Introduction
The brand image of a company is important in achieving higher sales because consumers readily purchase products which have a good reputation. Brand image is attached to the culture of the company and it is important for the stakeholders of a company to develop corporate cultures which are consistent with the national cultures.
Companies operating in the global markets have a big challenge to identify the cultures of different cultural groups so that they can achieve better market positions. The global markets have become turbulent and there has been a great need to establish brand cultures that are acceptable by many customers (Freeth, 2008).
For example, the computer industry has been very competitive and this has forced the existing companies to adopt strategies which will improve their market position. Apple is a company in this industry that has been able to develop differentiated products and has developed its brands to match the cultural needs of the consumers.
This strategy has increased the sales volume of the company and Apple has been able to sustain the stiff competition in the market (Parsons & Oja, 2009).
Building brand culture
A brand is the perception that consumers have about a particular product. To build a brand name requires filing consumers with experiences about the product. It takes time to develop a good brand image to the consumers. Brand is a psychological aspect that is reinforced by experiences about a particular product for a given period of time.
Customers identify with brands which have a good history of performance in the market. Consumer loyalty is embedded on brands that they admire and they tend to re-buy such products because they have developed a good image about them (Parsons & Maclaran, 2009).
According to Parsons and Maclaran (2009), culture is a set of values, norms, beliefs, tastes and customs that people practice. Culture can be divided into small subcultures which become separated by invisible boundaries.
National cultures represent the customs of a large group of people and there is need to identify subcultures in a nation so that each group is represented in the entire marketing process. Subcultures define the type of products that certain people consume.
The national culture cannot be used to define the specific cultures of the people in a country. However, some countries have few subcultures and the application of national cultures becomes easier (Parsons & Maclaran, 2009).
There is a strong attachment between brand image and the cultural aspects of the consumers. Marketers need to address contradictions about certain brands that consumers have about brands being offered in the market.
There are myths that consumers have about brands in the market and it is important that marketers identify these myths so that they can drive a positive image about the products being offered in the market.
Changing myths about a product is a task that requires setting proper strategies which will lead to the adoption of the products by the consumers. Changing the myths about a product requires learning the cultural practices of the consumers so that they the marketers can change the perception the consumers have about the brands (Beverland, 2009).
It is important for companies to have a clear idea about the brand requirements and the cultural attachments of the consumers. Consumers interpret brands in different ways and there is need to understand the cultural aspects of different consumers so that a company can capture the specific brand needs of the consumers they are dealing with.
There is need to shift attention from producing brands with no cultural attachment to the manufacture of brands which are cultural sensitive.
The brand culture of a product is developed from self concepts and performance identities. When a brand has a history of good performance, consumers tend to develop a culture that will lead to adoption of such products (Schroeder, & Salzer-Mörling, 2006).
Cultural icons are developed in the market and consumers compare the performance of other products with particular brands in the market. According to Parsons and Maclaran (2009), a cultural icon is something that is used as representative symbol such that consumers tend to admire such a thing.
Brands which have a good history of performance are used as the reference brands and consumers will always compare the performance of other brands with such products (Beverland, 2009).
Consumer collectives
There are different consumer groups in the market and there is need for marketers to identify the specific groups of consumers so that they can develop products which match their needs. Identify consumer niche is an important aspect that marketers should do to improve their sales volume.
A market niche is a group of consumers with specific needs and their needs are not fully satisfied. Consumers in a particular market niche have different cultural needs and there is need to develop better strategies of satisfying their needs.
Identifying the brands which satisfy the needs of a consumer niche is important in developing better markets for a company. It is important for a company to identify the culture of a market niche they are targeting so that they can develop products which satisfy their needs to the maximum (Muniz & O’Guinn, 2001).
Consumers in a subculture have similar characteristics and they will behave in the same manner. As such, people in a particular subculture will have the same demand for the commodities in the market.
As such, consumers in a subculture admire almost the same brands of products in the market. They have a shared consciousness for specific brands in the market (Muniz & O’Guinn, 2001).
Gender and consumer brand culture
The role of gender differences has been identified in the advertising and promotional strategies of products. This has been applied in the development of consumer brand culture such that women have been associated with beauty products while men have been associated with products which show strength and power.
Companies target specific groups of consumers when they are advertising because different gender groups have different tastes and they will prefer products which express the cultural attachment. Adverts are designed to attract the attention of potential consumers and they should be designed in a manner such that they capture the attention of the specific groups being targeted (Davis, 2009).
