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A Comprehensive Study on Marketing Practices in Kuwait and the USA - Report Example

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This report "A Comprehensive Study on Marketing Practices in Kuwait and the USA" explores the dynamics of Kuwaiti marketing practices and strategies in comparison to the United States to determine what activities and processes were similar and which were incongruent…
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Marketing Practices in Kuwait versus the USA: A Comprehensive Study BY YOU YOUR SCHOOL INFO HERE HERE Table of Contents INTRODUCTION AN EXPLANATION OF MARKETING CONGRUENCY CONGRUENCY IN MARKET SEGMENTATION CONGRUENCY IN PSYCHOGRAPHICS AND POSITIONING CONGRUENCY IN DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY CONGRUENCY IN CERTIFICATION AS A MARKETING ADVANTAGE EXPLORING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT DIFFERENCES EXPLORING DISPARITIES IN SERVICE MARKETING CONCLUSION EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Marketing products and services in Kuwait, in many ways, is quite similar to that of the United States. In both nations, revenues achieved by satisfying customers and gaining positive perceptions of the firm and its associated brands are important for competitive success and ensuring the longevity of the firm marketing its products and services. This report explored the dynamics of Kuwaiti marketing practices and strategies in comparison to the United States to determine what activities and processes were similar and which were incongruent. The research identified that segmentation strategies, brand positioning, the utilization of psychographics, digital marketing usage patterns, and the procurement of important certifications are common marketing practices in both nations. The most significant disparity in marketing strategies and practices in Kuwait and the United States included a very different perspective on the relevancy and importance of customer relationship management and how disparate marketers in both countries approach service quality and service marketing. The differences in marketing approaches appear to be founded on cultural value systems that differ from Kuwait and the United States as well as what constitutes business objectives in these disparate nations. The report concludes that while there are likely other similarities and dissimilar marketing strategies in these countries, the identified congruencies and differences represent the most fundamental points of comparison that are driving Kuwaiti and U.S.-based marketing approaches. Marketing Practices in Kuwait versus the USA: A Comprehensive Study INTRODUCTION Marketing consists of various processes which communicate product and service value to targeted consumers in the pursuit of increasing sales of these services and goods. Marketing is a type of business science through which market analyses provide the foundation for understanding consumer behavior which effectively aligns the business to provide consumers with increased perceptions of benefit (Kotler and Keller 22). It is a function that assists in satisfying consumer needs and expectations with an emphasis on building relationships with buyers in the sense of longevity. Companies that invest labor and capital investment into the marketing function can better engage desirable consumer segments, improve the brand reputation and identify of the firm and its products or services, and improve revenue growth for the organization. In the United States, aligning the business’ service ideology, establishing product quality, and focusing on relationship management are some of the most fundamental considerations of a business in order to satisfy customers, retain them, and ultimately build loyalty toward the brand as a long-term method of building corporate equity. When comparing marketing practices in Kuwait versus the USA, there are many fundamental similarities, with only a few significant differences. Both countries recognize the importance of the marketing mix as tools to gain consumer interest and purchase commitment, the importance of brand management, and how to effectively position the business amongst competitors. However, it is the cultural differences between the individualistic culture of the United States versus Kuwait that makes some aspects of marketing strategy disparate between these two nations. This report identifies both the congruence of marketing practices and their disparities between Kuwait and the United States. AN EXPLANATION OF MARKETING CONGRUENCY In 1991, the U.S. military was instrumental in liberating Kuwait from the oppressive Iraqi regime. In 2003, conducted polls indicated that Kuwaiti citizens maintained a very favorable attitude toward the United States (Meyer, Rizzo and Ali 292). The USA is now, as a result of continuing presence in the country, the largest product exporter to Kuwait. Kuwaiti consumers, therefore, are accustomed to American-oriented promotions and marketing communications, hence establishing the foundation for acceptance of Western marketing ideologies and practices. In fact, a 2008 study that recruited 150 different consumers utilizing a questionnaire instrument to measure ethnocentrism in Kuwait discovered that Kuwaiti consumers have very favorable attitudes toward foreign imported products (Ziemnowicz, Bahhouth and Zgheib 6). Hence, marketers often adopt common marketing strategies and practices as that of the United States and other Western nations (Ziemnowicz, et al.). With Kuwaiti consumers now sharing many of the consumer characteristics of the United States, it is not necessarily surprising that Kuwaiti firms seek many marketing ideologies that are prevalent in the USA. CONGRUENCY IN MARKET SEGMENTATION In the USA, proper segmentation of existing markets is a critical marketing function to determine