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The African-American population is a fastgrowing, relatively untapped wealth of marketing opportunities. African Americans in all professions are moving up the ladder to the top tier of financial success. Many companies are missing this quiet yet powerful occurrence. This success presents numerous opportunities for companies to make their products and services available to this segment.
Marketing to African-American consumers: A sometimes-ignored gold mine
The African-American population is a fastgrowing, relatively untapped wealth of marketing opportunities. African Americans in all professions are moving up the ladder to the top tier of financial success. Many companies are missing this quiet yet powerful occurrence. This success presents numerous opportunities for companies to make their products and services available to this segment. According to MarketResearch.com, it's MarketLooks: The US. African-American Market: The Affluent Segment report states the mean income of African-American households grew 25.8 percent between 1990 and 2000 - more than four times as fast as that of non-Hispanic white households. As a result, 3.7 million African-American households have an annual income of $50,000 or more. Moreover, there arel.4 million upper-income African-American households with an annual income of $75,000 or more.
"Segmented" marketing to the African-American community, as a whole, makes good business sense. More specifically, targeting high- net-worth African Americans and strategically creating avenues for them to spend their dollars makes good business sense. The company that addresses this segment in the most compelling way will profit the most.
Further, African-American professional women are advancing their education and enjoying power positions in business, law, journalism, medicine, and many other professions. The increase in the number of minority-women-owned businesses indicates that African-American professional women are motivated to be financially independent, with wealth
A certain dynamic is taking place with African-American professional women. This dynamic can be described as "The Wealth Building Legacy of African-American Women:' the title of an article by Allegra Bennett, in Kelvin Boston's Moneywise magazine, Fall998. As this article mentions, "Businesswomen are noticing that with each generation, AfricanAmerican women are becoming more daring, making the job traditions and the economic playing field more dynamic"
As stated by Black Enterprise in August 1998, AfricanAmerican women are making inroads in the world of business, making more strides and gains than ever before. As indicated in a BE-sponsored survey, minority-women-owned businesses compose one of the fastest- growing segments in the US. economy.
Ebony magazine, which names the "Women at the Top in Corporate America," states, "The face of leadership in corporate America is changing. African-American women are making their way up the ladder of power to the top tier of the most successful companies in the United States. They are occupying prestigious upper-management positions at some of the highest-revenue corporations in the country.
African-American women are passionate about their success both professionally and financially and are willing to take matters into their own hands to make that success possible. This passion is the driving force behind their actions. Their positive attitude, personal resilience, and determined spirit enhance their ability to be successful. They will not allow themselves to be deterred, because they know that what they are seeking will be passed on to later generations.
A study released by Catalyst, a leading organization working to advance women in business, identified certain tools used by women of color to further their careers. According to the study, personal resilience, seeking out mentors within an organization, and having a knack for creating opportunities were the primary tools used by these women. Catalyst also identified the traits of these professional women as a strong work ethic, hard-working, innovative, flexible, leaders, a strong sense of self, intolerance of self- limitations, and a fearless, agressive personality.
Based on many in-depth conversations with this segment, both personally and professionally, I find that one main objective of modern day African-American professional women is wealth building. As a means to this end, African-American professional women are becoming savvy about financial products and investments. Often they are looking for companies to do business with. They want to make educated decisions about investing their hard-earned money in order to ensure a sound, solid financial future for themselves and their families.
Many times this passion is motivated by personal situations. In some instances, these women are single mothers and sole decision makers in the household. There is often a need to financially care for their children, and sometimes their grandchildren and other extended family members. They realize that each financial decision directly impacts the others, so it's important to create a plan and revisit it regularly. In other situations, these women are part of up-and-coming, two-parent households, with both parents professionals who are carefully planning their financial future.
African-American professional women are creating impressive portfolios. They are investing in stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, and mutual funds, and are using other retirement savings instruments. These women are proud to say, "My portfolio is not my mother's portfolio is not my mother's portfolio:'
Fueled in part by passion about their success, AfricanAmerican professional women are taking a proactive role in learning more about financial products. Many are taking the lead in establishing and participating in investment clubs. Several of my personal friends have started these clubs. They primarily tend to be professionals, with children, who have already enjoyed success in their varied careers. These women have vision, are goal-oriented, and welcome new challenges and new knowledge.
One such club was featured last year in a Miami newspaper. This "investment ministry" originated in an AfricanAmerican church and was started by several female members. This club also created a teens' investing club to teach their youth about investment matters, prepare them for success, and empower them with this knowledge at an early age. They consistently hold training classes to educate their members about investing. These leaders have learned by researching and reading; they have been self-taught. This creates a major opportunity for a company to sponsor training classes and informational seminars and workshops for African-American investment clubs. This would create a captured audience for a financial services company to market its programs and build relationships with this segment of the population.
With this financial independence, African-American professional women represent a growing revenue stream that has been virtually ignored. This market could prove to be lucrative. Strategically, competitive companies will have to figure out how to attract and keep these consumers. The company that speaks to this segment the best, the one that "adopts" African-American professional women, will win in the long run, thus creating a major opportunity. Companies are either forgetting about this opportunity or are ignoring it. One must question whether companies are underestimating the purchasing power of African-American professional women.
One recommended approach to reach this group is to position products and services as "news" - something unique that will satisfy their unmet needs. However, before these unmet needs can be satisfied, they must be identified. Niche marketing initiatives and ethnic market research can be used to understand this target.