As such, several stereotypes have been developed about different gender groups and this requires marketers to attach the specific gender aspect in the adverts they make. For example, women who are considered to be wealthy and of high class are stereotyped to be complicated and stylish.
As such, adverts focusing such group of consumers will be designed in a manner that they will imply that the products are stylish and that they fulfill the needs of the consumers (Grimm, 2008).
According to Grimm (2008, para. 4) “women are supposed to be aware of the fact that they are constantly on display for others to critique. Women are supposed to put time and effort into the way they look” (Grimm 2008, para. 4). These stereotypes have been developed by people and are reflected in the consumer behavior.
As such, women will be observed to be very sensitive about their looks more than men. The outward appearance is highly appreciated by women and products which create the best looks will have high demand for women. In the female world, beauty is a basic aspect that must be focused by the marketers especially when carrying out promotions and adverts.
To be more categorical, city women have different tastes compared to women from the rural areas. Women from the rural areas are stereotyped to be more family oriented and they are said to have a greater sense of household products.
Women from the city are stereotyped to be materialistic, independent, and money-oriented. Therefore, marketers should identify the specific group of customers to address depending on the type of products they are offering to the market (Grimm, 2008).
There is an increasing gender appeal in the advertising of products and this requires marketers to identify the gender roles and cultural attachments of different products being offered in the market. However, adverts never fulfill the emotional needs of the consumers because people desire to have similar feelings as expressed in the adverts.
For example, an advert about a person wearing an expensive jewel is created to make an appeal to potential consumers about the need to feel great. This feeling may not be felt by the consumers who buy such products, thus adverts may sometimes create a false impression.
It has been a consumer brand culture to attach the feelings expressed in adverts to the emotions of consumers when they are busying specific products (Grimm, 2008).
Case study: Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is a company that specializes in the manufacture of computer software and computer hardware. In the recent past the company ventured the market for electronics and this strategy has led to the development of products such as the iPhone, iPod and other electronic products.
Apple has dominated the music industry by developing music players. The company has been able to sell its products to the international community by adopting online retail marketing as well as establishing retail stores in different countries.
Steve Jobs is the president of the company and he has been able to develop better strategies which have made the company successful in the global market.
Despite stiff competition in the global market, Apple Inc has been able to overcome this competition by establishing differentiated products and matching the consumer demand to the products manufactured by the company.
The culture of the company has been very favorable in developing innovative products which are readily acceptable in the global market. Steve Jobs established the culture of leadership and the use of new technologies to develop products which are innovative (O’Grady, 2008).
The employees of the company are provided with an environment which is suitable for developing innovative products and this has been a major competitive strategy which has led to the development of better manufacturing and marketing processes.
For example, in the recent past, Apple penetrated the music industry by introducing products which match the market demand. The company has sold many iTunes and iMovie products and this was achieved after the management realized the high potential in music industry.
Apple has been able to sell a lot of music products by the use of online and retail stores. The company has been able to develop effective marketing strategies which have captured a lot of consumers in the market (Ireland, Hoskisson & Hitt, 2008).
Building brand culture
To build a brand culture, Apple has developed a strong research and marketing team that conducts research about the consumer culture and values. The company has penetrated the global markets and there has been a great challenge about learning and operating in a multicultural market environment.
The company has been able to develop a strong brand name in the local and regional markets. Apple enjoys a high level of consumer loyalty because many people have been able to adopt the products of the company.
Both individual and corporate consumers are targeted by the company and this has led to the adoption of the products of the company in many countries (Kahney, 2005).
The brand culture of Apple products is based on innovation and this has been a major aspect that consumers attach to the products of the company. The management of the company has encouraged the employees to come up with innovative technologies so that they can differentiate the products offered in the global markets.
Apple has been able to develop differentiated products and this has been a competitive strategy that has made the company overcome the stiff competition in the market. Competitors such as Microsoft, IBM, Dell Companies have been a major stabling block towards the success of Apple (McGrath, 2001).
These companies have dominated the market for a long period even before Apple was established. Due to their long history in the computer market, they have been able to develop a strong market foundation such that other companies which enter the market find it challenging to win the demand of the customers.
After establishing Apple Company, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak developed a culture of innovation such that other companies were unable to compete successfully in production of products similar to those of Apple.
The company has experienced several challenges especially about consumer acceptance and cultural differences in the different markets in which the company operates.
