The inclusive marketing strategies Zumba, Lysol, Wistia, and more are using to grow, straight from marketing leaders

By sonia@soniaethompson.com (Sonia Thompson)

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Growth is the mandate for brands each year. One way to grow? Create offerings that appeal to a wider group of people. That’s where inclusive marketing comes in.

Inclusive marketing is all about acknowledging the many ways people are different. Brands that do inclusive marketing well authentically infuse the identities they’ve chosen to serve throughout all parts of their marketing mix to ensure those consumers feel like they belong and that the brand is for “people like them.”

With eight years of experience as a consultant, I know that each brand’s approach to inclusive marketing looks different, tailored to its audiences and its products. So, I wanted to share how role model companies have created strategies that win. Let’s dive in.

Inclusive Marketing Strategies from Top Brands

1. Zumba focuses on building a diverse team.

When brands struggle with inclusive marketing, I recommend that they look at the demographics of their teams. If everyone comes from the same background, you may be missing valuable insights. A diverse team will be more representative of the consumers you want to serve, helping you better understand their needs.

One of my favorite examples is Zumba. This popular dance fitness program trains instructors in 160 countries and has more than 15 million people who take their classes worldwide. With a global audience, Zumba needs instructors who can teach in different languages and understand different lifestyles.

“Now, what’s important to know is that those instructors come from all walks of life. So, you have people taking their certification for a variety of reasons,” says Carolina Moraes, chief marketing officer of Zumba.

According to Moraes, the diversity of the brand’s instructors helps attract a wide range of customers.

She further explains, “So, as you can imagine, that brings in a blend of a very diverse community of instructors where you have lawyers, teachers, firefighters, hairdressers, chefs, all kinds … taking these trainings together. And, they bring in their students who very often are from the same universe. So when they start teaching, their class very often looks like them.”

While having a diverse team can help you expand your perspectives, your hiring practices alone don’t guarantee success. You can only benefit from your employees’ unique insights if they feel safe enough to share their experiences.

That’s why brands need to build an inclusive culture and focus on psychological safety. When employees feel like they belong, they can bring their lived experiences and what makes them unique to the work they do.

Zumba builds this environment by working with education specialists who train new Zumba instructors and get them steeped in the brand’s inclusive culture.

“Now, they are the most diverse group you will probably see. They are a direct reflection of the brand. And when they hold those sessions, not only is this diversity spoken about in the actual training, but it’s also brought into the product and how the product is delivered,” Moraes says.

Pro tip: Building and empowering a diverse team within …read more

Source:: HubSpot Blog