With the worldwide global Islamic economy set to reach $3.7 trillion by the end of 2019, there’s heaps of untapped potential for the Islamic market. Here in the West, there’s an increasing trickle of headlines about the ‘Muslim’ pound or dollar. While brands start to drip-feed Muslims touchpoints relevant to their consumer journeys, it can be said that overall efforts to reach Muslims been slow and they continue to be mostly uncatered for in most mainstream consumer categories.
The current situation means that while brands continue to tread cautiously and cater solely to their core audiences; dissatisfaction with the current state of play is common amongst Muslims.
According to research in the UK by Ogilvy Noor, 68% of Muslims surveyed don’t feel that the current level of engagement by brands caters to them well, and 78% say they would welcome tailored brand offerings for Ramadan or Eid.
The Ogilvy research shows that Muslims are seeking information, products and services that help them live ‘modern faithful’ lifestyles and that brands who can support them in doing this can potentially gain loyal support. This invitation presents a huge opportunity to implement growth strategies that cater to serving the needs of this underserved segment.
So how do brands unfamiliar to this market start implementing strategies for growth through catering for the needs of Muslims?
According to Dinar Standard, there are several ways to do this.
Understand if there’s already a big enough Muslim market for what you do
Before going any further, it’s important to understand the global halal market size for your sector.
For example, if you’re in the travel sector; investigate whether there’s a popular destination you have a presence in that Muslims already travel to.
What’s already there that Muslims enjoy? How could your brand offering align to add to the experience once they get there? Could you offer halal food, or more family-oriented evening activities?
Pinpoint the consumer trends to tailor your offer around.
Again with the travel example you could tap into the trend for the high digital connectivity combined with a growing propensity for travel, in order to offer Muslim-friendly travel products that can be marketed and bookable through Muslim travel websites, and then managed via mobile and online.
Think about what level of customisation is appropriate
There are several ways you could reach Muslims, and some of these depend on the nature of your offer or sector.
You could offer no customisation at all
This is potentially the easiest thing to do depending on what kind of product or service you offer, and your geographical location.
If your offering is completely identity-neutral i.e. like a car-hire service, then there may not be a need to customise beyond making sure your existing advertising is as inclusive of Muslims as possible.
If you’re interested in ways to make your advertising more Muslim friendly generally, check out our article on 6 ways to land your advert successfully.
You could access Muslims through media channels specific to them
In using this strategy, the key action would be pinpointing online and offline media channels consumed by Muslims, and the specific Muslim audiences these channels have.
While we’d advocate tailoring your message to Muslims to be more relevant to them, advertising online and offline using these channels is a great way to gain direct access to Muslims without necessarily having to offer any unique messaging, and can potentially work for a lot of different ‘identity-neutral’ sectors like home improvement, cars, etc.
You could access Muslims through media channels specific to them
Similar to the option above; this way you’d be targeting Muslims through media channels that serve them specifically, but with messages tailored to a Muslim audience.
An example could be advertising on Muslim blogs and websites that align with your sector, or on social media.
You could extend your existing product or service offer, or if you’re really brave; create a new brand entirely
If you have a well-established product line, you could extend this by offering a product or service that takes Muslim lifestyle requirements into account, for example; a skincare product with halal ingredients, or clothing in accordance with the Islamic dress code.
If you’re really brave, you could create a whole new product line or business unit to address unique Muslim product needs. This is common in the Muslim world for example, with large international hotel chains offering distinct brands only found in the Muslim world that have prayer rooms and halal food.
In summary; how do you tap into the global Islamic economy?
The Islamic economy is now worth over $3tn globally, and is set to continue its steady growth as populations rise and middle classes continue to expand. Whatever your sector, there’s a way to tap into the potential of the Muslim consumer market that can work for you.
You can start with identifying consumer trends that align with your business, and understanding whether there’s a sizeable amount of interest in the Muslim consumer segment for what your business can offer.
The next steps would be considering the amount of customisation you can offer to serve the needs of the Muslim market. If you want to offer little to no customisation; you could advertise on specific media channels aimed at Muslims with your existing message, or with a tailored message.
If you think your brand could benefit from a higher level of customisation, you can offer product extensions within existing brands or consider even creating a whole new line of products to serve your Muslim audience specifically.
Would you like to tap into the Muslim consumer market? We offer a suite of advertising solutions that can reach thousands of Muslims across the world using your existing campaigns.
To get started, send an email to salam@halal.ad or use the contact form to set up a free consultation with an expert on our team.
References:
https://ogilvy.co.uk/news/great-british-ramadan
https://www.dinarstandard.com/4-step-muslim-market-strategy/
https://startups.co.uk/business-ideas-2018-muslim-lifestyle/