Perspective Marketing - Not just a blog title

Perspective Marketing was something that I came up with at Kellogg because ethnic or multicultural marketing seemed to make people's eyes glaze over.  Not everyone sees the upside in serving minorities in the US, so it's easy to see why a term like ethnic marketing could be overlooked.  Perspective Marketing caught their attention for at least a few minutes.

My pitch:  The perspective from which you see the world determines your preferences for products and services.  A lot goes into forming your perspective:  Gender, nationality, ethnicity, race, income level, education level, sexual preference...etc.  In a world of increasing specialization, it is possible to become enough of an expert in any of these perspectives to draw useful marketing insights that could be deployed to improve sales within the targeted segment.  After all, this more nuanced definition of segmentation will than inform the target and positioning of your efforts.

I choose to specialize in one perspective---that of Hispanics and Latinos in the United States.   I could envision a world where people specialize in other segments because Perspective Marketing is a term that is much broader than ethnic or multicultural marketing.

Multiple perspectives - which one do you see your world from?

The Basics - A case for serving the US Hispanic market

If you owned a sandwich shop and you knew that 17% of your customers were vegetarian, I'm pretty sure you'd make sure you had enough vegetarian sandwiches to cater to these vegetable lovers.  Well, 17% of the US population is Hispanic...shouldn't companies make sure that they are equipped to serve them?

The argument is quite simple, so I'll keep this short.  There are ~50M Hispanics here per the US Census and they consumed approximately $1.1 trillion worth of goods and services in 2009.  A trillion anything is a lot, but some firms make the mistake of ignoring this sum because it's very small compared to the aggregate consumption seen in this country---$10 trillion. These firms often stick to general mass marketing efforts and invest very little in ethnic specific messaging.

Ignoring the market is short-sighted for two reasons.  1) Disproportionate growth rates 2) Relative market size

1) Whether you like it or not, the US Hispanic market is growing at a faster rate than any other segment in the country.  About 40% of the US population growth was attributed to Hispanics alone from 2000-2010. More interestingly, US buying power will grow approximately 30% to nearly $15T over the next five years while Hispanic buying power is projected to grow nearly 50% to $1.6T.  Greater than average population and consumption growth rate will very quickly change the face of commerce in this country as Hispanic preferences start to impact the bottom line across all industries.

2) How many companies out there are fighting to expand internationally.  Banks, major retailers like Walmart and Target, car companies and food corporations like Nestle are all about the international markets. The B in BRICs shows us that Brazil is a powerful magnet of American corporate attention.  Mexico is a significant trade partner.  Indonesia is the latest hot market.  Does it surprise you to hear that consumption in these markets is roughly equal to or lower than that of Hispanics living in the United States?  Given these stats, it may also make sense for firms to invest resources and grow consumer loyalty right here in our own backyard.

These are just a few reasons why it makes sense for companies, in just about any industry, to pursue the US Hispanic market...the basics.