Author Archive
How Multicultural Marketing?
This is the second in a series of posts on the why and how of multicultural marketing. The first on why you should “do” multicultural marketing is fine reading. Anne Brumbaugh is our esteemed guest contributor. Anne knows multicultural marketing and she’d be delighted to work with you. Read on for some very instructive information.
Start on the right foot.
Once you’ve come to the realization that you need to consider multicultural marketing – targeting different consumer segments on the basis of ethnic, racial, or cultural group membership – you need to figure out how to get ready to do it. If you want to do a mediocre job, simply read an oversimplified demographic profile of your target group on the internet, reinforce marketing stereotypes that may or may not hold true for the group, replace a few white characters in your ads with members of that group, and translate directly your existing communications into their language
On the other hand, if you want to know how to do a really good job – one that resonates with your subcultural target and has a positive ROI – you need to do a little background work first. Here are five things to do as you consider how you are going to do multicultural marketing.
How #1: Assume nothing, research everything.
As members of the dominant culture, we white Anglos have a difficult time knowing if, when, and how the beliefs, values, and behaviors of other cultural groups differ from ours. (The converse is not so, but that’s for another post.) We may erroneously assume that members of another culture behave just like we do, or that they behave completely differently from how we do. Successful multicultural marketing starts by checking both types of assumptions at the door. Research, particularly qualitative, is absolutely essential for understanding the consumer beliefs about, motivations toward, uses of, and propensity for different product categories and brands among diverse cultural segments of which we are not members.
How #2: Learn the culture of your target.
Not learn about the culture of your target market, learn the culture itself. Read the literature of your target – be sure to include a biography or two, fiction, and non-fiction of different historical periods. Take a history, sociology, or anthropology course about your target to learn the culture’s ethos – what makes its people tick. Identify what popular media your target consumes (television shows, online content, magazines, radio, news, etc.) and consume them yourself to learn what current issues within the community are. You’re doing all this not to learn how to market to them per se, but rather to understand their values and beliefs (see How #1 above).
How #3: Diversify your capabilities.
Marketing to diverse consumers requires a diversity of thought, and you get this diversity of thought from having diverse employees. That doesn’t necessarily mean that if you would like to target subcultural segments X, Y, and Z, you have to have employees from subcultural segments X, Y, and Z (though it doesn’t hurt). It does mean, however, that you have to have different types of people in your firm with a diversity of experiences and backgrounds so that they can question assumptions (see How #1), tap into a broad network of connections and resources that a narrow employee base might not have, and generate more, better ideas than a homogenous group could.
How #4. Understand diversity within diversity.
There is substantial heterogeneity within any segment, and failure to acknowledge it could be disastrous. An African American mom with three kids and a minivan is probably more like her white soccer mom counterpart than she is like a black Caribbean hip hop artist when it comes to purchasing an SUV, and a fifteen year old Hispanic boy is probably more like that same hip hop artist than he is like his own Mexican grandfather when it comes to choosing clothing. Individuals in ethnoracial subcultures differ substantially with regard to how much they identify with their subcultural groups, and these differences influence how they respond to targeted marketing efforts.
How #5: Commit money and talent.
Too often when firms decided to target a particular cultural subsegment, they name someone within their organization of that same subsegment to lead the effort (without regard to his marketing acumen), fund the effort from ad hoc sources (without regard to how much money it will require), and expect immediate results (without regard to how long it will take). Though firms seem reluctant to redeploy their best assets on cultivating a new, unknown, smaller, riskier subsegment than they are used to, successful multicultural marketing requires that they do so. If you’re not going to commit these resources to the effort, you may not yet be ready for multicultural marketing.
Anne M. Brumbaugh is the founder and owner of Anne Brumbaugh Marketing, a marketing consultancy in Charleston, SC, specializing in marketing research, marketplace diversity, and marketing analysis and planning. Dr. Brumbaugh is also an Associate Professor of Marketing at the School of Business, College of Charleston, and holds an MBA with a specialization in marketing and a PhD in business and consumer behavior.
*Photo Credit: Image courtesy of foundphotoslj on Flickr Creative Commons
Related Posts:
Posted in 
Tags: Why Multicultural Marketing?
The Connection Maven continues a series of guest blogger posts from a few of our more connected colleagues.
This guest post is from the desk of Anne Brumbaugh who is a marketing guru if I ever met one. When it comes to marketing know-how, Anne is one of the best. Anne’s speciality is multicultural marketing. In this first of a series of blog posts, she clues us all in to the five reasons we must market multi-culturally. In the coming days, we’ll share Anne’s tips on how to implement multicultural marketing.
Why Multicultural Marketing?
The terms “multicultural marketing” and “marketplace diversity” strike fear in the hearts of many marketing managers who have been wildly successful in targeting mainstream customers but who are now facing an increasingly diverse body of consumers and little experience to serve them. Their fear is well founded because they don’t know why, how, who, or what to do about it.
First things first. Why consider multicultural segmentation and marketing? Absolutely not because it’s the feel-good flavor-of-the-day and the “right thing to do.” Poppycock. Here are five reasons why it’s going to be good for your bottom line.
Why #1: It’s where the customers are going.
The 2000 census projected that white non-Hispanic Americans would become a minority majority (i.e., plurality) by 2040 or 2050. Newsflash: I predict that will be more like 2030 as more people intermarry, have children, travel and work here and abroad, and choose to identify with more than one ethnoracial group on the census and other polls. Some white non-Hispanics seem to be on the edge of panic that this day will be some cultural Armageddon. Again, poppycock. It will simply be one more day in a long, inexorable trend that started back when our forefathers (may of whom were ethnic minority outcasts themselves, for the record) came to this land and will be as glorious and full of opportunity (business, marketing, or otherwise) as ever. Embrace it, or at least get over it. If you don’t, your customer base will shrink.
