, 2017). Since the buyers consider the quality of the products determined by the perspective of previous consumers, the trust people have in the product and brand is built from the ethnocentrism of the customers.

Louis Vuitton has epitomized the concept of ethnocentrism. It is known as a luxury goods brand across the world. Japanese consumers, for example, prefer standing out in a particular crowd of people. They are drawn to artisanal aspects of a particular brand, such as hand craftsmanship. Moreover, there is a great interest in other aspects, such as the company’s history, to determine if it aligns with the values of their culture. This has led to its massive success in this market because it checks all the boxes.

H4. Customer’s choice and tastes of products are determined by the customers’ preferences on the national and international brands.

Many customers prefer local products to imported ones because of the interaction and trust they have developed with them. People in an environment interact with a given product for a long time. Considering the culture, moral values, and concerns that the local products have been designed and manufactured, it is challenging to convince them of ethnocentric consumers. They have played a significant part in designing a product, would stick to the local product consider another product than an international brand and product that is uncommon to them thus always promoting the local commodity (Salehzadeh & Pool, 2017). This is encouraged by their enthusiasm for promoting their local product and preserving their culture instead of adopting a new one from foreign countries. Therefore, regardless of the price and quality of the product, ethnocentric customers will stick to the local products even if there are better options in the market.

Shiseido is a luxury cosmetics products brand that has gained massive success in the local market. The primary target is customers yearning for quality cosmetic products. The success in the local market has enabled Shiseido to create partnerships with companies that have a footing in other markets. This is critical for its global expansion ambitions. The focus on organic products has been the central selling point that is attractive to millennials, and generation Z. Customers are easily influenced by their peers.

Uniqlo’s success has been due to its low prices. Customers are attracted to its products because they are affordable and of high quality. Partnerships with other brands have made it easy for the brand to penetrate the international market because it meets customer preferences.

H5. First-world countries have more ethnocentric customers because they aim to promote their products, culture, and economy as a whole.

Developed countries put a lot of effort into promoting their nation’s products to help preserve their culture and promote their economy at the same time. For this reason, many global businesses try to find ways of getting the attention of ethnocentric customers as they target the global market (Salehzadeh & Pool, 2017). Understanding the rationality of ethnocentric customers is the first step in converting them to consider all products in the market by looking at other factors like price and quality rather than the cultural authenticity and emotional factors when buying products. Customers who have been exposed and have acquired a global identity would prefer international brands to local ones.

All the major brands are aware that ethnocentrism plays a critical role in consumer buying habits. La Maison du Chocolat is a French brand that seeks to penetrate the Japanese market. Its marketing efforts should ensure that the brand aligns with the values of the Japanese culture (Mortimer,2009). Japanese people are not sensitive to the price of foreign products, and as such, La Maison du Chocolat has to position itself as a luxury brand to get attention from the consumers.

Shiseido has achieved massive success in the local market and penetrates the international market; it has to create a partnership with local brands. This is because most consumers in the local markets have a preference for their brands which they trust.

Louis Vuitton is aware that markets such as the Japanese are not sensitive to the price. It is a luxury brand that epitomizes the elements valued by consumers in this market-originality and impeccable craftsmanship (Chelsey et al.,2010).

H6. People tend to have psycholinguistic influences when they are making product choices.

The psycholinguistic behaviors of the customers while making market choices are influenced by the lexical-semantic and phonological aspects of language, segregation, and brand. Therefore, the language used when selling a product in the local market should be observed and maintained globally. Furthermore, the customer’s first contact and understanding about the product influenced their choices to consider buying the product a second time by determining their memories, behavior, perception, and attitudes towards the product and brand (Salehzadeh & Pool, 2017). Therefore, it is advisable to maintain good grammar and other related aspects of language used when selling the product and brand at all times, both in the local and global markets.

La Maison du Chocolat is a French luxury brand, but as it markets its products in foreign markets such as Japan, it seeks it maintain its French image. The tagline for the brand is “the only limit is the taste” This memorable to any customer who seeks to purchase La Maison du Chocolat products.

H7. The word created is meant to remain in potential customers’ memory, making it the center of the psycholinguistic impression.

Many companies with local and global always come up with specific words or words to used when advertising their products. Always sticking to specific word(s) helps create a psycholinguistic impression in the customers’ memories. In the long run, the impression increases sales (Salehzadeh & Pool, 2017). It also helps stabilizes the same and brand portfolios, for instance, in the UNIQLO company that backed its marketing strategies with psycholinguistic practices.

H8. Customers in the global markets apply various identities to investigate moral and ethical issues.

When buying a product from a different country, foreign customers always want to feel what makes the product unique. They are looking for a sense of belonging, thus always carrying their feelings to the foreign country (Salehzadeh & Pool, 2017). Therefore, the success of a brand and product in a foreign market depends on acceptance and recognition in both the global and local markets. Therefore, the customers need identifiers to help in distinguishing the two brands in the globalization process. But unfortunately, because they have the same identity for different products, the identifiers distinction has a detrimental impact on local businesses. The local brands thus stand a lesser chance of being accepted than the global brand during the process because of the cosmopolitan orientations of the customers.

Louis Vuitton, for example, has achieved massive success in Japan because it aligns with the values of the Japanese consumer. The Japanese consumer is sensitive to elements such as the history of the company, artisanal aspects of the products. Being a luxury brand, Japanese consumers feel that Louis Vuitton bags will make them stand out.

Relationship Diagram

Brand image

Brand acceptance

Customer ethnocentrism

Customer preferences

CUSTOMER LOYALTY

Psycholinguistic influence

Customer experience

Value proposition

Customer perception

Relationship development

References

Salehzadeh, R., & Pool, J., K., (2017). Brand attitude and perceived value and purchase intention toward global luxury brands. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 29(2), 74-82.

Assmann, S. (2018). Consumption of Fast Fashion in Japan: Local Brands and Global Environment. In Cwiertka K. & Machotka E. (Eds.), Consuming Life in Post-Bubble Japan: A Transdisciplinary Perspective (pp. 49-68). Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv56fgjm

Mortimer, R. (2009, Sept). Top-quality educational experience. Marketing Week. Volume 32 (Issue 36), 22-23

Avery, J, Sato, N. (2020, Oct. 1). Shiseido: Reinvesting in Brand. Harvard Business School.

Chelsey L., Phau I.& Marchegiani C. (2010) The Roles of Consumers Need for Uniqueness and Status Consumption in Haute Couture Luxury Brands, Journal of Global Fashion Marketing, 1:4, 206-214, DOI: 10.1080/20932685.2010.10593072

The post 7 Most researchers on marketing and advertisement have paid a lot of appeared first on PapersSpot.