7BSP1271 Marketing Across Cultures Assignment Sample
Executive Summary
The present report deals with global market analysis for a Small medium enterprise namely, CaféPod Coffee Co., which is currently operating in the market of the UK and plans to extend its operation further in the global market. This report is presented to the line manager of the company highlighting all the factors which are associated with global marketing. Moreover, identification and critical evaluation has been conducted that denotes potential impact of culture which may directly influence the overall marketing strategy and tactics of the SME. Four most relevant marketing mix elements or strategies that includes product, price, place and promotion has been indicated along with 4 cultural theories like theory of Hofstede cultural dimension, Trompenaar cultural theory, Schwartz cultural theory and culture model of Edgar Schein. Through these marketing strategies and cultural theories effective ways to plan the future proceedings of the company in relation to the cultural value and beliefs of the target customers has been stated, at the end of the report reasons for adapting these theories has been reflecting besides providing recommendation for the next three years.
1. Introduction
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are referred to as those companies, which comprise very limited employees and generate a minimal turnover over the year for the sustenance of the business in a significant area. However, SMEs contribute around 90% of businesses in the world and play an extensive role in developing countries to boost country’s economy (World Bank, 2021). In this assignment, CaféPod Coffee Co., which is an SME in the UK, will be considered to evaluate and analyse the global marketing strategy. Furthermore, several elements and theories will be considered to mitigate the cultural issues that the company may face due to the cross-cultural differences among various people in the company.
2. Company background
CaféPod Coffee Co. is an independent coffee crafting business, which was established in London in 2011, with its headquarter in Portsmouth GB. The company was founded by entrepreneurs Brent Hadfield and Peter Grainger whose main aim was to bring forth happiness into the lives of people on a daily basis and furthermore to help them thrive in the bustle, the hustle and the daily grind (Cafepod, 2021). The products, which the company deals with, are significantly different varieties of coffee. The number of employees involved in value creation of the company is more than 17 and increasing constantly with their expansion planning. Presently, the company offers the taste of their rich coffees through different stores, supermarkets and online platforms like ASDA, Amazon, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and others.
3. Select 4 marketing mix elements or strategies
CaféPod presently deals their business through the B2B channel where they offer their products to customers through a third party medium like supermarkets and online stores. CaféPod Coffee seeks to satisfy and exceed its standard among consumers rather than just focusing on participating in the market the competition. Thus, by implementing the marketing mix, which consists mainly of the 4 P’s: Product, Pricing, Place, and Promotion, and is further examined in the next section.
Product
CaféPod has come to recognition after their extensive quality of products starting from essence to the texture and smoothness to the duration, the organisation blends and provides balanced and flawless flavoured coffees. They even offers robust and creative mixes for those who like to get more out of their days, what it may entail, from breakfast to the corporate world. They provide six different tasty combinations to select from Intense Roast, Supercharger Espresso, Ristretto, Brunch Blend, Decaf Espresso and SW18. All these range of coffee was created by Q Graders, who are the actual specialists in the field of coffee (CafePod Coffee Co, 2021). The Q Grader Certification is the most well-known and respected accreditation in coffee production. The reason behind their success in making the ultimate flavourful and authentic tasted coffees was the way they roast their coffee beans. They choose to roast their coffee beans longer, slower, and darker, which enhances the flavour and intensity of the taste. The darker the roasting will be the more there will be an intense flavour of caramel and chocolate in the outcome. However, there is need of focusing on the green coffee segment, as it is one of the healthiest options in coffee beverages. In this relation, the green coffee market is expected to reach 407 million by the year 2025 with 10.68% of CAGR (WBOC, 2021).
Place
CaféPod is found to be available in the departmental stores, online stores, and supermarkets as well. Along with this, they have positioned their products in huge retailer houses like Amazon, Asda, Sainsbury, Tesco, and Waitrose & Partners which reflects their placing strategy to be an effective one (CafePod Coffee Co, 2021). As they are available both in-store as well as in the online channels therefore, makes it convenient for the company to gain customer presences. These days, it has become important to consider the placing marketing strategy because the trends keep on changing in the case of the marketplace. 57% of the consumer feels that online shopping is most convenient and 31% of the consumers love to visit stores, which suggest that being available in both the channels will be beneficial for the organisation to attract most of the consumers (Bedgood, 2018).
