|
|
Nearly
one out of every six U.S. residents will be of Hispanic origin
by 2010,
according to U.S. Census figures. Hispanic buying power, which
was estimated at $736 billion in 2005, is expected to grow to $860
billion in 2007 and $1 trillion in 2010, according to a study by
the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia.
“ We have economic power,
we have professionals, we have entrepreneurs,” says Mayela
Rosales, whose company produces the UPN show D’Latinos Al Día
and a monthly magazine.
So it’s increasingly critical for businesses to bridge the
cultural gap if they want to broaden their markets and thrive.
Companies that are not doing anything to target the Hispanic market
will have a tough time five or 10 years down the road, says Rosales.
Hispanic-owned businesses that are ignoring the non-Hispanic consumer
also are setting themselves up to fail, says Julio Estremera, a business
analyst with the Small Business Development Center at Florida Gulf
Coast University.
The number of Hispanic-owned businesses grew 31 percent between 1997
and 2002 to nearly 1.6 million, according to a report released in
March by the U.S. Census Bureau.
“
It’s not really easy to go out there as a Hispanic business
and get that American dollar,” says Estremera, citing language
differences as the biggest barrier.
Hispanic business owners must make efforts to reach out to the general
population by learning English, or at least having someone on staff
who is bilingual, and by networking. “A Hispanic company needs
to be able to communicate with the Anglo community,” Rosales
says.
It’s vital to identify potential clients, be upfront about
the service or product the company provides and communicate in English.
Estremera recommends that Hispanic business owners focus on networking
by joining chambers of commerce and other industry groups to get
the word out. “You have to make personal contacts; you have
to be outgoing,” he says.
Do research and have someone on your marketing team to provide insight
about advertisements and other ways to reach the non-Hispanic consumer,
says David Vargas of The Vargas Group, a business consulting and
Web development firm. “You have to understand the market,” he
says. “What works in Hispanic countries does not work here.”
Don’t feel as if you have to say you’re a Hispanic-owned
business, Vargas adds. If you have a quality product at a good price
with strong customer service, people should buy from you regardless
of ethnicity. “You just go out and say, ‘Hey I have this
product, this is why you should buy it from me,’” he
says.
Some non-Hispanic business owners are apprehensive about reaching
across the divide because they don’t know what appeals to the
Hispanic population and aren’t sure where to go for information.
Pedro Pérez, president of Nuevo Advertising Group, based in
Sarasota, says Hispanic chambers of commerce, churches and schools
provide good opportunities to meet residents.
When creating a marketing campaign, consider tying the product or
service to ideas such as family, religion, community and the opportunity
to pursue dreams, all of which are important to Hispanic households,
says Perez, whose Sarasota-based firm works for clients throughout
Florida.
A year ago, Fort Myers-based Synergy Networks started offering clients
ads on the Spanish site for Google (www.google.es), and company president
Peter Seif expects the service to grow in popularity as more people
discover the power of the Hispanic market.
Nearly 80.6 million Internet users are Spanish-speaking, comprising
7.9 percent of the online population, according to Internet World
Stats. The number of Spanish-speaking users has grown 229.2 percent
from 2000 to 2005, compared with 128 percent growth for English-speaking
users during the same period.
Synergy’s Jason Blakeney adds that if a company is advertising
in Spanish-language publications or Web sites, it could lose the
audience if its own Web site is only in English. “The purpose
of a Google ad is to get a client to come to your Web site,” he
says.
The most important steps a company should take are to hire at least
one person who is bilingual and to have a portion or all of the Web
site in Spanish. Then have the capability and infrastructure in place
to serve Hispanic customers, from pamphlets and brochures in Spanish
to products that meet their needs, says Perez.
Bank of America, for example, has made this a focus nationally by
offering brochures and ATM access in Spanish as well as creating
products targeted for Hispanic customers. The company has sponsored
events through the Southwest Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
and made space available for the chamber to have a Naples Welcome
Center in its Park Shore branch on Tamiami Trail.The bank also conducts
financial literacy workshops for Hispanic residents on the importance
of placing their money in a financial institution, and it holds neighborhood
diversity days.
Perez says that, by and large, the business community in Florida
has had the mindset that the Hispanic market hasn’t been important
up to now.
“
Companies are spending millions to advertise overseas when they have
a perfectly good client base in their back yard,” he says. “People
are starting to realize they need to turn inward and capitalize on
these untapped markets they have right here.”
|