which consumers are most likely to make purchases of American products and services. Consumers, who illustrate common needs and expectations, are segmented geographically, demographically, psychographically, by culture, or in relation to the benefits which are demanded by customers (Boone and Kurtz 216). Segmenting consumers as a foundational marketing strategy assists on determining what aspects of the marketing mix to focus on, determines the most effective distribution methodologies, provides important data that assists in market positioning, and assists in promotional strategy. In Kuwait, marketers must also segment consumers in order to properly target the most desirable consumer markets that maintain characteristics serving as predictors for making product or service purchases. For instance, consider a Kuwaiti producer of a luxury good. This marketer might utilize psychographic segmentation, founded on market research about lifestyles or attitudes, to identify the most viable and profitable Kuwaiti markets. Kuwaiti consumers believe themselves very fashionable and seek to impress others in the social environment by purchasing higher-cost and prestigious products (Rice 347). Furthermore, over 93 percent of Kuwaiti consumers are employed in the public sector which provides very lucrative salaries (Ramadhan, Hussain and Al-Hajji 415). Hence, a luxury product marketer might utilize demographic segmentation which segregates high resource consumers from lower-resource consumers. Psychographic segmentation, based on known or research-supported consumer attitudes, lifestyles and beliefs, might be utilized in order to capture the attention of markets that share values aligned with luxury product benefits. Hence, proper segmentation strategies which are quite common between Kuwait and the United States ensures that future promotions, integrated communications, and positioning are achieved that will be relevant and engaging for target consumers that have been identified as a result of segmentation strategy. Without segmentation in both nations, it would be quite difficult and likely an expensive venture without much return on investment to develop marketing strategies that will appeal to consumers. For instance, a luxury marketer that did not utilize proper segmentation strategies and simply distributes costly advertisements throughout an entire nation will be sending communications which are not relevant to all consumer segments that do not maintain the resources necessary to buy this product. This is why segmentation is so critical in both the USA and Kuwait: to ensure that all marketing-based expenditures and labor investments reach the most appropriate consumer audience. CONGRUENCY IN PSYCHOGRAPHICS AND POSITIONING Kuwait is a collectivist society, in which membership in an in-group is significantly important as a cultural trait. Concurrently, collectivist cultures are very concerned about the opinion of others in the social environment where saving face is a paramount need (Cheung, Cheung, Zhang, Leung, Leong and Yeh 83). Hence, once a Kuwaiti premium product marketer has determined which consumers maintain the resources to purchase higher-priced products, the business attempts to align communications and promotions which will have the most significant impact on Kuwaiti consumers that maintain characteristics related to conspicuous consumption. One marketing researcher utilizes the example of Kuwaiti Audi advertisements which illustrate successful businesspersons driving the luxury Audi automobile, creating psychological connections with target consumers that purchasing an Audi will make them successful in making important business connections (Rege 238). Hence, in Kuwait, maintaining an understanding of what drives consumer attitudes, values and lifestyle makes it more simplistic in determining how to effectively promote a product. If Audi were to focus on product in the marketing mix, such as showing luxury features, it might have much less impact on driving purchase intention than by showing relevant actors from the social environment (such as the successful, well-dressed business person). With the knowledge that many high-resource Kuwaiti consumers are concerned about their social status and social opinion, psychographics allow the firm to create advertising imagery and communications that create potent psychological outcomes and attract the consumer to the brand. Psychographics, or lifestyle marketing, is also highly relevant in the United States. One such example of success in aligning brand values with consumer lifestyle and values is the fast food chain, Wendy’s. Historically, Wendy’s maintained an image of traditionalism and family values. However, in recent years, this failed to capture the attention of a new generation of consumers which prevented this business from achieving dominance in the US fast food industry. Hence, Wendy’s realized that in order to capture the attention of consumers who value excitement and sophistication, Wendy’s repositioned the brand based on lifestyle to make it appear more chic and glamorous. Figure 1 illustrates this psychographic methodology and brand repositioning. Figure 1: American Wendy’s psychographic marketing methodology Source: Market Me Not. “Asiago Pressato Cheese”. January 7, 2014. Web. 17 October 2014. Wendy’s, having market knowledge of a more sophisticated fast food consumer segment, began investing more in research and development to create more fashionable products and using television advertisements to reinforce this values-based connection to the Wendy’s brand. This illustrates the congruency in marketing practices related to lifestyle marketing that is common in the US and in Kuwait: positioning a brand according to social or values-based attitudes in order to improve competitive positioning of the brand and revenue growth. The psychological and sociological characteristics of consumers are highly considered in both nations as part of marketing strategy development. The aforementioned example of Wendy’s brand repositioning in the United States was a dramatic change in established brand personality that was no longer relevant for a changing consumer market environment. For decades, the family orientation and quality-based positioning had made the brand appear stale and irrelevant to new consumer markets. Figure 2 illustrates the traditionalism that once was part of how Wendy’s differentiated itself from other fast food competitors prior to utilizing lifestyle marketing principles. Figure 2: Wendy’s traditionalism in promotional strategy Source: Logopedia. “Wendy’s”. 