Principales errores que cometen las compañías que hacen Marketing para Hispanos.

Top Ten Mistakes Companies
Make Marketing to Hispanics
By Beth Goldstein

©Top Ten Mistakes Companies Make Marketing to Hispanics Page 0
Marketing Edge Consulting Group, LLC www.m-edge.com

Top Ten Miisttakes Companiies Make Markettiing tto Hiispaniics
Top Ten M s akes Compan es Make Marke ng o H span cs
By Beth Goldstein, Marketing Edge Consulting Group

Introduction
Almost 15% of the current US population is Hispanic and their economic clout is expected to rise to
$1,087 billion by 2010. This market is expanding rapidly and many companies and organizations are
obviously trying to capture their share of this exciting growth opportunity. Unfortunately, many fail to see
the diversity of the Hispanic market and therefore misunderstand their buying habits, interests, needs and
preferences. The result can cause a misallocation of precious marketing resources like time, manpower
and money. Can you see the diversity of the market? If you can’t, then the Hispanic community
probably can’t see you either and they won’t identify themselves with your company’s products and
services.

This report outlines ten common mistakes companies make marketing to Hispanics (Latinos). Our goal is
to provide you with insight that you can use to optimize your marketing investment and avoid wasting
precious time and money on campaigns that are simply ineffective. Let’s begin by reviewing just five
reasons you need to reach the Hispanic Community.


Top Ten Mistakes
1..
1 Create Mailers in Spanish Because Last Names Sound Hispanic
Using mailing lists strictly based on a person’s last name doesn’t guarantee your recipients speak Spanish
or are even of Hispanic origin. An Hispanic sounding last name, like “Moreno” can be the result of a
marriage or perhaps the person prefers to communicate in English. Last names can’t tell you critical
information such as their language preference. According to research firm Synovate (2006) 56% of all
Hispanic households are Spanish dominant, 26% are equally Spanish and English bilingual and 18% are
English only or more than Spanish. Therefore, understanding the language preference of the market you
are targeting is as important as determining the variety of other demographic factors that impact their
purchasing decisions such as gender, country of origin, household income, etc. You risk offending the
very group you want to appeal to if you simply mail information about your products in Spanish because
their surname sounds Hispanic.

2. Lack of Biculturally Educated Staff
To build long-term relationships with Hispanic consumers, it’s important to not only hire Hispanic staff but
also educate non-Hispanic employees about bicultural differences and challenges. For example, do you
know if your prospects understand your products or what language they prefer to conduct business in? A
survey by the Pew Hispanic Center and the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that only 65% of
Hispanics have bank accounts, compared with 95% of non-Hispanic whites. This is due in part to a lack
of trust with financial institutions. Therefore, it’s no surprise that many Hispanics prefer to speak Spanish
as their primary language when discussing important matters such as personal finance. If you’re a
financial services provider, understanding these cultural differences is critical and will impact your ability to
service your Hispanic customers. Successfully addressing these will help inspire trust and avoid
unintentionally offending Hispanic consumers. If a company is genuinely interested in servicing the needs
of Hispanics and can’t identify an individual within their organization with this knowledge, they must seek
out expert(s) who can provide the support and education required for them to be successful.

3. Convert a Website Into Spanish and Assuming That’s Sufficient for
Communicating with the Hispanic Community
Companies need to avoid the common mistake that multicultural marketing is just about translating a
website into Spanish. When it comes to the Internet, the use of English is clearly dominant. However, few
companies have sufficient in-house expertise to transform their site so it addresses and speaks to the true
needs of other cultures (especially if these individuals have not adopted the behaviors and beliefs of their
surrounding culture). It is not enough to have a Spanish speaking employee simply translate the
information on the website to Spanish. Companies need to ensure their sites are relevant and speak
directly to their Hispanic audience. Successful Hispanic marketing efforts start with a thorough analysis
and modification of the marketing message to personalize it for the audience’s needs and knowledge
about the value of the products and services they provide.