Why #2: It’s where the money is going.
Ethnoracial minority groups that have, for one reason or another, fallen into the lower tail of the socioeconomic distribution are making great strides. Not only will there be more consumers of diverse backgrounds (see Why #1), but they will have more money. No, they will not be buying the upscale homes and fancy sports cars with extra piles of money that wealthy white non-Hispanic Americans (allegedly) have, but they will be buying more and buying better than they ever have in the past. And they remember companies that targeted them with respectful, value-added offerings on the way up.
Why #3: It’s where your competition is going.
Both nature and business abhor a vacuum, and underserved markets will not remain underserved for long. If you don’t get with the program and learn how to target diverse consumers, your competition will. It may not be your biggest, closest competitor, but rather a small shop that’s willing to end run you but good with a little extra effort, creativity, and heart. The customers are there and the money is there. Go for them before someone else does.
Why #4: It’s where the mainstream mindset is going.
Have no fear – white non-Hispanic consumers will remain the largest ethnoracial group even after becoming a “minority.” The problem is, some of them will be gaining an appreciation for the range of ideas, assortment of goods and services, and spice of life that a more diverse America brings to them, and they will want to patronize firms that embrace that. Terms like the “New Mainstream,” “Cultural Creatives,” and “Diversity Seekers” reflect an evolving ethos among current majority white non-Hispanic consumers who value diversity in their lives. Companies that don’t update their appeals to be more inclusive toward everyone may lose these folks as well.
Why #5: It’s where your opportunity to differentiate will be.
It’s Economics and Marketing 101. If all your consumers are the same, seeking the same source of value for the same reasons, you can’t differentiate and you end up playing a price game in a commodity market. On the other hand, the more diverse your consumers are, the more opportunity you have to differentiate – do more, do different, and do better than your competition in the eyes of your consumers. Unfortunately, it’s going to take more money, more knowledge, and more effort than it has in the past, but if misery loves company, at least everyone’s in the same boat. If you can figure out how a particular consumer segment is different, cater to that point of difference, and then deliver on it, you’re going to thrive in this new, multicultural marketplace.
Anne M. Brumbaugh is the founder and owner of Anne Brumbaugh Marketing, a marketing consultancy in Charleston, SC, specializing in marketing research, marketplace diversity, and marketing analysis and planning. Dr. Brumbaugh is also an Associate Professor of Marketing at the School of Business, College of Charleston, and holds an MBA with a specialization in marketing and a PhD in business and consumer behavior.
*Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons user Ray_from_LA
Related Posts:
If You Want to Grow Your Business, Ask the Right Questions
Over the last year I’ve come to admire and respect the work of Positus Consulting. They have provided spot-0n advice that works for our business. Because we respect her advice so much, we’ve asked her to share a bit of wisdom with us.
A guest post from Andra Watkins of Positus Consulting.
You DO want to grow your business
You want to grow your business. It’s what everyone wants, regardless of the season, ebb and flow of the economy or challenges presented by pesky competitors.
One of the keys to growing any business is knowing how and when to ask the right questions of key people. Sometimes, a focus group is the only way to get the biggest group of participants, but at POSITUS, we like to conduct individual interviews whenever possible.
By hiring a third party to individually ask a customer, vendor or employee key questions about your business, you are communicating several things to them that matter. Let’s take a look at each one of them.
Ask!
Your input is important to me. It is so important to you as a business owner that you hired someone to contact people individually to get that feedback. You’re conveying that the interviewee matters to your business by underscoring the crucial nature of their opinions and insights.
Your time is valuable. Individual interviews can often be conducted by telephone, and they can be timed for the convenience of the interviewee. By taking this approach, you’re communicating that time is precious; that you want to make giving feedback as simple as possible for the participant.
Your confidentiality matters. Lots of folks won’t participate in focus groups because they’re intimidated or they feel they cannot reasonably convey what they have to offer in front of a group. As a research tool, individual interviews with a third party allow each participant to speak freely and candidly in a completely confidential setting.
All of your comments are welcome – even the critical ones. By giving a participant a one-on-one forum with an impartial third party, you are underscoring that you want all relevant feedback – the good; the bad; and the ugly. The beauty of a third party is that the information can then be distilled and worded into relevant, meaningful input for dynamic business change.
I want to keep your business. Customers always like to feel special, and seeking out their opinions one-on-one is an ideal way to underscore that you want to keep their business for the long-term. With key customers, individual interviewing can be the key to keeping them in the “key” position for the life of your business.
You have been an instrument of change in my business. Getting one-on-one feedback is worthless without follow up. Once the information has been reviewed and crafted into specific strategies for growth and change, show people AND tell people how their input made a difference. Announce the changes you’ve made. Thank people personally. Be transparent about what you’re doing, helping everyone to see the value of their individual contributions.
Research is like concentrated dynamite
In every case where POSITUS has helped a client achieve double or triple digit growth, individual interviews have been a non-negotiable component of the strategic process. They are more affordable than a focus group, and the input gleaned is like concentrated dynamite. On more than one occasion, we’ve taken an entirely different strategic growth stance based solely on individual feedback, and that information is what helped the business explode with new growth.
And, isn’t that where you really want your business to be?
*flickr Creative Commons image courtesy of Steve Snodgrass
