Bilingual Cans. Soccer-themed (Fútbalthemed)
displays. Sweet fruit flavors.
Beverage marketers love to throw these things
around as the keys to attracting a multi-ethnic
audience to your stores.
But that doesn’t tell the whole story. Sure,
language, sports, and tastes are important characteristics
to take into account when expanding
your customer base to include the cultural and
ethnic groups who are permanently changing the
face of the country. But no amount of pandering
to customers is going to replace simply knowing
their buying habits when they approach
your beverage cooler.
So pay attention. Because as our special Ethnic
Marketing supplement indicates, when it
comes to gathering ethnic consumers, retailers
and marketers have to have respect. Respect
means not belittling ethnic consumers with
products and arrangements that speak at them,
but in fact considering preferences and interests
when it comes to stocking products – in other
words, marketing to them. Respect means not
just thinking of the Hispanic consumer as a soccer
(futbal) fan, or thinking of Asians as a broad
group who are only interested in whether it’s the
Year of the Rat, but figuring out what mix of
ethnic and mainstream products you need to
have to satisfy a group’s needs. It also means that
many well-traveled mainstream customers are
going to want the same products you thought
would only appeal to a specific ethnic group.
Run out, and you risk losing them both.
Truly respectful ethnic marketing,
you’ll learn, ascribes
to a highly American belief
– that all of us are entitled
to great products at good
prices, and that we can vote
with our feet if we think we’re getting
ripped off, or made fun of, or
just plain patronized.
Part of the beauty of marketing is letting
people feel like they need something,
and then filling that need. What you’ll find
is that when it comes to mainstream marketing
and ethnic marketing, the customer’s
susceptibility to being sold a bill of goods is
a lot lower than it used to be, regardless
of the language on that bill.
One group that certainly hates to
be sold a bill of goods are the dedicated
beer drinkers, who are showing
a greater inclination than ever to assume
that if they don’t watch out, the big beer companies
will slip them a watery “Mickey.” But
there’s change afoot in the beer industry, regular
freelancer Andy Murray discovers, as more
buyers turn to craft beer – and more big brewers
do so, as well.
While beer variety is of growing importance,
for wines, variety is at the soul of their success.
Our story on conducting wine tastings for customers
will help you teach them to appreciate
(read: buy) all that you have to offer.
Until next time, drink up… respectfully.