Continued from page 1
As does all market planning, multicultural marketing needs to include research to determine who is buying your products and services, and why. Any market segment's unique make-up defines its needs, suggesting products to sell and methods to use, and if it's right for you; solid information about
wants, needs and objectives of potential clients is essential in making sound marketing decisions. Surveys of prospects and clients and informal interviews are useful research tools for agents and advisors in areas where one or more ethnic groups predominate. Multicultural market planning continues with customer profiles--word-pictures of people you're looking for summarizing what these groups mean to you, what you do for group, and why. Example: “The person I do business with is a young black professional or executive who is married, politically conservative, and has potential of earning $100,000 a year by age 40. This market has grown substantially from when I started in this business 10 years ago, and I’ve been able to develop a steady market presence. As a result, networking opportunities and qualified referrals are easy—but I have to keep my eye on ball and know my stuff.”
Market positioning then allows you to focus your resources and expertise as they apply to your market segments and think through messages you wish to communicate to create competitive advantages. Your positioning statement should be well thought out and lend itself to professional identity branding. Your "brand"--reputation, integrity, performance, credentials, distinctive competencies and other key factors--shows in everything you do and differentiates you from your competition. Establish your brand up front: in conversation, in writing and in what you make people think about.
A marketing strategy is your formal plan for entering and systematically developing multicultural market segments and achieving your goals. It coordinates your positioning statement, customer profiles and professional identity brand with tools and techniques for establishing yourself in these market segments while servicing and expanding your existing client base. Once you have a plan, you'll need to implement, manage and sustain it. It's also important to remain focussed on your long-term goals. And to stay motivated!
You can adopt these steps to any market segment; what’s most important is thinking strategically about how you will find, get, and keep customers. Because marketing in U.S. is becoming more like global marketing, market planning must proceed from an understanding of cultural differences better to evaluate need for adjustments to strategies and tactics. Commenting on potential growth of multicultural marketing, Lisa Skriloff predicts: “Businesses that have not invested in multicultural marketing will be forced to reevaluate or be left behind.”
Want More? Send questions and comments to w.willard3@knology.net.
Bill Willard has also been writing high-impact marketing and sales training primarily for the financial services industry for 30 years—but as Will Rogers put it: "Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.” Through interactive, Web-based "Do-While-Learning™" programs, enewsletters and straight-talking articles, Bill helps SBOs and independent professionals get the job done.
