In today's globalised marketplace, organisations are faced with increasing challenges, including rapid technological change, a surge in competitors and empowered consumers requiring more from brands than simply products and services.
"Customer experience" objectives feature heavily within business strategies and a whole industry has sprung up focused on collecting and deciphering consumer data to drive deeper insights and anticipate needs of changing behaviours, demonstrating that understanding audiences is much more of a science than art.
On Monday, the Australian Human Rights Commission and Deloitte, together with SBS, Qantas, QBE and the Westpac Group launch a new report, Missing Out: The business case for customer diversity, exploring how organisations can increase customer-centricity, mitigate risks and magnify opportunities through the lens of diversity.
Whilst acknowledging the current work that is already being implemented in this space, the report identifies a critical need to further recognise consumer diversity to maximise revenue generation and business success.
The findings reveal that surveyed customers from non-Anglo-Celtic backgrounds, with a disability or identifying as LGBT were significantly more likely to say that they had experienced discrimination by one or more of the organisations they interacted with in the past 12 months.
With 28 per cent of Australians born overseas and 32 per cent of those from a non-Anglo-Celtic background, organisations have the best incentive to understand and represent this diversity if they are to resonate with and be relevant to all Australians.
Migration will continue to account for more than half of our population growth each year with one new migrant arriving in Australia every two minutes and 12 seconds and households where languages other than English (LOTE) are spoken now control almost 20 per cent of all household spending in Australia – totalling almost $96 billion.
Further research shows LOTE audiences are 25 per cent more likely than the population average to have a diploma or degree, 18 per cent more likely to use credit to buy the things they want, 20 per cent more likely to say they enjoy grocery shopping and 23 per cent more likely to go out of their way in search of a bargain.
Not embracing this growth in diverse consumers and their spending patterns is limiting business growth and leaving money on the table. Much has been discussed about the business benefits of a diverse and inclusive internal environment, including increased productivity and decision-making.
Whilst implementing internal strategies to ensure this representation within their walls, organisations must also mirror these principles externally to remain competitive.
With a significant amount of those surveyed in Missing Out reporting that organisations do not provide the products and services they need, it is evident that more work needs to be done in this area to create and build positive customer experiences for all Australians.
As Australia's multicultural broadcaster, SBS is a purpose-led organisation, guided by our unique charter, where values drive everything we do.
Our focus on increasing understanding of difference, facilitating acceptance of a diverse society and promoting social cohesion underpins our internal and external activities across the business.
The report further suggests that there is extra selling power in communicating an organisation's commitment to equality, beyond the target diversity group.
Customers who identify ethically with brands and enjoy positive experiences are more likely to become vocal advocates, proactively influencing others' perceptions and actions, further driving increased revenue.
With one in five surveyed customers ceasing a transaction in the past 12 months because they were not treated respectfully or fairly, it's evident that customer diversity is something that can't be ignored.
Consumers who feel like they are being treated differently due to personal characteristics may actively dissuade others, contributing to negative brand equity which impacts profit margins.
To move forward as a progressive and successful society – both socially and economically, organisations need to acknowledge and cater for Australia's diverse groups.
From strategy and governance, to the creation of relevant products and services and training front-line employees, processes must be put in place to ensure that the needs of all Australians are considered, regardless of their gender, cultural background, faith, sexual orientation disability or age.
To organisations who embrace this focus the benefits are already clear – increased opportunities to drive retention, attract diverse customer segments through brand differentiation and access new spending power through understanding the needs of under-serviced and often misunderstood consumer groups.
Michael Ebeid is managing director at SBS
