Know-How Exchange : Branding

KSA,

I do not think anybody would like to be termed multicultural in a direct way.Though we realize that our heritage is mixed and sometimes not totally clear we do not like to be treated as a mix which the term implies.
Therefore if any umbrella name is considered it cannot refer to multicultural nature of your project.
Pls bear in mind that even within Hispano community you
will find vast differences between people of Mexican or Cuban origin.Polish,Czech and Russian do not share same values 100%.In a word you will have to address each cultural group in a different way.What's also important is demographics as the culture and values held dear by the first generation of immigrants is by no means the same as those cherished by the second, third one.
Putting it all together quite a lot of research will be necessary to address the needs of any of the ethnic, cultural group you are tageting at.

Regards

Adam

Being "multicultural," regardless of what words you use for it, is not addressing a need of any group.

Put yourself in the shoes of the prospective client. Let's say you're Vietnamese. Someone says "I can relate to everyone," or "I serve a multi-cultural community," or words to that effect.

You might think that means he/she speaks Spanish, or that he's European, or whatever. The chances that he actually understands MY needs (if I'm Vietnamese) is slim. Obviously he/she can't be from everywhere, so why would I believe he/she understands MY culture?

Said another way, the value proposition needs to speak to the needs of the customer. It's not about who the provider/product is. It's about how they have a unique ability to address the customer's most pressing issue.

People don't walk around thinking, "Boy, I need a realtor who is multi-cultural." If anything, they think, I need a realtor who is from MY culture/country, and who understands MY needs because he/she has walked in my shoes.

hi Kathleen

great response from the experts above. my 2 cents...

consumers/clients really want to know about whether the real estate agent is understanding his/her needs, in the manner/way he/she (the consumer) is thinking. as others have mentioned that different target segment have different needs and once your client(the agent) becomes proficient understanding these needs the agent will become "Multicultural". being target-segment-oriented is more important than multicultural to clients.

what i mean to say, is that your communication to all the target segments of Asian, Hispanics and Slavics has to be tailored towards each of them. The asian prospective clients have to feel "this guy (the agent) understands how i want my home to be" and same for other target segments. Once you have done that automatically you are Multicultural. This communication will be done thru' every possible contact with prospective client, from making sales call to brochures to advertisement.

again, if the agent has already exposure of being Multicultural, then that experience can be used as a marketing tool to tap into all the target segments. for example may be the agent has knowledge of a unique way of builidng homes that is only practiced by japanese but is very effective for the earthquake prone areas. The agent can use that knowledge in suggesting that teknik to be used to a Hispanic family for their homes. its like "Sharing Global Knowledge for individual special needs" but definitely without hurting the clients feeling. if you promote a japanese technik to a korean you can be sure the client will go away ;-)

i am visualizing, if all this has been in a TVC, there might have been few different TVC but with the same theme"Understanding and Fulfilling Unique Needs", one potrying the company specialized catering to the Aisan community, one to the Slavics and so on.

as for the mission/vision statement, it might sound something like, "Understanding adn Fulfilling Your Unique Needs" or Your Dreams, Our Global Expertise" or something like that.

hope this helps.

cheers!!