Page 26 - Aamir Rehman - Dubai & Co Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States-McGraw-Hill (2007)

12 Dubai & Co.

Chapter 6 explores the challenge of marketing to buyers in the
GCC nations. In many foreign markets, the marketing function is
often the area that needs greatest local customization, and this
holds true in the GCC states. The good news for multinationals is
that leading marketing and advertising firms now have a presence
in the GCC and can help tailor a company’s messages to meet local
needs. The challenge, nonetheless, is far broader: effective firms go
beyond superficial marketing messages and fundamentally shift
their product mix and messages to their customers to reflect local
customers’ experiences, tastes, and preferences. Retailers such as
Zara and Benetton, for example, adjust their product mix to reflect
the demand for long sleeves and long skirts. Some firms, including
McDonald’s, have launched products specifically designed for the
Middle East market. The “McArabia” sandwich, developed by
McDonald’s Kuwait, illustrates the fast-food chain’s attempt to
localize its menu for customers in the lands of the GCC.
Human capital strategies—critical to any business’s success—
take on additional complexities in the GCC environment. Chapter 7
addresses these, discussing how multinationals’ reliance on expa-
triate talent to run GCC businesses must be reduced in favor of local
and regional talent. Whereas expatriate talent from the head office
or “home country” of the multinational has historically played a
central role in building the business and applying the best global
practices, shifts in demographics, competition, and regulations are
now making it more and more important to engage the local and
regional workforce. Localization is a major initiative in most mar-
kets, with governments crafting requirements and incentives for
hiring local nationals for key positions in multinationals. This push,
largely driven by demographic shifts and the scale of the young
workforce, can be a source of competitive advantage for firms that
successfully attract and retain local talent. Local and regional talent
bring in-depth expertise and commitment to the region in order to
build a level of authenticity that, along with world-class manage-
ment practices, can drive business performance to a higher level.
The GCC’s role in crafting firms’ financial strategies, the topic
of Chapter 8, is an often overlooked but highly promising area. GCC
economies are enjoying an unprecedented level of prosperity and
liquidity, profoundly affecting financial markets locally and world-
wide. The GCC has long been a net exporter of dollar-denominated