Stop Planning. Start Doing: Same Humans, Different Cultures. Why Marketing Psychology Matters in Phuket.
We are all human. We all have emotions, needs, fears and desires. But does that mean we all respond to marketing in the same way? Absolutely not.
One of the things I genuinely enjoy learning about is behavioural science and psychology, especially when it comes to marketing.
Why do people buy things? Why do they trust certain brands? Why does one advert make somebody stop scrolling, while another person scrolls straight past it?
Why does one person respond to an offer, while somebody else finds exactly the same offer completely unappealing?
And perhaps most importantly, how much of our behaviour is influenced by where we come from, how we were brought up, our cultural background and the environment around us?
The more I learn about behavioural science, the more fascinating I find it.
And living and working in Phuket makes it even more interesting.
I've Worked Around the World. And People Are Different.
Over the years, I've been lucky enough to live and work in some fantastic places.
Antigua, Turkey, Greece, Spain, France, Wales and, of course, Thailand.
Every country has its own personality.
Its own culture, traditions, sense of humour, attitudes towards money, expectations of service and ways of communicating.
And when you're working in marketing, those differences matter.
Something that works brilliantly in one country might completely miss the mark in another.
A marketing campaign that feels funny and engaging to a British audience might not translate particularly well to a German audience.
An advertising message built around individual achievement might appeal to one group, while a message focused on family, community or shared experiences might connect better with another.
These aren't universal rules, of course. There are enormous differences between individuals within every country.
But cultural background can influence how we interpret messages, build trust and make decisions.
And that makes marketing psychology incredibly interesting.
Now Imagine Trying to Market to Everyone in Phuket.
Phuket is a fascinating place to work in marketing.
Think about the people living here.
We have Thai locals, including Buddhist and Muslim communities, with their own traditions, beliefs and cultural influences.
We have British, Australian, German, French, Russian, Chinese, American, South African and countless other nationalities.
Some people have lived here for 20 years. Others have arrived in the last six months.
Then we've got the tourists.
Families on their annual holiday. Couples celebrating their honeymoon. Backpackers travelling around Asia. Retired couples escaping the European winter. Cruise ship passengers visiting for just a few hours.
All potentially looking at the same businesses, restaurants, attractions, hotels and experiences.
But are they all thinking the same way?
Of course not.
And this is where things get interesting.
Would an Australian React the Same Way as a German?
Let's take a simple example.
Imagine you're marketing a luxury private boat tour in Phuket.
You're trying to attract two potential customers.
One is an Australian family on holiday for two weeks.
The other is a German couple visiting Thailand for the first time.
Both have the money. Both want to experience the islands. Both are looking at exactly the same boat tour.
But what makes them book?
Perhaps the Australian family responds to a relaxed, friendly video showing people having fun, jumping into the water and enjoying a brilliant day out.
Perhaps the German couple wants more detailed information about the boat, safety, itinerary, what's included and how the day is organised.
Or perhaps it's completely the other way around.
That's the point.
We cannot simply assume that someone's nationality tells us how they will behave.
Culture can provide useful clues, but it doesn't define the individual.
And that's why understanding your actual target audience is so important.
Not what you think they want.
What they actually want.
The Psychology Behind a Buying Decision
There are some fascinating principles in behavioural science that can help us understand why people make decisions.
And many of them apply across cultures, although how strongly people respond can depend on the individual and the situation.
1. Social proof: We look to other people.
Think about the last time you booked a restaurant or hotel.
Did you look at the reviews?
Of course you probably did.
People often look at what others have experienced before making their own decisions.
But whose opinion matters most?
For one customer, 500 five-star Google reviews might be enough.
For another, a recommendation from a trusted friend is far more powerful.
Someone else might be influenced by a travel creator they follow.
Same psychological principle. Different sources of trust.
2. Loss aversion: We don't like missing out.
Imagine a hotel advertising:
"Book now and save 20%."
Now compare that with:
"Only three rooms remaining at our special rate."
Both might encourage bookings, but they use different psychological approaches.
One highlights a potential saving.
The other highlights the possibility of missing an opportunity.
Research in behavioural economics suggests that losses can often feel more significant than equivalent gains, although the effect depends on the context.
It's fascinating how a few words can change how we perceive an offer.
Of course, any scarcity claim needs to be genuine. Inventing urgency isn't clever marketing. It's misleading.
3. Emotion: We don't just buy products.
This is one of my favourites.
People don't necessarily book a family holiday because they want a hotel room.
They want to spend time together.
They want to escape work, forget their problems, experience something new and create memories.
A family visiting Phuket might be buying an experience their children will remember for years.
A couple booking a romantic dinner might be celebrating something special.
A parent enrolling their child in an activity might be looking for confidence, learning and happiness.
The product is what you're selling.
The feeling is often what people are buying.
And while emotions are universal human experiences, the way people express them and the messages they respond to can vary enormously.