4. Lack of Spanish-Speaking Customer Service Representatives
It’s understandable that companies want to rush into advertising and promotional campaigns targeting
the Hispanic community. However, it’s critical that if a company mails a Spanish-language promotion
then they are prepared to service the Hispanic respondents in Spanish. All too frequently a company
creates a campaign targeting Hispanics and when the prospects respond there is no one available to
explain to them in Spanish how to complete the purchase or provide them with critical information about
the advertised products or services. Since rapport and relationship building is paramount with this loyal

community, companies should not advertise products to the Hispanic market if they cannot fulfill requests
across all customer touch points, from pre-purchase to post-purchase transactions.

5. Fail to Educate Community about the Benefits of Products/Services Offered
Many companies fail to realize how important it is to educate foreign-born Hispanics about the benefits
of certain products/services, especially those they had no exposure to in their country of origin. Therefore,
understanding acculturation is critical in determining your marketing message. Acculturation refers to how
much one adopts the behaviors of the surrounding country. Some studies have shown that only 11% of
Hispanics are highly acculturated, 64% are somewhat and 25% are not acculturated at all. Therefore,
Hispanics who are less acculturated (have not adopted many US behaviors and beliefs) are often times
unfamiliar with American products, services and systems. These individuals simply don’t know what these
products are and/or don’t understand their value or relevance to their life. This disconnect can range
from food items that they didn’t have in their native country to services such as legal, financial and even
tax preparation. Therefore, when marketing certain products to less acculturated individuals the message
must primarily be an educational one. In fact, some companies have developed alliances with Hispanic
organizations to create websites that educate Hispanic consumers on how to make complicated
purchases, such as buying a home. A good example is CreditSmart, a bilingual consumer education
program sponsored by Freddie Mac® that introduces participants (in Spanish and English) to the
importance of credit in the US and teaches them about critical money management skills.

6. Assume Hispanics are Mainly in Lower Income Brackets
The Hispanic community is growing and evolving rapidly, unlike any other group in the US. While many
individuals perceive the community to be mainly lower income (it is estimated that approximately one in
five Hispanics lives in poverty), 14.5% are considered affluent with incomes over $75,000 1 . According to
the US Census the median household income in 2005 was $35,967 and there are over 1 million
households in the US with incomes over $50,000 (Source: Hispanic Market Report, Winter ’06)
Furthermore, their purchasing power has been on a steady rise and as it continues to increase Hispanics
will have a significant need for many “new-to-them” products and services such as credit cards,
mortgages, and consumer loans. Before implementing a marketing strategy, it is critical to create a
program based not solely on current income levels and purchasing power but future trends in the
community. This will help ensure a company can capture strong market share as the community develops
and evolves.

7. Translate Material into Spanish but Send the Wrong Message
Like the creation of Spanish-language websites, merely translating existing marketing literature and
product material into Spanish will not ensure the correct message is “heard” by your prospective
customers. It is essential to determine what information the community requires to make decisions and
provide that information (in Spanish, English or both). For example, the term mortgage can be directly
translated as hipoteca. However, in many parts of Latin America a hipoteca is an action of last resort.
When someone is in dire straits they may resort to taking a hipoteca on their home. This is the complete
opposite perspective held by most Americans who view mortgages as a very positive experience, allowing
them to seize the “American Dream” of homeownership. Therefore, knowledgeable financial companies
attempting to attract the Hispanic community will use a more positive term in Spanish, such as préstamo,
which is a loan, not an action of last resort.

1
“U.S. Retail Banking and the Hispanic Market Growth Engine,” CMGP Hispano, March 1, 2004.


