The Building Blocks of Multicultural Marketing

Your foundation should begin with research

If your job description involves direct marketing, odds are this year's marketing plans include reaching one or more multicultural audiences. And if not, it's likely that you'll be faced with the task very soon. The question is—are you prepared?

Many of those charged with the task of multicultural marketing lack the skills, and the appropriate resources, to effectively reach diverse markets. But with the multicultural population presently reaching nearly 100 million in the United States, multicultural marketing isn't just a buzz term anymore. In fact, marketing products and services in culturally relevant ways may just be the key to building tomorrow's most successful brands.

So, where's the logical place to begin when it comes to reaching multicultural audiences?

Know Your Target Market

Any good multicultural marketing program begins with one key step— research. As is the case with many research-intensive programs, this process starts with asking a good deal of questions. Specifically, there are three relevant issues that will guide the ROI of your programs: