Matching the Needs in an Emerging Market: An Investigation of Multinational Companies’ Marketing Strategies by Using the 4As Framework

Making the multinational companies’ (MNCs) products attractive among the low- and the high-income consumers is challenging in an emerging market. This study uses the 4As framework (affordability, accessibility, acceptability and awareness) to investigate the marketing activities that three Western companies from the industries such as telecoms, brewery and decorative paint implemented to match the needs in the Indian market. By proposing to split affordability into three categories, the study extends the 4As framework. Three general strategies emerged, each one composed of six 4As marketing activities. The strategies, one for each industry, show different approaches to how companies could develop the demand for their products. Each strategy is linked to one of the three categories of affordability: (a) Serving consumers across economic classes (affordable to everyone). (b) Serving consumers looking for an international lifestyle (affordable to the mainstream and the premium segments). (c) Serving consumers seeking a higher level of materialism (affordable to the premium segment). The study presents theoretical and managerial implications, and suggestions for future research.