Selling to Hispanic/Latino Consumers

U.S. Hispanic purchasing power was just under $700 billion in 2004 and is projected to reach as much as $1 trillion by 2010. The steadily increasing income of U.S. Hispanics, currently the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the country, has companies working to capture a share of this market. Would your business like to attract and keep Hispanic customers, but you're not sure how to begin? Read on for five tips on getting started.

1. Understand your market. People in the U.S. represent 27 Spanish speaking countries. Make an effort to learn about the different cultures of your prospective customers. Keep in mind that Cubans and Argentinians are as different as Americans and Australians.
2. Build Infrastructure. Ideally, your team should reflect your customers. When you hire, choose people who fit your corporate culture, who your customers will trust, and who are also bilingual and understand cultural nuances of the marketplace.
3. Reach out. You can build trust and establish credibility by offering education and information about your product or service to potential customers. Consider changing your materials to engage your customers, by using Spanish and/or culturally relevant marketing techniques and media.
4. Tailor your product or service. Offer products and services that are relevant to your customers. For example, a bank will have more success gaining Hispanic customers by marketing a remittance program rather than a mortgage program, because many Hispanics send money to family overseas, but are culturally biased against incurring large debt. When in doubt, ask customers what services they need or want.
5. Plan ahead. Establish goals for short term and long term change within your company. Set realistic goals. Budget for supporting your efforts over the long term. As with any new marketing effort, implement your plan consistently and expect a return on your investment over time. Those steps are the basics for getting started. Start today and you will soon be saying ! as one of your new customers hands you a check.