What is an emerging market, really?

28 Mar 2012

If there’s one topic that gets more than its share of airtime today, it’s the shift in economic power from West to East, and the importance of emerging markets to companies seeking growth. This had to happen given that more than half the world’s population lives in those regions and have recently joined the mainstream of commerce. Three-and-a-half billion new customers are not be be sneezed at.

The Great Recession has given new urgency to capturing those shoppers. Hypercompetition affects all but a few industries, and managers everywhere are in a dogfight over customers. Sales have slowed in the big developed markets—the U.S., Europe, and Japan—so must be found elsewhere. Asia, Latin America, Africa, and central Europe now look particularly attractive.

Not too long ago, developed countries ran surpluses, while developing ones ran deficits. Now, the picture is largely reversed: many developing nations run surpluses and export capital, while developed ones have racked up huge deficits. And whereas infrastructure in many developed nations is in a sorry state, developing nations are spending vast sums on it. They’re also becoming more amenable to foreign investment, sucking up resources from everywhere, and rapidly advancing up the competitiveness ranks.

A key message from the World Economic Forum’s January 2012 Davos shindig was that emerging markets are where many firms will find their future growth. This is hardly news, as we’ve heard the same thing from countless commentators for at least the past 30 years. But repeating it yet again will surely spur more executives to leave their comfort zones and venture into new territory.

Before they rush ahead and do this, though, they should think hard about what it might mean. They should beware of doing it while starving the opportunities that exist where they already operate. They should be careful not to overlook the treasure that’s right under their noses in their own backyards. And they should ask themselves a critical question:

“Are the ‘developed markets’ we think we know not in fact ‘emerging markets’ that we need to learn about fast?”

A BRIEF LOOK BACKWARDS

The term “emerging markets” was coined in the early 1980s by Antoine Van Achtmael, an economist at the World Bank’s International Financial Corporation, to draw attention to investment opportunities in low- to middle-income countries. Then, after the Berlin Wall fell and eastern Europe opened up, and as southeast Asia began its own economic revolution, things started to get interesting.

Democracy and consumerism spread and firms became increasingly keen on globalization. They started to shift from focusing purely on exports to setting up their own facilities across the world. New technologies made it easier for them to coordinate complex networks of suppliers; and new logistical systems enabled them to move raw materials, components, and finished products swiftly to wherever they were needed.

In 2001, Jim O’Neill, chief economist at Goldman Sachs (he’s now chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management) invented the “BRICs” acronym—Brazil, Russia, India, China. These four populous and economically ambitious countries, he said, would propel the growth of the global economy in coming decades. So they offered huge opportunities for both investment and business.

That story got wide coverage and created a lot of interest. Then, in 2002, two business school academics, C.K. Prahalad and Stuart L. Hart, added both impetus and an important insight to it with an article in Strategy+Business which they seductively titled, “The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid.” Their unremarkable observation was that the populations of poor countries comprised a few wealthy people at the top of the pile, and untold millions mired in poverty at the bottom. Individually, the bottom lot had little spending power; but taken together, they made up an attractive target.

In 2005, O’Neill’s team sought to identify another group of developing countries that would follow the BRICs closely, and came up with the “Next Eleven,” or N-11—Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, South Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Turkey, and Vietnam.

Six years later, O’Neill decided that “emerging markets” was no longer the right label for the BRICs or four of the N-11—Indonesia, South Korea, Mexico, and Turkey. “These are now countries with largely sound government debt and deficit positions, robust trading networks, and huge numbers of people all moving steadily up the economic ladder,” he says (Jim O’Neill, The Growth Map, New York: Portfolio/Penguin, 2011). “I decided that a more accurate term would be “Growth Markets.”

This new language of “BRICs” and “BOP” (bottom of the pyramid), of the “N-11” and “growth markets,” has provided plenty of inspiration for new ventures. Executives trot the terms out at every opportunity. Companies that not long ago were nervous about operating in backward and unfamiliar places are now trying it. And every day there are more good reasons to do so.

