Exploring Demographic Groups-- Asian-Americans

From 2000 to 2012, the Asian-American population has jumped 51% to 18.2 million people (and is expected to rise another 13% by 2017).  The article "Asian-Americans: Fast Growth, Deep Pockets" reports that Asian-Americans also on average have "higher household incomes (28% above the U.S. median), educational achievement (50% of Asian-Americans 25 and older graduated college vs. 28% of this age group nationwide), and frequent living in nuclear households of 3.1 people vs. the 2.6 U.S. average." 

So what do these figures mean?  Asian-Americans have a large buying power and this demographic group shouldn't be overlooked.  How big?  As reported by Nielson in their "State of the Asian-American Consumer" report, their buying power is $718 billion!

How should you market your products to Asian-Americans?  As always, DO YOUR RESEARCH!  Here are some interesting facts and tips to help you get started:

1.  English is not the predominant language spoken in most Asian-American homes (77% speak a language other than English).  Explore the possibility of advertising in an Asian language.  

2.  70% of Asian-Americans own a smartphone as compared to 55% of all Americans.  Explore social media as an advertising tool.  Also, optimize your website for mobile viewing.

3.  Nielsen reports that Asian-Americans spend more time online (80 hours/month) than any other demographic group.  Make sure your website is eye-catching and easy to use.  Also, try to gain customers through the development of an interesting newsletter.

4.  When grocery shopping, Asian-Americans are less likely to plan their purchases ahead of time as compared to non-Hispanic whites.  In-store atmosphere (including product variety, signage/displays, and promos) is most appealing.  Include a variety of products in your store that appeal to Asian-Americans with signage to steer them to these items.

Take the time to explore different demographic groups and how they shop.  Is your product lineup and/or store appealing to different types of people?  If not, how can you improve your image to different shoppers? Have you tried marketing specifically to one type of demographic group?  If so, what did you do and how did your marketing campaign pay off?

Price Competition: Shoppers Value a Bargain!

Do you know a bargain hunter? You know, the type of person that is drawn to a "SALE" sign like a moth to a flame...  Most of us know one or two, I'm sure.  I learned a little more about these people last week, thanks to a paper presented at a conference by some researchers from Washington State University (Li, McCluskey, and Mittelhammer).

The research team analyzed the responses to "permanent" price drops (that is, those that were due strictly to supply and demand conditions) versus promotional, or short-term, price drops.  They used data from supermarket scanners, so they were able to analyze real transactions under real market conditions.  They did this for several different types of vegetables.

Guess what they found...  Consumers were more responsive to short-term price decreases than they were to permanent ones.  This suggests that promotions may be a better method to generate increased sales than being viewed as having low prices all the time.  On the other hand, it also means that promotions that happen too frequently may cause customers to pull back when a promotion isn't underway.

This phenomenon doesn't really surprise me.  I may or may not be related to a bargain hunter and I have come to understand that the purchase is more than the purchase.  Getting a bargain is a badge of honor; a story to tell friends, family, and co-workers.  I get that.  But there may be other factors at play.  In a stagnant economy like this one, we see shows like TLC's "Extreme Couponing" become popular.  To get these types of bargains, it often means buying in bulk.  So hoarding, or "stocking up" is a factor that drive sales during promotions.  (For something like vegetables, this may mean freezing or canning, so be sure to offer tips on how to do that.)

There's good science and economics behind pricing strategies that include short-term promotions.  Business owners should think about using them frequently, but not so much that they become the norm.  Watch sales (in dollars and quantities) to see how effective the promotions are.

How effective is promotional swag?

What exactly is swag? Swag (Stuff We All Get) is corporate/branded merchandise given out for free to promote the company/brand. As a business owner, you probably have Tshirts, hats, etc that you give to your employees to wear at work, but have you ever thought about giving out your branded items to the public?

A recent study done by the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) found that swag generated a lower cost-per-impression rate over national magazine ads and prime time TV ads. They found that the cost-per-impression for promotional products was an average of $0.004, compared to $0.033 for national magazine ads and $0.019 for prime time TV ads.

The ASI not only found that swag had a lower cost-per-impression rate, but also found swag to be highly remembered by survey participants. The ASI surveyed 600 participants (who were mostly businesspeople over the age of 21) to recall swag received over the past year. Significant findings include:

-84% of participants remembered an advertiser based on a product they received.
-24% of participants revealed that they are more likely to do business with an advertiser based on swag they've received.
-Within the category of wearable swag, bags were reported to be the most frequently used items, with participants stating an average use of 9 times per month.

ASI president and CEO, Tim Andrews, said that "During a time when we're facing turbulent economic conditions, this research advises marketers and business owners to invest in advertising specialties now more than ever. Advertising specialties provide measurable results for a very reasonable investment."

Swag article


What kind of advertising do you use? Does it include swag? If not, would you consider adding swag as advertising? What is the return on investment for your current advertising?