Multi-Cultural Marketing

The first advice any new businessperson usually receives is, "Know your market." But how do you get to know your market if you don't speak their language or share their cultural heritage?

A growing number of consultants are available to advise businesses on multi-cultural marketing, but if you decide hiring a consultant is not for you, here are some things you can do on your own:

• Become familiar with the cultures with which you will be working. "Read publications like Hispanic Business News, Black Enterprise, and TransPacific, as well as publications for the Native American community, such as Native Peoples," advises Barbara Deane of the GilDeane Group in Seattle, which publishes Diversity Marketing Outlook and Cultural Diversity at Work. "What are they talking about? What are their wants and needs?"

  Reading the ads in ethnic publications will tell you what your competitors are doing, as well as give you some idea of what appeals to different groups. What attributes of the product or service being advertised are underscored? Is it the pleasure the consumer gains from using it, or the pleasure the product will provide to the consumer's loved ones? Do advertisements emphasize personalized service or efficient service? Are they stressing the reliability of familiar brands? Looking analytically at the ads will tell you what people are buying and why.

• There are a number of sources that can tell you what the market potential is for different groups, and what cultural differences you should keep in mind. Where do you find them? Do library research. "For example, the Hispanic Market Handbook is full of information," says Deane. "The American Marketing Association has done some studies. Look in the magazine, Marketing News. Some companies are developing research databases on ethnic markets." Don't overlook potential sources of information.
• Learn what you can about your specific product or service in various cultures. In many Asian cultures, the concept of Feng Shui, the art of designing a physical environment that promotes a sense of harmony and well-being, is important.

  If you're in real estate, you should be aware that a house at the end of a cul-de-sac in a neighborhood with a large Asian-American population is not likely to sell for what you might expect. The negative energy on the street is presumed to flow toward the end of the cul-du-sac; a building located there would have more than its share of bad luck, which would discourage prospective buyers. Also, many Asian-American households consist of extended families, and two-story homes with a downstairs bedroom and bathroom for the elderly members of the family will sell better.

  This specialized information can be found in trade publications, such as Progressive Grocer, Chilton's Hardware Age, Beverage Industry and Footwear News, which have featured stories on targeting ethnic consumers.

• Appreciate the diversity within groups as well as among groups. Terms like "Hispanic" and "Asian" are frequently used without acknowledging the wide variety of peoples such terms include. "Asian" can refer to any one of hundreds of nationalities, language groups, and cultures. Entrepreneurs need to be aware that what appeals to Chinese-Americans in California may have little appeal for Korean-Americans in New York, although they are all Asian-Americans.

  New York Life Insurance learned this the hard way when their ad campaign, targeted toward Korean-Americans, failed when they used ads featuring Chinese-American models.

  Even within the same cultural group differences must be taken into account. Arab-American Christians and Arab-American Muslims may coexist peacefully, but that does not mean that one group will be effective in marketing to the other.

  There may be differences, for instance, in how familiar your employees are with the culture (employees raised outside their ethnic communities may be unfamiliar with some aspects of their own culture); in how strongly they are influenced by mainstream U.S. culture; and in how great the gap is between the social class of your employee and your clientele. (For example, African-Americans from a middle-class background may not be able to market effectively to working-class African-Americans.)

  These differences may have a significant impact on the ability of members of the same culture to communicate. Don't just target the entire Hispanic market, target that portion of the Hispanic market most likely to be interested in your product or service.

• Be prepared to re-think what you believe you know about marketing. Successful marketing in ethnic communities often means going against conventional wisdom.

  "Main Street type" business districts, with independent store-front retailers who offer highly personalized service, are supposedly relics of the past. But merchants in Southern California have done well by recreating "Main Street" business districts (as can still be found in Latin American cities) to serve Hispanic neighborhoods.