2014. Web. October 18, 2014. In both Kuwait and the United States, how to effectively position a business is critical marketing strategy to gain competitive advantages and ensure higher revenue growth in the sales of products and services. In many industries, Kuwaiti marketers are witnessing growth in competition with many companies offering similar products and services. Hence, it becomes critical to differentiate products using appropriate elements of the marketing mix (such as product quality, focus on the end user, or even convenience) to gain an important brand distinction in the saturated competitive market. This is true in both the US and Kuwait where competitive behaviors dictate how to effectively position a brand in the minds of consumers. CONGRUENCY IN DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY It is also becoming common marketing practice in both Kuwait and the United States to take advantage of digital marketing activities to effectively promote a brand or establish a brand personality. In 2009, the Kuwaiti penetration rate for mobile phones and Internet exceeded 150% (ITU 2). The United States, concurrently, 87% of consumers have Internet access and over 327 million subscribers to mobile phones. Hence, in both nations, distribution marketing communications and promotional materials via digital channels represents a new and profitable methodology for gaining consumer attention and building brand recognition or brand preference. The advantages of digital marketing in both nations are that it reduces dependency on external agents and allows a firm to market directly to the consumer at much less marketing-based expenditures (Godfrey, Seiders and Voss 97). Digital marketing practices are assisting in creating brand identities in Kuwait that give businesses opportunities to differentiate when they invest in this strategy. One such example is the Kuwait Finance House (KFH), a bank that operates under the doctrines of Islam. In a nation where nearly all consumers adhere to the Muslim faith, KFH has a variety of fundamental competitive advantages by operating under this faith-based code of business and ethics that positions the organization according to social and religious values of Kuwaiti consumers. KFH has established a digital marketing team which has developed a Quran app for smartphones in an effort to better engage with consumers (KFH 11). This company’s digital marketing team has also established a presence in social media (i.e. Facebook and Twitter) to provide more interactivity and consumer co-production tools to improve the reputation of this banking institution. This digital marketing approach provided opportunities for Kuwaiti banking customers to offer suggestions on how to improve service structure which led to over 800 different consumer responses that shed light into how KFH could better improve its call center operations and improve service speed (KFH 11). Businesses in Kuwait are realizing that it is worth the investment to reach consumers or promote their products and services via digital channels. The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has also established a digital presence and promotional strategy. This bank now provides consumers with the opportunity to conduct mobile banking activities whilst also sending target consumers information about various changes and improvements of the NBK business model. In the United States, digital marketing is a very lucrative activity for achieving brand differentiation, enhancing effective positioning, and conducting lower-cost promotional methodologies. Scoble and Israel (2006) insist that companies who provide channels to establish dialogue with important target consumers improve brand reputation and image as well as serve to humanize the business brand. One American-based product, Dove Soap, determined it could improve its brand image and better promote the value of the firm using a mobile marketing campaign. Known as the Dove Real Beauty campaign, the company utilized outdoor billboards of older women which maintained opportunities for consumers who viewed these advertisements to send texts to Dove to offer opinion about whether older women or younger women depicted in the billboards were representative of true beauty. This campaign gave the Dove website a whopping 1.5 million visitors (Bahadur 2) and served to create a solid linkage between brand values and consumer values in a way consistent with its intended marketing positioning for the soap brand. In the United States, it is becoming more and more common to deliver incentive coupons and establish sweepstakes associated with a product brand in order to entice more purchases of the products and allow for more relationship management with consumers. Yet another example of this digital marketing occurred with U.S.