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Explore key characteristics and business behaviors in Australia and China for effective market research and product positioning. Learn consumer behavior, language nuances, and regional specifics impacting market strategies.
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Chapter 17 Asia Pacific
Regional Characteristics • Third of the world’s population • Increasing education and industrialization • Advancement in technology
Culture • Each country has unique culture and history • There are differences in visual perceptions • Although each country is unique, the followings general • issues can be applied: • In most Asian cultures, trying to solicit an immediate response from a potential consumer is contrary to traditional buying habits • Many Asians put their family name before their given names • Name/Brand recognition is paramount • Asians are more conservative than Westerners
Culture (contd) • Seasonality and Holidays • Language and Translation Issues • The Mailing List Environment • Secondary Sources of Information • - National Technical Information Service • - Computerized Information
Country characteristics • Population: 18,438,824 (July 1997 est) • Land Area: 7,617,930 sq. km • Languages: English (though several indigenous • Aboriginal languages exist) • Literacy Rate: 99% • Religion: Anglican (26%) and Roman Catholic (26%) • GDP: Purchasing power parity: $430.5 billion (1996 est.) • GDP per capita: Purchasing power parity: $23,600 (1996 est) • GDP real growth rate: 3.6% (1996 est.) • Inflation rate: Consumer Price Index: 3.1 % (1996 est.)
Business characteristics • While Australians tend to be friendly and easy going, this behavior does not carry over to business relations. • A code of etiquette with emphasis on the verbal as well as non-verbal aspects is expected. • It is customary to shake hands when greeting, as it is at the conclusion of a meeting. • It is also acceptable for people to introduce themselves without waiting to be introduced.
Market Research in Australia • Australian market is highly urbanized (85% live in cities, majority live in the southern region in the cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra) • Market Research is most effective through telephone and mail. • Media research is available for all media sources and this includes meter measurement of TV audiences. • High news awareness ( Although TV and Radio penetration is not as high as in the US, Newspaper keep the masses well informed) • A limitation of conducting research here would be mail as a mode of data collection (postal questionnaires are not popular) • Random Sampling is considered most suitable since there is immense cultural diversity in the Australian market.
Country Characteristics • Population: 1,221,591,778 (July 1997 est) • Land Area: 9,326,410 sq. km • Languages: Chinese or Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghainese, Fuzhou, Hokkien-Taiwanese, Xiang, Gan, Hakka dailects • Literacy Rate: 81.5% • Religion: Taosim, Buddhism, Muslim, Christianity, officially atheist, but traditionally pragmatic and eclectic • GDP: Purchasing power parity: $3.39 trillion (1996 est.) • GDP per capita: Purchasing power parity: $2,800 (1996 ) • GDP real growth rate: 9.7% (1996 est.) • Inflation rate: Consumer Price Index: 10 % (1996 est.)
Marketing and Consumer Behavior • Potentially, the world’s largest consumer market • They have a fascination for all things western( western styled department stores and food courts, designer labels) • Bargaining is a very common selling tactic in smaller shop. • Most Chinese tend to assume that foreigners have money and hence vendors at tourist spots target foreigners and have compunctions about overcharging them. • Most Chinese women have adopted western wear • Many supermarkets carry international brands • English is becoming a popular language and many Chinese are making a conscious effort to learn it.
Business Characteristics • Companies should be aware of extreme political sensitivity and should take great care to avoid stirring political controversies • Chinese value time and most meeting start punctually • They place a lot of emphasis on precision and detail when designing contracts • They pay close attention to long standing relationships • Dealing with legal aspects and negotiations may be time consuming • It is important that the Chinese counterpart be convinced of the company’s prowess or the manager’s technical expertise • Most Chinese prefer to work on a one-to one basis to prevent “loss of face” • Most meetings are devoted to pleasantries in order to wait for the most opportune moment to discuss formal aspects of the contract
Product Positioning • A common concern for western sellers in China is product pricing and positioning • Chinese consumers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and are interested in both quality and value • It is important to produce goods that combine Western quality and Chinese price level • It is difficult to find a nationwide distribution system • There are no set legalities surrounding product liability or return policy
Conducting Market Research • Chinese language tends to impede a consistent transposing of strategies ( important to have good translators) • Very little Market Research data available for China • One of the main problems of conducting research is the size of the market • High level of bureaucracy is encountered • Focus groups and semi-structured/in-depth interviewing are the popular qualitative research methods • Probability sampling and quota sampling using face-to-face interviews, central location study and in-home placement study are popular quantitative methods. • Most commonly used sampling method is random probability sampling
Conducting Market Research (contd.) • Respondents are usually co-operative and open and eager to try new products. • Respondents are very candid in their feedback • There exists a very good procedure for quality control • Telecommunication penetration is small ( about 7% vs. 95% in the US ) • Chinese do not immediately respond to questionnaires
Country characteristics • Population: 966,783,171 (July 1997 est) • Land Area: 2,973,190 sq. km • Languages: English ( for national, political and commercial communication) Hindi is the national language (30% speak it) There are several other major languages • Literacy Rate: 52% • Religion: Hindu(80%),Muslim (14%), Christian(2.4%), Buddhist (0.7%) Jain (0.5%) , other (0.4%) • GDP: Purchasing power parity: $1.538 trillion (1996 est.) • GDP per capita: Purchasing power parity: $1,600 (1996 est. ) • GDP real growth rate: 6.5% (1996 est.) • Inflation rate: Consumer Price Index: 10.3 % (1996 est.)
Business characteristics • Hinduism dominates every aspect of Indian life, and often seeps into relationships and culture • Use of first name for address should be avoided • Attitude towards time is lax, with most people being complacent about the the provision of service • Bargaining is part of the business culture • It is appropriate to chart the dimensions of the contractual agreement in order to have a document to refer to over extended periods of time. • Business and personal lives are kept separate
Conducting Marketing Research in India • The biggest problem is that of accuracy and reliability, which are lacking in marketing research studies. • The role of market research as a tool in determining the feasibility of product innovations and applications has been on an increase. • The problem with telephone is that the infrastructure is not adequate and expensive to construct or develop. • The problem with mail surveys is the size of the population and the lack of good consumer databases. • The development of the internet as a tool in market research has not significantly impacted India.
Resistance to Marketing Research • The Indian market is a sellers market, hence it is difficult to • conduct market research • Businesses in India does not recognize the integral role of of • market research and believe that it is a cost best not undertaken. • The emphasis on secondary data collected by trade associations is • considered to be adequate.This shows a degree of complacence on • the part of companies. • Some executives perceive marketing research to be the answer to • the firm’s problems.
Country characteristics • Population: 125,732,794 (July 1997 est) • Land Area: 374,744 sq. km • Languages: Japanese • Literacy Rate: 99% • Religion: Shinto and Buddhism(84%), other (17% - including Christian 0.6%) • GDP: Purchasing power parity: $2.85 trillion (1996 est.) • GDP per capita: Purchasing power parity: $22,700 (1996 ) • GDP real growth rate: 3.6% (1996 est.) • Inflation rate: Consumer Price Index: 0.3 % (1996 est.)
Cultural Characteristics • The Japanese’s purchasing behavior is centered on the vendors selling the product than the product in itself. • Product purchase is dictated by the association to the company rather than for usage of the actual product • Price-quality association is prevalent • Despite being competitive, the Japanese believe that inter-company dealings are advantageous and often relate to competition on a personal basis.
Business Characteristics • The role or the purchaser is important and the retail industry should be able to cater to this need. • One should never be too direct with a Japanese • Japanese society and workplace are both very collectivistic • The Japanese perceive uncertainty to be part of their business culture • The concept of time to the Japanese extends tot the number of years they spend in a company. • The construction of contracts are not based on written agreements, rather on verbal agreements.
Conducting Marketing Research in Japan • Door-to-door interview is a major data collection method in • Japan although the use of telephone and internet is increasing. • Sometimes mangers are unwilling to discuss their company or • their employees because of the space constraint in Japanese • offices which forces them to work in cubicles. • Several Japanese companies are looking at cost efficiency as a • main prerogative in determining the kind of survey research • method to employ. • There is a growing reliance on qualitative means of • measurement versus the quantitative aspect would mean that • companies rely on the provision of value-added services by • marketing research firms.