4-1 Discussion: Middle Class on Two Dollars per Day

Using the required resources presented in this module as well as your own expertise and research, address the following situation:

While attending an industry leadership international trade reception with your chief executive officer (CEO), you overhear a large U.S. multinational CEO say the following at an industry leadership cocktail party: “Even for the BoP countries, the middle class is middle class everywhere, and they tend to emulate the U.S. middle class, anyway.” Later at dinner, your CEO asks if you agree with the executive’s sentiments, noting “after all, we all want the same things out of life, don’t we?” You decide it would be better to draft an email to explain your view.

In your initial discussion post, draft an email to the CEO that explains the BoP market space versus developed economy global markets. Inform your boss about how a global middle class is forming. Do you feel that the STP process must be adapted to the BoP markets? What about adapting to a “middle class”? In your answer, contrast the segmentation, targeting, and positioning of a consumable product in a BoP or emerging market that is typically sold to U.S. middle class consumers and is also sold in a BoP market. Examples might be gourmet coffee, a box of Tide, anti-aging cream, or even ice cream.

As you review your peers’ submissions, extend and enhance the conversations by introducing alternative segmentation, targeting, and positioning criteria that may challenge or support your peers’ rationales while you further discuss if there really is an emerging middle class that is the same as in the United States.

To complete this assignment, review the Discussion Rubric document.