UNDERSTANDING AND DEALING WITH CUSTOMERS FROM VISIBLE MINORITY BACKGROUNDS.
Connecting and communicating with customers from different cultures is important when conducting business in an increasingly diverse community. In many cases, your customer database is comprised of people with different personalities from a whole host of backgrounds and cultures.
Canada is known and respected around the world as an ethnically diverse and tolerant nation. Visible minorities are increasing at a rapid pace in Canada and by 2031, nearly 40 per cent of children under the age of one will belong to a visible minority group. Based on data from Statistics Canada that means that by 2031 around 14.4 million people will belong to a visible minority group.
Every large society contains ethnic and linguistic minorities. Their lifestyle, language, culture and origin can often differ significantly from the rest of the population.
UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMS
There are many ways to identify customers from visible minority groups. This includes their appearance, dress and common names which are often a good indicator of the community in which they belong. Others are the way different groups speak English with distinctive accents and also their mannerisms. Many minority groups are joint family oriented, even though in some cases the community might be male dominated.
When it comes to making a decision on the vehicle purchase, the female partner is also part of the final deal, therefore respect and share with the family equally. Appreciating and learning your customer’s culture is critical to gaining their trust. And everyone wants a relationship where they can trust the dealership, the brand and its staff.
Customers from visible minorities may forgive you for not knowing all the technical specifications of the vehicle or the detail of your latest advertised special, but the forgiveness usually ends if you are impatient with their imperfect English, strong accents, or difficult-to-pronounce names. Being patient, respecting differences, and allowing customers to be heard can help bridge even the widest cultural gulf.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT
Based on my own observations, whether you are selling products or services or just dealing with customer concerns, your initial meeting can be a make it or break it affair, often within the first 30 seconds. Read customer cues carefully and adjust your approach based on what you see, hear or feel. It’s fine to ask them about their culture profile and how they want to be treated to avoid offending your customers.
For example, even though greeting and welcoming with a smile and handshake may be common etiquette when generally dealing with customers in Canadian society, the same actions could be taken as inappropriate by Muslim women and customers from India, China and parts of Latin America. Let the customer decide how they want to be greeted by you and wait to see what greeting they offer. Simply return that greeting with the same gesture.
Avoid direct eye contact. Again, while you were trained to make eye contact during conversation this may not be comfortable for some of your customers. For example, Chinese, and select South Asians are often taught to avoid eye contact as a sign of respect for others. If your customers act this way toward you, make sure you do the same.
MAKING CULTURAL ADJUSTMENTS
In Canada, most customers stand within their comfort zone at about two feet apart when speaking with you. However, in other countries people may stand closer or farther apart than most Canadians. For example, South Asian women are often more formal so tend to nod or shake hands and then take a step back, giving them greater personal space.
This is generally too far apart for most Canadians so it’s natural for a you to take a step forward violating the customer’s “safety and comfort zone” and making them feel very uncomfortable. On the other hand, in China, people usually step forward after greeting.
This would generally cause you to back-up causing the customer discomfort. You must be aware of cultural adjustments when working with visible minorities.
Michael Soon Lee, author of Cross Cultural Selling, said that “we live in a world composed of many cultures, customs and languages. Even though we may appear different, many communication skills are universal.”
Treat visible minority customers as you want to be treated. Basic courtesy, respect, willingness to help, consideration, compassion, kindness and a positive attitude are successful ways to communicate worldwide. Even without understanding the other’s native language, you will be able to effectively work through any language or cultural barriers.
