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  • MIT Sloan Management Review

Selling to Many Countries Within the U.S.

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Michael Wong
  • Format:Print
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Abstract

In pursuing growth, many companies have plans to sell to emerging markets like the so-called B-R-I-C nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China), but they overlook significant ethnic markets within the United States. For example, the combined African-American and Hispanic markets in the U.S. are larger than the economies of all but 13 countries, and more than 2 million people in the U.S. speak Chinese. The article discusses why many "multicultural marketing" efforts are both limited and limiting, and how firms can go beyond demographic data to craft effective strategies for selling to ethnic markets within the U.S.

Keywords

Management Style; Ethnicity; Sales; Business Growth and Maturation; Marketing Communications; Business Plan; Emerging Markets; Debates; Business Strategy; Growth and Development; Growth and Development Strategy; United States

Citation

Cespedes, Frank V., and Michael Wong. "Selling to Many Countries Within the U.S." MIT Sloan Management Review 52, no. 1 (Fall 2010).
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About The Author

Frank V. Cespedes

Entrepreneurial Management
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More from the Authors
  • Belden and Digital Transformation: From Product Sales to Solutions Sales By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amy Klopfenstein
  • Using Simulations to Upskill Employees By: Frank V. Cespedes, Trond Aas, Alex Hunt and Huw Newton-Hill
  • Aphro Beverages By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amram Migdal
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