Abstract

The cosmopolitan information seekers constitute a readily identifiable and reachable market segment extending across the industrialized West. Taking the cosmopolitan view, the segment is a large and affluent one, and must offer many golden business opportunities. Basically, each such opportunity may be exploited by a standard strategy. Local competition, marketing infrastructure, and government regulations may call for some variation. The attractiveness of this segment is enhanced by the tendency of information seekers to be opinion leaders and "proxy purchasing agents" for fellow consumers. Incidentally, this fact should serve as a warning against adopting a strategy which might disappoint them. For the foreseeable future information seekers in any given country will continue to be a relatively small, though highly articulate market next to the majority of "average consumers." Average consumers are the prime bearers of local culture and local values. The multinational corporations interested in reaching the average consumer market must generally be prepared to make significant local adaptations in strategy.