By The Gonzales Group
RISMEDIA, April 3, 2008-Recently, the Pew Research Center released a study reinforcing the changing face of America. According to the study, if current trends continue, the population of the United States will rise to 438 million in 2050, from 296 million in 2005, and 82% of the increase will be due to immigrants arriving from 2005 to 2050 and their U.S.-born descendants.
According to the University of Georgia Selig Center (2007), the buying power among multicultural consumers will grow exponentially and the market share claimed by this targeted group of consumers is important because the higher their market share, the lower the average cost of reaching a potential buyer in the group.
Organizations often take a defensive approach and adopt a “preserve and sustain” mindset that ignores or discounts the opportunities that present themselves. Pinpointing external change and detecting customer patterns allows you to make sound judgment about where the world is going and putting your business on the offensive to capitalize on changes, according to Ram Charan, author of Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done.
Many brokers, lenders, and others in the industry tell us that they are experiencing a transformation in the profile of the homebuyers coming through the door. This new homebuyer is not receptive to existing sales techniques and traditional marketing approaches do not seem to do much to bring them through the door. The solutions require some getting back to basics.
Solutions and Strategies
Organizations that have been successful in tapping into the multicultural consumer base have utilized four fundamental strategies:
1) Understand and evaluate the demographics of the local market.
It is critically important to understand the new economic powerbase that is the multicultural consumer. Examine their country of origin, age segments, and median household income to develop a sound marketing plan.
2) Develop appropriate products and modify service delivery.
Products and services that are relevant and appropriate sell. Take into account the nuances of the multicultural consumer such as multigenerational households, religious practices, or language proficiency.
3) Get the right infrastructure in place.
Without the right infrastructure, you cannot accommodate multicultural customers or recruit the right sales professionals. The multicultural consumer and real estate professional requires language, religious, and philosophical considerations if you are going to win them both as customers or team members.
4) Market your message.
Understanding and addressing your target audience through the communication vehicles they prefer is critical. Researching and understanding the media distributions, and identifying community influencers are the first steps to getting your in-culture marketing and recruiting message out.
Getting Your Strategy Right
As you examine your organization’s strategy, it is important to not only consider economic changes, but also societal and consumer changes that may be driving the local economic engine. Leverage the four strategies we recommend to help you develop a strategy for dealing with these changes and go on the offensive to help you bridge the economic and consumer gap you may be missing out on.
For more information, visit www.thegonzalesgroup.com.
