The word “underserved” is misleading as well. These audiences aren’t looking for service or a handout or any sort of charity; brands actually need them to thrive and, frankly, to survive. There’s no business longevity without gaining the trust and support of these audiences.
And lest we forget, the worst one of them all: diverse. Nobody identifies as “diverse.” You can’t say “I want to get a diverse hire for this job,” or “We should go after diverse audiences.” This is where specificity is important: If your organization has a deficit of Black people, then say you want to hire a Black executive. If research is telling you your product would appeal to Latine audiences, then that’s who you need to specifically target.
Being general with your approach will always yield generic results.
Let’s be specific
There’s sometimes a fear of being specific. My hypothesis is that the fear stems from one of two places: dread of using the wrong word, or concerns about alienating a “general market” (put in quotes because the term general market in 2023 is a farce).
I do understand the fear of putting your foot in your mouth and using the wrong or potentially dated, politically incorrect term, but curiosity and humility here will be your best friends. Ask questions and seek to understand. Don’t let ignorance be your downfall.
For example, the word “Black” is not offensive. You don’t have to whisper it or look around the corner to see who’s around before uttering the word. If you want to target Black audiences, put it prescriptively in your brief, just remember to capitalize the B and never use the term “Blacks” (the plural is racist.)
Then, there’s a lack of credibility to the second fear of alienating a “general market” with specific audience targeting. For decades, non-white/straight/cis-gendered/able-bodied people have had to find relatability in stories and ads that did not reflect their existence, let alone speak directly to them.
There are universal, relatable truths that “general market” audiences can glean from underestimated audiences. Marketers shouldn’t think that if their content features a Black person, for example, only Black people will be attracted to that campaign. Targeting one audience specifically doesn’t mean you’ll only reel in that one audience alone; it means you increase your chances of getting an outsized reaction from an audience that is not only influential to the masses but carries certain human truths that others can relate to.
Black, Latine and LGBTQ+ audiences, especially, carry a lot of influence outside of their specific communities and are known for creating broader cultural conversations, starting trends and sparking awareness where there may not otherwise have been. So think of these audiences as potential brand ambassadors and amplifiers of your message and mission. But the catch is, you have to authentically and consistently show up for them to reap those benefits.
