Culture and consumer behaviour

Published Date: 23 Mar 2015

When we consider the word "culture" it carries a lot of weight and history. We feel it but find it very hard to explain but it affects our behaviour. Hence culture is a good starting point to understand how people behave and how people are expected to behave. If we look from point of view of marketers, for them to develop an effective marketing strategy they should have a sound idea on what drives their target market and in this scenario culture plays prominent role . So, it is worthwhile to get an understanding of the underlying culture and the cultural values. This study looks into what culture and cultural value are, how product demand or consumption is affected by the culture (particularly in context of Sri Lanka) as well as how culture should be assessed when developing a marketing strategy.

I see Culture as a combination of values and norms which affect the behavior of individuals which has the distinct features of the particular religions and history of that particular society, community or sub group.

According to Shiffman, Kanuk, and Kumar (2010) the culture is defined as the sum total of learned beliefs, values, and customs that serve to direct the consumer behavior of members of a particular society. Accordingly, beliefs refers to accumulated feelings and priorities that individuals have about things, whereas values differ from beliefs because they are relatively few in number, they serve as a guide for culturally appropriate behavior, they are enduring or difficult to change, they are tied to specific objects or situations and they are widely accepted by the members of the society. And finally Customs refers to overt modes of behavior that constitutes culturally approved or acceptable ways of behaving in specific situations.

The importance of culture is considered so special because it links people and their value systems.

Having an understanding on the aspects of culture, I would have to state that culture moulds people to what they become and deciding on what they want and how they behave in a cultural context. Before moving on to the heart of the study it is worth while to obtain an understanding of the Sri Lankan culture and values and what has molded them over the years.

Culture in Sri Lanka.

Current cultural diversity in Sri Lanka is owed to its rich history. The Yaksha and Naga tribes Civilized before 300 B.C. using agriculture and irrigation, Nourished from the Buddhism in early 2nd Century B.C. and also influenced by Indian invasions and going through Portuguese, Dutch and British rule, Sri Lankan culture is diverse like it's natural heritage. 

In the early 19th century, the British rule introduced democracy, modern education, legal and commercial agriculture system. Now Sri Lnaka is a mirror of it's own ancient and modern cultures which is diverse from it's cities to far villages across the tiny island.

Sinhalese and Tamil are the most widely spoken languages in Sri Lanka, with around 74% of population can speak in Sinhalese, while more than 18% can speak Tamil. Muslims also speaks Tamil as their main language. The colonization started with the Dutch followed by the Portuguese and finally long standing ruling by the British had an impact on the languages, as well as opening the history to the international trade. In addition to Sinhalese and Tamil, English is also used by the Sri Lankan population which was concentrated to urban areas are now expanding to rural areas with the more prominence to English given in the education system. English is commonly used for commercial and official purposes.

Sri Lanka with a multi-religious and a multi-ethnic country where Buddhists accounts for approximately 69.1% of the population, followed by the Hindus with around 7.1% of the population. Also inherited from India, Hinduism too has a long and rich history in the country. Most Hindus are Tamils and they account for a majority in Northern Sri Lanka, as well as in the Eastern, Western and Central regions of the country.

Islamic community accounts for around 7.6% with a majority domiciled in the Eastern and Western regions; as well as around 6.2% followers of Christianity. Having a healthy 92% literacy rate where 83% of the population having secondary education and rank Sri Lanka on top among developing nations. The complex ethnic and religious mix of Sri Lankan society and also traditions and rules from colonization have given rise to a highly complex mixture of laws which include Roman-Dutch Law, English common law, , Kandyan, and Jaffna Tamil law (Thesawalamai Law).

Sri Lanka is a country rich with culture and cultural diversity. Its people live their daily lives very close to their religious beliefs and their families. Hence, whatever the product that a marketers are confronted of promoting , they will have to take the Sri Lankan culture and cultural values to be a major influencing factor to the success of the product.

. Cultural values.

Ssocieties have values that are shared by its members. The values emphasis those objects, conditions that those members consider important. Values are more related to the norms of a culture, but they can be found to be more abstract than norms. For example raising of the national flag during nationally significant occasion or a holiday or even in the case of a wedding is a norm, where as it also shows the value of patriotism. In the recent past patriotism has taken a new wing particularly with successful war and now it has extend to trading and commercial world with theme "Buy Ours" (Ganna Ape De). Therefore this new trend has major bearing on consumer behaviour. Dressing with white or dark clothing and appearing solemn are normal behaviors at a funeral and they reflect the values of respect and support of friends and family. Different cultures reflect different values.

