Emerging markets measurements have outperformed major developed world indices so far this year, according to leading investment research firm, FE Analytics. Based on their assessments from the start of 2014, they say Standard & Poor’s 500 and the FTSE All Share have both shown downward movement, and the MSCI Europe index has been flat. However, the MSCI Emerging Markets index has shown positive gains.“While stock data is best taken with cautious optimism, there is no doubt businesses operating in the developing world are in the best position to benefit from this trend,” says Geoff Bick, professor of marketing at the UCT Graduate School of Business (GSB). “With a rapidly growing middle-class, these markets are also drawing the attention of marketing leaders seeking to tap into new consumer spending power,” he says.
Bick, who convenes a short course on Strategic Marketing in Emerging Economies at the GSB, says that not only will professionals tasked with attracting these consumers have to be prepared to enter a marketing environment every bit as complex and swiftly evolving as their counterparts in developed countries, but they must also be prepared for the challenges unique to developing markets.
“As in any marketing situation, you need to understand the basics; how to build relationships and provide offerings for those customers, but you also need to understand the challenges in emerging markets.”
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