Study On International Marketing Taboo

In the process of international marketing (IM), it is a universal problem that taboo as a cultural issue causes failures of IM practice. Phenomenon is the clue of essence. The essence of IM is a cross-culture marketing activity. At present, consumption fulfils not just consumer's basic need, but acts as a reflection of a consumer's self-existence, it has clear cultural, social and symbolic meanings. In the context of the global consumption, consumers appear to regress their own self-identities, they are not satisfied with consuming the same product of the same style throughout the global market. Consumers in different county or culture have different need for consumption. In the standpoint of an enterprise in the process of IM, supplying products to the host country market is just as a process of supplying the "cultural carrier" reflecting their own culture for the consumers. In this process, if enterprises ignore the difference between the different countries, it will fail undoubtedly.This paper concern about how taboo influence consumer behavior and its manifests in IM, then analyze the cause of the failure of IM, eventually advance measures to manage issues of taboo and culture difference.Taboo acts as a cultural and anthropologic concept and social rule, and also is the indication of culture difference. It influence people's value and behavior criterion, restrain people's thought and action, in this point, different countries have different cultures. Taboo influence IM through influence consumer behavior of the host countries. Consumer behavior of a host country market has three levels: individual, group, and whole market behavior. Besides, in the point of sociology, the target market consists of mass consumers. A consumer as a social individual, communicate with others in the process of consumption, in this standpoint, consumption can be seemed as a means of communication. Taboo as a social rule, influence the whole process of IM, such as consumer need, market segmentation, product, price and place, ads and promotion and etc. So it is necessary for an enterprise to analyze these issues, it helps to understand value and consumption criterion of consumers and the mode of communication between consumers target market. Base on these studies, theenterprise can advance correct product and promotion decisions.The paper gives a new method in cultural and social view to analyze consumer behavior of host county markets, discriminates with the present behavioral and individual method. Because the aim of IM is creating mass consumption in the host county, this method of analyze is instructive.