Why is cultural values so important? The cultural values of a community give it a unique identity of its own. People are the driving force of this uniqueness. Culture is shared among the people in the community. Culture is passed down from one generation to the other. It links people of a region or society together. The customs and traditions the society follow, the clothing they wear, the festivals, the food they eat, and importantly, the cultural values they follow, binds them.

Product Analysis of products and services and on how Sri Lankan cultural values affect their consumption.

First we will get a brief understanding of Sri Lanka as a Customer. Following information has been obtained from the Annual Report of the Central bank of Sri Lanka 2009. The population statistics can be summarized as follows,

Mid-year population ('000) in 2009 : 20,450

Age distribution ('000) 2009

0 - 14 yrs : 5,378

15 - 64 yrs : 13,784

65 years and over : 1,288

Also the Per Capita income is hovering around USD 2,400 and is expected to double corresponding to the GDP growth by 2016.

Having an understanding of what culture is, what cultural values and the Sri Lankan culture we will now evaluate how those aspects have influenced the consumption of several products and a service in the Sri Lankan market.

Herbal Soaps:

Sri Lankan culture is very much related to the nature. All most all the aspects of the Sri Lankan culture are linked with the wonders of the nature. Ayurvedic medicine is treatment method unique to Sri Lanka and all Sri Lankans (particularly Sinhalese) know and have faith on its healing capabilities. We did not see herbal soaps in the market at the beginning, until few local manufactures saw the opportunity in herbal products. Then we saw even foreign brands like Lux and Lifebuoy taking up the herbal route since the herbal soaps prove to be profitable and attract the target market segment. Generally Sri Lankans value old things. Ayurvedic medicine has been practiced in Sri Lanka for thousands of years and people still have faith in it and values it. This has been used by various marketers and now we can almost get anything in its herbal format.

Child milk powder:

The bond between the mother and her child is cherished and valued in almost in any civilized culture. When considering the modern era the state of that bond in Sri Lanka and South Asian countries is stronger than in many countries. The bond between the child and the mother is built mainly through the nurturing aspect of that relationship. In the Sri Lankan context it is believed that there in nothing more vital to child than the love and warmth of a mother and mothers milk. Breast feeding is fading away in many European countries, but in Sri Lanka it still holds strong. Sri Lankan mother generally breast feed their children for at least one and half years. In this context child milk powders have an enormous challenge because it is widely believed that there is no replacement for breast milk. Hence, what the marketers approach has been to place the product as a supplementary which provides the nutrition and protection from deceases. If it were to come as a replacement the product wouldn't have survived for long. This situation also facilitated with the increase in working women in Sri Lanka but culturally Sri Lankan women are mostly expected to be housewives and to take care the children.

Automobiles:

Sri Lanka has been using automobiles since the period in which British were in power. First automobiles seen on the Sri Lankan roads were European made. But now we can see automobiles from India, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea, Taiwan and so on so fourth and also the assembly of vehicles was commenced in the recent past. At first also European vehicles were used by the higher end of the society and it is as it is and now also European vehicles are driven by upper class people in the country. Those vehicles are priced higher and can be afforded by only those people. But when the Japanese entered the market, they came up with economical vehicles that can be afforded by the middle class people as well. There is strong belief among the Sri Lankans still that if one wants to buy a good vehicle with quality, fuel economical consumption, durability and moderately priced they would first select the Japanese vehicles among other countries made vehicles. This attitude is proven by the high prices in the second hand market for Japanese vehicles. European vehicles are relatively less valued in the second hand market. Hence the demand for Japanese vehicle is geared by that beliefs among the Sri Lankan people that a Japanese vehicle is economical and gives value for money. We rarely see advertising to sell Japanese vehicles but the demand is there. But we have recently seen Indian brands promoting their vehicle to be the most economical but still we cannot see the demand for Japanese vehicles going down. Indian vehicles are more or less treated like inferior goods.