Culture, Religion and Local Understanding
This is another area that I think deserves much more attention in Phuket marketing.
Thailand has its own rich cultural identity, but even within Thailand, audiences aren't all the same.
Phuket has Buddhist and Muslim communities, local families, people who have moved here from other provinces, and generations of residents with different backgrounds.
Religion, traditions, family expectations, language and community relationships can all influence purchasing decisions.
Take something as simple as promoting a restaurant.
For some customers, halal food options may be essential.
For others, vegetarian choices, family dining, value for money, convenience or the atmosphere might be the deciding factor.
Some audiences may respond positively to bold, direct advertising.
Others may prefer a softer, relationship-led approach.
But we have to be careful.
Being Thai doesn't automatically mean someone behaves in a particular way. Being Muslim or Buddhist doesn't automatically tell us what someone wants to buy.
Cultural understanding should help us ask better questions, not make bigger assumptions.
And I think that's a really important distinction.
The Problem With Creating One Marketing Campaign for Everyone
I see this a lot.
Businesses spend money creating one advert, one video or one social media campaign and expect it to connect with everybody.
But let's say you run a Phuket restaurant.
Your customers might include:
A Thai family looking for somewhere to celebrate a birthday.
A British expat looking for a relaxed Sunday lunch.
A German tourist researching restaurants before arriving in Phuket.
An Australian couple looking for somewhere romantic.
A cruise ship passenger who has just a few hours on the island.
They're all potential customers.
But they're not necessarily looking for the same thing.
The Thai family might value space, sharing dishes and family-friendly service.
The British expat might respond to familiarity and a sense of community.
The German tourist might want clear menus, pricing and reliable reviews.
The Australian couple might be looking for atmosphere and a memorable evening.
And the cruise ship passenger might be most concerned about location, timing and getting back to the ship.
Those are hypothetical examples, not nationality-based rules.
Notice how much more useful it becomes when we look at what somebody needs, why they're here and what they're trying to achieve, rather than simply where their passport comes from.
Now imagine creating content specifically for those different needs.
Same restaurant.
Same kitchen.
Same chefs.
But completely different stories.
And potentially much more effective marketing.
Your Customer Avatar Might Not Be One Person.
When we talk about marketing, we often talk about identifying your ideal customer.
Your target audience.
Your customer avatar.
And yes, it's incredibly important.
But I think businesses in Phuket need to look beyond having just one ideal customer.
You might have three or four very different audiences, each with different motivations.
For example, a Phuket attraction could have a local Thai family audience, a long-term expat audience, an international holidaymaker audience and a cruise passenger audience.
Each might need different content.
Different languages.
Different booking information.
Different advertising channels.
Different emotional messages.
But the key is to research these differences rather than simply invent them.
Talk to your customers.
Ask them why they booked.
Read your reviews.
Look at your website analytics.
Speak to your sales team.
Understand what questions people ask before buying.
Test different marketing messages and see what actually works.
Because one of the biggest mistakes we can make in marketing is assuming that everybody thinks the same way we do.
We Are All Human. But We Aren't All the Same.
And this is where I find the whole subject so fascinating.
At the end of the day, we're all humans.
We all want to feel safe, valued, understood and connected.
We all have emotions.
We all make decisions based on a mixture of logic, experience, habits, social influences and feelings.
And yes, wouldn't it be lovely if we could all just spread a bit more love, peace and happiness around the world?
I'm certainly all for that.
But from a marketing perspective, we can't ignore the differences.
Our culture, upbringing, personal experiences, language, social environment and individual personalities all help shape how we see the world.
And when you bring so many different people together in one place, like Phuket, it creates a fascinating challenge for marketers.
One that I don't think we always give enough thought to.
I Think I've Got a Lot More Learning to Do.
I'll finish this blog slightly differently from some of my others.
Normally, as part of my October Stop Planning. Start Doing series, I want to give businesses a practical idea they can go away and implement.
And there is one here.
Stop assuming you know your customers. Start asking them.
Pick three customers from different backgrounds or with different reasons for buying from you.
Ask them why they chose your business.
What mattered most?
What nearly stopped them booking?
Where did they first hear about you?
What made them trust you?
You might be surprised by how different their answers are.
And you might discover something that completely changes how you market your business.
As for me, I want to spend more time learning about behavioural science, psychology and how culture influences marketing decisions.
Because the more I learn, the more I realise just how much there is still to understand.
And having worked in so many different countries, and now running Shark 13 here in Phuket, I think it's something that could make a real difference to how we approach marketing.
Not by putting people into boxes.
Not by making assumptions about nationalities.
But by becoming genuinely curious about what makes people tick.
Because great marketing doesn't start with an advert. It starts with understanding people.
And in a place as wonderfully diverse as Phuket, that's probably one of the most important things we can learn.
Got it, Good
Jay Leshark
Shark 13 Marketing, Phuket
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