'Go to market' strategies in emerging countries

This article has the objective of proposing some specific strategies to enter and conquer the emerging markets. These markets are booming nowadays and if any company wants to grow in the global arena, the chances are to try to participate and capture the growth of the emerging countries or in the developed world, to merge, acquire or conquer market share of competitors, since in these regions most of the markets are not growing. Here goes a list of 20 points to think about and to help in entrance decisions, due to the specific characteristics of these markets.

1 – Emerging markets can´t be generalized. A deep understanding of each market is necessary. Countries differ among them and even inside them. Just as an example, China, Brazil and India are real “continents” and differ depending on each specific region, urban or rural areas, and cultural background. Imagine generalizing Africa, what a huge mistake would be done.

2 - As opposite to developed markets, to get information in emerging economies is quite more difficult due to a lack of reliable data, official statistics and other sources. So having an information system will depend on finding information and developing own sources based in local information and knowledge. This is a unique characteristic.

3 – Bartering systems (exchange of goods) may be a strategy to finance and avoid risks of not receiving, due to the lack of income in several emerging economies and also due to the fact that in some of these economies, the issue of inflation is still present, changing business models.

4 – Marketing channels in emerging economies are very unique, involving a large amount of distributors very different in the way they do business and perform services. Sometimes it is a chaotic system, difficult to understand and measure. Also the modern retail systems are present, making a very diverse and dual system. Several variations within each country are also found. A segmentation process should be done using this variable and a clear multi-channel approach (in product and services) established by the company.

5 – Adapting to deal with family business and family managed distribution systems is needed. They tend to respond differently to the company offer, asking for more services and financial benefits than for discounts, the basic demand of large multinational retailers.

6 – A motivated sales force carrying modern technology that allows for data generation and analysis should be used to build information about the market and help to target the very different market segments.