by Gonzales Group
As U.S. consumer markets evolve and grow, multicultural marketing has become increasingly critical to a business’s prospects for success. It’s obvious that the demographic tide is turning. Businesses that take the traditional approach and ignore these changes now risk alienating the very ethnic segments that will drive sales in the coming years.
So how should marketers in the real estate and financial services industries engage multicultural consumers? Here are some tips from the Gonzales Group to get you started.
Be Informed
The Gonzales Group recommends that REALTORS® devote the time and resources necessary to truly understand the vast opportunity that exists in growing multicultural markets. Immerse yourself in the culture, get involved in the communities where multicultural consumers live and work, and try to see the world from these consumers’ point of view. This will make it easier for you to make valuable personal connections within these communities — connections that could last for years to come. Brokers should encourage their agents to beef up their knowledge of ethnic diversity in order to help them better serve the multicultural market. This commitment will help agents serve consumers in a culturally relevant and appropriate manner, while remaining true to the company’s core values. Find an Internal Champion Multicultural marketing will only become a priority for a business when someone at the top fully supports it. Without that support from an “internal champion,” other employees may not embrace Multicultural marketing as a key business priority. Also, when a business does not make a concerted effort to reach out to multicultural markets, it risks its credibility within that community and among the media and other civic influencers who serve it.
Commit to Market Research
When you develop your market research tools and survey instruments (questionnaires, guidelines, etc.), keep the ethnic or multicultural consumer clearly in mind. If a significant portion of your potential consumer base speaks languages other than English at home, at work or in other social settings, it makes sense to conduct your market research in that language. If a majority of your consumer base lives and works in a given neighborhood, be sure to target your research to those consumers, as attitudes can vary greatly from one area to the next.
Perform a Cost-Benefit Analysis
The most successful marketing professionals run detailed cost-benefit analyses to discover what advantages a given multicultural marketing strategy might bring. In most cases, this type of in-depth analysis will reveal that an investment in multicultural markets is not only the right thing to do, but also the most cost-effective way to generate sales.
To convince your colleagues, or even your bosses, that multicultural marketing should be a priority, it is imperative that you demonstrate clear proof that these multicultural markets can increase your company’s market share. Be sure to document and measure the success of any multicultural marketing initiative. Rising sales speak for themselves, of course, but also consider other ways to measure success. Has call volume increased? Have more multicultural prospects stopped by the office? Has the company Web site generated more hits? Professional Help While the idea of creating a multicultural marketing plan from scratch can seem daunting, especially for small real estate businesses, plenty of help is available.
The Gonzales Group is such an agency that specializes in multicultural marketing. With an exceptional partner to guide you, it should be much easier to reach out to a diverse customer base that will keep your business growing for years to come.
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