For many American businesses, Canada would seem to be the ideal "foreign" market. Most Canadians speak English, share the same food, and enjoy many of the same things. It's only a border away and with NAFTA doing business there should be pretty easy. But seasoned marketing professional know that it would be a mistake for U.S. exporters to consider Canada merely as an extension of the United States.

Marketing north of the border can be a very different process than selling at home. Canadian attitudes about such issues as the environment, minority rights, gender equality, job equity, animal welfare and firearms differ quite markedly from those in the U.S. Sellers who do not take these differences into consideration could end up with poorly received products.

The differences between the two cultures go back at least to the colonization of the two countries. As a fellow offspring of Britain, Canadians share many of the pioneering attributes of their American neighbors. America was born of revolution, and Americans take pride in the words of the Declaration of Independence, "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". Canadians however, frowned on the events of 1776 and live by the adage "peace, order and good government."

Another big difference is how Canadians view themselves as a nation. The popular notion is that Americans see themselves as a melting pot. Canadians, on the other hand, like to think of themselves as a cultural mosaic - distinct cultural groups associated into a tolerant common whole. This makes it much harder to market a product through a national wide campaign, and much more necessary to tailor messages to smaller sub-markets defined by region, language, culture and attitude. In general Canadians tend to be more culturally conservative than Americans. They put greater trust in government, the media and authority in general, and they don't like taking risks. The universal health care system run by the government is cherished. The gun lobby is the main proponent of gun control.

Major Pitfalls. Beside the obvious need to make sure that the product meets Canadian standard, packaging and labeling laws, there are a number of other factors to remember when marketing north of the border.

Make the message as "Canadian" as possible, in both image and tone. For example, make sure advertising uses Canadian spellings and expressions, and try to capture an image that is both current and recognizably Canadian. Much of the advertising imagery that works in the U.S. may not work well in Canada, especially imagery that is aggressive or violent.

English is the first language of only 63% of Canadians. Another 25% speak French, with the reminder split largely among Chinese, Italian and German. As most Americans are already aware, the Quebec situation is very sensitive to the Quebecois and other Canadians alike. It would be a mistake for example, to merely translate advertising from American English into Parisian French and expect the message to communicate. Quebec is as different from France as New Zealand is from Britain.

When it comes to food, Canadian tastes are often different from American. For example, Canadians like sweets as much as their southern neighbors, product formulas, however, frequently have less sugar. Muffins in Canada tend to resemble European bread, whereas American muffins take after cupcakes. On many Canadian restaurant tables you can expect to find a bottle of vinegar instead of ketchup. Indeed many foods differ in flavor because the flavor of vinegar in Canada is as different as Soya sauce is in the U.S. and Japan.

Canadians strongly support environmental issues. Recycling, waste reduction and environmental restoration can be very important points in plotting a marketing strategy. U.S. firms would do well to find ways to adapt to these sensibilities in everything from packaging, to promotional literature, to instruction books. For instance worries about the destruction of trees make many Canadians frown upon direct mail marketing.

"Buy Canadian" is playing an increasingly important role in consumer consumption, but it would be silly for any U.s. business person to interpret this as a sign that U.S. products are not welcome - because they are.

Distribution costs tend to be higher in Canada than in the U.S. and depending on the product, manufacturing costs per unit can be higher as well, especially if firms manufacture exclusively for the Canadian market.

Changing Consumer Profile. The Canadian population has changed dramatically in recent years. Not only it the population growing at a slower rate, it is aging too. The segment of people over 50 years old , for example, is growing faster than younger age groups - some of which are actually shrinking. As in the U.S., the baby boom generation in Canada is moving into middle age, a period where they are saving more and spending less.

Immigration is also changing the social landscape. Accounting for the bulk of population growth in Canada in recent years, immigration has brought unique set of tastes and buying patterns to the marketing equation.

At the same time corporate restructuring like that taking place in the U.S. is having a big impact on the attitudes of Canadian consumers. Company downsizing and fewer high-paying jobs have resulted in less spending. As in the U.S., Canadian consumers in recent years are as interested in status as they are in getting value for their money.