Research: Uncovering the Gold Mine
May 26, 2008
Marketers sometimes assume that there is little existing research on Asian American consumers. But if you know how to look for it, you'll find much more than you'd expect. There are several specialist research firms that have longtime experience with Asian American consumers, and quite a few large, syndicated research providers offer Asian respondent data analysis gleaned from their general study samples. In addition, many major media outlets serving the Asian American segments-including LA18 TV in Los Angeles and KTSF TV in San Francisco-and a few of the major Asian American advertising agencies have commissioned their own studies which can be made available for new clients seeking insights. And of course, there's a wealth of expert information available from the Asian American Advertising Federation.
"The 3AF is a good place to start because they list who their members are," says Sharmila Fowler, vp of business development for multicultural research and marketing company Phoenix Marketing International, a research firm with long multicultural experience. In addition to the 3AF member list at www.3af.org, she also suggests marketers look at Diversity Inc.'s Marketing to the Emerging Majority newsletter, as well as Multicultural Marketing Resources, a company that disseminates information about multicultural marketing and key practitioners.
Fowler further recommends that companies maximize their own stakeholder groups for Asian names before going outside: "Mining your data, talking to your employees and reaching out to your regional and local management in high-Asian-density neighborhoods-a lot of these people will have great information that can help you create your strategies. They're out there in the trenches. They're going to have some insight that you won't want to pass up. This also helps ensure that your internal strategies are aligned with your external ones."
As for "going outside," some leading research brands may actually offer some important insights that can give clients a starting point. Simmons, for instance, offers semiannual reports that compare and contrast Asian American consumer behavior to other segments of the market. Although the Simmons surveys are English-based and therefore may not fully embrace the most recently arrived immigrant consumers who are native-language preferred, they can nevertheless highlight key directional opportunities for brands to explore as they build their business cases for Asian marketing.
A new study coming out this fall holds promise. Phoenix is partnering with Interviewing Service of America (ISA) to do a comprehensive research study, the Asian American Market Report, of which the 3AF is a platinum sponsor. As a follow-up to their 2005 study, this one will show Asian subgroups alongside African Americans, Hispanics and whites to compare and contrast. The report will also include complete Census data and qualitative research.
Alice Lee, vp of research and development for Asian Media Group, the parent company of LA18 TV, often uses Polk's Asian automotive data to analyze Asian vehicle registrations, but notes there are nuances to consider: Asian Indians tend to be undercounted, for example, while some Filipinos get lost to the Hispanic sector because Spanish surnames are common in The Philippines. "When they say Asians, they mean Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese," she says.
Lee also advises on the best way to structure research. "I see people asking questions like, 'What language do you prefer your media in?' People like Asian Indians or Filipinos respond that they prefer English, because much of the inculture media in these segments is actually English-based. That's what they're used to and they may not know there is anything else. But that's not the right way to ask the question. You should be focusing on the media, not on the language. The right way to ask would be, 'Do you prefer Asian Indian ethnic media?'"
Once a company has exhausted all possible secondary research sources, it may want to commission a primary, Asian experienced research company to fill in the gaps. Common practices include telephone surveys-which everyone agrees work best-in-home surveys, focus groups and, to a lesser degree, online surveys.
"Asians are very responsive to research," says Mike Halberstam, president of ISA, a leading research organization with experience in Asian-language fieldwork. "Calling them on the phone and giving them a language option makes them more comfortable, and we get fewer people dropping out of the surveys, partly because they're not bombarded with surveys, and partly because they have a history of politeness. You have to give them face, honor and respect. By offering them the survey in their language, they respect that."
But there are subtle nuances to be aware of. For instance, there may be a narrower distinction in some Asian languages between "good" and "excellent," so on a scale of poor, fair, good and excellent, respondents might choose "good" when they mean "excellent." So Halberstam says it's best to use numbers (i.e., on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 meaning…, etc.) to get a more accurate response.
Focus groups are used often. "You can spend two to three hours with respondents and get an in-depth understanding of them and can ask more detailed questions," says Lawrence Yeung, founder and president of 361 Degrees Communications, a specialist research firm with longtime Asian consumer experience. The key to getting the best responses, adds Yeung, is understanding certain cultural traits. "Asians don't like to express negativity. We try to save people's face. So in research, we need to probe a bit more, give them more time to warm up. Also, we like to agree with each other as a group, so they may not want to disagree with someone in a focus group. In those situations, we have to remind people that a focus group is not a support group, but that we are paying them to emphasize their individuality."
Tanya Raukko, managing director of interTrend Communications, sheds some light on the emerging opportunities in the research landscape to propel the industry. "Primary research is a platform that can help us advance the industry. Beyond regurgitating the common demographics and statistics, research can be multidimensional. We can use it to transcreate brands, develop insightful models for segmentation and use it as a measurement tool that is relevant for the Asian American market," Raukko says. "For our clients, we conduct deep dive ethnographies to understand how our consumers engage with a product category. Our research presentation has even evolved to cultural immersion tours to help our clients witness firsthand the lifestyle subcultures that we are targeting."
Besides the trove of data already available, the market is likely to soon see even richer data that will help guide marketing/media communications to Asian Americans. From-where else?-the Internet. Historically, most clients have not used the online channel to conduct research, but with Asians indexing high for use of the Internet, this is poised to be a major growth area in the Asian American research arena. -L.R.
For more Marketing to Asian Americans coverage:
Marketing to Asian Americans
Research: Uncovering the Gold Mine
Asian Media: Reaching the Target, Reaping the Rewards
Roundtable: Opportunity's Knocking
Roundtable continued
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