-based Axe brand body sprays for men. Consumers were delivered mobile images which illustrated an attractive women dressed in lingerie. The picture, however, did not maintain all areas of the woman’s body and users, in order to receive the missing pictures, were forced to send Axe a text to have these missing pieces delivered. The digital marketing campaign was effective as it was aligned with the brand values of the company (positioned around sexuality) and represented opportunities for male consumers to better engage with the brand. Axe also developed an integrated television-mobile advertising campaign which allowed consumers who texted a specific code to Axe to receive recurring “Hair Crisis Relief” texts from the organization in an effort to sell more Axe products (Butcher 1). Axe is only one example amongst a plethora of different companies and brands that are developing innovative, interactive and creative digital marketing strategies to expand brand presence and gain important psycho-social connections between consumer and brand. Hence, the examples of the banking sector in Kuwait and the many different brands that establish digital marketing campaigns illustrates congruence in both marketing strategies and practices for both nations. Companies in Kuwait and the United States are finding that better digital engagement with consumers provides considerable promotional opportunities to better differentiate one brand from its competition. These are lower-cost and excellent marketing communications channels to build brand preference or even brand loyalty by using communications that are aligned with consumer values and illustrate brand values as well. CONGRUENCY IN CERTIFICATION AS A MARKETING ADVANTAGE In both Kuwait and in the United States, it is becoming common marketing practice to seek out methods of justifying product quality as a means of expressing to consumers the benefits of a product or even the ethical stance of the business and its brand. As previously identified in this report, nearly every consumer adheres to the Muslim faith and its ideologies, a doctrine that strictly forbids adherents to consume meat products that are not halal, the consumption of meat that has not been slaughtered against the name of Allah, hence making them unacceptable to consume (Caner and Caner 2009). The fast food restaurant, McDonald’s, which is now a market competitor in Kuwait, has utilized a partnership, certification strategy to give the business more clout as it pertains to effectively satisfying the religious beliefs of many of the restaurant’s target consumers. This restaurant now promotes on product packaging, exterior signage, and other relevant promotional materials that the business is concerned about the needs of its consumers as it pertains to halal beef. Figure 3 illustrates this strategy. Figure 3: Halal certification for McDonald’s in Kuwait Source: Veeoz.com. “Veeoz 360 of this story”. 2013. Web. October 17, 2014. In the United States, this strategy is also prevalent and gives a brand a better reputation and establishes trust in consumer segments. Many different products marketed in the United States seek out certification strategies to gain competitive advantage. One major coffee house, Starbucks, illustrates to consumers its social responsibility efforts in improving international ecosystems and lifestyles of its agricultural partners across the world, through the Rainforest Alliance certification seal that is printed on packaging and other promotional items. Figure 3 illustrates the seal. Figure 3: Starbucks certification strategy for improved brand reputation for responsibility Other alliances common in the U.S. include many brands that want to express their compliance to World Trade Organization rules on fair trade, such as gaining the Fair Trade Federation Seal and ensuring that it is prominently displayed on packaging and other promotional tools. Research indicates that there is an international growth in a phenomenon known as ethical consumption, whereby consumers are more attracted in brands that illustrate strong values related to corporate social responsibility (Grande 1). In fact, a very recent study identified that when a brand provides consumers with the perception of a powerful ethical stance, they have much more favorable attitudes toward the brand than those companies who do not express this emphasis on social ethics (Oh and Yoon 285). Hence, in the United States, similar to marketers who market their products in Kuwait, are recognizing the many contemporary advantages of this certification as a differentiation strategy in the marketing function. One online news magazine identifies that there is even a growing trend in a phenomenon known as moral boycotting where consumers are starting to punish businesses that are not promoting significant ethical and moral standards and beliefs (GlobeScan 1). Both Kuwaiti marketers and the United States marketers are coming to realize the many advantages of adding certifications to their products as an illustration of compliance to various social expectations or quality-related inspections by relevant authorities. This gives consumers in both countries a sense of trust about the product and that it is superior in quality (both literally and in terms of social responsibility). With such a significant growth in ethical consumption as a driver influencing consumer behavior and purchase intention, the congruency of this approach appears to be a winning strategy in both compared nations. EXPLORING CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT DIFFERENCES Research identifies that business which focus on customer relationship management (CRM) serves as a predictor for greater customer satisfaction, customer retention, and even loyalty toward a marketed brand (Samanta 74). CRM consists of practices and policies that better engage with desirable customer segments, improving communications quality, and often utilizes technology to facilitate these interactions short- and long-term. However, in Kuwait, CRM maintains different characteristics and meaning to consumers as compared to the United States. Kuwaiti marketers tend to treat their consumer segments differently than in the United States. Businesses have greater influence