Market Potiental

Strategic planning for business is normally a long-term plan to develop and enhance the company's profitability, product development, and market share. These are the goals of all firms in a capitalist economy. However, domestic investment and marketing is very different than going global. The main types of distinction between planning in domestic and foreign investment and trade can be summarized around the idea of adaption. Labor in the developing or underdevelped world is less productive than in the developed world, and infrastructure is often less developed. These important variables must be included in any long-range plan. It is often the case that strategic plans for global business concern the desire to hire a cadre of local professionals to assist the firm in integrating into the local economy. Without this integration, global investment might backfire.

The main features marking the difference between strategic plans in the international and domestic economy concern the diversity of potential markets and investments. The main issues revolve around adapting to the differing currencies, regulations and political problems of different states. These are not issues in local investment in the developed world. If the firm is American, marketing strategies can be very simple. There is generally one media and one overarching consumer culture. On the other hand, global marketing is radically different, since it is often the case that products might be modified to avoid offending local sentiment, and local regulations might be very different than in the U.S. An American oil firm seeking to invest in Libya must adapt to a form of government that is not transparent and generally authoritarian. This means any strategic plan from this hypothetical economy must learn the ins and outs of Libyan politics and the military bureaucracy of the country before and local investment is contemplated. Therefore, long-term planning in international business becomes intensely...