Juan Tornoe

“¡Me Da Rabia!” Why your Latino Customers are getting ticked off at you

By Juan Tornoe

A while back I got a hold of the executive summary of the first annual Hispanic Rage Study. Even though it was only the tip of the iceberg as far as the info the full report must have, it showed certain flaws companies commit as well as some insight into the socio-cultural reality of Hispanic Consumers. Even though this study was centered on Spanish Speakers, I maintain that is more than language, it is culture that you need to be aware of when dealing with today’s Latino community.

First, independently of the market you serve, you have to be good at what you do. Even then, you won’t be able to fully satisfy everyone, and will face the (hopefully) eventual enraged customer. You need, organization-wise, to be good at handling these situations, even more so when facing a culturally-diverse customer base.

It is most certainly true, speaking from personal experience that immigrants feel uncomfortable by not being able to complain in our mother tongue. I always mention in my seminars that a way to tell someone’s primary language is by knowing in which language they count, pray, think, and dream. Recently a fellow Hispanic marketer added another one that made perfect sense to me: in which language do they argue.

There is nothing like being fully comfortable with your handling of a given language that you don’t have to think of the correct terms to use while arguing… You are so at ease that you can even easily get in trouble (you can ask my wife about the innumerable times I’ve messed up, while arguing, because I was not thinking about what I was saying!) In English, I need to think and then translate that thought in order to coherently express my thoughts and feelings… It definitely gets in the way of my complaining “flow”.

If you present me with the option of dealing with a customer service representative that is able to not only talk to me in Spanish but culturally understand where I am coming from, you would immediately lower my defenses big time and get the opportunity of turning me into a satisfied customer.

As I’ve mention in the past, you need to understand the culture first. You need to have personnel in the front lines that are able to service people “in culture” AND in their language of choice.

The rage study focuses on Spanish speakers… You could take the Andrew Dice Clay approach of, "If you can't speak the language, get the #%$& out of the country". Or you could begin taking the corrective steps to be able turn Spanish speaking Latinos into customers for life. The latter just makes sense, any way you look at it.

I have seen customer “analysis” prepared by companies that proudly show how their Hispanic clientele are basically “Oreos”; Brown on the outside, white on the inside! I say… Duh!!!! You are “rubbing” on everyone’s face the fact that you are able to attract the most acculturated/assimilated Latino individuals through your Latino marketing efforts. Baloney! This only shows that whatever you are doing for the general market is working for those with Hispanic descent that are far, and I mean far, away from their Latino Roots. They are as Latino as C. Thomas Howell was African-American in Soul Man! Remember?

You must realize that the Latino community is much more diverse than that and that the fact that your company isn’t attracting other subgroups of it is both a present weakness as well as future growth opportunity. Rather than conclude that your product or service is more for “English-dominant, more acculturated Hispanics”, you should be raising the question, “Are we doing what it takes to reach out/attract and more importantly retain a larger segment of society as customers?” Sometimes the answer will be that you are consciously reaching out to those you want or can efficiently reach. I want to believe that most of the time the answer would be… “No, there is still much to be done in my company to get things right.”

A diverse workforce at every level of the company is a great start. Having a sense of true caring for the customers permeate throughout your organization is a must.

Hispanics, in general, take longer to complain. I believe that is it part of our culture. This by no means signifies that we are satisfied with the product or service we are getting. There is a tipping point that makes us go ballistic, if you will, and take radical actions…

Let me share with you a recent example of what I mean: I have had Brand “X” computers for a while, almost five years (which in computer years, as you know, is an eternity). I’ve given a good chunk of my money to these guys…. I kind of drank the Brand “X” Kool-Aid back then, and had put up with it, in spite of the horrendous customer service (sometimes it has even been comical trying to communicate with their representatives, me with a Spanish accent, the voice at the other end of the phone line with an Indian accent) and their not so reliable machines. For my last couple of technical assistance calls, it seemed that the magical answer to ANY problem my machine had was to make a backup of all my files and restore the machine back to factory settings. As if I had nothing better to do…

I was calmly putting up with it until they pushed their luck too far.  The last straw came when I noticed a SMALL difference in my monthly bill… They were charging me interests even though one of the main reasons I had decided to by another notebook from them was the BIG BOLD LETTERS on top of the immediate credit approval I received from them highlighting a 12-month interest-free offer. Yes, I have to admit, I did not read the fine, fine print.

Well, I get on the phone to discuss this situation, having to repeat it three times (plus another one via email) to different customer service reps, just a tad less lifeless than the computer I was complaining about. After sharing with them the series of events that had led to my call, and calmly, yet firmly, asking for a solution for the financing situation, I unequivocally got the same scripted response that ended with a negative answer to my request and a sarcastically (at least to me), “We appreciate your business and hope that you will consider Brand “X” for your future purchases.”

Are they kidding! As uncomfortable as it was, I proceeded with the preparation of the “machine from hell”, to be returned to its manufacturer.

I have to give credit to the last customer service representative I spoke to, when calling to schedule the return. It was the only person who sincerely apologized about the whole situation and without hesitation offered a viable financial solution to the entire situation. It just was too little too late. I had already made up my mind. If this would have been the reaction of the FIRST rep I talked to, it is very likely I wouldn’t be writing this from my very cool HP Pavilion.