The spread of industrialization is creating a new global middle class. Angola, Estonia, Cambodia, and Argentina are exploding with newly affluent shoppers.  More and more people, including large numbers are women, are finding steady employment. Income and education levels are rising in one country after another. Medical advances and healthier living mean more ageing people (many with savings, welfare support, or even pensions). And at the same time, new media, new distribution processes, and new branding strategies are changing buyers’ behaviour and encouraging them to experiment, shop around, and flaunt what they buy—and in the process, to keep moving the marketing goalposts.

These markets are a complex mix of young and old, rich and poor, sophisticated and unsophisticated consumers, who buy both branded goods and commodities. They’re mostly served by local businesses, but increasingly by outsiders, too. Their attraction is that they bulge with potential customers who’ve largely been overlooked or underserved. And a big plus is that competition may not be as tough as in developed markets.

There is absolutely no doubt about it: the BRICs and the N-11 merit close attention. As do many even less developed countries. And there’s a case for moving fast, for in no time at all the fight for customers in all these places will intensify.

But companies should not ignore the opportunities in their traditional markets. For that’s where they’re comfortable and where they earn the bulk of their profits today. That’s also where they are most vulnerable right now.

Customers in rich countries like the U.S., Europe, Britain, Japan, and Sweden have a lot of spending to do. Losing them will come at a heavy cost.

EVERYTHING IS UNFAMILIAR, EVERYWHERE

1. Doing business there will be harder than you think.
2. It will distract you and divert resources from where your priorities should be and where your best opportunities may lie—in the developed markets you already know.

Developing countries might look exciting, but they present a host of major problems: political interference, bureaucratic blockages, institutional voids, poor or nonexistent infrastructure, lousy services, entrenched social traditions, widespread poverty, health issues, security, crime, and corruption. Key skills are in short supply. Many industries are immature, and often hard to break into because of vested interests or old relationships. Supply chains are unreliable. Distribution channels and media are not what they should be. Protecting intellectual capital is a nightmare. Customers must be taught the value of new products and services, and companies must learn how to deliver them. So altogether, getting things done may be extremely difficult—especially for executives used to places where things work.

But look at the changes under way in developed countries. In virtually every market for every kind of product or service, the game of business is being turned on its head. “The new normal” is not “the old normal.” Conditions have changed in untold ways, and there’s novelty all around.

There are new political realities, new regulation, new infrastructure. Populations are ageing, shrinking, and moving; and migrants are radically changing their structure, language, beliefs, and habits. Old ways of life are giving way to new ones. Competition is hotting up and new strategies are making old ones obsolete. Technology makes possible new offerings and new ways of reaching and satisfying customers. And just as in developing nations, there are new customers with new needs, values, expectations, and behaviour.

Today, in the most advanced markets, there’s probably not a company whose managers can say, “Nothing has changed for us in the past decade or two.” Neither would they be smart to think, “There aren’t any major changes ahead, so we don’t have to do anything drastic.”

The reality is that selling almost anything, to almost anyone, anywhere in the world is a brand new challenge.

Few products or services—or the companies that sell them—have made it into this new era without significant innovation. Further progress will demand even more of it.

Yesterday’s business models can’t be expected to deliver the same results as they used to. The shelf-life of today’s models is limited. A tweak here or there will undoubtedly help some companies do better, but sooner or later more radical change will be vital. And for growing numbers of firms, the time for that is right now.

It’s time for a strategy reset!

INDUSTRIES IN TURMOIL

To make the point, some examples:

