America

Modern marketing emphasizes maintaining a close connection to customers. Market orientation is said to be a cultural component of firms with one specific attribute of market oriented firms being a focus on customers. Many companies have invested in customer relationship management systems designed to help maintain close customer relationships. These efforts are all based on the belief that a strong customer focus can lead to competitive advantage. For example, new products developed with insight gained from customer interaction can result in sole source arrangements and accompanying competitive advantage. In global trade, understanding customers includes issues of differing cultures. Understanding the way different cultures conduct business, how individuals tend to interact with members of their own culture and how they tend to interact with members of other cultures can have a significant impact on one's ability to succeed in global business. For example, countries like Chile or Brazil have had forests for millennia, so forestry is not seen as a foreign activity. On the other hand, forestry is a completely new discipline in Uruguay, a country where cattle raising and interminable grasslands are the norm. This presentation will explore the importance of cultural knowledge when approaching new foreign markets