Who run the world? Girls!
Now, maybe this is just a Beyonce song lyric, but it is not too far from the truth because women’s buying power/influence drives 70%-80% of consumer purchases. Not only do women have more power in the market, but there has been a significant increase in minority groups’ buying power that cannot be ignored.
As Content Marketing Institute (CMI) writes, minority consumer markets are growing faster than the white consumer market. With this is mind, it is now, more than ever, important for brands to ensure they keep a multicultural mindset when creating content. This article dives into 3 key ways all companies can achieve this diverse mindset:
- Remember these are real people, not just facts and numbers
- Meet them where they are
- Get outside help if needed
Remember these are real people
Though we live in the age of data, the number one thing all marketers need to remember is that there are real people behind the numbers and demographics. They all come from not only different ethnicities, but varying backgrounds and experiences that helped shape their values and beliefs. As the article states, the best way to do this is to explore what makes everyone human – dive into their core beliefs, find what makes your target audience similar, then expand into the nuances.
Though this is stated as a strategy, this article doesn’t do a deep dive into how companies can actually implement this idea. When it comes to understanding exactly who your audience is, I still believe in the tried and trued way – asking them. Find who your target audience is, and create a plan to survey them. This can be done in the form of online surveys, focus groups (which is my personal favorite because you can read emotions on faces in person), etc. Brainstorming in a closed environment is not enough to learn about real people and their core values. Brands can use this information to then create buyer personas and start exploring the groups within their larger target audience.
Meet them where they are
Coming to an understanding of who your audience is generally not enough by itself. The next step is to gain insight into their decision making process, as this is how and why they will buy your product. Using the methods I listed before (surveys, focus groups, etc.), companies can learn the following about their target audience (and so much more):
- What problems are they trying to solve?
- What emotional triggers pushes them towards a certain product/brand?
- Who in the household makes the decision? Who actually purchases?
Decision makers can vary from culture to culture, along with who also ends up making the purchase. It is important for brands to understand if there is a different person who they are targeting to sell to vs. who is buying.
Get outside help if needed
To avoid a potentially offensive campaign, the article states to start by bringing in a diverse team of input which I wholeheartedly agree with. It is always important to have diverse thought, especially for content meant for the public. However, it is not enough to just have diverse thought because this does not ensure you have captured the entire target audience. Individuals can be diverse, and still have varying beliefs from your audience. For example, as an Indian girl who grew up in NJ, I am not enough to capture the beliefs of girls from NJ or even Indian girls from NJ because we have all grown up differently. The best strategy is always to be in constant conversation with your actual target and test with a small group, if possible. Testing any major content against your consumers will get approval or feedback straight from them that can be taken back to the company. This can help brands hedge against the content they are putting into public eye.
Overall, the article is great in reminding us the importance of having multicultural marketing be the new norm. However, I feel that that there was no deep dive into actual strategies and implementation tactics for application. The points brought up and discussed were very high-level strategies of what brands should already be doing for marketing in general. Individuals cannot read this article and walk away with a clear game plan on how to implement a multicultural mindset for their teams.
The passionately curious 