It’s never easy for a brand, a business, or an organization to break into a new market. And with the exponential growth of the Muslim market, you would be right if you decided to work with a Muslim marketing agency to do so.

Well-established mainstream brands, businesses, and organizations understand the potential of targeting the $3 trillion Muslim market but lack the know-how. Many times this has led to some of them repelling Muslim consumers instead of attracting them. 

This leaves you with two choices: hiring in-house experts from the Muslim community or a Muslim marketing agency to help you target Muslim consumers efficiently.

In this article, we will be covering what to keep in mind and the basic dos and don’ts of hiring a Muslim marketing agency.

The Importance of Getting it Right

With the exponential growth of the Muslim market, many Muslim marketing agencies have popped up like mushrooms. Some good and some not so good!

If you search the web today you will find many Muslim or Islamic marketing agency websites and social media accounts that have been abandoned. The reason for this is that not everyone who is a Muslim and happens to know marketing can deliver on their promises.

The Muslim market is a very complex and at times complicated terrain to navigate through. It takes years of experience and occasionally lessons from failures to understand how to tame the beast.

As they say: “You only get one chance to make a first impression”. And just like any other consumer out there, the Muslim consumer will judge your brand, business, or organization based on that first impression and never look back.

That’s why it is vital for you to read up on and make use of the following tips when choosing your Muslim marketing agency.

Tips for Choosing the Right Muslim Marketing Agency

Let’s now look at the top tips for hiring a Muslim marketing agency:

Knowledge

Yes, knowledge! Make sure that the agency has a thorough knowledge of the composition of the Muslim consumer market. The Muslim market is made up of people from all ethnic backgrounds, and when we say “all” we mean “ALL”!

Muslims are also of different religiosity levels. And to make matters more complicated, those of the same religiosity level have different opinions about what is OK and what isn’t.

But one thing is for sure, most of the individuals in these different groups take pride in being Muslims. So if the agency you are talking to does not understand these variables, they may end up isolating many of the Muslims you want to engage.

Of course, you cannot please everyone, but you do want to get the basics right so that you don’t find yourself scratching your head as to why your marketing efforts are repelling Muslim audiences instead of attracting them.

This is huge! Get this right, and you are off to a great start!

Agree on the Type of Muslim Consumers to Target

Not all Muslim consumers are the same. Just because they all share the same religion it does not mean they have the same buyer behavior and attitude towards brands, products, and services.

“Religious, cultural, national, generational, diversity means the message you send out as a brand needs to be tailored to the exact Muslim buyer persona you have in mind.”

Source: How to Run a Successful Digital Marketing Campaign to Muslim Consumer

If you are still at the stage where you haven’t yet identified your product market for a Muslim niche, see how to do so by reading How Mainstream Brands Can Identify and Serve Muslim Niche Markets.

If you feel like the Muslim marketing agency that you are talking to does not understand or has no in-depth knowledge of your ideal Muslim consumer or the niche you want to target, that’s a red flag.

Try to Learn Everything About the Agency

It goes without saying that in any solid partnership, you should share common values. Think of corporate cultural beliefs; are their’s aligned with yours?  

This is so important when selecting a Muslim marketing agency or even a multicultural one. Given the sensitive nature of the work, you must be able to agree on every aspect of the project you want to work on.

So try and get a feel for their work culture, energy, and the heartbeat of the agency.  If it feels like a place you would like to work, you’re probably on to something.  

A good tip is to try and speak to members of the creative team. You want to find out if they are empowered or feel restricted. Creatives that are free to express themselves produce more unique and innovative end products.

Ask Yourself How Diverse Their Team Is

A bit of a background story on this.

Muslim migrants settled in the West within the context of their ethnic communities. They saw themselves, for instance, as Sri Lankan, Somali, or Algerian, first and foremost.

Due to this strong focus on cultural identity, today, religious orientations include cultural pre-eminence. We also see each cultural ethnicity group comfortable in their own ethnic spaces.

This causes each group to look at Islam and fellow Muslims through different lenses.

If you hire a Muslim marketing agency you need to make sure that they have a team of Muslims from diverse backgrounds. If you hire an agency that is made up only of, for instance, Indonesian Muslims, your brand, business, or organization will be advertised to Muslims from an Indonesian Muslim perspective.

You do not want to isolate large sections of Muslim cultural and ethnic groups in your campaigns.

At Muslim Ad Network, for instance, we have strong cultural diversity that keeps our messaging neutral and relevant to the entire Muslim community. Currently, we are represented by:

• Pakistan
• USA
• UK
• Mauritius
• Afghanistan
• Kenya
• The Netherlands
• Philippines

As you can see, there is no one dominant ethnic culture in the team, and that’s what you want to see when choosing a Muslim marketing agency.

Conclusion

It is easy to fall into the trap of going through the usual process you go through when deciding to hire a Muslim marketing agency. However, there are certain nuances that you need to take into consideration.

Not doing so can lead to wasted time and money and a whole lot of frustrations. And that’s the good news. Getting it wrong could repel Muslim consumers as your marketing campaigns could:

• Isolate large groups of Muslim consumers
• Come over as tokenism
• Even offend certain Muslims

First impressions are everything, and in today’s cancel culture, first impressions are more important than ever for brands, businesses, and organizations.

Choose an agency that offers you the right balance.

