Global Marketing Professional Describes Cultural Pitfalls
Michelle Richards

What if your brand name meant "Bite the wax tadpole" in another language? That's what Coca Cola means in Japanese, according to Prof. Saibal Chatterjee, a recent guest speaker in Prof. Claire Comm's Introduction to Marketing class. His example pointed to cross-cultural issues in global marketing.

Chatterjee, owner of Precision Tools Company in India, characterized his lecture as an "experience sharing session." In an animated presentation, he provided the class with many important business lessons that are vital to learn before entering into global marketing. Chatterjee has a unique way of teaching through giving stories of his own experiences to show the major points of marketing a product in different countries.

According to Chatterjee, business people must travel to different countries to globalize and expand their products. After visiting several different countries, he said he learned that cultural differences can impede clear communication. Even global companies make mistakes he explained in this story, "Marketers sometimes need to adapt to certain cultures and in turn adapt their product. For example one car company attempted to market their new car the 'Nova' in Spain, not realizing that the name meant 'no go' in Spanish. Marketers must sometimes forget standardization." This lesson showed also how language is an essential medium in business, "you must know your target market" he explained.

"It is critical to learn about a culture before doing business," he said. Chatterjee learned this lesson the hard way as he explained in a story he told about one of his many business trips. "My business affiliate extended his hand expecting a handshake and I bowed all the way down to my knees as the doorman at the hotel had greeted me, not realizing that it was a symbol of servitude in their culture." He explained to the class that in business it is easy to send the wrong signals because different cultures have different practices. Chatterjee has traveled to many different countries and explained to the class about important marketing principles. "It is essential to find out what in the country you are visiting is acceptable."

A graduate of the Indian Institute of Management, he currently works as a professor at Bengal Engineering College to find the link between marketing and the academic world. He brought his lessons to UML and no student in the class will soon forget the marketing lessons he provided. He plans to return to UML for future "experience sharing sessions."