The world economy is notable for diversity not only in the context of promotion strategies and products offered but also in the ethnic composition of business teams. Today, minorities are rapidly acquiring weightiness, both among the indigenous population and numerous market experts. Consequently, the concept of building a “common market” no longer meets all the consumers’ needs, requiring a diversification of strategies.
This situation is caused by the variability of values and personal expectations in world cultures. It is the diversity marketing strategy that focuses on advertising as an alternative way of communicating with the multiple social groups. Experts focus their efforts on developing as clear as possible methods of interaction in order to cover as more people.
So, diversity marketing means an approach that recognizes an influence of cultural factors on tastes and needs of clients. It recognizes heterogeneity even within the framework of one social stratum, segmenting a market according to physical, economic, even ecological parameters. A company, focusing on expanding own client base through racial, ethnic or gender diversity, refers to in-culture marketing. Such tactics are effective for the global marketplace, as target audiences of European and American cities react differently to the same message.
Many well-known brands have successfully employ diversity marketing to enter new demographic markets. For example, McDonald's with its slogan “I love it” or Proctor&Gamble with commercials about their items, which often feature representatives of the African-American community. Harley Davidson began selling motorcycles to women, indicating their equality with men.
Cosmetic corporations have also succeeded. So, L'Oréal offers a palette of 66 color shades, allowing you to choose a basis for any skin tone. And the brand M.A.C. may boast of the availability of multilingual beauty consultants, which ensures the company's accessibility anywhere in the world.
The Coca-Cola Super Bowl 2017 application is also distinguished by its linguistic diversity. The song “America is beautiful” was performed in Hindi, Arabic, English languages, by Latinos, gay couples, Jews and women in Middle Eastern attire. I.e. it is important not only to comply with cultural ideals of a certain community but also be able to modify the auditory, personal and visual perception of production.
Who’s Doing Diversity Marketing?
The effective campaign begins with a comprehension of the multicultural aspect. Consumers could quickly determine the difference between an original advertisement and a copy with subtitles. Therefore, experienced marketers often check promotion methods in ethnic focus groups, systematizing information about their reactions.
Establishing contacts and investing in target communities also serve as important components of diversity marketing. Such steps contribute to creating a positive reputation and strengthening ties with minority leaders, which provides room for maneuver. On the contrary, a one-way flow of communication and lack of interaction, as a rule, leads to the development of incorrect vectors. Here are some tips for making right diversity marketing:
- Decide on the strategy. Your firm could position itself either as the leader of novelties or as the flagship of equality in the context of staff. Specificity will help focus on smart marketing initiatives.
- Write a unique story for your brand. It should be a different storyline, presentation and meet ethical criteria.
- Maximize the use of media resources to attract new customers.
- Simplify procedures and plans. Many marketers sin with desire to detail the development strategy for a year or two, forgetting that it is impossible to take into account all the potential risks. Track only the basics, i.e. quantitative and qualitative indicators.
- Focus on the results initially. One of the best ways to approve an advertising campaign is an experimental pilot which may give exhaustive answers to questions about the ethnic diversity of perception.
Traditionally, the first social cohort, requiring a different approach, was called blacks. Recently they were joined by Asian Americans with higher incomes and activity in social networks. Latin Americans are also not inferior in numbers, but they are not a homogeneous group of consumers. Therefore, diversity marketing tactics for them should be broken down into small segments. Lately, representatives of the LGBT community have been gaining popularity. True, they form only 5-7% of buyers in the general market but are characterized by a high level of return and loyalty.
Different target audiences pursue their goals. For example, Indian and Japanese women are looking for cosmetics to illuminate own skin, while Western people prefer products that obscure it. If the cosmetic giants do not take this into account, at their service no one will feel the need, accordingly, the profit will fall substantially. That is why the individual approach to your client is so significant. It is better to have a holistic view of the client group for helping business to concretize its goals.
Thus, diversity marketing implies a specific adaptation of the company's message to clients, instead of trying to adopt a national market for its calls. Minorities do not aspire to fit into the culture of the dominant population. They create own neighborhoods and emphasize their individual differences in every possible way. Therefore, if your business wants to become international, learn to be a culturally versatile businessperson.