Get a Feel For the Overseas Market

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If you have the time and the funds, nothing beats a visit to a country you are about to do business in to fully understand and appreciate how the people live day-to-day. Even Pepsi CEO, Indra Nooyi, realizes this:

The visit, one sweltering morning last week, was part of a 10-day "immersion" tour of China for Ms. Nooyi, who is seeking to strengthen the Purchase, N.Y., company's business in emerging markets. "I wanted to look at how people live, how they eat, what the growth possibilities are," she said in an interview Tuesday in Beijing. What she has seen has persuaded her that PepsiCo's approach to the Chinese market "is good, but not good enough. The opportunities are so much bigger." The company's "model for China has to be vastly different."

Read the entire article: "Pepsi CEO Tours China To Get a Feel for Market."
And one of the final points made in the article by Ms. Nooyi is right in line with our Top 10 Global Trends For Small Businesses For 2009 report published January 21st (refer to No. 1: "Disruptive innovation will be both the coolest and hottest new growth strategy in 2009 because it will transcend all boundaries and transform businesses" -- quote by Laurel Delaney) is this:

Ms. Nooyi challenged her China team to come up with ideas for products that cater to China's large older population. She also called for more in-depth research into women who, in China, are likely juggling work and motherhood and making the key day-to-day consumption decisions for households. She says she's calling on her executives to think "differently and disruptively," encouraging them to look beyond the company's traditional businesses in China.

Are you thinking differently and causing a little innovative disruption at your company?