Emphatically, I say, “YES!”
I’m sure you’ve heard the American proverb, “He who has the gold makes the rules!”
As we near the end of the second quarter of 2009, marketers would be wise to follow this bit of astute wisdom as they assess their remaining advertising budgets.
Of course, first you’ll need to discover the gold-holding rule-makers: I will tell you they are the affluent ethnic consumers.
Being the savvy marketer that I’m sure you are, it’s likely you’ve read the articles identifying ethnic consumers as viable new prospects. What I’m not seeing much information disseminated about is the affluent segment – not the middle class – but the truly affluent sub-segments within this consumer group. They are a largely ignored and under-served market segment who are patiently awaiting the right marketing approach from you.
The key to your approach is to never make the mistake of marketing to affluent ethnic consumers from your perspective and asking them to come to you. This sub-segment has made their own rules, and they are highly influential in today’s marketplace. Deliberately cater to them by getting on their turf, seeing through their eyes, and speaking their language. You must go to them, and serve them on their terms, in order to build lasting and meaningful relationships. I’m sure their $282 billion in purchasing power is something you want to harness.
Here are a few tips for luxury marketers, or any marketer, to plan a successful target marketing strategy:
• Identify and utilize appropriate ethnicity-based traditional and non-traditional media outlets in your advertising.
• Partner up with membership-based ethnic organizations.
• Consider instituting a Diversity Advisory Board in your company.
• Hire a more diverse workforce.
Now is not the time to cut back marketing expenditures; instead, correctly divert them toward this sub-segment, and I guarantee you will see better ROI in the way of stronger loyalty, broader word-of-mouth, and fresh revenue streams in addition to your general market initiatives.
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Tags: affluent ethnic consumers, Black America Web, diversity luxury marketing, target marketing strategy
