Question

How does a CMO view Global Markets in both B-2-B and B-2-C segments? Are global markets a “fact of life” for today’s CMOs, Product/Brand Managers? Why or why not?

Answer 1

B-2-B Businesses are complex businesses that provide solutions for large scale business problems and providing customized solutions. Cisco, IBM, Nielsen, Accenture are typical large scale B-2-B Businesses. There is no "consumer" here per se, but there are large scale buying teams which rationally evaluate your proposition on various dimensions.

For the CMO of such a company, "Global Markets" are certainly a "fact of life" since a potential customer might not necessarily be in the same geography as you. The specific business problem that you solve is just as applicable in Nigeria as it is in New York and it becomes important not to miss out on the business in other parts of the world because the additional cost to servicing those additional countries is marginal as compared to the cost of developing a new product/service. Hence it is the CMO's responsibility to get business from all across the world, wherever your product/service can be used.

B-2-C Businesses on the other hand, operate on volume. They specialize in serving high volume markets through standardized products which are branded and marketed through distribution channels. Adidas, Apple, P&G and Nestlé are typical large scale B-2-C Businesses. They make products for transitory needs or everyday day-to-day uses.

Corporate brands for B-2-B Businesses are configured around vision, shared values, and long-term strategy. They are more nuanced and function on multiple levels across diverse organizational micro-cultures and product divisions, with channel partners, distributor networks, investor relations and customers as compared to product branding of a B-2-C product.

In such a scenario, for a B-2-C Business, doing business in Global Markets is a choice, rather than a "fact of life". One could choose to get additional business for the brand from foreign countries but then it becomes necessary to set up the relevant infrastructure in place first and the additional cost to servicing those additional countries is just as high as doing business in your home country.

Hence, Global Markets are certainly a "fact of life" for B-2-B segments but not as much for B-2-C segments.