Global Digital Marketing & Retail by Alex 21
Global Digital Marketing & Retail by Alex 21
Inspiration from across the world for retail enthusiasts, e-commerce professionals, marketing lovers and technology fans.
Already edition 21 of this newsletter! Welcome to another edition. đ
This is a special edition because in this edition just one topic. Erin Meyers's Culture Map. Erinâs culture map is very useful for everyone in international marketing or e-commerce. Use it to create a better customer journey, localize advertisements, or get better results from research. This newsletter can be used as a reference or starting point for a creative process.
Because it is a long read, I included the âAlex News Rest momentâ in the middle of the post.âşď¸
Erin Meyers culture map
Recently I listened to an older podcast with Erin Meyer. In short, Erin Meyer is -in short- the modern practical version of Hofstede.
Letâs make a (short) summary of the 8 pillars or âscalesâ of Erinâs culture map and relate this to global marketing/e-commerce. This way this post can be used as a quick reference or starting point for international marketing campaigns, CRO, and user stories.
Keep in mind that although countries are specifically mentioned in the framework, for many countries (especially those with lots of migrants) a country can have lots of different cultures among its inhabitants.
The communication scale.
Meyer makes a difference between High And Low-context communication cultures.
Low-context: Good communication is precise and straight to the point. Key messages are repeated several times, and the goal of communicating is explicitly expressed. (for example the USA)
High-context: Communication is nuanced and has multiple layers. Messages are signaled but often are not explicitly written or said out loud. This type of communication requires "reading between the lines". (for example Japan)
Japan is a high-context culture. I have recently been to Japan and I can remember some interfaces that had (even in English) error messages that were something like
âWe apologize for any inconvenience. We are currently experiencing technical difficulties. Please try again in a few minutesâ and then often followed by an emoji or character. This is different from error messages that we still (unfortunately) see in other cultures like: âAn error has occurred. Please try again laterâ.
So if you are communicating in a high-context culture, think of using animations (they say often more than words) and be nuanced in your communication. It could work much better if your responsive ads are less direct, more nuanced, and tell as much as possible. Use soft verbs and positive language.
In Japanese, there is a concept called âreading the airâ (犺ć°ăčŞă, KĹŤki wo yomu). It means observing whatâs happening around us and discerning how to act without needing to ask, even when in unfamiliar situations.
The evaluating scale (Feedback).
High-context cultures prioritize indirect feedback that focuses on the positive aspects of work, while low-context cultures prefer direct and explicit feedback that specifically identifies areas for improvement.Direct negative feedback: Giving direct feedback even in front of other people is accepted and encouraged. (for example Netherlands)
Indirect negative feedback: Giving feedback is rather an art than a science. You shouldn't give feedback before a group, and even you should package negative feedback with compliments or take away its strong edge by giving it in small doses over time.
Minimal feedback: Cultures that prefer minimal feedback may be uncomfortable providing criticism altogether. They may avoid direct confrontation and focus on positive reinforcement instead.
Now letâs connect this to international marketing/design. So if you are creating an international website and you have integrated product ratings, then the following differences might be an idea:
An example of a direct feedback interface:
Rating system: Five stars, from one star (worst) to five stars (best)
An example of an indirect feedback interface:
Rating system: Three stars, with "recommend," "neither recommend nor not recommend," and "not recommend" options
An example of a minimal feedback interface:
Rating system: Two options: "Like" and "Dislike"
If you are an international marketer, product owner or researcher take this into account. In different cultures, the way of giving feedback differs, the way people write, recommend, or donât recommend a service or product. This affects not only the interface but also cross-country evaluations.
The Leading scale.
The Leading scale is based partly on the concept of power distance from Hofstede This scale measures the degree of respect and deference shown to authority figures, placing countries on a spectrum from egalitarian to hierarchical.
Egalitarian: The ideal distance between the manager and subordinate is low. The leader is one of the equals, whose role is rather to facilitate than manage (for example Sweden).
Hierarchical: The ideal distance between the manager and subordinate is high. The leader has authority and a strong position clearly distinguishing her/him from his colleagues (for example Russia).
So I guess this means if you work in a very hierarchical culture, itâs also best to be more formal in design, and tone of voice or show your expertise, but in egalitarian cultures, it is (more) important to provide this personalized user interface, or to do much more with user feedback.
The deciding scale.
Again, we could think that leading style and decision-making are overlapped, but it is not the case in several cultures. For example in Japan leading is hierarchical but decision-making is consensual. There are many books written about that topic on âToyotaâ.
Consensual: Decision-making involves a high number of participants. Feedback is asked and is being considered (for example Germany).
Top-down or Directive: The decision comes from authority and the results are communicated to lower levels (for example China).
