These guiding principles are based on the Gonzales Group's research and observations of large and small Real Estate and Financial Service organizations that have had success in targeting the Multicultural markets.
1) Dedicating Resources Across the Organization
The Multicultural strategy must thread across, up, and down the entire organization. It must be woven into the corporate culture of the organizations business model. Successful organizations have support and resources - sales, marketing, service, and diversity recruitment - threaded throughout the organization.
Senior and middle management of these successful organizations understand the potential revenue implication that the Multicultural markets bring. They know they must give their absolute attention and commitment to ensure the success of the Multicultural initiative.
2) Establish Measurement and Tracking Mechanisms
All of the organizations that we observed were able to quantify their Multicultural market results. They had the right measurement and tracking tools in place to measure progress and to adjust their efforts accordingly to ensure maximum results.
3) Understanding That Multicultural Strategy is a Long-term Commitment
The commitment by the successful organizations was understandably long-term. Almost all of the successful companies that we observed found it risky to attempt short-term, instant-result-oriented techniques, recognizing that this would only lead to failure.
4) The Ultimate Customer Experience
It was very apparent that the successful organizations had strategies and tactics in place to ensure a positive service experience regardless of the customer's ethnicity. These organizations went to great lengths to provide a consistent satisfying experience. Interestingly, the successful Multicultural programs and activities that we observed were held to the same standard as their general market customers.
Organizations that utilize "business as usual" methods to grow their customer base will soon learn that their biggest obstacles to market share growth are themselves. Organizations that are willing to look beyond the obvious and explore non-traditional customer-oriented service tactics, are the ones that ultimately gain the competitive and economic advantage.
