Opportunities and Challenges
The opportunities and challenges which housing lenders and real estate agents face across ethnic subcultures are different. The reasons that buyers from the three ethnic groups surveyed gave for buying homes were diverse. The surveyed ethnic groups consisted of African Americans, English -speaking Hispanics and Spanish- speaking Hispanics. Housing lenders and agents, therefore, need to consider what influences the perceptions and attitudes of clients from these ethnic market segments on home buying (Case 2-8, 2012, p.286).
People have limited knowledge, as shown in the survey on procedures that need to be followed before a transaction to purchase a home is completed. Lenders and agents need to educate potential buyers on all processes involved in home buying. They also need to provide information in alternative languages like Spanish to take advantage of opportunities that exist in populations that do not speak English. Spanish Hispanics still have very little knowledge of home buying procedures, and lenders need to find effective solutions to this problem (Case 2-8, 2012, p.286). Marketing campaigns should be structured in a way that satisfies their expectations. Lenders need to change their operations to suit the prevailing market conditions.
People have less confidence in the home -buying process, as shown by the survey. This is a serious challenge that lenders and real estate agents need to tackle effectively. This makes it difficult to change peoples’ attitudes and perceptions towards home buying (Case 2-8, 2012, p.286). Lenders and real estate agents need to work extra hard to change the ambivalence that exists across the surveyed populations on home buying. Even though some respondents surveyed have adequate knowledge of home buying, they still have less confidence in home purchasing transactions.
Overall Marketing Strategy for Each Segment
African Americans need to be made aware of the positive returns they can get by buying homes. They need products that cater to their interests and lifestyles to change their attitudes. Procedures that involve the hiring of attorneys and the payments which are made to real estate professionals should be eased. They need to be made more confident about home buying for them to change their perceptions about the whole process (Dorsey, 2011, p. 87). Lenders and agents need to simplify home buying transactions because they are seen as too complex.
English Hispanics have positive perceptions regarding investing in homes. Lenders need to introduce financial packages that offer flexible payment terms to buyers to increase their interest in buying homes. Lenders need to ease conditions to be fulfilled before clients from this ethnic market segment can be allowed to purchase a house. Lenders need to reduce the rates that real estate professionals charge buyers to make them more interested in purchasing houses (Dorsey, 2011, p. 89). The perceptions of clients need to be transformed by making them understand the process involved in home-buying easily. The process needs to be less complex.
Spanish Hispanics need to be encouraged that investing in a home is one of the most lucrative economic opportunities. Lenders should provide more information in Spanish to help them have adequate knowledge of the processes that are followed when purchasing a home. They also need simplified conditions when being given mortgages to purchase homes. Lenders should offer clients from this ethnic group flexible and less stringent payment terms (Dorsey, 2011, p. 95). More information should be provided to them in Spanish to make them easily understand the processes involved and to improve their confidence in home buying transactions.
Advertising Campaigns
The overall positioning strategy for African Americans is to introduce products that have flexible payment terms at lower prices and interest. The product should give them confidence that investing in a home offers future financial security to them and their families. The key advert points need to emphasize on how their social and financial security is guaranteed by purchasing a home (Kotschenreuther, 2012, p. 111). Visual elements used should highlight the happiness that is likely to be felt as a result of owning a home. Media to be used are radio, TV, and online social networks.
The overall positioning strategy for English Hispanics should make them see homeownership as a vital way through which one can fulfill personal goals. The products offered need to be combined with several additional benefits which guarantee a better living experience for the client. The key advert points need to emphasize on the benefits offered by acquiring a home with communal amenities nearby which encourage neighborly bonding. The visual elements of the adverts should focus on the appearance of the homes and the communal amenities that are close to them (Kotschenreuther, 2012, p. 115). Media to be used are radio, TV and billboards.
The overall positioning strategy for Spanish Hispanics should be the personal and social wellbeing that is likely to be felt as a result of purchasing a home. The products offered should be in Spanish. The products should make them feel that home ownership is the most effective way to get integrated into American society. The key advert points need to focus on the value of home ownership as the first step in realizing the American dream. The media adopted should be one that has a strong Spanish language following (Kotschenreuther, 2012, p.119).
Training Materials
Lenders need to use fliers as informational tools to make African American clients aware of the positive results they will get by investing in homes. The fliers need to contain information that outlines the path to financial rewards that are obtained by purchasing homes. Catalogues with different home designs can be used to inform English Hispanics about the advantages they will get from purchasing homes. Newsletters and fliers written in Spanish can be designed to target the Spanish Hispanics (Allen, 2012, p. 65).
Lenders can use telephone marketing to call random clients. This approach can be used to target clients from all the ethnic segments surveyed to inform them of the products that exist and how they can be of benefit to them (Allen, 2012, p. 74). The telephone sales employees need to be multilingual to serve diverse ethnic clients better. Specific radio campaigns targeting clients from different market segments can be used to inform them on the unique attributes of the products being offered.
Real estate agents should develop catalogues with pictures of various products on offer and their payment terms. The catalogued products should have attributes which respond to the needs and expectations of clients from the surveyed ethnic groups. They should also produce catalogues that have been written in Spanish which capture the interests of these clients (Allen, 2008, p.77). Agents should be ready to learn Spanish to understand the needs of Spanish Hispanic clients. They also need to be in touch with their clients through the telephone to fulfill their expectations easily.
References
Allen, C. (2008). Housing market renewal and social class. New York, NY: Routledge.
Case 2-8 (2012). Tapping the ethnic housing market.
Dorsey, A.H. (2011).Active alpha: A portfolio approach to selecting and managing alternative investments. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Kotschenreuther, M. (2012). Marketing strategies for open-end real estate funds. Berlin: Grin Verlag.