Cultural Awareness: Inclusive Multicultural Marketing

When serving a multicultural audience, you want to make sure that your practice incorporates diversity and complies with the Fair Housing Act. While you must recognize a diverse market base, any marketing plan – including the selection of media and publications for advertisements – that indicates a preference, limitation, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, family status, or national origin violates the Fair Housing Act.

Some tips to be sure that your marketing is inclusive but not in violation of the Fair Housing Act:

• Always focus on describing the property, not the person, in your advertising.
• Read and reread your advertising for words with hidden or double meanings.
• Think about what potential customers might think the message says.
• Don’t use slang or idiomatic expressions that might be misunderstood.
• Be inclusive.

Think glocal, act glocal

That is not a typing error in the headline! You might not realize it, but global real estate is happening locally, in your own backyard – it’s Glocal. If a client called you tomorrow and said, “I have been renting for six months each year when I visit the U.S. from Canada, now I’m ready to buy. Can you tell me if I need a special visa if I want to buy property while I’m here? Do I need special financing? How do you convert funds from Canadian to US currency for the transaction? Can we get it done before I have to go back?” -- would you know how to help this person?
While “global real estate” might sound like it only applies to million-dollar deals with prestigious foreign investors, it can be as simple as the example above. More than a quarter of a million REALTORS® have international clients, and 93% percent of REALTORS® have seen steady or increased international business, and those numbers are on the rise. If you have experienced a situation like this, you are a global REALTOR®! Learn more about what NAR and SBAOR offer to help you conduct these transactions with ease.

In 60-plus Countries, You have CIPS Personal Contacts

Sometimes, just having the right personal contact can be the spark you need to explore a new market opportunity. Through the CIPS directory, the CIPS Network provides members with the kind of personal contacts that can make that kind of difference in more than 60 countries around the world. For even more reach and visibility, Network members are also encouraged to join CIPS groups on social networking sites, such as Facebook or www.Realestateconnections.tv.
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