Pain relief balms:

Sri Lanka having a rich heritage in Ayurvedic medicine, people were used to applying Ayurvedhic oils and pastes to their every day bruises. The recipes and formulas have been passed down through generations and some recipes are household known facts. During the last decade or two we saw the market bombarded with various balms to be used for bruises and to relive pain. Wintegino a famous UK brand can be highlighted for usage among the people and now sprays (other than balm) with the same effect can be seen in the market. However, it is a known fact that Siddhalepa a product which has its roots in the Ayurvedic medicine tops all such balms and oils in the market by sales, and it has been doing this for decades. The secret of this success is the faith that Sri Lankan people have on Ayurvedic medicine which the effects have being proven over centuries. The people still has the faith (beliefs) that Ayurveda is the safest way of medication with minimal or almost no side effects. Siddhalepa is proven product with real Ayurvedic essence. Unless it is to be used in quick and convenient manner (in a sport event to be treated to injured players, where most likely a spray would be used) Ayurvedic balms are preferred by Sri Lankans where the demand is directly linked to cultural beliefs and rich heritage.

Banking services:

Sri Lankan banking sector was dominated by state owned bank till the 1980s. But when we really consider the facts we can still say that the case is same now also.

The middle aged Sri Lankans rarely go and deposit their money in a private banks or financial institutions, because they still have the belief and attitude that their money is more safe with a state owned bank than with a privately owned organization. They cannot be blamed of thinking like that considering the recent crisis in the financial institutions in the country. It was the state owned banks that stood tall under the local as well as the global economic crisis. Hence, the majority of the people have belief or faith that whatever the crisis encounter the government would pay their money back. Hence, the state owned banks Bank of Ceylon (BOC) and Peoples Bank (PB) uses their advantages as pioneers to draw people towards them and the main fact that they emphasis is the "TRUST" aspect. This trust has being built in to the perception of majority of the Sri Lankans and BOC and PB are felt as part of the Sri Lankan culture. The banks on the other hand have identified the changing environment and have developed marketing strategies to capture the modern Sri Lankans also. They are offering almost every financial service as and private bank and as the banks move down the cultural levels they have come up with more customized financial services to suit the customer needs. The demand for the state owned banks is geared by the cultural beliefs and can be expected to be there through the decades to come.

Analysis on how cultural values are important for marketing strategic decisions

Cultural value has to be considered in marketing and developing marketing strategies as they have a significant impact on the purchasing behaviour of the consumers. When does culture or cultural values influence consumer purchasing decisions? This is a complex and under-examined issue. Culture-based differences show up when information is processed in a cursory and spontaneous manner. So when you passed a roadside billboard, you will likely to be influenced by advertising that appealed to your particular culture.

When coming up with a marketing strategy for a product, it is important to understand the level of the culture of the market since behavior at different levels of the culture varies. Referring to the marketing context, the four levels of culture treated in the literature can be described as follows (Article by Dr. Katharina J. Srnka on Culture's Role in Marketers' Ethical Decision Making: An Integrated Theoretical Framework):

• Supraculture is shared by nations with similar economic systems and development, ethnicity, religion, etc.

• Macroculture is shared by people of the same nationality, origin or country of residence

• Mesoculture is shared by groups or communities, e.g., a professional group or industry, within a macroculture

• Microculture is shared by smallest social collectivities, e.g., the organization, family or clan

Figure 1 :

Four Levels of Culture Based on a Marketing Perspective

Source: Article by Dr. Katharina J. Srnka on Culture's Role in Marketers' Ethical Decision Making: An Integrated Theoretical Framework

As we move down the cultural levels the approach of the marketer needs to be customized to the target market, because when we move down the number of people in that level comes down as well as the detail of their preferences increases.

It is not possible to assess the impact of a consumer's respective cultural background on marketing strategies in general, because the specific elements of the marketing- mix, i.e., 1.product, 2. place, 3. price and 4. promotion strategies, are all more or less affected by culture.

Pricing, which is the first element of the marketing- mix, refers to decisions about the actual product price the consumer has to pay and considers production costs, as well as the consumer's willingness to pay, which might especially be affected by his or her cultural background. The willingness to pay represents the valuation of products. Since consumers learned during the process of which products they should approve of and which they should not, the culture influences the appreciation of certain products as well as the willingness to pay. On the other hand, decisions concerning pricing interact with the economic development of a country. Hence, cultural background might serve as a determinant of the target market and pricing mechanism.

