For most companies, their customer base is evolving. If you look at the U.S. for instance, data on the makeup of the population is changing rapidly. These demographic changes have a profound impact on the psychographic and buying behaviors as a result. Here are a few stats to consider in this regard:

• By 2055 there will not be a single ethnic or racial majority
• Millennials are the largest generation, and are the most racially diverse of any generation in American history
• Women were the sole or primary breadwinners in 40 percent of households with children
• The share of American adults who have never been married is at a historical high
• About one in six American kids lives in a blended family
• The number of adults living in middle-income populations is shrinking, and hovers at around 50 percent

Because the demographic and psychographic makeup of your customers is changing rapidly, you need to be equipped to speak to these audiences in an authentic way to have any hopes of being relevant to them.

Many companies know they need to adjust away from traditional marketing methods to reach these new customers, but they don’t know how to do it in an authentic way. Consequently, they struggle to get the results they want. No bueno.

Cashmere Agency is lifestyle agency specializing in communication strategies for multi-cultural millennials and Gen Z. They’ve worked on projects such as the movie Get Out, VH1’s original series Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner, and with brands such as GE, PayPal, and AirBnB.

Ryan Ford is their Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer. I chatted with him recently to dive into what Cashmere Agency does to build high-performing teams that enable them to consistently connect with and engage with millennials, and other multi-cultural audiences for their customers in a way that gets results.

Key points:

• Common mistakes brands make when trying to reach diverse audiences
• How to build a team that is reflective of the customers you want to serve (and why most companies struggle to do it)
• Why your personal network is often insufficient for building a diverse team
• The two different types of diversity you need on your team
• How to tap into the unique skills and talents of your team (even if they are newbies)
• How to recover quickly when publishing something that misses the mark with your customers
• What to do if you don’t currently have the internal capabilities to market to diverse customers

Listen to the 32-minute episode here:

Watch the episode here: