What a great question, it’s fascinating how people from different cultures responded to this. When I asked my husband, who is also from England he said curry from our home town, Wolverhampton!
An American friend fell in love with a pizza from an Italian street vendor on his travels in Italy. A colleague from India stated hands down his mum’s soy and ginger lamb with steamed rice. This reminded me of my time living and working in Korea, family meals and home cooked food were king.
Ironically, I am sitting in Scone City in Chicago writing this blog, being English too I’m very fond of a scone, traditionally covered with jam and clotted cream – here they have taken the scone to the next level to factor all individual tastes; vegan, gluten free, sweet and savory.
Its clear that my friends in the UK and USA have individual preferences where as my contacts in Asia both love a home cooked family meal – which clearly shows the importance of understanding cultural differences when defining your target audience.
The British are highly individualist and private people, Americans come a close second, followed by the Australians and Western Europe. An individualist culture tends to promote individual goals, initiative and achievement, they strive for their own success.
Whereas Asia, South America and Africa are more collectivist, they prefer working as a group, they are selfless, put society first and their primary focus is family and a community spirit.
Within your marketing strategy it is essential to factor your target consumers culture, cultural influences, values and lifestyle. If the culture is individualist they may prefer products or services that promote personal success, gain, positivity and independence (promotion). If you are looking to offer a discount, a personal incentive over a group or family offer may see greater results and a harder sell is accepted.
Collectivist cultures prioritize friends, family and co-workers, a soft sell is more appropriate, a relationship building approach. They want to avoid negative outcomes (prevention) and are incentivized by group offers and promotions.
Author & Photo: Leanne Freshwater
