Hello,

18 years into the 21st century has led to massive progression towards what most consider is "true" equality, particularly in the area of gender, sex and identity. Now as a business you will not only have to adapt how you market and interact with both customers, and different businesses more carefully but also with your own employees and future ones. This article will help to teach how to best adapt to this new social climate that is not only diverse but also volatile.

Intro

Now the changes in recently in the social world are mostly a positive thing but for a business, they are more risks that need to be aware of and work that needs to be put in to stay ethically and even legally sound. Using the correct language in all manner of things, changing advertising in a productive way in conjunction with the social climate, and adapting to this new social climate to your advantage.

Using the Correct Language

Changing the way language is used in order to be more inclusive of minorities is very important for a business in every aspect. Pronouns are the biggest concern when it comes to this. When and how to use, he, she, they and them, is dependent on the people/person the said pronoun use concerns. When referring to customers and employees who are transgender, non-binary and other forms of gender, it is always better to ask what they preferred to be called by. This will help avoid complications like offending or making them feel uncomfortable. If your target market is not specifically orientated towards one of the cis-gendered majority then it is wise to replace pronouns in marketing with “they” and “them”. This may seem tedious, but it will benefit you in the long term by avoiding criticisms and appealing to the rising growth of this new social climate. Try to refer to diverse groups as simply people or humans, avoid using phrases such as “guys” and “mankind” as it may come off as offensive to some people. The best way to know which words suite your business’s goals as well as your business environment is by asking both your employees and customers. Sending out online surveys and holding discussions will help quickly and efficiently solve any problems around language use in your business.

You may not understand the reasoning's of society but as long as you accommodate and listen to them, you and your business will thrive.

Changing Advertising in a Productive Way in Conjunction with the Social Climate

The amount of effort that will have to be put in to change advertising to make it non-discriminatory may seem daunting, but there is hidden potential in taking advantage of this new social climate. A lot of the changes will have to depend on what you are advertising. If your advertising a product that is specifically targeted at a single sex, gender, religion, culture or any other specific demographic then you will need to advertise in accordance with that demographic, if you can try to be diverse with race and gender to a point. Never lose sight of who your target market is. However, if your product is set to a multitude of demographics at once, then you will have to be careful with the imagery and language you use to convey your advertising message. Simple measures can be taken such as including different races, genders, cultures and religious people in your adverts to achieve the look and feel of “human unity”. This will help send a positive message to customers, public institutions and other potential partners in the business world. This will also help to avoid mass criticism that is so easy to come by nowadays if you are not with the “times” so to speak. Make sure all your adverts moving forward follow this diverse formula as much as possible. The key is showing diversity in the adverts. As I mentioned earlier with language, it is important to watch your us of pronouns and naming to be as inclusive as possible. One mistake can equal 10 000 criticisms and complaints.

It is always best to play it safe with how you advertise in terms of making every effort not to offend anyone in any social aspect.

Adapting to this New Social Climate to your Advantage.

What a lot of businesses don’t realize is that with the rise of more and more new social minorities coming out is that all this means is more potential customers waiting for a product to come that they will want to buy. Changing your currents products slightly to be more inclusive of everyone is not a bad decision but what would be even more profitable is creating products geared towards each of these specific minorities. One minority to look out for is the non-binary gender group which is a gender that is inclusive of both feminine and masculine aspects without specifically being a man or a woman. An example of what a clothing company could do is to post designs of unisex clothes online that are fusions of aspects from gender specific clothes in a survey to see which designs people would want the most and then produce it. What will happen is that all kinds of people will see and vote on the designs, meaning that all kinds of people will want to purchase the designs even though it is mainly geared towards non-binary people. The best thing to always do when creating a new product is to ask what people want, there is no point in selling a product that no one has any interest in, especially the niche target market you are aiming for.

There is always potential for profit in change and the rise of different groups of people.

Outro

I hope this has helped to give a little insight and guidance into the chaos that is the new world social climate. I wish you all the best in your business endeavors.

Thank you for your time.