Diversity and Marketing
I got to read a post on Diversity with a new friend of mine, J.D. Walton. J.D. has launched a blog that markets to Blacks in Business. He’s an American success story and wants to share his experience with others.
It got me stirred up so much that I had to write about my thoughts on diversity. What does diversity have to do with Marketing and Automation? What does it have to do with Doug, this 38-year old fat white guy? Everything! Our country and our world are becoming much more diverse every day. The internet is becoming the true melting pot as affordable access and hardware comes to the masses.
You must respect and speak to all races, creeds and genders if you wish to be successful. If your business wishes to grow, then your company must be diverse as well. It’s impossible to serve a sector of the market effectively if you don’t have input from that sector of the market.
Some folks look internally on diversity programs and utilize it as their excuse for not being promoted or speak to someone else becoming promoted prematurely. I believe this to be short-sighted and perhaps a little ignorant. Basing a promotion on someone’s race, gender, etc. can and will open opportunities to the business as well as the individual.
Here’s the million dollar question… when your company grows successfully by actively promoting minorities and females, new opportunities will come to everyone within that company. It’s the chicken or the egg. Perhaps you never would have had the opportunity to get promoted without having that diverse workplace in the first place!