THE EFFECT OF CULTURE IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

1. DEFENITION

Consumers are social beings, creatures that live together with others, interact with each other.
These people are referred to as the social environment of consumers. Consumers interact with
each other, influence each other in shaping the behavior, habits, attitudes, beliefs and values
that are considered important. One of them element of social environment is culture.

Culture or culture derived from Sanskrit is buddhayah, which is the plural form of buddhi (mind
or intellect) is defined as matters relating to the mind and human reason. In English, culture is
called culture, derived from the Latin word colere, which is to process or to do. Can also be
interpreted as cultivate the land or farming. The word culture is also sometimes translated as
"culture" in Indonesian.

Culture carries on values, ideas, artifacts and other meaningful symbols that help individuals to
communicate, interpret and evaluate as members of the community. Culture is not only
abstract, such as values, thoughts and beliefs, culture can be in the form of material objects,
houses, clothing, vehicles are examples of products that can be regarded as a culture of a
society. Laws, food, drinks, music, technology and language are some other examples of a
society's culture.

In the viewpoint of consumer behavior, the relevance of the study of culture has two
stages:First, the culture of a society is always evolving. These changes have an impact on the
behavior of these community members and will have an impact on their behavior as consumers.

Second, for multinational products, cultural differences in each country must be carefully
understood so that communications and product marketing can be adapted to local cultures.
What can be marketed in European countries is not necessarily marketable in African countries,
and vice versa. In a community group, in addition to culture, there are also more specific and
unique norms embraced by smaller groups in the community reflected customs and customs

2. MYTHS AND RITUAL CULTURE

Every society has a series of myths that define its culture. Myth is a story that contains a
symbolic element that expresses the emotions and cultural ideals. For example the myth of
animals that have power (Lion King). There is a puppet myth that can be lifted in making a brand
strategy of a product, such as the figure of Bima in a powerful herbal product "Kuku Bima
Ginseng". So marketers are required to explore the creative myth that can be used as a means
of preparing a particular marketing strategy.
 Cultural rituals are routine activities undertaken by community groups. Cultural rituals as
standardized sequences of actions that are periodically repeated, give meaning and include the
use of cultural symbols (Mowen, 1995).

Cultural ritual is not just a habit that someone does, but it is done seriously and formally, which
requires a deep intensity of a person. Often cultural rituals require objects to be used for the
ritual process, and this is what entrepreneurs can make into opportunities, such as birthday
candles, bread, tarts, balloons, candy, syrup, and so on. The wedding party is a cultural ritual as
well, so it can be an opportunity for 'wedding organizer' and rental building, as well as other
party equipment and gear. The advertising strategy can also be attributed to cultural rituals such
as on marriage themes that feature 'diamond' prizes for the bride, and sarong products for
religious rituals and worship.

Culture symbols are also a particular representation of the culture, in general what one
consumes and consumes by one will reflect the culture. The company can use symbolic values
for its product brand, for example a Toyota automotive company naming Kijang for vehicles with
family passengers, symbolically Kijang 'is an animal that has a very fast and fast running ability.
"Meanwhile another Mitsubishi company creates a' Horse '. Symbols can also be indicated by
color, as black color has a formal meaning, cool blue, white means holy, red symbol bold and so
on. So marketers use color as the basis for creating products related to symbolic needs.

3. CULTURE AND CONSUMPTION

Products have functions, shapes and meanings. When consumers buy a product they expect it to
function as expected, and consumers continue to buy it only when their expectations are met
well. However, it is not just the function that determines the success of the product. The
product should also meet expectations about the norm, such as nutritional requirements in
food, crispy (crunchy) for fried foods, food should be hot for 'hot plate steak' or cold for 'dessert
gelatin'.Often the product is also supported with a certain shape to emphasize function symbols
such as 'blue crystal' on detergents for clothing to be whiter. Products also give symbols of
meaning in society eg "spinach" associated with power in Popeye film or food can also be
symbolized as a close family relationship so that family-generated recipes become a mainstay in
cooking, eg Sasa or Ajinomoto ads. Products can become symbols in society to become icons in
religious worship.

