International Business

2 Pages 567 Words

ADCP International Marketing/Special Studies

1. a. Customers are the focal point of all marketing activities. Organizations have to define products not as what they make or produce but as what they do to satisfy customers. Marketing Barbie dolls would require a marketer to consider the socioculture of its consumers. Sociocultural forces are the influences in a society and its culture that bring about change in attitudes, beliefs, norms, customs, and lifestyles. There are three issues that need to be addressed in decided who will purchase a Barbie doll in international markets. First, there are constant changes in population demographic characteristics-age, gender, race, and ethnicity. The U. S. has entered into another baby boom, with 76 million Americans aged 18 or younger. Other nations may have this same occurrence and this information would help in directing attention to those areas that have a high representation of children wanting a Barbie doll. Another population trend is the increasing multicultural nature of U.S. society. The number of immigrants into the United States has steadily risen during the last thirty years, thus, the emergence of cultures emulating the U.S. Another thing to consider would be the modification of marketing practices to reach ethnically diverse customers to eliminate language barriers. Second, cultural values need to be addressed so that marketers can try to monitor changes in consumers’ needs for Barbie dolls and its products (clothes, accessories, etc.) in the near future. For instance, Barbie dolls were very popular when I was younger (not that I played with them, I had a sister) and today, they are not because of increased competition of other toy and doll makers. Video games have also become very popular in favor of toys. b. When marketing beer internationally, a marketer may have to consider the political/legal environment of the country they are trying to solicit. Some politic...