Finances/Money
inority re earch can keep
mar e :rs on the profi line
WI!ST LAFA YBTI'E, IND.
arketers need to do their
homework bout pending
habits of minority consumers to
cash in on the growing spending
wer of those groups, cays an
expert on consumer spending.
" -Marketers in this country
have pent most of their time
aiming at the larger, white .
population," says Thelma
Snuggs, assistant professor in
Purdue University's Depart­
ment of Consumer Science and
Retailing.
"A minorities make up a
larger proportion of the labor
mar et, they're going to have
more money to pend," she says.
"However, you cannot sell to
these individuals if you don't
under tand their marketing be­
havior - wh t motivates them
to buy."
For instance, she says, in
Hispanic families, the whole
family might be involved in a
purch . In Asian families, the
man might' make the decision,
but the elderly members of the
family also might be involved.
There are cultur I differences,
Snuggs says, about what you can
ay and whom you can tal to.
She says demographic
tudie show that shortly after
the beginning of the 21st cen­
tury, one-third "of Americans
will be members of minority
groups - Blacks and Hispanics
will constitute a majority in
nearly one-third of the nation's
50 largest cities.
"This' not something to be
. fearful of," Snuggs y, "but it
does mean marketer will have
to oi e ome adju tments. Ul­
timately, this trend means op­
portunity for mar eters, but this
more cultur Ily diver market
will require more sophisticated
consumer research in order to
m intain profit margins."
Snuggs, who recently com­
pleted a urvey of coupon usage
by Chinese-American COD­
umer , currently is conducting
national consumer-behavior
survey of Blac , Hispanic and
Asian consumers. That survey is
lookins t th cultural nuances
1.:1
in the areas of ret il tore
preference, purcha e motiva­
lion, hopping habit , media
usage, lifestyle, health care, nd
bankin and financial ervices.
She also te ches new Pur­
due cou e called Multi-Cul­
tur 1 rketing that gears
students to ere te markets for
minority groups, rather than
"coloring hite product lines
by dverti ing with Blac ,
Hispanic or . eto.
Marketer iming at con­
umer groups ou . de the m
mar et often go wrong in the
cultural tran tion, he ys,
d giYe a WI' to a
sIopn or pr'omobOll.
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billboards that showed clothes
being put into a washer, soap
being poured in, and the clothes
coming out clean," she ays.
"However, the billboard w in
a country that read right-to-Ieft
instead of .left-to-right, and it
translated with the clothes
going in clean .and coming out
dirty.
Another mistake marketers
make, she says, is to treat
minorities as the same
monolithic group. "The same
messag will not hit all o( them
- just upper-income con­
sumer r ct differently from
lower-income consumers," she
says.
"Every individual, regardless
of race, has the same basic
needs when it come to sur­
vival," Snuggs says. "But there
are some differences and
marketers have to identify those
differences and then adjust
their promotions to reach these
segments of the population."
Her research into coupon
usage by Chinese-American
consumers illustrates the type
of information that can help
marketers focus on consumer­
spending preferences:
- The majority surveyed use
manufacturers' coupons;
- Instant coupons - on the
product package - were the
most preferred;
- The least preferred
coupons were those requiring
proof of purchase or sales
receipts to be mailed to
manufacturers; and
- The face value of the
coupon is important. The
majority of those surveyed
weren't willing to try new
products with coupons unless
the face value was adequate.
Snuggs followed her own ad­
vice about adapting to con­
sumer need by conducting the
coupon-usage survey in both
Engli h and Chinese. An wers
carne back in both languages,
also.
"If we go to a foreign country
we feel out of place if we don't
understand the langugc," she
says, "and we feel much more
comfortable and are more will­
ing to buy when we are ap­
proached in English or in a
manner that we are familiar
with. .
"The responsibility for
providing that comfort lies with
the marketer."
Book Blacks
should read:
"Racial Matters: 17le FBI's
Secret File on Black America,
1960-1972" This book does an
excellent job of detailing how
former Director J. Edgar
Hoover used the FBI in an un­
relenting effort to detroy the
civil "rights movement and its
chief architect Dr. M�rtin
Luther KiD& Jr
By Kenneth O'Reilly; Free
Press; $24.95
"The Third Genmuion" This
is very interesting novel about
the light -skinned wife of a Black
college professor who tries to
pass for white. This book was
originally written in 1954 but it
offers an interesting commen­
tary on a unique aspect of Black
life.
By Chester Himes; Thunder
Mouth,· $11.95
"The Entrepreneur's Guide
To Doing Busine With The
Federal Government" Every
small B ck b in per on
IbOUldkD(JWlllOWtO do b1usu· aess
·th the federal government.
There is aearly S2SO billioo to
compete for. This boo shows
you how to go about getting
" some of those government con-
. tracts. _
By Beavers, Christie and
Price; Success Magazinc; $14.95
"Success Motivation: The +
Power of Creative Aggression"
This guideboo ' s point of
departure i that achieving you
goals in life starts with a power-.
ful and gressive mental at­
titude. It says people can alter
their lives by altering their at­
titudes" and then it sho how
to do ju t th t.
By James Black &: Lucretia
Jones, Progressiv« Books; S17.95
"How To Make II When
You'� Cash Poor" This boo
ofer some useful insights on
thow to raise money arting
. th very little. I think the
author promises more than he
actually delivers but the boo is
definitely worth the" $15.95
cover price. .
By Hollis Nonon; Simon and
Schuster. .
you ay It, y It all
y r long. S d th P rfact gift: a
ub crlptlon to the IOOlgan Cltlzenl
daon y r
ub rlption to:
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