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Consumer market research in Asia has come a long way in ten years, boosted by Western-trained Asian professionals returning home to apply a very "Western" concept to a very different environment. In the past, marketing strategies in Asia have had to encompass a very broad sweep. Traditional market research methods like telephone and mail surveys returned almost useless market data, with major obstacles including language and ethnic differences, poor mail and telecommunication infrastructures, and geographically spread populations (e.g. China). Add to that the problem of targeting consumers that can actually afford the product or service in a regions characterised by low incomes and the pioneers of marketing and market research in Asia were true heroes! The last decade however has seen massive increases in wealth and infrastructural development, as well as the rise of an Asian middle class, traditionally the high-value market for marketers. Discretionary personal income has risen, and places like China have seen a completely new breed of new consumers, well documented by Piset Wattanavitukul's China: Awakening Dragon column. These factors have combined to create a vibrant Asian marketing and market research profession, and the results of their work are now starting to return valuable intelligence on the Asian consumer. Take for example the work of Geng Cui and Qiming Liu, entitled Regional market segments of China: opportunities and barriers in a big emerging market, Journal of Consumer Marketing; 17: 1 2000; pp. 55-72.
As one of the big emerging markets, China's enormous population and rapid increase in consumer spending have attracted many multinational corporations (MNCs). Meanwhile, the misconception of China as a homogeneous market often leads to difficulties in assessing market demand and enacting effective strategies. Examines the diversity among Chinese consumers across seven regional markets. Data from a national survey suggest that consumers from various regions are significantly different from one another in terms of purchasing power, attitudes, lifestyles, media use, and consumption patterns. MNCs need to take a cautionary approach when expanding into the inland regions, and must adapt to the local market conditions and devise sustainable strategies.China's emergence is relatively new, and the temptation is still to view the Chinese consumer market starting and ending in the Southern centers, Shanghai, and Beijing. Yet as the above authors reinforce, the inland region provides the most rewarding markets in the long term (and you have to take a long-term view in China). Piset Wattanavitukul refers to China's Golden West, in a clear analogy to the opening up of the West in the US so many years back. The authors breaking down of the market into 7 regions, each with their own consumer characteristics is a ground-breaking example of the use of geographical segmentation. It's also a smart view - there is considerable evidence that in China, more so than the great majority of other markets, geography is so significant to be a key starting point in segmenting and targeting this giant market. Youth marketing has been a focus of the APMF for quite a while, clearly because in the West, youth is such a high value market. A C Nielsen's work on Thai teen consumer behaviour, provides some illumination on the Thai case, as does McCann Erickson on Malaysian teens in general and their Internet behaviour. Thomas Tan Tsu Wee, in An exploration of a global teenage lifestyle in Asian societies, Journal of Consumer Marketing; 16: 4 1999; pp. 365-375, argues that though teenagers in Asia are certainly influenced by Western media, to assume that they have the same spending power as Western teenagers is a dangerous practice. Our own research and research reports from Ogilvy and Mather are confirming that Japan is seen as the fashion centre for many Asian teenagers (Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore in particular) and trends often start there, (as they do for world wide trends - take the Pokeman and Hello Kitty rages for example.) So we have Asian teens influenced by a complex mix of East Asian, Western and their own cultures. Add to that the greater influence of familial ties on Asian youth, though the "independence" trait evident in Western youth is fast taking hold, and Asian teens are a very different market altogether. Regressing even further back to the womb, James U McNeal and Mindy F. Ji in Chinese children as consumers: an analysis of their new product information sources, Journal of Consumer Marketing; 16: 4 1999; pp. 345-365 report a "first attempt" at research into this topic, concluding that Chinese children's experience of consumer items are influenced by "...parents, retail outlets, and the mass media, and surprisingly they consider the newest medium, television, to be the most important of all..." Some excellent empirical work from Malaysia is also available this week. Anusorn Singhapakdi, Mohammed Y.A. Rawwas, Janet K. Marta, and Mohd Ismail Ahmed in A cross-cultural study of consumer perceptions about marketing ethics, Journal of Consumer Marketing; 16: 3 1999; pp. 257-272 who argue that marketers must take into account "...consumers' culturally-based ethical values.." based on a survey comparing Malaysian and US consumers. Other feature articles this week include a case study on Green marketing in Thailand, differing marketing ethics in Malaysia, and Chinese consumers' perception of alpha-numeric brand names. Clearly our understanding of the Asian consumer, as difficult as that may be due to the diverse nature of the different markets, is improving every year as professional and academic market research utilises more sophisticated techniques to extract more reliable and valid data. From there we can develop marketing strategies that can not only target Asian consumers more effectively, but reduce the advertising clutter to those who don't need it - an important consideration in a region where messages are getting increasingly cluttered.