in this market environment than that of consumers in some industries, especially those companies that maintain few competitors. When consumers buy products in a market where there is very little choice, they have little options but to purchase the product regardless of their emphasis on customer relationship management. Kuwait is a country that scores very highly on Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimension for power distance, which is the extent to which citizens accept a hierarchical order and where business leaders are often autocratic. This translates into the mindsets within many businesses in the firm’s view of the relevancy and control capabilities of the consumer. Many businesses that do not have significant volumes of competitors in Kuwait believe that the return on investment for well-defined, in-depth CRM programs will be unsuccessful (Payne 86). Hence, many Kuwaiti firms marketing products and services put less emphasis on customer relationship management as a viable and profitable business venture. In the United States, however, companies are very consumer-centric and even the smaller enterprise works to develop more effective CRM programs to gain consumer commitment and assist in providing data to alter the business model to better service consumer needs. One such example is the major pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, which has developed value-added CRM processes to satisfy, build trust, and retain important customers. Pfizer has developed a CRM system which allows its vendors to access Pfizer’s internal databases and other technology systems, which allows them to track invoicing activity and even submit electronic orders through self-service technologies (Pfizer 2013). Pfizer believes that by gaining the trust of important business-to-business customers, it can retain important vendor relationships and give the firm competitive advantages by better satisfying customers. Additionally, the automaker Volkswagen, in the United States, has invested considerable capital into developing an interactive web-based CRM system to better engage with important target consumers. VW partnered with a web development organization in 2009 which would provide a three-dimensional test-driving technology that allowed consumers to better engage with the Volkswagen brand. This expensive system as part of CRM allows consumers to view the car’s virtual interior and understand how certain features will impact performance of the vehicle upon delivery (Tribal DDB 2). The company, after launching this new interactive technology, experienced an increase of visitors to its corporate website from 500,000 to 1.4 million (Tribal DDB 2). Volkswagen realizes that younger consumers (its largest target segment) often utilize the Internet as a means of searching for products to consume. Volkswagen enhanced its customer relationship management focus, through high corporate expenditure and external partnerships, simply to illustrate that it believes consumers have more control over how the business services these markets and structures itself to remain relevant for satisfying consumer needs. Hence, it should be recognized that customer relationship management is a much larger investment for American firms and is considered more relevant for brand management than that of Kuwaiti marketers. This emphasis may change in Kuwait, however, as more industries become saturated with competition and consumer switching costs for defecting to another brand become much lower. EXPLORING DISPARITIES IN SERVICE MARKETING In many Kuwaiti businesses that market their services, activities performed to service the customer are integrated throughout the entire value chain without establishment of a command structure within the firm. Internal activities such as production, design and customer service are integrated within a single framework (Alfadly 237). There is an emphasis on establishment of vertical controls at many Kuwaiti firms which creates a detriment for effective integration of people and people relationships across all different organizational departments. Variability in these firms also impacts service quality. Hence, many Kuwaiti marketers do not recognize the importance of breaking away from traditional command structures (relevant in the centralized, high-control organization) which impacts establishing more people-centric quality control and service improvement ideologies. The fundamentals of economics and efficiency in a command-and control business environment appear to be more paramount than working toward innovative and creative solutions to improve service dynamics and service marketing strategies. This type of oversight has been recognized at the Sultan Center in Kuwait, a diverse product and service retailer, that impacts having a more intensive focus on service marketing improvement. For example, the Sultan Center, with such a strong focus on profitability and operational efficiency, has been criticized for withholding payments to vendors and delaying payments against invoices which has driven many vendors out of business. The Sultan Center is the most substantially-profitable account for many product vendors. The Sultan Center has lost many suppliers as a result of this apparent apathy toward more effective service marketing ideologies. It appears that many Kuwaiti businesses that market their products are so heavily focused on establishing efficiency, eliminating waste, and ensuring profitability over that of being more focused on improving the quality of the firm’s services. This could, perhaps, be more apparent in firms with considerable buying power in their markets where the ability to negotiate prices with business-to-business customers make these firms less-cognizant about improving service quality perceptions and relationship-building expectations. However, there is less emphasis on this aspect of