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What are the most efficient and effective ways to market your products and service in Gulf States?

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Question added by Idris Bhuiya Akil , Operation Supervisor , Noria Pastry
Date Posted: 2016/07/23
Yahya Bah
by Yahya Bah , Principal & Marketing Consultant , International Community

Product and service development should be value driven and reflect customer needs. As needs and perceptions are always determined by culture, it will be imperative for products in the Gulf to reflect the buyer behaviour of cutomers in the Gulf. In essence the following are required to effectively and efficiently market products in the Gulf states:

Presence:Research has found that the Gulf states; mostly Arabs are high-context cultured. This implies that it is difficult for them to accept a brand that is alien hence the development of Gulf acceptable brand names or the formation of strategic alliance with already existing organisations becomes important.

Product: As it is almost impossible to change prevailing cultures, products appealing to their cultures should be offered.

Price: The gulf states are known for their riches hence premium pricing could be adopted to uphold the status of the brand.

Promotion: Promotions should be inline with the media habit of your target audience. As high context culture becomes dominant, rational messages should be used instead of emotional ones; sexually emotion ones in particular.

Distribution: Both online nd offline distribution channels should used but with an existing business partner that is known and accepted by them. 

Staff: Most of your staff should be Gulf origin and the few who are not should be highly oriented with the culture and business practice of the Gulf.

Processes: These should reflect the needs of the target audience hence the need to be user-friendly, business oriented and fast in getting products and services to customers become important.

Physical evidence: Structures, symbols, colours and messages used as brands should reflect the need of the Gulf.

In essence, market research becomes a requisite in order to effectively integrate the marketing mix around the actual needs of the target audience.

Walid Gougou
by Walid Gougou , Loyalty program ,Call Center & Customer Support Supervisor , The Sultan Center

Most important and effective way is the direct and short ad message which showing the product quality, varaity and price and that can be marketing through SMS & social media or dooor to door flyer, and to get your target you must have a good amount of data for arab customers to send them Arabic msg and non arab to send them Eng msg....

Thank you so much for your invitation .... I agree with Mr.Vicor's answers

Victor Ravanes
by Victor Ravanes , Marketing and Business Development , Olayan Descon Industrial Co. Ltd

 Be careful when selecting and managing local partners.

 Gulf Arabs are exceptionally proud of their language, which is a strong, uniting bond right across the Arab world.

Business and personal friendships are one and the same, and Arabs generally prefer to do business with people they know and like. 

Gulf-based organizations can be many-tiered and difficult to penetrate. 

Decisions can take a long time, probably longer than you’re used to

Body language is just as important as the spoken word.

Arabs will often speak in vague terms, generalities, stories and metaphors during negotiations.

The best way to communicate is always face to face.

Know your host. 

If you’re just starting out in the Gulf region, it’s a good idea to put together a few small, quick deals to see which companies are serious about doing business with you.

 

Amjed Mehboob
by Amjed Mehboob , G.M -(Currently Job Seeking ) , Advance Education centre

Thanks for inviting me , so far Victor define nicely 

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