When marketers talk about reaching multicultural consumers, it rarely seems that they are referring to Indian-Americans. Yet this is a segment that offers, according to a recent study, much of interest to companies of all kinds.

For the study, Asian Indians in the U.S., Los Angeles research firm New American Dimensions and interTrendCommunications, Long Beach, Calif., conducted focus groups, an online survey and street interviews to better understand first-generation Asian-Indians in the U.S. The research looked at respondents’ relocation patterns; their values and self-identity; their lifestyles, shopping habits and store and brand-selection criteria; and their use of technology and media.

The focus groups and street interviews involved Asian-Indians living in Los Angeles while the online survey queried a nationwide sample of U.S. Asian-Indians. For the online survey, respondents were self-identified Asian-Indians, first-generation (born in India), residents of the U.S. for at least one year, between 18 to 60 years of age, claiming to speak English “well” or “very well.”

In general, these consumers are young, with a median age of 32; are likely to be married, with young kids; are highly educated (three-quarters employed in a professional or technical occupation); have high purchasing power, with a median annual household income of $85,000; and almost half own homes.

Despite their fairly recent arrival, first-generation Indian-Americans appear to be doing well at adjusting to life in the U.S. “Over half feel completely at home in the U.S.,” says Sharmila Fowler, senior vice president, sales and marketing, New American Dimensions. “And two-thirds feel comfortable inviting non-Indians to their home. We asked about how they feel they are valued and treated in the U.S., and I think because there are so many Indians who do have high education and workplace skills, they feel that they are very valued, and that helps with being treated well and positively.”

Many said that they had suffered from the common Western stereotype that Indians are engineers who don’t speak English well. Most who mentioned encountering difficulty with stereotypes growing up acknowledged that being Indian is cool now. Respondents like that Indians are perceived as smart and hardworking and mentioned the advantages to being the subject of positive stereotyping.

American values

Though they came here for a variety of reasons - education, marriage, family, job opportunities - many say they were drawn by the same set of American values: self-determination, independence, an entrepreneurial spirit and equal opportunities for women.

Perhaps because many of them arrived already proficient in English, Indian consumers may not be viewed by marketers as requiring campaigns with special cultural references and appeals. The study found that many respondents don’t require or even desire campaigns targeted directly to them. Rather, they find multiracial casts appealing and would like to see more Indian faces in advertising.

For companies who do wish to target them directly, respondents advised them to get to know the culture, to avoid missteps. Some verbatims from the research: “Snake charmer is not the way to represent us, or elephants ... you don’t have to constantly show the poverty. Show development, progress. Know the culture well before marketing ... there are a lot of intelligent people from India and the more [marketers] accept that fact, they’re opening more doors for Indians to spend money.”

No special joy

As shoppers, they are diligent and concerted researchers when hunting for products they want to buy but they derive no special joy from shopping. Brand names can be important, if the consumer has had a good previous experience with a brand, but in general quality trumps brand cachet. While brand loyalty is not high, some brand preferences expressed in the research were for Levis, Target, Abercrombie and Fitch, Nissan and Toyota.

Though they are not early adopters of the latest technology, compared to the overall U.S. population, they’re much more likely to own devices such as PCs, laptops, cell phones, digital cameras and MP3 players.

Financial goals are a high priority for Indian-Americans. They place considerable importance on job stability, financial independence and saving for the future. They index high on use of a variety of financial products: 42 percent of them have a housing loan or home mortgage and 40 percent have CDs. Money-market accounts, auto loans, bonds and home-equity loans are other commonly-used products.

As the report notes, family is a top priority of first-generation Indian Americans and appears to be a factor that motivates them to set and fulfill financial goals. They have a strong desire to provide a college education for their kids (a desire that may also be tied to the notion that education brings honor, which runs deep in Indian culture) and believe it’s their responsibility to care for their elderly parents.

Maintaining connections

They tend to be more concerned with maintaining connections to family and friends in India than with sustaining Indian traditions related to clothing, holidays and marriage. “Even though they’re classifying themselves as Indian, they also feel American. It’s a part of their identity to play this balancing act. They are trying to hold onto some of their traditions, food and language, but there are many people who have non-Indian friends, who are doing a lot of things that are very American,” Fowler says.

One facet of their heritage that they are interested in preserving is language, in part, to stay connected to India. They are active media consumers, drawing from a wide range of sources to stay abreast of news in India and the U.S. More than half watch Indian in-language and/or Indian-content TV programming on a regular basis.

Attractive segment

As the above illustrates, Indian consumers are indeed an attractive segment: an educated, financially-savvy group that embraces the values of their current home country. Marketers who reach out to them, overtly or otherwise, can expect to draw, if not their loyalty, at least their respect and consideration. Visit www.newamericandimensions.com for an executive summary of the study.