Asian-American consumers as a unique market segment: fact or fallacy? The Asian-American consumer group is thought to be the fastest-growing market in the USA. Asian-Americans are thought to be well-educated, generally affluent, and geographically concentrated. However, significant cultural and language differences among Asian subgroups are often overlooked. These include patterns of information gathering, use of promotional media, and methods of household decision making. This article presents a comparative marketing examination of the similarities and differences among five of the largest Asian-American groups and develops implications for marketing strategies.
Keywords: Consumer behaviour, Market segmentation, Consumer marketing, Ethnic groups
Regional market segments of China: opportunities and barriers in a big emerging market As one of the big emerging markets, China's enormous population and rapid increase in consumer spending have attracted many multinational corporations (MNCs). Meanwhile, the misconception of China as a homogeneous market often leads to difficulties in assessing market demand and enacting effective strategies. Examines the diversity among Chinese consumers across seven regional markets. Data from a national survey suggest that consumers from various regions are significantly different from one another in terms of purchasing power, attitudes, lifestyles, media use, and consumption patterns. MNCs need to take a cautionary approach when expanding into the inland regions, and must adapt to the local market conditions and devise sustainable strategies.
Keywords: Market segment, China, Multinationals, Consumer behaviour
A cross-cultural study of consumer perceptions about marketing ethics Given the ever-increasing globalization of economies, growing numbers of marketing firms are expecting more of their profits to be derived from international sales. Global competition is ferocious; thus, developing long-term partner relationships often becomes a significant competitive advantage. Corporate ethics are of pivotal importance in global business, though globalization also complicates ethical questions, because an individual's culture affects his/her ethical decision making. Failures to account for the effects of differences in consumers' culturally-based ethical values will hinder a marketer's efforts to expand internationally. Compares consumers from Malaysia and the USA in terms of their perceptions of marketing ethics situations, their attitudes toward business and salespeople, and their personal moral philosophies. The survey results reveal some significant differences between the consumers from these two countries.
Keywords: Consumer behaviour, Corporate policy, Ethics, Globalization, Malaysia, USA
An exploration of a global teenage lifestyle in Asian societies Many articles have appeared about teenagers as a social and consumption group in various countries, especially in the West, emphasizing the teenagers' lavish purchases of a great variety of goods, in particular branded products. Many marketers assume that a similar marketing mix and strategy would be correct to take in all their markets. However, the truth is far more complex and this article attempts to show this by drawing on empirical and secondary data from a wide variety of sources. Concludes that each generation of teenagers has its own global culture shaped by the familiar Western themes and values brought via the mass media. In addition there is the national culture and shared historical experiences which can only heighten social and cultural complexity in understanding the consumer culture of teenagers.
Keywords: Consumer behaviour, Lifestyles, National cultures, Young people, Brand image, Asia
Chinese children as consumers: an analysis of their new product information sources The research reported here was a first attempt to determine where Chinese children as consumers learn information about new products and their attitudes toward different sources of information. Chinese children's usage of the mass media was also examined, as was the relationship between mass media usage and information sources. The findings show that Chinese children utilize a wide variety of information sources to learn about new products including parents, retail outlets, and the mass media, and surprisingly they consider the newest medium, television, to be the most important of all. The effects of gender, age and family occupation were also considered. Some important marketing implications are suggested.