• Think media—where’s it headed? Do newspapers have a future (and what about the paper industry and the printing press manufacturers that serve it”) What further impact will technology have on it? Where are social media taking us? What about “citizen journalism”? How will the widespread availability of ultra-fast wi-fi change things?  What’s the future of television in an age of Tivo, PVRs, and streaming video?
• Think photography—How will cell phones with high-resolution still and video cameras affect makers of stand-alone digital cameras? What breakthroughs lie ahead in lens technologies, sensors, and storage devices? What new post-processing software is on the way?
• Think laptop computers—who needs them when tablets are so handy? What might they be used for tomorrow? What will new processors and memory technologies enable them to do? How much smaller can they get, and how much sharper and brighter can their screens become? What new battery technologies can we expect? How will applications be sold?
• Think fast-moving consumer goods—what’s going on with formulas, packaging, distribution, promotions, pricing, recycling? What will be the impact of new health concerns? How important will store brands become?
• Think autos—how much smarter, lighter, more economical, and safe will they become? What new energy systems can we expect (and what is the prospect for “green” cars?) Where will vehicles be produced? What further mergers and acquisitions can we expect, and how will they alter the industry’s structure? How will traffic congestion be managed, and what might that mean for vehicle makers?
• Think clothing—what are the fashion trends to watch … and what can be ignored? What new fabrics are coming? What new production technologies lie ahead, and where will garments be made?  How much more time can be cut between design and in-store display? What will be the future role of haute couture and fashion shows?
• Think retail—what shopping trends are emerging, and what might be next? What are the prospects for online sales, and what changes will we see in that area? What’s the outlook for malls … big discounters … speciality retailers … small independent stores? What new stock control systems are down the line? How will customers pay?

These questions address just a few of the changes already under way. And of course, there’s also the impact of new regulation, of environmentalism, and  of a host of other factors that are restructuring the business landscape. So this you can be sure of: there’s massive change to come. The market you’ve come to know so well—whatever sector you’re in— is not the one you’ll play in tomorrow.

Much of what we though we understood about “developed” markets is no longer useful. Almost all of them are today, in effect, emerging markets. Not in the sense of being poor and backward, but rather in the sense of taking shape, of not being fully understood, and whose potential is unclear.

This process has been under way for some time. Buyers of everything have been learning about new ways to satisfy their needs and wants, communicate and participate, enjoy and express themselves, and shop and pay. They’ve discovered that just as quality should be a “taken-for-granted” fact, so should low price. They’ve taken to buying portfolios of products and services, some bearing names like Louis Vuitton, Ford, Swatch, Tumi, Gap, Hyundai, or Samsung, and many with names you’ve never heard of, but offering “good enough” design, feel, durability, and so on—often at rock-bottom prices.

Recently, the spread of financial trouble has had a dramatic impact on customer behaviour. Collapsing asset prices, government austerity programs, and rising unemployment have forced shoppers to save rather than spend. Companies serving them have had to do the same. So prices and costs have become more important than ever. Buying down is the new norm. “Frugality” is today’s reality.

 HOW (AND WHERE) WILL YOU COMPETE TOMORROW?

Dramatic changes are under way in even the richest, most developed parts of the world. They present both breathtaking opportunities and deadly threats to virtually every business. And the one thing you can be sure of is that the situation will get more challenging.

Today, there’s no shortage of new market possibilities. The growth prospects offered by what we call emerging markets are phenomenal. But developed markets are the most important markets for most major companies today—as they will be tomorrow.

Your traditional competitors are not the only ones you should worry about. You’re probably surrounded by upstarts from down the road. Emerging market multinationals are swarming into rich nations fast and aggressively to eat the lunch of local champions. Protecting yourself in your backyard is getting harder by the minute—but doing so is imperative. This is a turf war you shouldn’t lose.

So how will you compete tomorrow? Which customers should you focus on? What do you need to learn about them (what do they value?… how, when, and where do they shop?… what media do they use?… what influences their decisions?) How should you reach them? What should you promise them? What kind of business model do you need to capture and keep them?

For many firms, developing countries are where the future lies. But think before you label those “emerging” and the ones you’re in right now “developed,” “traditional,” or “mature.” There are obviously differences, but here’s what’s the same everywhere:

1. The rules of tomorrow’s game aren’t clear.
2. You don’t understand them.
3. They will keep changing.
4. You will face more competition—and more hostile competitors from all over the world—than you think.

Developing regions that you don’t know may look extremely appealing. But the ones you’re familiar with—those where you trade now, that you see as “developed,” and that maybe bore you—have their own possibilities. However, to take advantage of them, you need to start by accepting that you don’t really understand them, and then spend the time getting to know them from scratch.

Every market is now an emerging market. We’re all feeling our way into the future.

WHAT”S YOUR NEXT MOVE?