8. View the U.S. Hispanic Market as Homogeneous
It’s important to understand that the US Hispanic market is incredibly diverse. Within the market are
significant variances in buying habits, preferences, interests based upon country of origin, and
acculturation levels (how much they have integrated and adopted American/general population
consumption patterns and buying preferences). Companies must research the geographic area(s) they
are targeting and identify the difference factors that influence each specific community, to ensure their
marketing message is accurate and appropriate. For example, if a bank runs a marketing campaign, the
message relevant to a recent Dominican immigrant may hold no meaning for a Puerto Rican-American,
whose roots in the United States span several generations.

9. Misunderstand Connectors and Symbols Affiliated with Each Culture
The ability to identify and recognize important cultural connectors for each Hispanic market will give
companies insight that will help them communicate with the Hispanic consumer. Therefore, companies
must have a solid understanding of who each group is and what they value to effectively deliver their
message. This connection can be made through artwork, music, religious expression, fashion/dress,
food, holidays/fiestas and language. For example, Quinceañera (a 15-year old Latina) is the Spanish
equivalent of a “Sweet 16” birthday party, except it’s often as elaborate as a wedding. When the largest
food retailer in New England discovered that Hispanic families often buy food for these parties weeks,
sometimes months, in advance, the company began to run “Quinceañera Stock-Up” sales. It was the
supermarket’s way of acknowledging the needs of its customers and it also signaled to the Hispanic
community that this was a business interested in understanding and meeting their needs.

10. Fail to Establish Relationships with Key Community Influencers & Leaders
Hispanics are an incredibly loyal community. However, if a company wants to gain their trust they must
make an effort to genuinely support the community or risk being viewed as another business simply trying
to make money selling its wares. Therefore, capturing the Hispanic market represents an investment in
more than money. It requires time and patience to establish critical relationships with key community
influencers and decision-makers, such as leaders of local non-profit organizations and churches. The
Hispanic community must believe that a company is going to be there for the long term. This is even
further underscored in industries like banking and insurance where recent immigrants tend to fear
financial institutions due to their experience with corrupt institutions in their home country

Next Steps
In an attempt to reach out to communities whose cultural background and perspectives may be
fundamentally different from your own, nothing is more important than understanding their behaviors,
beliefs, needs and preferences. With such incredible diversity amongst the Hispanic community, it’s
critical to discover what each community’s needs are and what influences their decision-making
processes. This will make it easier for you to find common threads amongst the various groups and
present a solid, unified message.


Hispanic INSITE™ Market Assessment
The information in this report should be used to help you better understand the vibrant Latino communty.
If you need additional support to ensure you are creating the right message in the language and tone
that will reach the community and be heard, there are many resources available for you, including our
own two exclusive services: Hispanic INSITE™ Market Assessment and our HOPE™ (Hispanic Outreach
Plan and Execution) Program.

Hispanic INSITE™ Market Assessment
We will work with you to evaluate the connection between the products and services you offer and the
Hispanic market's needs and interests. We'll determine your Hispanic Readiness by assessing your ability
to meet these needs and capture market share. Once we have determined if targeting the Hispanic
market is a solid business and financial benefit for your company then we will create and launch an
integrated marketing program to grow your business.

Hispanic INSITE™ Market Assessment includes:
INITIAL evaluation of the Hispanic market in the communities and markets you serve including:
demographics, psychographics, beliefs, purchasing power, shared perceptions, values, needs and
motivation levels. This involves primary and secondary market research techniques, including the
identification of and communication with key community leaders and influencers within the Hispanic
market.
NEEDS-based analysis of the market relative to your company’s unique value to them. We will review
the unique perspectives held by the community to determine how your value proposition and
message aligns with their views and needs.
STRATEGIC and tactical analysis of the industry and competitive forces impacting your business. It is
important to understand how other organizations in your community and outlying communities are
positioning themselves to support the Hispanic community. This will allow us to help position your
business to compete effectively in the market.
INFRASTRUCTURE review of your current sales and marketing goals and business structure. We will
work with you to ensure you are able to deliver on your sales/marketing promise to the Hispanic
community (i.e., do you have Spanish speaking customer service representative and material to
support these relationships)?
TARGET market analysis to determine potential size of the audience. We will identify the countries of
origin and study acculturation levels to determine how the community is segmented. This will allow us
to recommend marketing programs that will resonate with the community and are appropriate in
terms of language, tone and value.
EVALUATION of your current and future sales and marketing material to ensure maximum market
awareness is reached and your message is on target. We will help you define how you can provide
the greatest value to your current and future customers. We will also identify how the community
prefers to learn about products/services and develop the best media strategy to reach them.

