Last class, I referenced an infographic which describes general differences between “Western” culture and “Eastern” culture. I was first introduced to this piece created by Yang Liu as part of Intercultural Communication training with the UBC Student Ambassador team. Knowing your customer is essential for more than just marketing.

Connections and Contacts

What is important is not necessarily knowing absolutely every one of the distinctions between cultures and the way different people view different aspects of life. There is no way that an individual from one country can absolutely empathize with the way someone else from another nation thinks. The key is knowing that there are differences, to be patient, and to seek to understand. This is all fine and dandy from an individual to individual stance, but what about for marketing?

Marketing is different because the people on the receiving end don’t necessarily look for understanding if an advertisement doesn’t make sense or happens to be offensive. Marketers need to be extra careful, because the battle is uphill. This is why companies hire local experts who can advise on marketing decisions abroad. It’s not good enough to try hard; you need to be perfect.

For more: http://bsix12.com/east-meets-west/