If we relate this to marketing, think for example in a B2B environment, where you would target in consensual deciding cultures and many more people in your digital campaigns, whereas in directive cultures you might be able to focus much more on specific persons. It also means you need to dig deeper or create campaigns, to find out who really makes the decisions.
The trusting scale.
The "Trusting" dimension of Erin Meyer's Culture Map explores how cultures approach trust and trustworthiness. It distinguishes between two primary approaches to trusting: relationship-based and task-based.
Task-based: Trust is built through competence. If someone is capable of doing the job, then I trust him. Work relationships are built and dropped easily (for example Finland).
Relationship-based: Trust is built through getting to know each other, sharing meals, and going out for dinners. I have trust in your abilities because I trust you as a person (for example Saudi Arabia).
So for example for relationship-based cultures, we can use this information(for example in B2B marketing/e-commerce) by emphasizing the possibilities of a physical meetup in campaign flows that we set up, by taking or allowing more time to get to a deal or sale or by using relational content, like anecdotes or storytelling.
The Alex News Rest moment
Ok, this newsletter is a long read. To give you a break, I present you this âAlex News Rest momentâ. Take a short break with this Makoto Shinkai-style short video.
Now that we have taken a break, letâs continue with the last dimensions:
The disagreeing scale.
The "Disagreeing" dimension of Erin Meyer's Culture Map explores how cultures approach disagreement and conflict resolution. It distinguishes between two primary approaches to disagreement: confrontational and avoiding.
Confrontational: Debate and confrontation are necessities to make a good decision. Open confrontation and appropriate debate are encouraged (for example Israel).
Avoids confrontation: Confrontation is considered a disruption of the group's harmony (for example Indonesia).
So a disagreement often comes after a sale. In confrontational cultures, it is important to have a clear return policy, quick clear, and precise instructions, and no-hassle procedures.
In avoiding cultures it might be better to have many options to return an item (store, mail, local parcel point etc).
In webcare focus at a solution that benefits both and realize that this is about building relationships. I think a creative marketer can really make a difference here in campaign messaging.
The scheduling scale.
The "Scheduling" dimension of Erin Meyer's Culture Map explores how cultures approach schedules and time management. It distinguishes between two primary approaches to scheduling: linear and flexible.
Linear-time: Starting the next task is coming after finishing the previous one. Order and punctuality are important (for example Switzerland).
Flexible time: Projects are approached with flexibility. Goals and deadlines are often changing (for example Kenya).
So in Linear-time cultures make sure your website has a very accurate parcel-tracking module and offers multiple shipment options in a more flexible culture you can have just time -ranges of delivery and you can make adjustments (in general but in delivery in specific) during the process. Itâs also a customer contact opportunity to build a relationship.
The persuading scale.
The "Persuading" dimension of Erin Meyer's Culture Map explores how cultures approach persuasion and argumentation. It distinguishes between two primary approaches to persuading others: deductive and inductive reasoning.
Deductive Reasoning:
Characteristics:
Uses logic and formal arguments to build a case
Provides evidence to support conclusions
Focuses on abstract concepts and principles
Emphasizes objectivity and reasoning
Inductive Reasoning:
Characteristics:
Relies on real-world examples and anecdotes to build a case
Emphasizes personal experiences and shared values
Focuses on concrete details and practical applications
Values empathy and storytelling
Now when we connect this to international digital marketing and e-commerce we can for example use this learning in landingpages or landing page elements. So in Germany (deductive) we need to focus on building trust through authoritative messaging, maybe less focused on telling a complete story and explaining the product benefits.
As for Brazil (inductive), we might be much more effective if we use humor, use much more informal language, and focus on lifestyle images.
Alex Cultural profile test
I did the Erin Meyer test myself as well see below. I think the only thing that is missing (and would be a nice add-on) if the test somehow also reveals how one can adapt to other cultures. Because I think I can do that pretty well.
Interested in your own profile? You can do the test here for a small fee.
The podcast I mentioned earlier that got me enthusiastic on this topic, is the one below. It has lots of great examples. Worth listening to.
A few other articles on this topic worth reading:
This article that dives in much more detail into the Japanese culture in relation to UX design: https://uxdesign.cc/the-deeper-meaning-behind-japans-unique-ux-design-culture-1b862df7f57d
World-class UX: A comprehensive guide to quality in UX localization: https://www.localizationstation.com/posts/ux-quality
As always Vitaly Friedman has great content on UX: https://smart-interface-design-patterns.com/articles/multi-lingual-ux/
PhraseApp also has an extensive article on this topic: https://phrase.com/blog/posts/app-localization-developers-guide-to-user-experience/
Very well written article on this topic: https://blog.prototypr.io/ux-design-across-different-cultures-part-1-1caa12a504c0
Thatâs for this edition, the next edition is the regular one again with lots of links and templates.
Greetings,
Alex