Companies seeking to do business in Russia should not create one nation-wide plan, but several business plans should be developed in order to reflect the unique aspects and demands of different regions or cities.

Local brand loyalty is increasing, as well as the quality of domestic products. The packaging of products has improved and many Russian leading brands are equal in competition to international brands nowadays. In order for a foreign company to compete, local or national brands can be created and positioned. The three most important factors influencing consumer selection of products are aggressive advertising, promotion and a minor decrease in prices.

A company entering the Russian market must be aware of the popular person-to-person marketing. This is mainly due to that distribution and logistic costs are high and this way of marketing is therefore less costly. Russian consumers appreciate however big centres to do their shopping. Large stores will continue to become popular even in the future.

Customer preferences regarding advertising have step-by-step changed. Commercial should be humorous, interesting, bright, and beautiful and combine image and product qualities.