Minority Marketing – The Forgotten Strategy

A few months ago, I had a brief post about how surprising it is that so few companies are marketing to minorities, when that segment is growing at such a rapid rate. (see Minority Marketing or Majority Marketing?) Six months later, I haven’t seen much change in company’s marketing strategies, even though the numbers continue to grow (and this shouldn’t be news to anyone).

Minority marketing is a tremendous opportunity for businesses, if for no other reason than it’s a major market that hasn’t been fully tapped. Translatingyour marketing materials is a great start, but it’s only the first step. It also includes demographic research and knowing which minority to target. What exactly should be promoted to that minority, and what’s the best way to do it? How can you show that you truly understand that ethnicity and that they shouldn’t just give you business, but they should trust you and accept you? For example, many immigrants worked hard to get to the US and work even harder now that they’re here, but also love to celebrate the good times. Marketing strategies should focus on the fun and popular, and not the sad and depressed.

You may want to consider some of these channels when promoting to minorities (with the appropriate message!):

Language translation – The easier it is for the user to read advertisements, packaging, and instructions, the more likely they are to prefer your brand.

Alternative website – Most browsers will translate web pages, but the message might not be as clear this way, and it won’t translate with photo captions. Images aren’t always appropriate either. Consider developing a second version of your website for a particular minority group that you could work with frequently.

Minority media – Could you utilize minority television channels, newspapers and magazines, or radio stations?

Mobile applications – Smartphone use growing rapidly, and this includes with minorities as well. Consider developing a mobile application for a particular minority race.

Here are some interesting statistics about minorities:

The 2010 Census showed that the country’s Hispanic population grew by 43% over the previous decade, while the white population grew by less than 6%. (see WSJ article)

Minority’s buying power in 2010 was a combined $2.6 trillion, and this number is predicted to grow to $3.6 trillion in 2015. (see UGA article)

48% of births in 2008 were minority children (see Fox News article)

Most companies either aren’t marketing to minorities, or they aren’t doing it as well as they could. It’s not just about promoting to them, but showing that you understand them and making your company truly accepted by them. What ideas do you have to reach out to the growing minority marketing before they become the US majority market, or how are you already doing so?