The recent growth of global trade, immigration, and tourism has provided a growing demand for marketing and customer behavior theories that combine ethnicity and ethnic identity. In a more detailed view, the possibility that ethnic groups may have different needs and desires from the majority has led marketing planning to pay attention to this issue in order to meet these needs, in any case, since the position of ethnic minority groups has become important for marketers, this The issue has entered the marketing literature.
Looking to the future, we can hope that cultural and ethnic marketing will find a suitable place in marketing concepts.
On the other hand, Iran’s potential with diverse ethnicities is very ideal to pay attention to this concept, so that the rereading of their culture and history can provide the basis for paying attention to the authentic needs of ethnicities and trying to meet them in line with product customization or predicting hidden demand. It can be very fruitful in the market.
Perhaps concepts such as identity, acculturation, minority groups, and reference groups are among the most important words that enter marketing from ethnic marketing, just as paying attention to cross-border cultures and ethnicities can also present itself in international literature and make appropriate planning for diverse cultures abroad. from the country and maximize the attractiveness of goods for brands exported to different cultural and ethnic markets.
When does ethnic marketing make sense?
In general, when ethnic marketing makes sense in a market, the answer to these questions is positive:
- Are the consumption needs and preferences of ethnic minority groups customers different from other ethnic minority groups or majority groups in the market?
- Are the information sources and communication channels used by consumers of ethnic minority groups different from other ethnic minority groups or majority groups present in the market?
- If the answer is yes; Is it possible for these differences to be noticed by the business and create value for it?
Cue in 1997 states that ethnic marketing strategy should be used when ethnic minority consumers have unit needs that cannot be met by products designed for majority groups or when they cannot be reached through traditional channels.
Ethnic marketing role is a limited and distinct marketing role for specific groups with specific and distinct needs and wants. In the literature on the ethnic market, in the available sources, ethnicity is mentioned as a characteristic of immigrant and displaced groups, for example, in America, the Chinese, Iranians, Spaniards, and Mexicans are mentioned and studied as ethnic groups, and this concept is used in Iran among the ethnicities in The country that have Iranian citizenship and nationality and each of them has a separate and special cultural history is used.
The difference between ethnic marketing and cross-cultural marketing
Regarding the difference between ethnic marketing and intercultural marketing, according to the image below, it can be said; In a way, ethnic marketing fills the gap between the moral norms of the majority groups of society and the moral norms of the minority groups of society; On the other hand, intercultural marketing fills the gap between the moral norms of a country with the main majority group and the main majority group of another country; For example, ethnic marketing deals with the moral norms between the people of England and the Pakistani minority groups present in this country, but intercultural marketing seeks to influence the gap between the moral norms of Pakistanis in Pakistan and British people living in England.
Opportunities and challenges of ethnic marketing
These challenges and opportunities can be briefly mentioned in the following cases:
- Globalization and Convergence: Promotion from national and sub-national markets to global markets causes the reawakening of ethnicities instead of their death.
- Fragmented and Frictionless Markets: The advent of the Internet has led to the introduction of frictionless markets, these markets dictate higher standards and better sustainable communication to others. Although the Internet and global means of communication have strengthened cultural communication; But it can also strengthen the communication of minority groups and increase their cohesion. On the other hand, verbal and cultural communication may be revealed by using these tools, but let’s not forget that ethnicities are recognized and communicate with each other based on deep cultural levels; In addition to the above factors, there are complications for the segmentation of global markets, which are:
A. At any time, different products are in different stages of the product cycle;
B. Internet allows information distribution and sharing, but for different groups and in different countries;
C. The same two points are mentioned in sections A and B; It causes instability, inconsistency, and inability to measure and detect.
- The push for atomic proliferation and fragmentation (toward molecular marketing): the emergence of dynamism and the creation of identity as a result of globalization and the emergence of electronic technology that speeds up the functions of the world, can further provide the ability to create small target markets; Therefore, the emergence of electronic technology helps the emergence of ethnic marketing.
- Demand for consumption and empowering behavior: Another result of the previously mentioned events is the change in consumer buying behavior from lack of research and accuracy to more research and more accuracy in purchasing, which causes more attention and interest to evaluation It provides better and opening of the feet of the consumer to the ethnic markets for further search.
