With the ever expanding diversity of homebuyers, real estate organizations be they brokerage, lending or title, are often faced with the challenge of successfully reaching these new consumers.
Every ethnic group is rich in culture and language and understanding their point of reference to home ownership and the real estate transaction is critical to the marketing success of any organization.
There are 5 simple rules to reaching the ethnic markets that every organization should know.
Rule No. 1: Integration is the key!
In the past, the process for reaching multicultural markets was often limited to one dimensional effort such as the literal translations of general market campaigns.
Today organizations are developing new products designed specifically to meet the needs of this new
Culturally Diverse Companies…
• Implement an integrated year-round out reach campaign to the ethnic markets.
• Provide high level customer service in multiple languages from end-to-end.
• Become valuable corporate citizens in the ethnic communities.
• Offer culturally relevant products and services at competitive prices.
Rule No. 2: Do your research!
It may cost you a little upfront, but it is critical to your success. Carefully study your market and its relationship with your product or services prior to launching a diversity initiative.
Understanding the cultural nuances of a market before you start is important.
Rule No. 3: Cultural Connectivity!
Cultural Connectivity is the ability to reach a consumer through their cultural context. A few cultural connectors to consider include:
– Values
– Community
– Religion
– Lifestyles
– Ethnicity
– Race
– Sexual orientation
– Country of origin
– Degree of acculturation
– Language
Rule No. 4: Perception is Reality!
How communities see a company is how an individual will see the company. This basic marketing concept is critically important to the multiethnic landscape.
Many successful companies launch “causal” related PR strategies that put the ethnic community and its needs at the center of its communications.
The best way to conduct these efforts with credibility is to partner with national or local ethnic real estate organizations.
A company seeking to become culturally diverse should ask itself:
• How many cultural grassroots efforts has the company undertaken or been involved with?
• Have company brokers/executives and managers become acquainted with the leaders of the ethnic communities?
• Do they have a relationship such that these leaders respond or return their calls?
Rule No. 5: Partner with the experts!
Don’t try and go it alone. When planning a diversity campaign, identify the appropriate resources and consider hiring an agency. Lastly, identify a multilingual spokesperson that can champion and be the voice for the initiative.
Be patient with the process, build ongoing relationships with the communities and the media and remember that multicultural marketing is still young and open to a lot of creativity.
