Uber’s Global Standardization and Local Adoptation.
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Uber’s Global Standardization and Local Adoptation.
Global standardization is the ability to utilize a standard marketing strategy all over the world. In other words, it can be termed as the ability for a company in business to apply the same marketing interventions from one country to the next and across various and subsequent cultures. Global standardization is an important tool especially in cases where the product has the same appeal all over the world as in the case of Uber. Local adaptation on the other hand, is a business strategy that considers the unique needs of each country and adapts to the local market. China is Uber’s biggest market now and it was subsequently its toughest and made many losses at first as they tried to get a market share because it received a lot of skepticism and many rejections at first, because Didi was dominating the market at that time.
Uber launched formal operations in China in 2014; there was an introduction of luxury car services in three Chinese cities. However, many obstacles hindered Uber from dominating in china. An appropriate example is, Google maps which uber uses to locate drivers, riders is blocked in China, and hence they had to develop suitable software. Uber got to the Chinese market with the strategy that it will think locally in a bid to expand globally. The product that Uber offered in China that represents global standardization is their brand. Uber branded its product and made it so simple and saves on time as there is no pre-booking CITATION Kau16 l 1033 (Wu). An app connects the driver and the rider. The company invested heavily in technology because it was really trying to tap into that market as well maintaining a competitive edge.
Uber localized its product and services by hiring the local people. There was also a set up of the Uber China as they tried to court the local investors and to avoid the dire restrictions that were affecting foreign investors in China CITATION Kau16 l 1033 (Wu). There was an introduction of Alipay payment system, which is a preferred payment system for Chinese customers. The strategy was implemented to suit the local market and in a bid to make higher returns in China.
Uber has demonstrated that there is need for a multinational to strike a balance between adaptation and global standardization. Uber managed to standardize its services and adapted some as a necessity for survival and thriving in the Chinese market. The case illustrates that it is possible for a multinational to succeed if only it focuses on building a strong global marketing strategy, with a suitable mindset, solid structures, and appropriate operational behaviors.
Work Cited.
BIBLIOGRAPHY l 1033 Wu, Kaungzhen. “Uber vs Didi: The Race for China’s Ride-hailing Market.” INSEAD (2016).
