Minority Marketing

Forward by J. Chopra, Merrill Lynch

We often say, "let's get to the bottom line", so if I skip to the bottom line on minority marketing I would say that as the Director of South Asian business in the Merrill Lynch (ML) Global Private Client group's Multicultural and Diversified Business Development group, I have seen first hand the success that comes from minority marketing done correctly.

With a corporate vision determined to approach diversity in a different way, I was charged with strategic planning, new business origination, community leadership and client relationship development for the South Asian market, in particular the wealth management of Indian investors around the world. We were faced with the common question, "What could we be doing better to serve them better?"

It would have been easy to take existing initiatives and simply roll them out to our South Asian market. Easy and lazy. We opted instead for an approach that has catapulted us into the limelight and established ML as a leader in its approach, not just its product.

What did we do differently? First, we established a group - dedicated to serving that market place, with resources, knowledge and the full backing of every executive rank. As Andrea Ogunkoya discusses in Minority Marketing, companies often set themselves up for failure with a lack of internal commitment.

Yes, we did demographic mapping and research and uncovered some surprising data. For example Indian families were often more focused on education and getting their children into the very best schools - yet their saving mechanism to enable this was usually grossly under funded.

We started by setting the bar high. We introduced ourselves and our concept to the market with an outline of what our intentions were and then living up to them, our integrity became the corner stone of this initiative, demonstrating that this was not a 'fly-by-night' operation or corporate idea d'jour. What we worked hard to prove is that when ML said they would invest in the community and take a genuine interest in it . . .they did.

Healthy business relationships are, I believe at the very core of successful business relationships. In an effort to develop long lasting relationships we launched a series of events approached in a non-traditional way, such as:

Strategic Alliances with key centers of influence such as the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin - to deliver a conference on "health, wealth and wisdom," with an invitation using the colors of the Indian flag and Indian speakers we subtly conveyed our minority message.
Guests were invited (with invitations showing Indian images) to an elegant reception at the Zimmerli Art Museum for the opening of a collection of contemporary Indian art from exclusive private collections. As part of the exhibition advisory committee we were able to work within the community at a grass roots level showing our active involvement that went beyond a financial contribution.

Next we invested in the community - with educational guides on Indian culture and art as well as scholarships, and seminars on saving and investing empowering communities to preserve, protect and build wealth. This was not about instant gratification. These initiatives had no short-term impact on our sales goals - but we believe were equally necessary and important, providing a visual presence and an opportunity to get out and meet people face to face.

Finally, we trained our teams on the cultural sensitivities of our audience and segmented our sales force in the same way you would vertical markets or clients - pairing reps with clients enabling them to develop an interest, understanding and long term relationship with clients and community. It was exciting to watch a Rep who had never met a person of Indian origin first hand, develop into a person aware of the difference between Punjabi's and Sikhs. The positive implications of minority marketing are far reaching and as Andrea says, have huge social implications.

The results have been amazing. Just as we wrapped our arms around this community they wrapped them around us with enthusiasm, loyalty and enough business to justify the expansion of our group vertically, internationally and geographically. ML has launched groups focused on the Hispanic, African American and Women's market with the same level of attention to inherent cultural, social and economic differences, but we realize we had just touched the tip of the iceberg.

The power of this book is that it lays out for all who will read it exactly what corporations are not doing and what managers should do to build long-term relationships with the culturally diverse communities they wish to serve. This brings us back to the bottom line - before you can take - you must first give, by getting out to meet and learn and understand the delicate nuances that make up the immigrant, multi generational American minorities.

Jyoti Chopra, joined Merrill Lynch in 1998, having worked at United Nations and UNICEF, as vice president and manager of education services and developed diversified financial educational and marketing programs targeted to women, families, domestic partners, and multi-cultural groups. She is currently director, head of South Asian business in Merrill Lynch Global Private Client's Multicultural and Diversified Business Development group.