Ethnic Marketing
The Carrier is Key to Your Success in Multi-Cultural Markets
by X. Rick Niu
America's growing diversity has every marketing expert devising ways to tap into the burgeoning market of people whose cultures, histories, languages, and buying preferences create unique challenges and intriguing opportunities. The emerging Hispanic and Asian-American markets are getting particular attention because language is an intricately interwoven factor, adding communications complexities beyond those involved in traditional multi-cultural markets, such as with African-Americans and women.
These demographic trends are profoundly experienced in California, a state with a long history of welcoming people from around the world. California "QuickFacts" statistics (2000-2005) from the U.S. Census Bureau provide a glimpse of how advanced the state is on the multi-cultural curve:
¥ 12.2% of the population is Asian, which is nearly triple the national average.
¥ 35.2% of the population is Hispanic, which is more than double the national average.
¥ 26.2% of the population is foreign-born, which is more than double the national average.
¥ In 39.5% of homes, languages other than English are spoken, which is more than double the national average.
In addition, 2002 Census Bureau statistics show that California has more than double the percentage of Asian- and Hispanic-owned businesses than the rest of the nation. What this says to us in the financial services world is that California represents the future. Our industry's approach to serving the multi-cultural community can be a model for the rest of the country.
Building a multi-cultural approach can be difficult for a producer or general agency, so it's essential to tap into the strengths of insurance carriers. A number of carriers are providing more robust gateways for producers and consumers to experience their products and services. It is in your best interest to evaluate carriers to see how they can help you reach out to broader, multi-cultural markets and establish lasting relationships with the community. LetÕs consider some common aspects of the carriers' offerings.
1. Sales Materials May Look the Same, But Not All Are Created Equal
The most common multi-cultural marketing support from carriers is to translate their brochures, posters, kits, and the like into foreign languages. In theory, these text and photos are "multi-culturalized" to appeal directly to these other groups. But, this last-stage customization often misses the mark.
Selling processes and messages must be created in the context of the culture you're trying to reach, not merely in the right language. You have to understand the culture in order to present financial products to people or to present any products, for that matter. Many translations are technically correct, but may be off base or even alarming to multi-cultural readers. For example, presenting the concept of an "accelerated death benefit rider" in Mandarin Chinese can easily wind up being a pitch for a rider to "help you die faster." Not an easy sell. Photos can also be tricky also. In addition, white can represent purity for one group and death for another. A picture that may indicate "Asian" to the casual reader may not resonate with a first generation Asian American.
How do you know whether your carrier has a sophisticated approach to multi-cultural materials? Give multi-cultural materials from several carriers to people who are intimately connected with the communities being addressed. You may be surprised at what you hear.
2. Brand Acceptance and Global Acceptance
Match the predominant cultures and communities you are trying to reach to carriers that have a significant presence in other countries. Multi-cultural customers tend to embrace global brands for two reasons. First and foremost, they are more inclined to trust a company that has experience in their home country. Beyond the obvious factor of name recognition, consumers from some cultures rely heavily on the opinions of family and community members. A carrier that provided excellent service to an uncle in Chile may be more readily adopted by a U.S.-born nephew who is looking into a life policy, knows the global brand, and has a family stamp of approval.
A carrier with deep roots in other countries may be seen as more open to cultural differences and attuned to cultural nuances even if they are not in a customer's home country.
3. A Continuum of Service Builds Relationships
Naturally, you should look at what your carriers can provide to customers after the sale. Since word-of-mouth is crucial among family members, bad service tends to boomerang on the broker in terms of resistance to future sales. You have to ask a few questions and even dig a little to ensure that a carrier is investing in the multi-cultural market for the long haul.
Is a carrier considered multi-cultural friendly just because it has a foreign-language Website or call center? Not necessarily. The carrier should be able to provide a strong continuum of support in the language and bridge the multi-cultural consumer from being a prospect, to new customer, to multi-product customer, to long-term investor.
Does the carrier hire and retain a diverse workforce? Is the carrier's leadership and implementation team experienced in the individual life and employee benefits of multi-cultural customers? Goals for the revenue side of the house must be accompanied by a workforce that has unique insights into the multi-cultural customer's circumstances and needs.
4. Attracting Multi-Cultural Agents
There is a lingering perception that consumers of diverse backgrounds are all middle-income and their financial needs can be met with whole life products. That perception must be broadened to include more affluent consumers who have greater spending power, education, and access to information. These consumers expect choices. Your carrier should know this and have marketing materials in multiple languages, to assist with the more sophisticated product sale.
Some of the California demographic facts we looked at earlier tell us a couple of things. First, there are a lot of multi-cultural business owners who need sophisticated protection products and other financial services. This group overlaps with a broader set of affluent multi-cultural consumers. They want a wider range of product choices and they are likely to choose financial partners who understand their cultural preferences and treat them with respect.
Your carrier can help you meet both of these criteria. First, it's important to understand that multi-cultural consumers don't want specially developed products. They want what every affluent consumer wants sophisticated products from respected names in the financial services industry.
The agent who has intimate experience with a culture is the most effective intermediary for these affluent consumers. Just as more educated clients want choice when they buy, agents want carrier choice when they sell to these clients. Increasingly, multi-cultural agents are following the path of consolidation in an "echo boom" of the consolidation frenzy of independent agencies of the early 2000s. These multi-cultural agents want relationships and the systems and products to help them seize the American Dream.
The carrier must be able to help you provide this ramp up to success. Ask about training opportunities in the multi-cultural realm, such as training in Spanish, for example. Large professional associations in California and nationally sponsor events focused on the career development and networking needs of Asian and Hispanic producers. Your carrier should be tapping into the knowledge and energy these events provide. You should be taking part as well by developing new contacts and even recruiting new agents to build your business together.
Your commitment and sincerity is the key to success. Many companies play up their brochures, kits, and other tangible assets that focus on the multi-cultural audience. But, the deeper, more effective efforts focus on developing the personal connections that lead to beneficial relationships. In Chinese, the term for this is "guanxi." In English, we might call it sincere commitment.
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X. Rick Niu is executive vice president and chief growth officer for the US Insurance Group of ING. ING is a global financial institution with clients in more than 50 countries. In the U.S., ING offers its array of financial services and products through the ING family of companies. You can reach Rick by email at rick.niu@us.ing.com.