Keywords: Children, China, Consumer behaviour, New product development, Productinformation
Green marketing of cosmetics and toiletries in Thailand Use of traditional cosmetics and toiletries manufactured from herbs and plant extracts has been popular in many Asian countries. However, green marketing of these products is rather recent. Encouraged by the growing environmental consciousness on the part of citizens and a growing market for cosmetics and toiletries, several global and local companies have entered Thailand. An international company, The Body Shop, and a local company, Oriental Princess, have employed green marketing strategies to build their customer base in the Thai market. Using case research method and questionnaire-based surveys, an attempt has been made in this paper to analyze the green marketing strategies of these companies and their impact on consumer attitudes and brand loyalty. The research shows that that the two companies have made honest attempts to adopt green marketing strategies. However, Thai customers consider non-green attributes more important in making their purchase decisions. The two case companies have been able to create favorable attitudes and enjoy a high degree of brand loyalty.
Keywords: Brand loyalty, Consumer attitudes, Cosmetics, Green marketing, Marketing strategy, Product attributes
Chinese consumers' perception of alpha-numeric brand names
Swee Hoon Ang Two studies were conducted to examine Chinese consumers' responses to alpha-numeric brand names. Results to the first study found that certain letters and numbers were considered to be luckier than others. The lucky letters and numbers were A, S, and 8, while the unlucky ones were F, Z, and 4. Reasons for the perceived luckiness of the numbers were based on homonym and phonetics; while for the letters, they were based on the association with the educational grade and position in the alphabet. In the second study, the results showed that products with lucky alpha-numeric brand names were perceived to be luckier, and have better quality and greater success than those with unlucky brand names. Additionally, brand names with a lucky number were perceived more favorably than those with a lucky letter even though the accompanying letter/number was unlucky. Offers theoretical and managerial implications and suggests directions for future research.
Keywords: Brand names, Chinese, Consumer
Spousal influence in consumer decisions: a study of cultural assimilation Spousal influence in the decision-making process for purchasing consumer goods has been extensively investigated in the academic literature. There have been few studies, however, that have looked at this issue in a cross-cultural context, especially that of cultural assimilation. Reports the results of a cross-cultural study of consumer decision making for 16 product categories across three different household samples: US nationals, Indian US immigrants, and Indians living in India. Two major conclusions emerge: the three groups differ significantly in extent of spousal influence: and, in general, the immigrant group is found to be positioned between the American nationals and the culture they left behind, lending credence to acculturation/assimilation theories.
Keywords: Consumer behavior, Decision-making unit, Family life, Immigrants, National cultures, USA
Multilevel marketing: what's the catch? Examines multilevel marketing in the light of the relationship between the would-be seller and his/her prospective "downline". States that people promoting multilevel marketing praise it as an opportunity of a lifetime with no catch. Claims that there is indeed a serious catch: the conventional process of promoting this so-called opportunity to friends and virtually everyone else in someone's circle of acquaintance, is, for the most part, unacceptable in western society. Maintains that truly determined sellers may well make money, but most will not, capitulating rather in the face of rejection ranging from disinterest to serious disapproval and resentment of the matter having been raised at all. Shows the conventional defenses raised by proponents of multilevel marketing to be seriously flawed if not quite spurious.
Keywords: Multilevel marketing, Selling
The future of consumer branding as seen from the picture today Today's high-technology, global marketing environment has made consumer product information available across national boundaries. Explores how six multinational consumer product firms (Colgate-Palmolive, Kraft GF, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble, Quaker Oats and Unilever) maintain, change or adapt different brand names for identical or similar products. Field research was conducted in supermarkets, medium-sized grocery stores, department stores and drug stores from 1993-1995 in 67 countries on five continents. Brand and country data were utilized to identify global, regional, spillover and single country brands. Additional information was collected on country of origin as well as point of sale. Product and brand distribution were analyzed by firm and product type. Less than 1% of brands were global brands (those found in 90% or more of the countries surveyed). Procter & Gamble has the most global brands, with 8% of the brands studied distributed in 50%; or more of the countries. The majority of brands (50-72%) are available in three or fewer countries.
Keywords: Brands, Consumer marketing, Field research, Global marketing, Multinationals
As always we have only skimmed the surface of relevant articles this week and only those that are particularly relevant for Asia-Pacific managers. Many other articles are available as well including those focusing on other countries and international perspectives.
Running Focus Groups in Asia: A practical step by step guide on focus group administration and answers to common questions on focus group research in Asia.
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