Muslim Ad Network has been helping brands, businesses, and organizations for more than a decade. Yes, that’s way before advertising to Muslims became a thing.

If this article has helped you understand how to choose the right agency to help you advertise to the exponentially growing Muslim market, feel free to contact MAN. We can have a productive discussion about your needs and business objectives.

The post How to Choose the Right Muslim Marketing Agency appeared first on Muslim Ad Network.

What is Halal Marketing?

Halal Marketing or Islamic Marketing is a concept based on the paradigm that Islam affects Muslim consumer choice. Therefore all marketing activities follow Islamic laws, principles, and guidelines. This includes strategic marketing decisions, designing, communicating, delivering products and services to customers, and everything in between.

Islamic Marketing fulfills needs through Halal products and services with the mutual consent and welfare of buyers and sellers for achieving material and spiritual well-being in the world here and the hereafter

Source: Marketing: An Islamic Perspective

Halal Marketing is relatively new even though Shariah-compliant practices have been around for quite some time now. Muslims around the world have been adamant in consuming halal products and services by inquiring about ingredients and by avoiding products and services that do not conform to Islam. Multinationals are realizing the opportunities of this growing segment.

What is Halal and What is Haram?

Halal and haram in Islamic law are based on the teachings of The Quran and Sunnah (the prophet’s  [peace be upon him] way of life). The two regulate every aspect of a Muslim’s life.

The word ‘halal’ is usually misinterpreted as the food that is permissible for Muslims to eat. However, in Arabic, it refers to permissible behavior, speech, dress, conduct, manner, and diet. Sheikh Yusuf al-Qardawi, one of the most prominent scholars of Islam of this generation defines Halal as follows:

 … that which is permitted, with respect to which no restriction exists, and the doing of which Allah has allowed, and Haram is that which the Law Giver has absolutely prohibited and the one that commits it is liable to incur the punishment of Allah in the hereafter as well as a legal punishment in this world.

Tajamul Islam and Uma Chandrasekaran explain in their research paper that:

“The ubiquitous influence exerted by the ‘Halal-Haram dichotomy’ in a Muslim’s day-to-day activities make the concept of  Halal Marketing applicable and extendable to other products and services besides food. Marketers can cash upon the tendency of Muslim consumers to see halal and haram in everything, by providing the halal versions of their products and services and coming up with innovative products. Muslims around the world are becoming more conscious about the ‘halalness’ of other categories like pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, clothing, banking & financial services, education, leisure & entertainment, and hospitality & tourism services.”

Source: Halal Marketing: Growing the Pie

Halal Marketing Components

Md Mahabub Alom from the Manarat International University defines Halal, or Islamic Marketing as follows:

The process and strategy (Hikmah) of fulfilling need through Halal (Tayyibat) products and  services with the mutual consent and welfare (Falah) of both parties i.e. buyers and sellers for the purpose of achieving material and spiritual wellbeing in the world here and the hereafter.

He then breaks down five components mentioned in his definition as follows (paraphrased):

1 Strategy (Hikmah)

In Islam, the word ‘hikmah’ is closely related to the word ‘wisdom’. It signifies sound perception and sound judgment based on the situation at hand. Marketing should therefore apply ‘hikmah’ in every instance.

2 Mutual Consent

Mutual consent, in this case, means that both parties involved in the business transaction must be free of undue pressure, fraud, deception, etc. This is something that we tackled in a previous article: What You Must Know About Islamic Advertising Principles.

3 Need

In Islam, a person should consume according to his or her need. Therefore, where conventional marketing targets consumer wants, for the most part, Halal Marketing in its purest form is based on needs.

4 Tayyibaat (What’s Good)

O mankind! Eat of that which is lawful and wholesome in the earth…

Source: Quran (2:168)

The above Quranic verse defines the eating habits and by extension, the purchasing preferences of Muslims globally. This concept is non-negotiable and unmoved by trends or demographics.

5 Falah (Welfare)

Falah is the concept of ultimate success in this world and the hereafter. It is therefore not confined to worldly and material prosperity. It is attained by sincere faith and righteous deeds.

This concept ensures that businesses do not solely strive for profits but also uphold the welfare of human beings. This must be reflected in all aspects of a business’s marketing activities.

Before we move further, make sure you download The Ultimate Guide to Understanding and Marketing to the Muslim Consumer. Your brand’s guide on breaking into one of the fastest-growing untapped consumer markets in the world.

How Halal Marketing Can Benefit the World

In Islam products and services are not provided solely for profit, but also to fulfill the collective duty of a community. Yes, profit as a motive is permissible and encouraged, but it must not be the sole motivation.

The way a business is conducted is more important than profit. The end never justifies the means. By extension, Halal Marketing does not use deception and trickery to get consumers to buy things they do not need. It also does not encourage them to wrack up debts that eventually put them in financial difficulties.

Marketing should be about value-maximization in view of the greater good of the society rather than the selfish pursuit of profit at any cost.

Halal Marketing can ensure success in both the material and the spiritual dimensions of life. Maximizing the welfare of everyone in society can establish socio-economic justice in every sphere of human life.

Are you interested in Halal Marketing and want to advertise your product or service to Muslims online? Contact Muslim Ad Network today.

The post Halal Marketing- All You Need to Know appeared first on Muslim Ad Network.