Guest Blog: Your Frontline Workers & Your Customers - A Cross-Cultural Interaction That Leads to Marketing & Sales Success, or Failure

Picture this: Sasha is a 20-something Colombian woman who is looking for the perfect skincare products to match her needs. Naturally, in this day and age, Sasha is being bombarded with online marketing messages across her social media pages from beauty brands with inclusive, multicultural marketing strategies. Nonetheless, she decides to visit a retail store nearby her work location so she can explore her options in real life.

At the entrance, she is greeted by a positive and energetic White, American woman named Dawn who greets her and offers to help. The conversation starts per usual retail worker/customer interaction, as Sasha explains her requirement for a skincare product that matches her unique skincare needs. She also shares a little of her cultural background in a short story about how her mother and grandmother used to take care of their skin: how her grandmother would make sugar and honey face scrubs, then gently rub olive oil into her cheeks while she drifted off to sleep.

After careful listening and observations, Dawn finds Sasha’s experience intriguing. She asks more questions about Sasha’s background and how/if she found any challenges in purchasing the right skin care products in America. Sasha feels seen, heard, and valued by Dawn’s investment in her story. She has developed a sense of comfort and belonging with a retail worker who, in fact, is a complete stranger from a totally different background than her own.

After they exchange a few words and laughs, Dawn shows Sasha a couple of products, encourages her to try them, and asks her opinion on each. She takes mental notes along the way, and finally, she recommends a product that fits Sasha perfectly. Sasha checks out, thanks Dawn for her time, and they both depart with smiles on their faces, feeling satisfied and accomplished.