Upon completion of the INSITE™ Assessment we will present you with an Executive Summary of our
findings and recommendations. Next steps involve the execution of your tactical marketing program
completed through our HOPE™ (Hispanic Outreach Plan and Execution) Program.


HOPE™ (Hispanic Outreach Plan and Execution) Program
Our ultimate goal is to help you launch a variety of robust campaigns that will grab the attention of and
influence the Hispanic market to become satisfied, loyal customers. Based on the analysis and knowledge
derived from the INSITE™Assessment, the sales and marketing program rolled out in the HOPE™
Program may include executing some or all of the following strategies.

Marketing collateral (brochures, pamphlets, stacked services/product cards) to help support your
brand and allow you to communicate properly and effectively with the Hispanic community. This
might be developed in English, Spanish or a combination of both.
Newsletter to communicate with the Hispanic community (English and/or Spanish). This could be
mailed or emailed as part of a welcoming package and outreach to the community as well as given
away at fairs, community events and at local gathering places.
Strategic partnerships with key business leaders and influencers of the Hispanic community
Sponsorship of community activities appealing to the Hispanic community
Spanish language advertising in newspapers and via local radio stations
Public relations activities and other promotional opportunities
Seminars to educate the community about the value and benefits your company provides to them
Giveaways (in English & Spanish) to help promote and support brand awareness
Direct mail campaigns to the Hispanic community in English and/or Spanish
Spanish version of your website to maximize the comfort level of prospects interested in becoming
customers and to ensure your message is clear and consistent


Questions?
For more information or to receive a free, initial consultation, contact Beth Goldstein

Phone: 508.893.0976
Email: BethG@m-edge.com
Online: www.m-edge.com

About Marketing Edge Consulting Group
Author of The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Toolkit (McGraw-Hill), Beth
Goldstein is the founder and president of Marketing Edge Consulting Group , located in
Massachusetts. Beth has empowered hundreds of entrepreneurs and companies to
create successful marketing and sales programs for their businesses. Consultant,
entrepreneur, & educator, Beth’s clients rely on her to help them develop solid
customer profiles and customize marketing programs that build their customer base
and push their bottom line to breakthrough levels of success.

At Marketing Edge we focus on answering the questions that keep business owners up at night:

What can I do to increase revenue?
Why do my customers really buy from me and why do others buy from my competitors?
How can I ensure customers are loyal to my business?

Through research, surveys, interviews and one-on-one conversations with your customers, prospects and
business partners, we help you understand how your own customers think and what influences their
purchasing decisions. With a solid Customer Profile in hand we help you develop and launch targeted
sales and marketing programs that generate revenue, increase loyalty and improve your bottom line.

In addition to consulting, Beth works with entrepreneurs at the Institute for Technology Entrepreneurship &
Commercialization at Boston University and runs their Annual $50K Business Plan Competition. She
teaches Entrepreneurial Sales and Marketing at the BU School of Management, is the Faculty Director for
the BU Online Certificate in Entrepreneurship Program (recently recognized by Fortune Small Business
Magazine as one of the best e-learning entrepreneurship programs in the US) and is the Instructor for the
InnerCity Entrepreneurs business growth program in Massachusetts. Beth has many years of direct industry
experience and holds an MBA from Boston University and a degree in Economics and Sociology from
Brandeis University.


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