The answer is a resounding YES!
Diversity is not just creating a beautiful picture with the requisite number of Asian, Hispanic, African American, and Female employees juxtaposed against the appropriate number of white males. Diversity, when utilized correctly, positively impacts the bottom line of an organization in its ability to view the business differently, open new sources of business, expand market share, and its ability to act as a preventative measure for costly mistakes, bad publicity and unwarranted discrimination lawsuits.
Although currently embattled, Andrea Jung, AVON Corporation's Chairman & CEO, born of Canadian Asian parents, was the first female CEO of AVON Corporation. She was intolerant of Avon's then lack luster market share and image as "grandma's" cosmetics company. In just five (5) years, she revamped her company, opened up business in both Latin America and Asia. She spearheaded a campaign called "Dare to Change Your Mind" and for the first time used Latin and African American celebrities like Salma Hayek and Serena Williams to advertise its products to younger, minority females. Additionally, she also expanded Avon's male line of colognes. From 2000 through 2004 Avon's revenue rose by $2.4 billion and profits nearly tripled.
On the other hand, the lack of diversity can be costly. We've all heard the now highly disputed story of Chevy's attempt to market and sell the Chevy Nova in Mexico and Latin America. Allegedly, in the late 1970's Chevy launched a marketing campaign in Mexico and Latin America for it super star seller, the Chevy Nova. Unaware that the name Nova when translated in Spanish could be read as "No-va" or "it doesn't go", the campaign failed and according to the story very few cars were sold. Regardless of the truthfulness of the story, the popularity of the story suggests the importance of diversity and cultural sensitivity to the business's bottom line.
Here are a few other less disputed corporate snafus:
- When the Dairy Association launched its "Got Milk" campaign in Mexico it failed to considered how it would translate in the Mexican marketplace, and thus it adds read "Are you lactating?"
- Pepsi notoriously brought its "Come Alive With the Pepsi generation" campaign to China only to later learn that the slogan translated literally read "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back From the Grave".
- An American T-shirt maker in Miami, Florida wanting to profit off the Pope's visit, intended to sell t-shirts that read "I saw the Pope", however translated in Spanish the shirts read "I saw the Potato" (la papa).
- Clairol, in attempting to market its highly popular "Mist Stick" curling iron in Germany, failed to realize that the word "mist" translated to German slang for manure. Not too many Germans were interested in purchasing the "Manure Stick."
- The Scandinavian manufacturer of Electrolux launch an ad campaign in America that read "Nothing sucks like an Electrolux" to market it highly successful vacuum cleaner.
Diversity isn't just the right thing to do; it is the smart business way to maximize business opportunities and profits and should not be shied away from in a slow, downturned market. On the contrary, diversity should be embraced as the morally and ethically correct course of action, but also as another business tool for finding, cultivating and developing the business.
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About the Author
Yvette Y. Edmond is an attorney with 10+ years of legal experience and 16 years of experience creating and delivering training and development courses throughout the United States. She has worked in corporate, non-profit, insurance, government and higher education settings.