Figure 1: Reason consumers purchase online instead of in stores
(Source: Bedgood, 2018)
Price
CaféPod Coffee recognises the importance of price in a customer’s buying choice. Their approach is to charge less than their counterparts do in order to gain a larger portion of the market share (CafePod Coffee Co, 2021). However, the top competitors of CaféPod Coffee are identified as Nespresso Coffee and Tassimo. Apart from this, all these corporations are food and beverage organisations and the market segment will be exactly the same like CaféPod. Furthermore, the organisation has been witnessing to offer 45% off and several coupon codes as well.
Promotion
A primary issue have been identified in CaféPod Coffee, which shows that the organisation has very slowly emerged in technological innovation along with poor marketing problems. Promotion needs to be effective to attract most of the opportunity (Anwar and Climis, 2017). Therefore, the organisation needs to take steps to access the market possibilities along with understanding the needs of consumers. Furthermore, the organisation can significantly improve their social media presence. In this context, the following figure will highlight the use of social media of coffee brands.
Figure 2: Type of post of coffee brands in social media
(Source: Kordzadeh and Young, 2020)
4. Cultural theories
Hofstede Cultural theory
The theory of Hofstede cultural dimension comprises five key dimensions, which can be extensively beneficial for the company to thrive among the different cultural variations among the people. The five cultural dimensions can be referred to as individualism-collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, and masculinity-femininity. Different dimensions of the theory can be used by the company in dissimilar cultures of the society (Andrijauskienė and Dumčiuvienė, 2017). It is becoming significantly crucial to manage people with different cultures within the company. Such as, if the company wants to open a new coffee store in a new place which has lower level of power distance then the company needs to frame such policies which are more transparent for the employees. This is because they would want to be indulged in every sort of thing due to the existence of lower index of power distance in that respective location.
Figure 3: Hofstede’s cultural dimension
(Source: Business to you, 2017)
Furthermore, the company can enforce more innovations and technological changes when the culture has a lower level of uncertainty avoidance. In a culture of higher level of uncertainty, avoidance can create issues for the company to enforce new changes, as the people will be more restricted to changes (Gallego-Álvarez and Pucheta-Martínez, 2021). However, despite the cultural difference, a common goal needs to be introduced to give the people a clear vision of the objectives of the company.
Trompenaar Cultural theory
Trompenaar cultural theory has introduced seven dimensions of cultures, which can help the company to understand the cultural differences among the employees. The differences of culture are enriching and interesting; however, sometimes, things can go in other directions if the differences are not embraced and accepted in the right manner. Therefore, with the seven-dimension theory of Trompenaar, the company can be benefited by getting the understanding of working with different people from different cultures more efficiently and effectively preventing misunderstandings (Pîrlog, 2017). The seventh dimensions can be referred to as universalism versus particularism, specific versus diffuse, individualism versus communitarianism, neutral versus emotional, sequential time versus synchronous time, achievement versus ascription and internal direction versus outer direction. This theory can be massively beneficial when working with people from around the world or if the company wants to form a group with diverse people (Mind tools, 2021). The theory also highlights that no culture is better than the other, people from different cultures only make choices differently. Therefore, strategies must be adopted for providing recognition, titles, and rewards so that it comes into notice. For other culture of ascription, certain beliefs prevail, as people must be valued according to their status rather than their sole performances. Therefore, in such cultures, titles must be strictly used for people with status in the organisation and other such strategies must be implemented for working in synchronicity.
Schwartz Cultural theory
Schwartz cultural theory has depicted seven dimensions of culture namely embeddedness which states status quo, which mainly focus on avoiding inclinations of individuals that might disturb the order of traditional systems. Furthermore, harmony mainly focuses on protection of the environment, keeping the world at peace. On the other hand, in the theory egalitarian commitment has been mentioned which states to reach beyond the selfish interests and come forward towards the helpfulness, equality and social justice (Guo et al. 2020). The theory along with the others describes a culture, which refers to intellectual and affective autonomy that states to have curiosity and creativity within the people and stimulation of excitement within the people of the company respectively. Different cultures have different kinds of people; therefore, CaféPod Coffee needs to analyse the culture and decide on the basis of what will work best in that set of people. Application of appropriate theory is necessary to work peacefully with diversified employees working together within the company. Different locations in the world have different cultures, mastery can be seen in a certain set of people belonging to a certain culture with beliefs of putting active efforts to modify the surroundings and get ahead of other people. In such cultures, proper objectives and goals need to be set to ignite their urge to compete and eventually bring efficiency to the company (Heim et al. 2017). On the other hand, a culture can also believe in hierarchy with a legitimate role of hierarchy and allocation of resources, for these sets of people, proper instructions need to be given which can be followed by the employees.
