subject: Marketing to Minorities [print this page] Marketing to Minorities Marketing to Minorities
The minority population in the United States is steadily growing. The 2000 census shows that whites make up only a little under 70% of the population with 30% being minority. This30% of thepopulation makes up for huge marketing potential and growth for business that have not ventured into this sector before. In 2006 Latinos alone spent $690 billion. This potential for business is definitely not one that you want your business to pass up on. When marketing to these groups however, it is important to keep a few things in mind.
Knowing your market is a first step. Find out what different groups are interested in and how those interests relate to your product or service.Conduct market research specific groups that are potential customers. This can be a little tricky though, you do not want to over generalize or buy into stereotypes. There are many different cultures within demographics. Hispanics, for example,come from a multitude of different cultures, speaking different dialects with different values and traditions. Marketing that may exclude some of these groups will cause your company to loose out on business and customer relationships.
Show that your company is interested in multicultural groups. Including multicultural models in pictures on your website and marketing materials is a great first step to showing you are interested in creating multicultural relationships. A step further can be to run ads in publications and television that runs in other languages. Be careful translating into the language; phrases that maybe widely knownin English might not make any sense in Hebrew or Chinese. Likewise, certain colors or gestures may mean one thing in western societies but something completely different in other cultures.
Get involved in communities. This piece of advice is not really specific to minorities, people love to see businesses take an interest in their community. However, getting involved in a particular community will spark interest in your company by that group. Weather your company chooses to get involved in the Asian or the German community in your area, those groups will notice.While getting involved may take a little time and effort the benefits greatly outweigh the costs. Think of it these important points
becoming active in a community is free advertising, people will get a chance to see your company and find out what you are about
companies can meet potential partners in the business world, often companies will participate in an event where other companies are known to participate
it may be eligible for a tax write off and who doesn't need a tax write off these days?
Getting involved in the community lets people know you care, and can help foster interest in your company.
Developing a database can help when marketing toward minorities. Tracking customers and how they interact with your business is a great means to being to learn what they are interested in, when they are usually interested in it, and why they choose your company over others. This valuable information can help cater your marketing efforts to groups you know are already interested and have a need for your product.
Marketing to multicultural groups can really make or break your business. Their population and their buying potential is growing everyday and their influence has an impact on your business. Careful planning and a little bit of research can help ensure that your business is relatable to all groups and does not hinder its growth in an ever-expanding market.