marketing with many Kuwaiti firms. In the United States, in opposite accord, this is fundamentally not true. Small and large-sized organizations marketing products and services in the United States are substantially focused on improving service quality perceptions with B2B and B2C customers. One of the most trusted business models for measuring and improving service quality in the United States is the SERVQUAL model, which suggests a firm can achieve competitive advantages by focusing on five dimensions of service quality: illustrating empathy, providing assurances to customers, ensuring tangible quality, being reliable and responsive (Parasuraman, Berry and Ziethaml 15-24). Companies in the United States are much more diligent in ensuring that they illustrate empathic communications with their consumer segments (and business customers) in order to build positive psycho-social attitudes toward the business or its brands. Perhaps, however, this is due to the fact that many businesses in the United States have many competitors in their established markets and it is much easier for consumers and business customers to defect to other organizations. Businesses in the U.S. consistently attempt to improve their customer service capacity and competencies to better satisfy customers and establish total quality management ideologies internally to ensure the business is enhancing the quality of its inputs and outputs. In the United States, this might be a product of much less power distance between the organization and the consumer; a phenomenon not common in Kuwait. Business leaders recognize in the U.S. that elements of the SERVQUAL model are highly imperative for ensuring a better brand reputation and much financial and labor investment goes into improving service quality and general service marketing strategies. In competitive markets, like many in the developed U.S. economy, it is much easier for competitors to replicate services and products in an environment where technologies afford these opportunities. Therefore, the only real asset a business sustains is its brand reputation (Nandan 268). Therefore, if service quality in these firms is reduced and competition is able to provide similar products and service ideologies to consumer segments, a firm loses its competitive advantages. In the United States, there is so much investment in service marketing, as compared to less emphasis in Kuwait organizations, that many businesses appear to be slaves to service marketing strategies in an environment where customers have considerable control over business practices. CONCLUSION As illustrated by this in-depth research report, there are many similarities between Kuwaiti marketing and marketing in the United States. This report identified that these similarities included market segmentation strategies and approaches, the use of psychographic methodologies and positioning approaches, recurring use of digital marketing to better engage with consumers and spread brand promotions, and certification achievements as a means of fostering a better brand reputation for a firm’s marketed products. Even though there are substantial cultural and social differences between U.S. consumers and the Kuwaiti consumer, it appears that many of the demands and expectations of these two markets are similar which impose changes on a firm’s business model to better satisfy these consumers. The dissimilar activities identified in these disparate market environments included very different views about the consumer which dictate the extent to which customer relationship management strategies are developed between Kuwaiti organizations and U.S.-based marketing entities. The report also identified that service marketing and service quality expectations at Kuwaiti firms is radically different than the U.S. where service improvements are some of the most fundamental predictors of U.S. marketing success. While there is likely more similarities and dissimilarities between the United States and Kuwait, this report shed light on some of the most fundamental congruencies and differences in marketing approaches in both nations. This report assisted in understand the dynamics of marketing strategy in a cross-national context which could potentially impact how a marketer goes about approaching Kuwaiti consumers and the U.S. consumer. Whether it is an internal mindset borne of the local national culture or whether it is the power of the consumer, marketing practices, as illustrated by this report, will likely deviate (while also maintaining similarities) from nation to nation depending on external market characteristics, consumer characteristics, and the goal of the organization marketing its products. With Kuwait considered a developing nation and the United States having a well-developed consumer-driven economy, changes to Kuwaiti marketing practices may be altered or enhanced with the emergence of new market entrants or changing consumer values. However, in the contemporary marketing environment in Kuwait, the approach to engaging with consumers and communicating brand values and personality differs moderately from the Western marketing strategies common in the United States. WORKS CITED Alfadly, Ahmad A. “Improving the Quality of Service Marketing in Kuwaiti Organizations”. 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The Impact of E-Customer Relationship Marketing in the Hotel Industry. Berlin: Springer, 2010. Print. Scoble, Robert and Shel Israel. Naked Conversations: How Blogs are changing the way Businesses Talk with Customers. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Print. Tribal DDB. “A new age of marketing cars online”. 2008. Web. October 18, 2014. Ziemnowicz, Christopher, Victor Bahhouth and Yussef Zgheib. “Relevance of Ethnocentrism Among Consumers in Kuwait”. 2008. Web. 18 October 2014. Read More
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