Edgar Schein culture model
Organisational culture is referred to as the beliefs, values, set principals, policies, as well as ideologies of the organisation. In the culture model of Edgar Schein, the culture of the workplace is focused more rather than analysing the cultures of different people, as the model depicts that the organisational culture can be extensively responsible for interaction of employees with each other beyond the company. The cultures of organisations are adopted with time by procuring the experiences and sharing thoughts and ideas (Coghlan, 2021). There are three levels in the model, which can be utilised by CaféPod Coffee in order to set their organisational culture. These include artefacts that are tangible and can be viewed such as office furniture, dress code and others. The other level deals with the values of the employees, which are intangible and certainly constitutes a huge part of constituting an organisational culture. On the other hand, the third level includes the assumed values of the employees, which are often hidden but play a major role in the cultures of the organisation.
5. Reason for why and how these theories may need to be adapted
Issue 1: Marketing issues
Considering the nature of the business of CaféPod Coffee there might be marketing issues in a global context that will certainly obligate the company from expanding in future. For instance, reaching out to the target customers can turn out to be a great problem special in terms of cultural differences that are present in different markets. It is also found that the company presently operates through the B2B medium and have no direct link with the customers. Thus, making the company come into the B2C field of operation they need to have definite idea on customers’ cultural values and definition. The market communication campaign of an organisation needs to suit the various cultural differences to successfully communicate to the consumers regarding the overall value proposition (Zhou et al. 2021).
Different markets have different cultural attributes and it becomes essential for the organisation to address this equality. For instance, the products and services that are offered by the company are also dependent upon the cultural acceptance of consumers. CaféPod Coffee sells both coffee and fast food; hence, it becomes essential to market their products effectively in countries where the preferences of consumers towards coffee and similar references are quite specific (Khosrow-Pour, 2019). Consumers in some countries prefer coffee that is bitter; however, in some countries consumers prefers coffee that is a little sweet. Similarly, there are countries where consumers prefer coffee with milk whereas in other countries consumers prefer black coffee that has no added milk or sugar. As a result, not only the marketing but the products and services that are offered by CaféPod Coffee also need to change and adapt to various market and consumer needs that may differ from their regular market demand. Adding to that, there are also pricing aspects linked with consumer preferences. Consumers in some countries prefer premium pricing as a result of their higher purchasing power whereas there are countries where consumers might not prefer a premium pricing strategy (Midgley et al. 2017). As a result, CaféPod Coffee needs to adopt a flexible pricing strategy depending upon the needs and preferences of consumers in different markets.
Issue 2: Slow adoption of technology
Adoption of technology is another aspect that can affect the overall marketing campaign of CaféPod Coffee in the global context. In terms of technology, marketing campaigns have become much more reliant on social media platforms and other online channels that help organisations to communicate and engage with their consumers in a more effective manner (Zaveri and Amin, 2019). As a result, in countries where the adoption of technology is slow the engagement rate with consumers would also be slow with the help of online platforms for market communication. Apart from that, adoption of technology also affects internal organisational culture, for instance, adoption of technology needs to be according organisational mode of operation. Therefore, it becomes essential for the company to train the employees of the company to adapt their skill sets to the increasing technological needs (Saiz-Alvarez, 2019).
Moreover, the technological adoptions of a company also need to suit the technological adaptations of the consumers. In this regard, it can be stated that countries that have a more developed technological infrastructure have consumers that are more advanced in terms of using technology in the purchase and utilisation of products and services. There are countries where consumers prefer more online purchases whereas there are countries where consumers prefer purchasing with cash, therefore such preferences can affect the marketing of the company, and the organisation needs to adapt accordingly (Sariningsih et al. 2021).
Issue 3: Employee management
Employee management is another aspect that can affect the overall marketing plan of an organisation and in this regard, it is essential for CaféPod Coffee to maintain internal integrity of the company. In terms of cultural aspects, the power distance within the organisation needs to be lower as this would help in achieving a less bureaucratic organisational environment in which employees can work freely without being suppressed by the hierarchy (De Bellis and Johar, 2020). Organisations that have a highly critical organisational management tend to motivate the workforce, which on the other hand, leads to lower productivity and lack of job satisfaction. As a result, it is necessary for organisations to ensure that the power distance within the company’s culture is at a level that promotes employee engagement and motivation. Moreover, organisational culture also has dimensions such as individualism and collectivism that promotes teamwork and individual work. Being a coffee shop, it is essential for CaféPod Coffee to promote teamwork as well as individual work in terms of achieving the organisational goals and objectives that may be different for individuals who are having different specifications; thus, need to be trained differently. Adding to that, masculinity and femininity is another issue within the organisational culture that can affect the overall marketing communication strategy (Clavijo-Olmos, 2018). It has been seen that marketing communication often fails due to its nature of being gender-biased. Gender biased attributes within an organisation also reflect on the overall marketing communication strategies and this can lead to a degrading organisational reputation. In terms of global marketing communication, companies cannot afford to lose their reputation as it harms the overall engagement with consumers especially when companies are trying to engage new customers. Therefore, the above-mentioned cultural aspects need to be thoroughly assessed by the company before involving in any kind of marketing communication strategy.