Specifically, the way to understanding African-American professional women's financial needs is through market research (focus groups, online interviews, one-on-one interviews, executive roundtables, and surveys). Market research will impact marketing decisions by providing an in-depth understanding of the needs, wants, insights, paradigms, barriers, and culture of this audience. The general market approach cannot necessarily be transferred to this market. The better a company understands this particular target, the more effective its marketing strategy will be.
One of the best approaches is to choose one or more geographic areas in which to conduct qualitative research. Working with a market research company that has expertise in talking to African- American consumers will aid in a successful research project. Our company has assisted numerous companies in many different industries (consumer products, financial services, banking, Internet, and utilities) in developing and implementing the marketing campaigns to this particular segment. This process will enable you to listen to these consumers - to listen to their experiences and their passion.
The following examples of what you might learn about this market and their culture are based on my professional experience:
Companies must be genuine in their desire to market to this segment; they cannot be patronizing and they must be sincere.
Word of mouth is key, and networking is a priority in the culture.
African-American professional women want to work with companies that give back to the community and have a community presence. They will be loyal if the company is perceived as having a vested interest in this market and their well-being and if the company is perceived as one that cares and can be trusted. They want to be valued and respected; they want to spend money where they're respected and recognized.
African-American professional women generally are spiritual and family-oriented.
This market wa\nts to see African Americans represented in advertisements for products.
Through market research, many questions will be answered, and the most effective overall advertising strategy will be identified. Once the findings have been obtained, a marketing campaign must be executed. The campaign strategy should focus on brand establishment, user development, and loyalty building.
A successful, attention-grabbing campaign could be executed by using traditional media as well as those that primarily attract African Americans. For a media campaign, choosing how African- American professional women would want to hear what a company has to offer will be crucial to the campaign's success.
Based on my experiences, opportunities are numerous for starting a marketing program that targets African-American professional women. Advertising can be considered in many media, such as magazines (Ebony jet, Black Enterprise, and Today's Black Woman); urban radio stations; and Black Entertainment Television (BET). Educational and informational articles by companies offering financial products and services can be placed in black publications and journals, such as The Network Journal
Sponsorships and partnerships have proven to be beneficial in targeting this market. This arrangement enables the company name to be ever-present within the organization. For example, sponsorship in the Professional Women of Color organization would allow a company to: display the company logo on tables at events; place ads in the organization's magazine; display its name and logo on press releases; present products and services to membership; obtain a full list of event attendees; mail company promotional materials to mailing list; and link the company Web site to the organization's Web site. Festivals, cruises, award events, and sporting events also present opportunities for sponsorship. Partnerships can be created with women's groups in African-American organizations such as the Urban League, NAACP, national black sororities, the Links organizations, and the Jack and Jill of America.
Additionally, conferences and trade shows are prime venues to target this market. Company booths and exhibits can be placed at conferences held by churches, Black Enterprise, African-American chambers of commerce, and AfricanAmerican professional organizations.
Numerous Web sites exist that were created by AfricanAmerican women. Most of them have a financial or money channel. Information is shared daily with countless women of color who are visiting the sites. A financial company could collaborate with these sites and offer financial tips. The company would become part of this network. Many of these sites host workshops and forums to exchange information regarding topics that are relevant to African-American women. Such Web sites include www.bcw.org (Black Career Women) and www.aawot.com (African-American Women on Tour).
Additionally, African-American financial and investment organizations exist and can be partnered with to reach the maximum number of consumers. Investment newsletters and other investment opportunities include Black Women Investment Corp., which publishes Wall Streetwise Investment Newsletter; Money Counsel, Inc., a financial planning firm owned by African-American women; Coalition of Black Investors (COBI), a 7,000-member economic network, founded to improve financial literacy and foster communication among African- American investors; the Association of African-American Financial Advisors (AAFA); Black Enterprise Investment Clubhouse; and the African-American Women's Network, which sponsors investment/ retirement planning boot camps.
After the marketing campaign has been initiated, the key to retaining customers and growing this segment is to focus on retaining and building consumers by using solid, ongoing public relations strategies. Letting AfricanAmerican professional women know that a company is committed long-term to programs will increase loyalty. Focusing on establishing a continual presence and a consistent, positive image will prove to be extremely important in growing business with this market. Make it a goal to establish programs that are win-win. Focus on establishing training programs that educate these consumers about financial and investment news.
In general, African-Americans want to be valued and respected; therefore, marketing to this segment must be genuine in order to avoid insulting campaigns and running the risk of alienating these consumers. Recognizing their intelligence and independence is key to winning loyalty and trust.
To aid in effectively creating advertising that is compelling to African-American professional women, one should attempt to understand them. Market research shows that these women are investing in themselves, in their families, and in their future. In this culture, empowerment and knowledge are desired. It is felt that education empowers people to build their future and to recognize opportunity: "Knowledge is power." It must be recognized that spirituality is key and an integral part of success and helps define the African-American professional woman.
If you understand the root of this thinking, you can implement programs that do not offend but that compliment this mentality and form mutually satisfying relationships that fill the needs of this sometimes-ignored market segment.
Article courtesey YellowBrix, Inc.
About the author: By Marsha CallowayCampbell, J. D. President. Eitre Consulting Enterprise, Inc. |
