I recall something my parents always said. “It’s not all about you.” Nowhere is that more true than in the world of western business. The global business environment no longer revolves around the American market. In this article, we discuss why the American market is no longer required for business success and how typically termed “emerging markets” have now arrived at their rightful place in the business world. Among the many countries classified as emerging markets and/or newly industrialized countries, China and India deserve a new designation as simply great markets. The difference between an emerging market and what we would call simply a great market is that great markets seek foreign investment and partnership, encourage it, nurture it, and show the world how to make it happen. This consumer appetite for foreign products and partnerships backed by political appetite for foreign investment creates an ideal market for any business whose products and services line up with that country’s preferences. China and India are in continual competition for fastest growing economy status, foreign capital and the like as the United States still reels from the economic destruction brought about in 2008.  In an Article from The Economist, we see that, “...the recession has been a moment of tectonic slippage, a brief but powerful acceleration in the deep-seated movement of economic power away from rich nations towards emerging markets.” Brazil could be a great market....but they have to want it and encourage it. Russian military instability and poisonous global partnerships are the major reasons why many business are tending to focus first on China and India before girding their loins to approach the Russian market. There is money to be made, however, within Africa over the coming decades, for the right companies. Current figures suggest more than $50 Billion is being poured into African development and businesses in appropriate industries are gaining the benefit. To turn this trend into a strategic advantage for your organization, take all available data into account and label markets in your own way according to what your business is and how you want to grow.

Walter Rogers, President and CEO of Baker Communications (http://www.BakerCommunications.com) joins us to discuss how to recognize when you need transformation and how to carry it out with what you already have at hand.