If you are in the marketing world, you have probably heard the emerging new consumers and they are the Hispanic population. According to the recent survey, the Hispanics is the largest minority in the country. A lot of companies has shifted their marketing strategy and focus on this group of people. These customers got a hundred billion dollars of buying power and they are the fastest growing market today. If your company target on them, then it can definitely expand your customer base and it can boost your sales profits. Remember that in order for this to take effect; you need to do Hispanic marketing the right way.
Hispanic marketing is not that simple and not an easy task as well. It is often filled with challenges and barriers to get through them. It is also definitely a one time marketing deal. You need to understand first what comprises the Hispanic group. Hispanic or sometimes referred as Latino is a diverse group. It represents those seventeen countries of Latin America. Puerto Rican or people coming from the Caribbean are also classified under this group. Take note that when planning a marketing strategy you need to consider cultural traits and tradition. Although these people came from just one region, there cultural traits and tradition varies. Adding to these criteria that are mentioned, you also need to consider the age, language, economic level that would definitely give you a very complex marketing task.
In order to get a good marketing result, focus on the similarity that goes beyond the difference in their ethnic background and cultural background. According to survey, Hispanic speaks Spanish at home and they are comfortable reading in their native language. Even if a lot of them can speak and understand English language well, they tend to go back to Spanish language. It is safe to say that in order to reach out through this Hispanic market, you need to go to their main language which is Spanish. There is a lot of publication that uses Spanish as their vernacular. It is a perfect opportunity to search for these magazines and newspaper to check out their ad space. Another interesting thing to take note that most Spanish people would like to watch television or listen to radio. If you want to target Hispanic market, placing an ad on Spanish television and radio stations can be effective.
It is important to take note that Hispanics are have a younger demography and got a big number of family members. Bigger family means bigger grocery list. In short, they would really spend their money for their family. Because Hispanic got a younger demography, it safe to conclude that in the coming years, they would buy homes and other needs for the family. This can clearly give you an idea what kind of marketing strategy you want to take.
Based on marketing survey, Hispanics would most likely buy things from that brand that they already know for years. They rarely do brand hopping which can be a factor in your marketing strategy efforts. Make sure that you are aware of their traditions so that they would most likely to be part of your business.
As a marketer who specializes in the Hispanic segment, I absolutely disagree with Hispanic marketing being a “one-time marketing deal.” Effective Hispanic marketing involves a long-term relationship with the consumer. If it’s a one-time marketing deal, it will fail, because consumers can see through that and they will realize that the brand’s interest in them is not authentic.
Brands that have succeeded in this arena understand that the marketing effort is all about the relationship, and must go far beyond “targeting” and include comprehensive and genuine support of this segment, which may require the hiring of more Hispanic/Latinos on-staff, establishing a Spanish-language call center, targeted product offerings and other necessary support.
For example, at Plaza Bank here in the Seattle area, they don’t only offer Spanish-language merchandising/collateral, but their staff is bilingual and bicultural, they have bilingual online banking, Spanish-language statements, financial literacy and other support. They don’t only broadcast their marketing messages on Spanish-language radio, they follow that up with an authentic interest in reaching the Hispanic consumer. You can’t expect to hand a Hispanic consumer a translated brochure and convert them to your customer; you must earn their trust and their loyalty. And Plaza Bank shows us how.
And yes, the Hispanic/Latino is known to be generally brand-loyal, but that lasts only as long as your service and product merit that loyalty.
Note that the buying power of U.S. Hispanics is actually now at $862 Billion per U.S. Census! By 2025, one in four people living in the U.S. will be Hispanic/Latino. Brands in most categories are smart to start earning the approval and loyalty of Hispanic consumers today, in the fastest-growing minority segment in the U.S. (and right here in the Northwest, as well), if they expect big future growth.
Comment by Lauri Jordana — July 25, 2008 @ 11:05 am