Private wealth management strategies for the South African gay market
Date
2013-10-14
Authors
Venter, Bradley Warren
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Abstract
This research set out to provide recommendations and insights to wealth
management organisations that wish to develop a strategy that targets the gay
market in South Africa.
To achieve this end, the research identified the primary buying behaviours of
affluent gay men living in Gauteng, and the key success factors that wealth
management organisations should consider when designing and implementing
specific strategies for the gay market in South Africa. The strategic success
factors were critiqued to ensure that they addressed the identified buying
behaviours or take advantage of the buying behaviours for maximum impact.
A qualitative research methodology was employed with data being collected
from the three population samples using in-depth interviews. The three sampled
populations were: Affluent gay males living in Gauteng, wealth managers from
leading wealth management organisations in South Africa, and South African
media strategists. The data obtained from the interviews was analysed and
triangulated in order to identify the said buying behaviours and key success
factors.
The research results show that affluent, South African gay men living in
Gauteng possess very similar buying behaviours to those identified in the
literature. The research did, however, uncover several unique buying
behaviours as depicted by this market segment in the context of wealth
management, including: gay individuals in South Africa are confident
consumers with a high social status; gay individuals possess unique wealth
management needs; the gay community will boycott homophobic or
discriminatory companies or brands, and the gay community will actively seek
out companies and brands that specifically target them.
Regarding the key success factors for targeting the gay market in South Africa,
the research results deviated considerably from the literature with many of the
proposed key considerations being unique to this research. The unique success
factors identified in this research are as follows: relevant festivals and events
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should be the preferred marketing mediums when targeting the affluent gay
market in South Africa; there is merit in wealth management organisations
having a dedicated team or individual actively involved in the gay community;
wealth management organisations should embark on a brave and aggressive
strategy, given the unchartered nature of the gay market in South Africa; a
strategy for South Africa’s gay market should, ideally, be reserved for wealth
management organisations with established and credible brands, and the
strategy for South Africa’s gay market should take into account the strong social
networks at play within the gay community.
There was a good deal of consistency and overlap between the identified
buying behaviours and the proposed strategic success factors. It is felt that this
consistency added considerable value to the recommendations for wealth
management organisations on how best to develop and implement a strategy
for South Africa’s gay market.
There has been very little research into the gay market in South Africa, and no
research into how best to approach this gay market from the wealth
management point of view. Using the recommendations proposed in this
research, wealth management organisations can begin to tap into this lucrative,
appealing, and previously ignored market segment.
Description
MBA thesis
Keywords
Wealth management, Management of wealth