When used correctly, marketing with diversity best practices in mind can be an extremely lucrative tool to the small-business owner. Like any other tool, diversity-based marketing needs to be implemented and strategized with genuine intention and significant purpose.
Here is a list of ways to incorporate a campaign that reflects diversity best practices into your business’ marketing plan.
1. Take a Look in the Mirror
It is very difficult to convince a person to become a patron if your business does not remind them of “them.” If you want a diverse clientele, your business makeup needs to be diverse as well. Diversity hiring practices are essential in this regard, as having a multicultural staff will lead to great opportunities for brainstorming innovative new internal practices.
2. Don’t Talk About it, Be About it
One way to implement diversity best practices is to always ensure you are using inclusive words and imagery in your campaign. Avoid using themes that are political, religious or threatening. These are big red flags that can turn a potential customer away without even uttering a sound. Instead, use images and phrases that are inclusive and welcoming to a mixture of all people.
3. Listen
Listen to what your current clients have to say. Use reviews and testimonials to see if your business is heading in a direction you feel it needs to. Be direct in testimonial questions, e.g. “Do you feel this business is inclusive in its operations and customer appeal?”
4. Understand the Different Types of Diversity
There are so many different types of diversity, and no business can address them all. Being diverse is synonymous with being inclusive; however, you still need to be defined in what you have to offer and how you want it portrayed. There is a happy medium in appealing to different subgroups within a community. Some areas may be a potential client pool and others may not.
5. No One Wants to be a Token
Always ensure your approach is sincere and genuine. Trust means a lot to potential customers. When designing a diversity marketing campaign it is paramount to avoid the surface level approach to inclusion. Take time to understand the groups you are trying to include and approach them with an authentic tone.
6. Be Accountable
If you want a diverse clientele, you need to put forth some genuine effort. With that you need to ensure you are keeping track of what you are doing. How diverse is your internal workforce? How many times a week, month or year are you pursuing those subgroups with your marketing campaign? Are your advertisements and marketing material up to date and following current diversity trends?
These are questions you should be answering internally to see if you are being accountable to your plan.
7. Make Diversity a Priority
The pursuit of a diverse customer pool cannot be a one-time thing. You have to put in the time and the effort. Diversity almost needs to become another core value of your business.
Customers should feel like this is part of what they are purchasing along with your product or service. At the end of the day, diversity is all about inclusion of your community: You are surrounded by such a diverse mixture of great people and opportunity that you have got to become part of and reflect that community.
Focus on staffing your business with a diversity of people to make you more attractive to a diverse population. Listening to your customers when they speak on the topic of diversity can help you avoid pitfalls. Ensuring you do not lose your identity while staying inclusive is important as well, to maintain a genuinely welcoming atmosphere.
This will lead to people knowing you are coming from a place of truth and that you desire to provide a great product to whomever walks through your door. If you make diversity a priority, you will be a highly successful entrepreneur.
About the Author
Jeanette Falu-Bishop owns Massage Business Education & Branding LLC, through which she teaches how to start or improve an already-established massage business through prerecorded online courses, live trainings and business conferences. Her articles for MASSAGE Magazine include “Want to Create a Profitable Massage Practice? These Two Variables Will Make or Break Your Business” (massagemag.com).