Mobility in Global Markets

Going global is an old story. but there's a newer twist when it involves moving into the emerging markets of the world. In many of those markets, which of course are growing rapidly, there has been a classic lack of infrastructure, making transportation and communications difficult. This applies particularly in many of the growing countries of Africa, as well as larger more advanced countries like India. For any company interested in global markets, these countries are an essential part of their strategy.

One of the interesting characteristics of these countries is that they have essentially leapfrogged the traditional infrastructure development cycle, through the advent of wireless, mobile products like smartphones. While such linkages such as landline connections are relatively low in many areas of emerging countries, the numbers of mobile phones in use is large. For example, recent surveys by Pew Research reveal that only 23% of people in emerging countries have landline connections (and in some African countries it's as low as 1%), while over 90% on average have a mobile phone. That's a staggering finding, and one that is shaping the marketing strategies of global countries everywhere. For an interesting article on this subject, check it out here.