CRM - March 2008 - (Page 29)

MULTICULTURAL MARKETING “Just because you eat sushi doesn’t mean you can serve messages to the Japanese.” those markets,’” says Andrew Erlich, a consultant and psychologist at Erlich Transcultural Consultants. Research is the only way you can be sure your campaigns are relevant and your customers are receptive. And with multicultural marketing, the research becomes much more challenging. (See www.destinationCRM.com/ multicultural for more on that challenge.) language. “Just because you eat sushi doesn’t mean you can serve messages to the Japanese,” Campbell says. “It’s much deeper than that.” Marketing is often tempted by other short cuts as well. Take focus groups, for example: Instead of calculating the best combination of individuals, marketers often think it’s enough to just sprinkle in minorities, even though a culturally homogenous group of people is far more likely to generate insightful discussions, Campbell says. Marketers need to resolve to make every dollar go as far as possible. “We try to do fewer, more integrated programs,” says Isaac Mizrahi, director of multicultural marketing at Sprint Nextel. “We stretch programs over a longer period of time, and try to be very creative with the way we use our budget.” The wirelessservice provider has jumped with both feet into the tech-savvy Hispanic market as the exclusive wireless sponsor of Latin Grammy–winning musician Juanes’ 2008 American tour. Sprint subscribers can get exclusive mobile and video content, as well as early access to Juanes’ latest album. Sprint recognized that its six million Hispanic customers represent an important part of its present and future business, Mizrahi says. Within a few weeks after the launch of the program, Sprint saw more Juanes music downloads and more video streaming on cell phones than any non-Latino artist. While Sprint is fortunate that its product is technology-based, Mizrahi admits that, like everyone else, he still faces budget issues. But how much should companies allocate for their multicultural budgets? “However much it’s going to cost,” Romley says, only half-jokingly.“You get what you pay for in all walks of life. It’s not necessarily about spending the most, or going with the best. It’s about having a genuine commitment to the marketing and doing what it takes, toughing it out—just like [in] the general market.” While Muse believes that there is a tendency for marketers to accept a general perspective, he feels that it’s happening less and less. Still, despite the available technology and theoretical framework, there are reasons to believe that marketers are still not grasping the value of the ethnic market. In a recent survey conducted by Anderson Analytics, members of the Marketing Executives Networking Group ranked “multicultural marketing” as only the fifth-most-important area of concern, behind green marketing. Romley finds this highly disconcerting. “I’m all for green marketing; however, there are THE COLOR OF MONEY “Budget is the number-one hurdle in terms of getting these plans launched,” Romley says. Although budgets vary from business to business, experts agree that multicultural budgets are frequently given an unfair share—in fact, they’re often an afterthought, receiving funds from whatever is left over. “[Companies] tend to create sort of a general approach and the multicultural approaches have to fit into that,” Campbell says. The logic behind this technique is dangerously flawed. In her book Beyond Translation, Romley describes how creators of the “Got Milk?” campaign made this mistake when they wanted to reach its Mexican audience. A marketing effort simply translated the slogan to read, “¿Tiene Leche?,” which actually means “Are you lactating?” That lack of cultural awareness exemplifies the short cuts taken when reaching out to other cultures. It risks being not only highly offensive, but damaging to both brand image and customer loyalty as well. Admittedly, some marketing expenses have grown significantly. Campbell attributes this to the proliferation of media channels, the Internet, and social marketing. Due to these economic obstacles, however, he believes marketing isn’t just developing slowly, it’s undergoing a retrenchment that began five to eight years ago. Evidence of this is apparent in the “urban phenomenon,” Campbell says, where companies mistakenly claim to relate to the African American market just because they speak the same www.destinationCRM.com Innovative Research is at the heart of any successful multicultural marketing campaign. For an inside look at what goes on behind the scenes, check out our exclusive extended coverage online at www.destinationCRM.com/multicultural. people with immediate needs,” she says. “Maybe America is moving even slower than I thought.” The multicultural population, by contrast, is moving quickly. “Think about the company that’s not addressing the needs of the market,” says Ivy’s Smith. “People who said, ‘This Internet thing’s not going to work’ got left behind.… You can adapt quickly, or you can hold out—but eventually, you’re just not going to make it.” The idea isn’t that you should be in the multicultural space just to be politically correct or active. It’s about knowing that a specific audience will help you generate revenue. When it comes down to it, says Global Advertising Strategies’ Moskowitz, “The only color that really matters is green.” Contact Editorial Assistant Jessica Tsai at jtsai@destinationCRM.com. 29 CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | MARCH 2008 http://www.destinationCRM.com/multicultural http://www.destinationCRM.com/multicultural http://www.destinationCRM.com/multicultural http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - March 2008

CRM - March 2008 Contents Front Office Feedback Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point Re-shoring Contact Centers NetSuite’s Sweet Ride Takes Another Turn SaaS X.0? destinationCRM Dashboard Retailers Dream Big Detroit: Driven to Distraction Required Reading The Markets Within the Masses In Search of... Selling CRM to Your Sales Force Quixtar’s Quick Fix Travelocity’s New Traveling Companion Chasing Down First-Call Resolution Governing Better Marketing Secret of My Success Re: Tooling Connect Pint of View

CRM - March 2008

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