In the context of distribution policy (place), culture might also be important to differentiate between several target markets, even if the characteristics of the culture do not have a direct impact on decisions concerning product distribution. Nonetheless, different cultures have to be considered when distributing products because consumers from different cultures have different buying habits in terms of preferring hypermarkets, supermarkets or peasant markets. For example, in Sri Lanka liquor is prohibited to be sold near any religious place due to the strong religious following in Sri Lanka. The preferences for different retail formats might partly be due to the economic development of the respective cultural area. Thus, cultural background has to be taken into account when distributing products, but the differences between cultures that are of interest for decisions on distribution policy are observable, which makes it easier to consider these differences in product distribution.

The third element of the marketing- mix, product development, is much more affected by the consumer s' cultural background. As the consequences product attributes are perceived to bring about and the values which should be satisfied differ according to the consumer s' cultural background, culture has to be considered in the development of products. Otherwise, products are not in accordance with what the consumers expect the products to be. Moreover, products which are preferred in certain usage situations such as religious ceremonies vary because of culture. As an example, the PIZZA HUT had pizzas made out of all meats namely chicken, beef, pork and mutton. However, Muslims due to religious preaching do not eat pork and also do not turn up in places where pork is served. Accordingly, PIZAA HUT has now stopped serving pizza made out of pork and got certification from All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama Committee.

The fourth element of the marketing- mix is the development of communication strategies (promotion) which broadly consists of Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) tools such as advertising, promotion, personal selling, direct marketing xxxxx. If a company wants to communicate that its product is particularly appropriate to certain usage situations, it is not satisfactory to only observe consumption patterns, it is also necessary to get to know the reasons for culture - specific consumption habits. Hence, in order to convince consumers of the appropriateness of certain products, it is of major importance to know the reasons why consumers prefer some products over the others. Usually, IMC strategy must consider differences in languages (e.g. the translation of adages and different meanings of words in the same language, but different cultures), differences in infrastructure (e.g. diffusion of television and the worldwide web) and legal parameters (e.g. comparative advertising). Differences in culture and their impact on the development of communication strategies is our main interest. The interdependency between culture - specific buying motives and the development of communication strategies is due to the main elements of culture (1. symbols, 2. heroes, 3. rituals, 4. values). These culture - specific elements often are used in several parts of the communication strategy as a whole. For example, direct marketing probably is affected by culture, because culture influences people's personality and hence has an impact on different manners, such as the style of greeting and the interpersonal distance kept. As advertising plays a major role in a company's communication strategy and is affected by all kinds of cultural elements, advertising especially has to consider cross - cultural differences. As an example the "Avenger" men's perfume advertising included that after applying the perfume the person appeared for the advertisement become violent or very emotional with girls. However, this promotional strategy was not successful as it was not culturally acceptable. Also the recent advertisement on Provado, an agro chemical produced by Heyleys Agro Products Limited, has an advertisement for which famous musician Mr Sunil Perera appeared had double meaning phrases and there were many complaints against from all levels related agriculture industry and hence the certain parts were edited and the new version is probably acceptable.

Conclution

If a marketing strategy is able to influence the behaviour of a potential customer in manner that makes potential customer in to a actual customer (makes him buy) the marketing strategy can be judged to be a success. To do that effectively it is required to understand what makes people behave in the manner they do. Especially their buying behaviour. Many studies have proven the behaviour of a person is mainly influenced by that persons culture and the cultural values that person holds dear. According to this study it is clear that the demand for some identified products are created by the influence of cultural aspects pertaining to Sri Lankan culture. Further it can be stated that a successful marketing strategy adopted in Sri Lanka needs to address and conceder the cultural diversity and uniqueness aspects in the Sri Lankan culture to influence the Sri Lankan customer purchase those products or use those services in a continuing manner.

Bibliography

Department of Senses and Statistics (http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/Pop_Chra.asp - retrieved on 20th January 2011)

Rewerts Astrid and Hanf Jon Article on Culture and Values - Their Relevance for Marketing Strateg ies 2006 (http://free.pdf-download.org/Marketing+Strategies+for+Central+and+Eastern+Europe-pdf-3.html - retrieved on 17th January 2011)

www.wekipedia.com - retrieved on 16 January 2011