M. Isabel Valdes is an In-Culture marketing expert, business development
consultant, published author, public speaker and trainer. She is the principal
of Isabel Valdes Consulting (IVC). IVC is a boutique consulting firm that
provides strategic business development services to companies seeking to tap,
expand and successfully penetrate "cultural markets."
Cultural markets, which are sometimes referred to as ethnic or multicultural
markets, are large and distinct consumer market segments within the United
States that-- as any consumer market segment--have likes, needs and wants. The
key difference is that people in cultural markets have experienced life and
lifecycles in a different cultural context than the average consumer in the
"mainstream" culture. As such, cultural markets do not respond to the same
messages, language and imagery as mainstream markets do.
To engage African-Americans, Latinos, Asians, Eastern Europeans and other
growing consumer segments in the United States requires culturally relevant
marketing strategies. To help organizations succeed with this complex
challenge, IVC has developed a proven five-step approach called Transforming
HeartShares into MarketShares©.
The American marketplace and the global market scene have experienced
exponential growth and changes during the past decades. Isabel Valdes
Consulting, IVC, has maintained its leading edge by helping clients in the
United States and abroad achieve measurable results, by tracking market and
demographic trends; and by reformulating and updating its proprietary marketing
frameworks, In-Culture Marketing© and Transforming HeartShares into
MarketShares©.