Culture is something that needs to be learned, because consumers are not born spontaneously
about the value or norm of their social life, but they must learn about what is received from
their family and friends. Children receive value in their behavior from parents, teachers and
friends in their neighborhood. But with the advancement of the present era many products are
geared towards practicality, for example children now prefer fast food like Chicken Nugget,
Sossis, and others because of the inner ease especially for women who work and do not have
much time to process food.
 Culture also implies a way of life that is learned and passed on, for example a child raised in
cultural values in Indonesia should be respectful to an older person, eating while sitting etc.
While in America is more oriented to the culture that refers to values in America such as
practicality, individualism, etc.

Culture develops because we live with others in society. Living with others raises the need to
determine what behaviors acceptable to all group members. Cultural norms are based on the
values, beliefs and attitudes held by members of certain groups of people. The value system has
an impact in buying behavior, for example people who pay attention to health problems will buy
food that does not contain ingredients that harm their health.

Values give direction to norm development, the process undertaken in studying values and
norms is called "socialization or enculturation". Enkulturasi cause certain culture society will
move dynamically to follow the development of time. Conversely, if people tend to be difficult
to accept new things in society by maintaining the old culture called Accultiration.

Culture in turn will affect development in marketing implications such as product planning,
promotion, distribution and pricing. To develop an effective strategy, marketers need to identify
important aspects of culture and understand how they affect consumers. As a strategy in the
creation of a variety of products, market segmentation and promotion that can be adapted to
the culture of the community.

4. MARKETING STRATEGY WITH READING CULTURE

Some marketing strategies can be done regarding the cultural understanding of a society. By
understanding the culture of a society, marketers can plan marketing strategies on product
creation, segmentation and promotion.

Some marketing changes that can affect culture, such as:

1. Pressure on quality

2. The role of a changed woman

3. Changes in family life

4. Changing attitudes toward work and pleasure

5. Increased leisure time

6. Purchase impulsively

7. Desire for comfort

5. REVIEW OF SUB - CULTURE

In sub-cultural reviews there are several assessment contexts such as:

a. Affection and Cognition.

Assessment of Affection and Cognition is an assessment of likes or dislikes, emotional

feelings whose actions tend toward various objects or ideas and readiness of a person to
perform an action or activity.

b. Behavior.

Behavior is a form of personality that can be interpreted in the form of attributes that
exist in the individual, determined by internal factors (motives, IQ, emotions, and ways
of thinking) and external factors (physical environment, family, community, school, and
natural environment ).

c. Environmental factor.

The principle of Gestalt theory is that the whole is more meaningful than the parts.
While field theory from Kurt Lewin argues about the importance of the use and
utilization of the environment.

Based on Gestalt and field theory that environmental factors are a very influential force on
consumer behavior

6. CROSS CULTURAL CONSUMER BEHAVIOR (CROSS CULTURAL CONSUMER BEHAVIOR)

Cross Cultural is a scientific study of human behavior and mental processes, including variability
and invariance, under diverse cultural conditions. Through extending research methodologies to
recognize cultural variations in behavior, language and meaning, he seeks to extend, develop
and transform psychology.

According to Seggal, Dasen and Poortinga (1990) cross-cultural psychology is a scientific study of
human behavior and its spread, as well as taking into account the manner in which behavior is
shaped and influenced by social and cultural forces. This understanding leads to two main
points: the diversity of human behavior in the world and the link between individual behavior
and cultural context, where behavior occurs.

According to Triandis, Malpass and Davidson (1972) cross-cultural psychology involves the study
of a subject that stems from two or more cultures, using equivalent measurement methods, to
determine the boundaries that can be the basis of general psychological theory and the kind of
necessary modification of theories to be universal. While Brislin, Lonner and Thorndike (1973)
argue that cross-cultural psychology is an empirical study of members of different cultural
 groups who have had different experiences, leading to significant and predictable differences in
behavior. Triandis (1980) reveals that crosscultural psychology deals with a systematic study of
behaviors and experiences as they occur in different cultures, which are culturally influenced or
cause changes in the culture.

8. MARKETING MARKETS IN CULTURAL CROSS

Some things in international marketing related to cross-cultures are how to organize companies
to penetrate foreign markets, how decisions enter into international markets, how to plan for
standardization, how to plan products, how to plan distribution, how to plan promotions, and
how to determine product prices