The Big Multi - Culti Couch

Brandweek, Jan 24, 2000

Understanding how different segments of ethnic consumers shop for home furnishings is a little like assembling an entertainment unit from one of those instructionless Ikea diagrams: It looks deceptively simple at first glance, but grows more head-scratchingly complicated upon closer inspection. Lisa Skriloff, president of Multicultural Marketing Resources, New York, studied the furniture-buying habits of Asian Americans and Hispanics, segments that approach the task differently than each other and the population as a whole. Her findings:

Asian American shoppers are drawn to modern design and high-tech style, not just furniture with an Oriental feel. Since they have the highest rate of entrepreneurialship, Asians are also an attractive target for sellers of home office equipment. Brand names and quality are important to this segment, even if it means paying a bit more--value, not price, is the key selling point. As skeptical buyers, the assurance of a refund is very attractive to them.

The Asian shopper who doesn't speak English will come with an assimilated friend who does, so having a bilingual sales staff is not essential. But these consumers prefer to consume media in their native tongue, so targeted efforts, such as direct mail or ads in Asian newspapers, should follow suit. They listen to referrals, so word of mouth is another great way to communicate to the population.

Among Hispanics, the rate of home ownership is increasing more than with other groups, and the demo has larger families on average--two points that make this segment attractive to furniture sellers. While Asians shop with a bilingual friend, His panics bring the entire family and it is often the children who translate for non-English-speaking parents. Because of this, it is important for salespeople to establish a relationship with shoppers and inquire about families during a sales visit, which on average, will take 25% longer to complete.

As with all targeted advertising, ads for Hispanics should be relevant to the ethnic lifestyle, trigger emotions, emphasize the family and acknowledge the diversity of the population. Direct marketing can be especially effective because Hispanics don't consider it junk mail. They receive much less than the general population, 35 pieces per year vs. 350 for the average household, says The Bravo Group.

To reach them on site, Spanish-language signs in windows can be effective, and bilingual sales personnel should advertise themselves by wearing buttons that say, "I speak Spanish In Spanish, of course.