Serving an Immigrant Community - A Brief Case Study
My neighborhood is very diverse, but in the 14 years I've owned a home here, it is changing. St. Paul and the Twin Cities of MN at large is home to the largest population of Hmong people in the United States. Most came here originally as refugees, brought to the United States through a program to help Hmong people come to the US in thanks for their service during the Vietnam War. My neighborhood is now about 1/3 Hmong.
Something someone said to my wife one day made me look into how the community is serving these immigrants. A new family purchased the house across the street, and my wife was talking to a Hmong checker at a local market. She mentioned our new neighbors. The woman at the market asked her: "Do they drive Toyotas?" My wife said yes. "They're Hmong," the checker said. When my wife told me that, I started to wonder why this immigrant community preferred that auto brand. I'm a marketing type these days, and questions like that interest me. So, I did some research.
It turns out that a Toyota dealer in a neighboring suburb did something novel several years ago. Recognizing that growing segment of the population, its owner started hiring Hmong salespeople, auto repair technicians and others to work at the dealership. Soon, word of mouth spread that people at that dealership spoke Hmong. Before long, it became the auto dealer of choice for this growing community of immigrants. Now, someone can ask, "Do they drive Toyotas?" If the answer is yes, it's likely that they're Hmong.
The many thousands of Hmong people who now live in this area have integrated themselves in the community. We have Hmong judges, Hmong state legislators, and Hmong city officials. Hmong business owners are everywhere. There is still prejudice against them, of course, but that community has become successful and is growing.
Part of the reason for that is that Minnesota welcomed them, more or less officially. A Toyota dealer in a nearby suburb led the way in that, and has been rewarded by becoming the largest Toyota dealer in the region. It recognized a new market and responded by opening its employment doors to members of that community. The owners recognized a new market that needed to be served and took the steps necessary to serve its members.
We need to welcome our immigrants, not greet them with tear gas. We need to look at them as potential assets, not enemies.
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