Issue 4: Cultural communication barrier
Global market communication strategies also face the barrier linked with cultural communication where language gaps turn out to be a major issue for companies. It becomes essential for the organisation to identify specific languages and communication means in different markets and develop their market communication campaign accordingly (Dewi and Kusumawaty, 2019). For instance, the regular market communication campaign of the organisation is in English; therefore, to suit the requirements of the French or Italian market the company needs to modify their marketing communication plan.
Apart from that, cultural communication barriers might also arise within the organisation and therefore cultural diversity within a company can become difficult to manage. In this regard, CaféPod Coffee needs to be much more inclusive in terms of adapting to various cultural differences present in foreign markets so that intercultural communication does not become a problem for the internal management of the company (Gikunda et al. 2021). In terms of cultural communication, CaféPod Coffee can also face deliberate barriers or difficulties in convincing consumers regarding the products and services offered by the company. For instance, market communication strategies that are more specific regarding the products and offerings are preferred by some consumers are there as some consumers look forward to the aesthetics and overall appeal of the marketing communication strategy. Therefore, preferences vary and companies need to suit accordingly.
6. Conclusions
From The above study, it can be concluded that the company of CaféPod is a new company, which is seeking to establish its presence into the competitive market of the country. Furthermore, the company is looking forward to adopting several marketing strategies such as the product, pricing, place, and promotion for reaching to the far extents of the market. On the other hand, the development of the company has been seen to be reaching to a positive height through the application of several theories which would be extremely beneficial during the times when the company would indulge different diversified people around the world into their company.
7. Recommendations for the next three years
In relation to the above analysis of Cafepod coffee, several recommendations are being generated below which will allow the corporation to operate effectively in future.
- It is recommended that the organisation needs to plan and strategize their marketing approach that will contribute to their success and accountability
- The organisation should improve their management system that will effectively reduce the issues and challenges along with prioritizing the taste more effectively
- The corporation should build a buyer persona which will relate to the products they are serving along with resolving the marketing issues
- In order to adopt the technological innovation along with attaining all the related benefits the organisation needs to align their strategy with technology
- It is recommended that the organisation need to adopt a communication policy along with setting a clear expectation which will effectively resolve the employee management challenges
- Furthermore, the firm should monitor their employees with performance management tool which will help in managing distraction along with preventing unavoidable challenges and threats
- Diversification is the most important segment that should be followed by CaféPod Coffee in terms of products as well as training employees
- CaféPod Coffee needs to make a concerted effort to overcome the cultural barriers through understanding different culture and religions
8. References
Andrijauskienė, M. and Dumčiuvienė, D., 2017, October. Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and national innovation level. In DIEM: Dubrovnik International Economic Meeting (Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 189-205). Sveučilište u Dubrovniku.
Anwar, K. and Climis, R., 2017. Analyzing the relationship between types of advertisement and customer choice: a study of retailer stores in erbil. The International Journal of Accounting and Business Society, 25(2), pp.43-52.
Bedgood, L. 2018. 25 Stats on Consumer Shopping Trends for 2019. [Online] Available at: <https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.business2community.com/consumer-marketing/25-stats-on-consumer-shopping-trends-for-2019-02175812/amp> [Accessed on 5 December 2021]
Business to you, 2017. Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions. [Online]. Available at <https://www.business-to-you.com/hofstedes-cultural-dimensions/> [Accessed on 5 December 2021]
CafePod Coffee Co, 2021.CAFEPOD COFFEE CO. – CRAFT COFFEE – ESTABLISHED LONDON 2011. [Online] Available at: <https://www.cafepod.com/> [Accessed on 5 December 2021]
Cafepod, 2021. CAFEPOD COFFEE CO. – CRAFT COFFEE – ESTABLISHED LONDON 2011. [Online]. Available at <https://www.cafepod.com/pages/our-story> [Accessed on 5 December 2021]
Clavijo-Olmos, S.B., 2018. Breaking language and cultural barriers: A key to improve stakeholder relationships of SMEs. In Handbook of research on intrapreneurship and organizational sustainability in SMEs (pp. 73-94). IGI Global.
