Page 15 - Going for Growth: Targeting Today's Diverse Consumers

14 GOING FOR GROWTH: TARGETING TODAY’S DIVERSE CONSUMER

IV. MARKETING STRATEGY

With a more comprehensive business strategy defi ned — one that includes the specifi c
segments you want to grow with and identifi es what their needs, attitudes, and barriers are
— you can turn to developing a marketing strategy. This is your game plan for fi nding your
desired customers and making them take the actions you need to drive your business. As you
begin this process, it is important to prompt new ways of thinking and be aware of the impact
culture wields within the consumer journey. There is tremendous value to being inclusive.
There is even more value when your commitment to diversity and inclusion extends to the
cultural insights you apply to marketing and other business-building, consumer engagement
disciplines.

While every category will have unique business challenges, consider the following roadmap as
a sample for modeling a modern marketing approach within your organization:

A. CRAFTING YOUR STRATEGY

As you start to develop your game plan, it is important to break down your segment(s)
into targetable audiences with common needs and attitudes. Many marketers will skip
this step and assume that the segments identifi ed in business strategy are homogenous
enough for marketing, but that is far from the truth to a modern marketer.

In the world of modern marketing, it is important to break down any given segments into
smaller, discrete groups. Using variables such as geography, ethnicity, income levels, and
past behaviors will make it possible to focus on and engage with high-potential groupings
of consumers.

Now is when you apply the cultural lens to further understand and empathize with your
audience to unlock meaningful insights.

Let’s look at an example:

You work for a car manufacturer, and, as a result of your business strategy, you’ve
identifi ed new families as a way to grow your business. Using the cultural thread
during this stage of planning, you recognize that new families are more diverse than
ever before. You also identify insights that illuminate the ways in which different
segments have different barriers to buying your brand. They also vary in terms of the
way your brand addresses their category priorities. Some segments are driven by
value, for example, whereas others are driven by brand perceptions.