A Decade of Learning
A decision was taken and a journey initiated with nervous excitement in 1998 when I ventured into the path of tapping the South Asian market with Western Union. A consultant with them then and hiring a team of professionals now who act as solution providers to corporations, it has been a memorable journey indeed. ASB Communications is now anyone’s answer to a crisp understanding and strategy for not only the South Asians but also the Asians, Middle Easterners and Africans. What’s more is that we do this for our clients not only in the US but also in Canada and the UK.
I have been advocating the advantages of diverting marketing budgets for the benefit of the South Asian community, since the time I myself have been delightfully surprised by the results of having pursued this strategy. After all we all know the difference is made not in the strength of population but the strength of the people’s monetary capacity. Hence even though South Asians come after Hispanics and Afro Americans as far as strength in population is concerned we are indisputable leaders in buying power. It is advisable to market to the South Asians instead of just the Indians – it’s just a little stretch but the effect often has even tripled the impact!
Asian Indians have the highest median household income of $78,315 where as the national average is $48,451. One out of 10 Asian Indians is a millionaire. Asian Indians contributed more than $89 billion to the US economy in 2002. So it is safe to assume here that over the years they must have contributed much more than $100 billion. Out of 7,300 US companies founded by immigrants, almost 26% were founded by Indian immigrants. (Compare that to the 7.1% contributed by UK, 6.9% contributed by China, or 5.8% contributed by Taiwan.) More than 60,000 doctors in the USA are South Asians. 45% of the hotels in the US are owned and operated by this group. The data shared by me here is from 2001 to 2006. The South Asian community is fortified with such numbers and astounding facts all through. These compelling features of the community make it an enviable entity to forge with.
Yet I have come across an interesting counterpoint a number of times lately. There is a mammoth misnomer among the Indian companies who have been trying to enter the US market regarding the Indian or even the South Asian community here. They assume that the Indian market here has already been won over by the virtue of the company being a known name in India. They are completely oblivious to the different segment of Indians that reside here. NRIs were recently described to me by an Indian from a huge corporation in India as someone for whom the time has stood still since he/she migrated. For whom decade old soaps are the only connection to India and the only way to connect to the world of fashion back home! The businesses that cling to this school of thinking, market their product to the mainstream audience - totally ignoring the Indian/South Asian community. This point of view did stand true a few years back when NRIs traveled to India only once in 3-4 years as opposed to once or twice a year in the present times. They are completely in tune with the developments in India, whether it is in the field of corporatization, political scenario, social happenings or the latest in fashion in India.
Numerous researches describe the South Asian as someone whose priority list goes something like this - Housing, Education, Savings and Investment in luxury goods - in that order of importance. An absolute dream come true for the marketer, whether he is marketing real estate, education, insurance, an entertainment product, cars or jewelry.
The world in its entirety has learned and understood the impact of the South Asians in the business world. Now it is time that our fellow South Asians from the South Asian countries understand it as well. It is their fellow brothers here that will give their business the impetus that they are looking for because we know them. It is us that will make you popular even in the mainstream world because it is us that the mainstream audience will turn to for an opinion. I am extremely proud to belong to this community, I am educated, I have taste that level with my society here, I am a working woman and most of all I am an NRI. I also represent most of the working NRI women here and would love to take anyone on a guided tour of this world instead of watching soaps at home. Let me know when you are game.
Neeta Bhasin, a Queens College graduate, is the President/CEO of ASB Communications (www.asbcommunications. com), a full service multicultural communications agency dedicated to the ethnic markets, especially the South Asian (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal) and Middle Eastern markets, in North America. She hosts a live show on ITV, a New York/New Jersey channel dedicated to the South Asian Diaspora. She can be reached at nbhasin@asbcommunications.com
Numerous researches describe the South Asian as someone whose priority list goes something like this - Housing, Education, Savings and Investment in luxury goods - in that order of importance.
BY NEETA BHASIN
