Why ‘The Global Market’ Is an Irresponsible Phrase

Back to Insights Why ‘The Global Market’ Is an Irresponsible Phrase “We are preparing to enter the Asia market.” “We are targeting the global market.” When we hear these phrases, we tend to interpret them in a very specific way: No meaningful decisions have been made yet. This is not criticism. It is an observation-one repeatedly confirmed in the field. Phrases like “the Asian market,” “the European market,” or “the global market” sound like strategic declarations. In reality, they are often admissions that the hard questions have been postponed. This article is not a GTM framework. It is not a market entry guide. And it is not a collection of success stories. Its purpose is singular: to dismantle the flawed mental model that causes market strategies to fail before they even begin. ⸻ A Country Is an Administrative Unit. A Market Is a Behavioral One. Countries are divided by laws and institutions. Markets are divided by human behavior and decision-making patterns. The moment these two are conflated, strategy begins to collapse into abstraction. • Sharing a passport does not mean sharing the same problem. • Speaking the same language does not mean making the same purchasing decisions. • Using the same currency does not imply the same price sensitivity. Yet we casually say: “In the U.S. market...” “In the Korean market...” There is no such thing as a single “U.S. market.” What exists are people in specific cities, industries, and roles, responding to problems in specific contexts-and repeating certain behaviors as a result. Markets are not geographic labels. They are patterns of action. ⸻ Same Language, Same Currency - Still Not a Market The United States uses English and the U.S. dollar. This creates the illusion of a unified market. That illusion only holds on a map. A mid-level finance manager in New York and a small business owner in suburban Texas may speak the same language, but they belong to entirely different markets. • Their decision-making structures differ • Their tolerance for risk differs • Their definition of a “reasonable price” differs • Even the role software plays in their work differs Terms like “East Coast” or “West Coast” markets are, in practice, still dangerously coarse. Even within New York alone- Wall Street, Brooklyn startups, immigrant communities in Queens, and enterprise headquarters in Manhattan all demand fundamentally different strategies. The moment these realities are flattened into one “market,” strategy turns into hope. ⸻ If Korea Isn’t One Market, Why Do We Pretend Others Are? Here is the irony. When discussing domestic markets, companies are rarely this naïve. They naturally distinguish between: • Metropolitan areas and regional cities • Large enterprises and SMEs • Industry-specific decision cycles • Organizational culture and budget authority But once a border is crossed, thinking suddenly becomes simplistic. “Because it’s the U.S.” “Because it’s global.” This is not analysis. It is a signal that thinking has stopped. ⸻ The Most Common Fallacy: Translation Equals Localization Many companies begin global expansion in the same way: 1....

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