To overcome these challenges the management of the company has been able to come up with policies of capturing consumer loyalty for the brands offered in the market and in the recent market situation, Apple has the highest level of consumer loyalty.
This aspect has improved the competitive position of the company and the management has established strategies to maintain (Ireland, Hoskisson & Hitt, 2008).
Knowing the national culture of a country is very important to the management of Apple Inc. because it helps develop marketing strategies which are suitable for specific markets. In most cases the national cultures represent the subcultures for the products sold by the company.
Therefore, the existence of subcultures does not affect to a great extent the sale of the products of Apple. The management identifies the national cultures of the countries they operate in so that they can decide how to approach such markets.
Culture has impact on the sale of music and Apple has employed people from different backgrounds so that they can sell the products of the company according to the cultural practices of the consumers.
The company has embarked on the strategy of employing the nationals of a country in which they operate. This strategy has helped reduce cultural conflicts that may arise due to cultural differences (Royer, 2005).
The brands of Apple Inc. have become an icon in the market such that people have started identifying these products as a representative of other products in the market. Iconicity of Apple products is explained by the high consumer loyalty for such products in local and global markets.
Apple has dominated the music industry and this has made the company improve its image. Apple has become an icon in the establishment of online music industry because the company has been able to sell a lot of its products through this system.
Apple has established the myth of creativity and innovation in the computer industry. It is through its innovative strategies that the company has been able to create products with a high demand in the market (O’Grady, 2008).
Consumer collectives
Tiffany & Co. is a company which provides a good example of brands with a specific consumer group. The company specializes in the manufacture of jewels and other beauty products. Most of the consumers of the products of the company are women.
There is a general perception in the market that the products of the company are expensive and that they depict a certain class. Women have associated the brands of the company with class and as such people wearing products of the company are highly respected (Grimm, 2008).
On the other hand, Apple has developed products for specific consumer groups in the market. Apple has been able to target almost all the consumer groups in the market by diversifying the range of products offered in the market.
Product diversification and differentiation have been strategies which have been adopted by the company and this strategy has been successful in achieving more sales. The company has manufactured many products which are sold in different markets.
The company does not only focus on the corporate customers but also individual consumers. This strategy has increased the sales because the company has been able to achieve consumer loyalty for most of its products (Kahney, 2005).
The iPod and iMovie products have targeted the young generation and this has made the company to achieve great sales because this group of consumers has been very responsive to the products. On the other hand, the iPhone, MacBook and other new computer hardware products have focused on the educated people.
Due to the increasing number of educated people in many countries, computer products have gained an increasing demand in the recent past. Apple has developed products which match the consumer demand for these products and the company has generated more sales from such products (Sherry & Fischer, 2009).
Gender and consumer brand culture
Consumer brand culture has been expressed in the promotion of products for Apple Inc. apple has been able to identify the consumer needs and the company manufactures products which are appealing to different cultural groups as well as different age groups.
It has been a stereotype that modern music targets the youths more than the old age. Apple has used these stereotypes to develop products such as iTunes, iPods, iPhones and iMovies which target the young generation (Hart-Davis, 2009).
This strategy has attracted a large number of consumers and the company has become very competitive in the sale of music products in the global market. The company sells music, movies and modern phones which target the young generation. A culture has been developed such that modern music is being sold over the internet.
To capture more customers, Apple has introduced online retail stores where consumers can access most of the products through online channels. There have been minimal influences on the gender roles in purchasing products from the company (Ireland, Hoskisson & Hitt, 2008).
Apple has used different strategies of marketing its products to different gender groups in the market. Women have the purchasing behavior of associating with classy brands.
This purchasing behavior has also been displayed in the sale of music products. Women prefer music products which represent a certain class while men have different purchasing behaviors depending on their background and life experiences.
Conclusion
Brands are developed to satisfy the needs of the consumers. Developing a strong brand image is a great challenge to many companies and requires investing a lot of resources. There is a positive correlation between a brand image and the culture of the customers.
To establish a strong brand image it is important for the management of a company to identify the cultural needs of the people. Apple is a company that has been successful in the implementation of modern technologies.
The company has been able to establish competitive products by identifying consumer needs and fulfilling these needs by adopting modern technologies in the production of their products. Apple has penetrated into the music industry by identifying the cultural needs of the consumers in different countries.
The management of the company should continue doing a lot of research about the products and their cultural attachment in various markets so that it can maintain its market position.
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