Am I ever buying again from Brand “X” again? Certainly not! As necessary as computers are to my everyday life, I would prefer not having access to one than to ever have to deal with Brand “X” again. On top of this, I have personally shared my experience (disclosing the actual brand name) with anyone who has been willing to listen.

I am just an individual customer… A Hispanic customer… a dissatisfied customer… an opportunity Brand “X” did not cease. Notice I wasn’t asking for a non-crashing computer, nor for consistently spectacular technical support. I was asking for them to reconsider their policy on financing charges. As it turned out, they did have the authority to make this decision, unfortunately they took action a little too late.

Lost in Translation: When Bad Hispanic Advertising Happens to Good Companies

By Juan Tornoe

Unfortunately, many companies miss the mark when advertising to Latinos. Usually it’s because corporate decision-makers are not paying close enough attention to their Hispanic marketing efforts. They simply don’t understand or carefully consider Hispanic cultural nuances when planning their outreach efforts.

Whether they are Spanish translation errors or subtle (sometimes not-so-subtle) cultural misinterpretations, these marketing mishaps are a waste of advertising dollars, often requiring additional investment to “clean up the mess” and start fresh with a whole new campaign to reach this market segment.

Some classic gaffes from the past:

* When “translated” into Spanish, the Dairy Association’s astoundingly successful “Got Milk?” advertising campaign asked Latino consumers “Are you Lactating?”

* During the Pope’s visit to Miami, a local T-shirt company printed shirts that read, “I saw the Potato” because in Spanish the article “the” can be either masculine (el papa) or feminine (la papa); on the T-shirt they used the feminine, which describes the tuber rather than the head of the Catholic Church!

* In the late 1970’s Braniff Airlines tried to promote their all-leather interiors by translating the English slogan “Fly in leather.” Unfortunately, the literal translation invited Spanish-speaking passengers to “Fly Naked.”

Blunders from more recent years:

1. Cincinnati Radio Station WLW - “The Big Juan” Billboard

In early May 2007, Cincinnati’s WLW-AM launched a billboard campaign throughout the city featuring a man with a dark mustache dressed in a traditional Mexican outfit, complete with a Mexican flag and a donkey. The headline read “The Big Juan,” which was intended as a humorous play on the station’s branding as “The Big One.” Someone inside Clear Channel Communications (WLW’s owner) should have been sensitive to the fact that this campaign could offend the growing Hispanic population in town (which it did).

2. Tecate’s “Cold Latina” Billboard

Back in 2004, Labbat USA, the U.S. Distributor or Tecate Beer, came up with what they called a tongue-in-cheek billboard for Tecate, meant to publicize the fact that the beer was now sold in bottles, rather than only in cans. It showed a chilled, ready to drink, Tecate bottle along with the phrase, “Finally, A Cold Latina.”

This example illustrates the importance of truly understanding Hispanic culture before advertising to reach this demographic. Critics felt “the ad propagates negative stereotypes of Hispanic women as being loose and overly sexual,” but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Family is extremely important to Latinos and any offense to a family member is certainly not appreciated. As a son, husband, brother and father of Latino women I found it offensive that a company would imply that all Hispanic women are “hot.”

Most Latinos understand that situations like this usually arise from a lack of knowledge, understanding and sensitivity, rather than an attempt to offend. Therefore, in general, we tend to cut these companies some slack. No, I won’t stop drinking Tecate beer because of this particular advertisement (I actually love a cold Tecate with salt and lime!), but I would not hesitate to try another brand if their advertising utilized sound research and insight in the development of their message… Hey, I could like it better than Tecate!

3. Hershey’s “Hispanic Milk Candy”

In 2004, Hispanic pop star Thalia Sodi (Mrs. Tommy Mottola for those of you who have no idea who she is) proudly branded a new Hershey’s line of “Hispanic Inspired” candy with her name. The new line included a candy bar naively called “Cajeta Elegancita.”

There wouldn’t be an issue if the product was being marketed in Thalia’s native Mexico, where the word “cajeta” has the G-rated meaning of milk candy (loosely translated). Unfortunately for Hershey’s, in parts of Latin America “cajeta” is also a derogatory slang term for a part of the female anatomy. So if an Argentinean residing in the United States ran into this product at the grocery store, best case scenario he would have a good laugh. Even if “cajeta” is the real and true name for the Mexican confection, it would have made better business sense to go with the still-in-the-ballpark name of “Dulce de Leche” milk candy, as other companies have opted when marketing this product in the United States.

The lesson businesses should take away from all these examples is clear: when looking for employees whose job responsibilities include serving the Hispanic community, make sure you find individuals who are truly bilingual and bicultural. The same goes for outsourcing your marketing and advertising efforts. It is not only knowledge of the language, it’s understanding the differences in meaning that are specific to a particular country or region.

Even more critical is a deep understanding of the culture: knowing what to take into consideration prior to developing a piece of communication, being aware of what could be offensive or otherwise misinterpreted, and having the cultural awareness to find alternative solutions.

Even if this represents a higher investment in personnel for your company, believe me, it will be more than worth it.

Originally Published in November 2007 on LatPro.com