Four Marketing Insights to Engage a Culturally Diverse Marketplace

A strategic approach to tap into a growing market.

As you explore growth opportunities in 2019, consider the value of marketing to a growing culturally diverse marketplace, which is expected to represent half of the U.S. population by 2044, according to population estimates and projections by the U.S. census. Affluence is also growing among these multicultural communities, influencing demographic shifts in suburbs across America, impacting local businesses and political influence. Consider the following strategic approach when marketing to this growing segment. 1. Employ: A new product rollout approach by sizing the business opportunity driven by greater understanding of category penetration, product/service with greater consideration and purchase intent. Understand the underpinnings of local multicultural neighborhoods, their level of affluence, fusion of ethnicities, and community foot print. Prioritize the following criteria:

• Frame size, scope, process, financial contributions and investments
• Define clear goals and objectives to win
• Implement well-crafted, data-driven strategy
• Refine target segmentation
• Hyper-local is critical

2. Engage: Culturally diverse consumers in your overall marketing strategy through a thorough segmentation analysis, exploring their value system, self-identity, unifying cultural idiosyncrasies across ethnic groups and, even shopping and media patterns. The benefit of implementing a well-crafted, data-driven strategy will provide a strong benchmark for continuous evaluation and tweaking as you expand your marketing efforts.

More specifically:

• Assess nativity; cultural identifiers; regional influences
• Lead with insights for each unique segment

3. Inspire: Open and relevant dialogue. Cultural marketing is about context. Language is no longer the end all to multicultural. Inspiring Latinos with authenticity takes a lot more than communicating in-language; it requires validation by embracing their diversity. Spend time on social media evaluating competitive brand engagement; gather retail intelligence by visiting local on/off premise locations; conduct small sampling sessions to gain a better understanding on how your potential consumer describes the product and/or brand. Regional differences may also play a role in your communication.

• Develop pan-regional messaging with hyper-local influences
• Maintain pulse on emerging multicultural trends influencing (mainstream) pop culture – conversations, fashion, food/beverage, values, societal views, and music.

4. Nurture: Ongoing consumer-brand experiences through localized community involvement, continuous social media presence, co-op partnerships and appealing customer service. By following these recommendations you’ll maximize the impact and success in the marketplace…good luck! Related articles:

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