Coghlan, D., 2021. Edgar Schein on change: Insights into the creation of a model. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 57(1), pp.11-19.
De Bellis, E. and Johar, G.V., 2020. Autonomous shopping systems: Identifying and overcoming barriers to consumer adoption. Journal of Retailing, 96(1), pp.74-87.
Dewi, N. and Kusumawaty, Y., 2019. Consumer Attitudes Towards Imported Canned Coffee Beverages in Riau Province, Indonesia: Alternative Marketing Strategies of Structural Model Approach. In Breaking Down Language and Cultural Barriers Through Contemporary Global Marketing Strategies (pp. 216-231). IGI Global.
Gallego-Álvarez, I. and Pucheta-Martínez, M.C., 2021. Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and R&D intensity as an innovation strategy: a view from different institutional contexts. Eurasian Business Review, 11(2), pp.191-220.
Gikunda, R.M., Ooga, D.M., Okiamba, I.N. and Anyuor, S., 2021. Cultural barriers towards women and youth entry to apiculture production in Maara Sub-County, Kenya. Advancements in Agricultural Development, 2(2), pp.73-85.
Guo, C.J., Warkentin, M., Luo, X.R., Gurung, A. and Shim, J.P., 2020. An imposed etic approach with Schwartz polar dimensions to explore cross-cultural use of social network services. Information & Management, 57(8), p.103261.
Heim, E., Wegmann, I. and Maercker, A., 2017. Cultural values and the prevalence of mental disorders in 25 countries: A secondary data analysis. Social Science & Medicine, 189, pp.96-104.
Khosrow-Pour, D.B.A. ed., 2019. Breaking Down Language and Cultural Barriers Through Contemporary Global Marketing Strategies. IGI Global.
Kordzadeh, N. and Young, D.K., 2020. How social media analytics can inform content strategies. Journal of Computer Information Systems, pp.1-13.
Midgley, G., Nicholson, J.D. and Brennan, R., 2017. Dealing with challenges to methodological pluralism: The paradigm problem, psychological resistance and cultural barriers. Industrial Marketing Management, 62, pp.150-159.
Mind tools, 2021. The Seven Dimensions of Culture. [Online]. Available at <https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/seven-dimensions.htm> [Accessed on 5 December 2021]
Pîrlog, A., 2017. Analysis of the Dimensions of National Culture in the Republic of Moldova According to Fons’ Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner’s Model. In Simpozionulştiinţific al tinerilorcercetători (pp. 161-165).
Saiz-Alvarez, J.M., 2019. An Entrepreneurship-Based Four-Helix Model to Overcome Language and Cultural Barriers. In Breaking Down Language and Cultural Barriers Through Contemporary Global Marketing Strategies (pp. 1-21). IGI Global.
Sariningsih, Y., Dinihayati, E. and Gunawan, U.P., 2021. Organizational Cultural Barriers In Eradicating Poverty Through E-Warong KUBE PKH. Journal Sampurasun: Interdisciplinary Studies for Cultural Heritage, 7(1), pp.28-32.
WBOC, 2021. Specialty Green Coffee Market Growth 2021, By Size, Share, By Trends Evaluation, Global Growth, Consumer-Demand, Consumption, Recent Developments, Strategies, Market Impact and Forecast till 2025, Says Industry Research Biz. [Online] Available at: <https://www.wboc.com/story/44094702/specialty-green-coffee-market-growth-2021-by-size-share-by-trends-evaluation-global-growth-consumer-demand-consumption-recent-developments-strategies> [Accessed on 5 December 2021]
World Bank, 2021. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Finance. [Online]. Available at <https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/smefinance> [Accessed on 5 December 2021]
Zaveri, B.N. and Amin, P.D., 2019. Global Marketing Strategy in Digital Era: Global Online Presence. In Breaking Down Language and Cultural Barriers Through Contemporary Global Marketing Strategies (pp. 103-112). IGI Global.
Zhou, S., Blazquez, M., McCormick, H. and Barnes, L., 2021. How social media influencers’ narrative strategies benefit cultivating influencer marketing: Tackling issues of cultural barriers, commercialised content, and sponsorship disclosure. Journal of Business Research, 134, pp.122-142.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Know more about UniqueSubmission’s other writing services:
