Cultural skills necessary for multinational and global marketing
With innumerability already established, let us turn to basics. The following is a universal truth: communication is the ruler by which we measure relationship. This is perhaps the most fundamental challenge for multicultural marketing (the sum whole of communication). However, there are no phrase books, machine translations or handheld translators for the nonverbal (yet ). Here we have to work with what we have, which essentially is constituted by personal experience, leveraging (through employment or otherwise) the indigenous citizens and/or the still developing collections of such information as it exists online (Executive Planet, Kwintessential, etc.)(“Executive Planet“, 2010)(Kwintessential Ltd, 2010). To the degree to which the communication is clean and complete, to that degree the playing field is even. And, that is just getting to “even” (other citizen-like).
The cultural skills necessary to develop such an internal database necessarily marry the acquisition of the dataset just referred to in the preceding paragraph, along with practice. Naturally, practice does not occur in a vacuum. Other fundamental skills that inform practice itself will include the degree to which one has established (or is establishing) other soft skills.
Integrating the various skill sets that constitute professionalism, relationship expertise and the like, such as being hyper-vigilant and being able to make sense of the relationships one is witnessing (between person(s) and person(s), person(s) and thing(s), etc.). Such studied and weighed visual acumen necessarily considers nuance and differences from one configuration to the next. A similar heightened sensitivity applies to listing skills. Naturally, seeing and hearing are not separate, and need to be understood as contributing to each other.
Some kinesthetics are graphic, and consequently readily available through online secondary research; such as never exposing the sole of your foot anywhere throughout Asia (a serious insult). However, see if you can find anything on burping in Indonesia. The likelihood is that you will not, and it is impolite. Such an eructation in China, at the end of a good meal, is a compliment, for which online secondary research is well established. Herein lies the need to acknowledge that what is true in one part of Asia is not necessarily true in another, and if there is no readily available research do not assume.
Differences in Asian and American cultural priorities (and ways to minimize their effects)
Whether we are speaking of Trompenaars, Hofstede or the like, the broad-brush stroke does indicate some significant differences, particularly as regards individualism and long-term orientation.
From a marketing perspective, however, can one stumble across such information call it a day (?) - certainly not. While there is not one country in Asia that comes close to the individuality metric quite like the US, the further one goes west in Asia the higher that ranking goes. Long-term orientation, by contrast, varies as well without adhering to any pattern in particular.
One weighing consideration was ways to minimize effects of this infinite menu of nonverbal communication. This writer will have to presume that the origin of the question is derived from a space seeking to avoid errors, embarrassments and the like (we do not wish to actually minimize any expression as such). This boils down to preparing yourself as well as possible through every available means that a cost-benefit analysis will afford. Typically, this includes any possible travel, embracing the culture wherever one can find it (restaurants, societies, houses of worship, etc.), ripping public library CDs for regular future and ongoing audio exposure (typically language CDs to mp3 players) and all possible research (both on and off-line).
Conclusion
Do your homework, research and whatever else you can to shrink the knowledge gap and what this writer is coining as “the being gap”. Cull all the ways (and alternative ways) of expanding this new being skill.
Among the most endearing qualities of humanity is that no matter where you are, we have more in common than we do not, and across most cultures (including throughout Asia and the US) we tend to be forgiving - especially if the newcomer is making a sincere effort.
The phrase, “don't worry, be happy” comes from a larger quote that serves well here, attributable to Avatar Meher Baba, the larger quote goes: “Do your best – then don’t worry, be happy.”
References
Executive Planet. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.executiveplanet.com/index.php?title=Main_Page
Hofstede, G. (2009). Geert Hofstede™ Cultural Dimensions. Retrieved from http://www.geert-hofstede.com/
Kwintessential Ltd. (2010). Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette - Japan - Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette - Sweden. Retrieved September 25, 2010, from http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/
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