Digging deeper to reach the nation's largest minority group
March 5, 2010
By Steve Holtz
LAS VEGAS -- The basic message of marketing to Hispanics is often too general to act upon: use bilingual signage and packaging; know your market; respect their culture. Well, yes, but there's more to it than that, and Juan Tornoe, speaking at the Tobacco Plus Expo this week in Las Vegas, urged retailers to go deeper.
"The Hispanic market is here to stay," said the partner in Culture Strategies, Austin, Texas, during a workshop titled El Enfante in Your Isles: What You Need to Understand About America's Largest Minority. "There's no one way that you can market to them, that you can sell to them in the same way" as the general population.
"It's not putting on a hat and talking in Spanish," he added. "It's understanding their culture."
Noting that Hispanic consumers wield $1 trillion in spending power in the United States, Tornoe offered these suggestions to reach that consumer.
* Acknowledge the importance of family. "We do everything for our families," Tornoe said. "That doesn't mean every commercial has to include a 'family' message, just acknowledge it where it makes sense."
* Note the importance of food. "We spend more per household than the general market [on food], and grocery shopping is an event. We dress up; we bring the kids. You need to be aware of this."
* Realize that most Hispanic new Americans embrace U.S. products. Not everything needs to be a reminder of "home." "Hispanics know U.S. brands. They're exposed to them on U.S. network TV," Tornoe said. "And when they come to the United States, they're excited to be able to buy those brands, and now they have the money. It's aspirational."
* On the other hand, recognize opportunities of "retro-acculturation." While most Hispanics take steps to assimilate into the U.S. culture and embrace its products, "there are many products in your business [for example, tobacco] that come from the Dominican Republic, come from Nicaragua. If you can send that message, you can gain some traction with those consumers.... It's like a little piece of home."
* Go bilingual. "This is definitely the time to be reaching out to Hispanics. They're the largest minority in the U.S., and they're going to continue to grow," Tornoe said. He added a caveat, however: "The Hispanic message should be very straight Sapnish, unless you know of a dominant population in your market." As an example, he pointed toward Cubans in Miami or Mexicans in Los Angeles.
* Use your Hispanic employees. If you have employees who can speak fluent Spanish, "train them to know everything about the products you sell," Tornoe said. If they can explain a product to an unsure consumer, you've just earned a customer for life.
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March 5, 2010
By Steve Holtz
"The Hispanic market is here to stay," said the partner in Culture Strategies, Austin, Texas, during a workshop titled El Enfante in Your Isles: What You Need to Understand About America's Largest Minority. "There's no one way that you can market to them, that you can sell to them in the same way" as the general population.
"It's not putting on a hat and talking in Spanish," he added. "It's understanding their culture."
Noting that Hispanic consumers wield $1 trillion in spending power in the United States, Tornoe offered these suggestions to reach that consumer.
* Acknowledge the importance of family. "We do everything for our families," Tornoe said. "That doesn't mean every commercial has to include a 'family' message, just acknowledge it where it makes sense."
* Note the importance of food. "We spend more per household than the general market [on food], and grocery shopping is an event. We dress up; we bring the kids. You need to be aware of this."
* Realize that most Hispanic new Americans embrace U.S. products. Not everything needs to be a reminder of "home." "Hispanics know U.S. brands. They're exposed to them on U.S. network TV," Tornoe said. "And when they come to the United States, they're excited to be able to buy those brands, and now they have the money. It's aspirational."
* On the other hand, recognize opportunities of "retro-acculturation." While most Hispanics take steps to assimilate into the U.S. culture and embrace its products, "there are many products in your business [for example, tobacco] that come from the Dominican Republic, come from Nicaragua. If you can send that message, you can gain some traction with those consumers.... It's like a little piece of home."
* Go bilingual. "This is definitely the time to be reaching out to Hispanics. They're the largest minority in the U.S., and they're going to continue to grow," Tornoe said. He added a caveat, however: "The Hispanic message should be very straight Sapnish, unless you know of a dominant population in your market." As an example, he pointed toward Cubans in Miami or Mexicans in Los Angeles.
* Use your Hispanic employees. If you have employees who can speak fluent Spanish, "train them to know everything about the products you sell," Tornoe said. If they can explain a product to an unsure consumer, you've just earned a customer for life.
Source: CSP Daily News
More coverage on Convenience Store News
Great points made Steve. I think too often marketers try to use cookie-cutter methods to market to Hispanics and what they must realize is that while all Hispanics have the Spanish language in common, there are many differences in food, music, and in some cases words used in Spanish that differ a lot. I touch upon this subject in my blog as well: http://rumbera.tumblr.com.
Posted by: Vivian Alfaro | May 09, 2010 at 01:01 AM
Hi Steve. I agree with you as well, there is so much opportunity in the Hispanic target market. I think before any company or agency decides to build campaigns, they should do deep research in the target market they want to target within the Hispanic market. I've seen many mistakes made by companies who communicated incorrectly. If you want to target Hispanic consumers, hire professionals or agencies who can do it but the important thing is first study their buying power and consumer behavior, then implement the right cultural communication process.
Posted by: Frankie De Soto | June 03, 2010 at 03:49 PM
Great piece, Steve. While reaching the Hispanic market isn't so cookie-cutter, I feel we continue to hear the same 3-4 tips echoed continuously because some marketing decision makers still aren't listening. I know this because I still see sombreros and zarapes ill placed in ads or English ad translations in stead of educatedly communicating in the Spanish language.
Posted by: Dominique Anderson | June 16, 2010 at 08:02 PM