Becoming operationally ready to market to and support Hispanic web campaigns

Spanish web support through free hosting and direct translation services is not as simple as it may sound. The free services can lead to inaccurate translations especially when marketing to professional within the Hispanic community. The creation of a Spanish website should only be attempted after the hosting company is operationally ready to offer professional support to a Spanish Audience. This would include websites that are fully operational to Spanish speaking consumers and professionals who may find product/service descriptions difficult to understand. Making transactions easier for the Hispanic audience that are Spanish-language preferred or reliant by listing product descriptions and service links in Spanish will help consumers complete transactions for both products and services. A friendly and accurate Hispanic website will also sell itself within the Hispanic Community adding success to both short and long-term web marketing initiatives.

Multichannel Spanish Language Service Websites

The obstacles that exist in starting a Spanish website will appear quickly. The goal of accurately and efficiently reaching the majority of the Spanish speaking audience can be achieved by using a multichannel Spanish language services. The multichannel Spanish language service will allow the website to trend or rank which in turn allows consumers to easily access the website. Marketing initiatives or campaigns that target the online Hispanic market will require the use of a third-party translation service. The third-party transactions service will create properly worded content that is search-engine and directory friendly. The goal of a multichannel marketing strategy is to reach more consumer groups which should provide a broader customer base. Including Spanish language marketing materials and other target resources will help store-front business to build a larger Hispanic customer base, the broader the spectrum the better.

Operationally Integrated Websites Interface for Hispanic Consumer

The goal of becoming a on-line sales website begins by bridging the language barrier between English websites and Hispanic consumers. This will include being able to offer Spanish speaking customers support in their language. Being able to communicate effectively and efficiently with Spanish speaking customers will improve customer relationships and customer satisfaction. Happy customers means repeat business and increased referrals.

Helping Hispanic Consumers Assess Customer Service Options

Being able to provide customer service for Spanish speaking customers is important. Support through a telephone system may be difficult but not impossible. All consumers need a method to make comments, ask questions or to issue complaints. Being able to monitor these analytic data trends can help businesses improve customer relationships.

Building realistic resources before beginning an online marketing campaign is a critical first step in marketing to the Hispanic consumer. Understanding the needs of the Hispanic customer(s) and being able to provide customer positive customer service options to the consumer is also a critical step in having a successful marketing campaign.

Determine the available resources, the method by which these resources will be applied and measure the results of how consumers utilize these resources as a means to identify opportunities to improve customer relationships. Being prepared to meet the needs of customers is one of the best ways to ensure that consumers remain loyal.

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Mobimarketers Target Hispanics

Mobimarketers use the mobile phone as a primary marketing tool for targeting a group of individuals. Mobimarketing has become increasingly popular among consumers. The Hispanic population within the United States is now a staggering 46 million. However, mobimarketing is not used nearly as much as in other ethnic communities. Mobimarketers should develop strategies to market to this community considering the number of individuals that wield purchasing power. The buying power of Hispanics in the United States is currently $1.2 trillion. Mobimarketers should attempt to find a way to yield a portion of Hispanic buying power.

Mobimarketers and Hispanics

Currently, mobimarketing can be a very powerful tool in order to reach Hispanic customers. Mobimessenger can send instant messages to a wide variety of Hispanic consumers. Business owners can easily create distribution groups and import customer contact lists. This enables business owners to keep customers informed of new products, services, discounts, or promotional information. MobiMessenger includes an option for sending messages in a foreign language also. Most MobiMessenger tools are Freeware and therefore, can be easily distributed.

Where to Target Hispanic Mobile Users

Mobimarketers seeking to reach customers may begin by soliciting responses through newspaper advertisements. Online newspapers are growing in popularity among Hispanic customers. Some of the more popular Hispanic online newspapers are www.espanol.yahoo.com, www.msn.com, and AOL Latino. Hispanic consumers also frequently peruse local newspapers indigenous to the home countries. Given that Hispanics spend an average of 9.5 hours online per week, this is a good source to receive mobile phone numbers for marketing purposes. Hispanics are literate online users of the internet. Hispanics also spend an average of $1200 in online purchases per year. Mobimarketers are likely to reach the Hispanic market under the age of 35 on the internet.

Industries and Companies targeting Hispanic Mobile Users

Hispanic mobile users view items such as sports, music, movies, shopping, online contests, and sweepstakes. Other communities market health care through mobimarketing. However, mobimarketers are more likely to reach Hispanic consumers as it relates to the aforementioned topics. Hispanic consumers may also respond to mobile marketing as it relates to issues concerning family.

Mobile Marketing and SMS

Mobile marketers most often use SMS and messaging as the primary mode of communication through mobimarketing. Mobile marketing also includes online newspaper subscriptions and other forms of online advertising. While mobile users are more reticent about purchasing an online newspaper, the idea is growing in popularity. Nearly, 36% of online users will consider purchasing a paper online.

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Mobile video, such as YouTube and other forms of video are also considered viable forms of mobimarketing among consumers. Marketers should consider marketing via video in order to capture the portion of the Hispanic market that primarily shops on the internet.

Summary

Many businesses overlook the Hispanic community because of language barriers or because of other reasons. Mobimarketers should consider the Hispanic market as a viable source for finding consumers for products and services.

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Content Relevant to the Hispanic Market

In the realm of online content development for small businesses, content continues to be king. Concerning the Hispanic market, the presence of websites in both English and Spanish increases the marketability of a small business website, expanding into the mass of potential customers.

Dual language content increases 'findability' online, assuring both English and Spanish speakers will find, view, and be affected by the content on the website. Simply having the Spanish content in addition to the English, however, is not a guarantee that productivity will suddenly take an upswing. The content, in both languages, must be engaging, accurate, educational, and relevant to the customer. In the end, the website is only effective if the customer makes a purchase or engages in the business' services, or contacts the business by phone, e-mail, or in person to create a supplier-consumer relationship.

Developing content that goes beyond the purchase

Another overlooked facet of aiming web content to both English and Spanish speaking customers is going beyond the end result of the purchase. If a customer is so impressed that they pass on the information they learned or recommend someone else to use the business' product or service, then the website is even more effective. With the pervasive presence of things like social networks, one satisfied customer could quickly turn into ten, twenty, or even a hundred through content sharing, e-mails, and instant messaging.

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In that realm, it is important to develop content that not only informs but attracts the customer emotionally. Creating an investment in the product or service at hand makes it something in higher demand psychologically. Simply telling a customer that buying a product is good is not going far enough; explaining the reasons and negotiating with their way of thinking and lifestyle will lend to the best results for the customer and the owners of the small business as well.

Hispanic marketing with a Spanish-language website

Online, this is especially important, as the Spanish language website exists as something deeper than a television commercial or radio spot. It can be customized, revised, and edited with the feedback of customer responses, leading to more effective marketing.

Having content developed towards a Spanish speaking audience increases the potential number of customers and demonstrates that the small business is ready to address the reality of the current composition of society where English isn't the only language. While this might seem like a small step, the correct creation and management of Spanish language website content makes a statement about the business' willingness to interact with diverse customers and demonstrates a more personal connection rather than simply existing as a faceless business in the minds of customers.

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Niche marketing during tough economic times

Marginalizing Hispanics as a “minority” is something of a misnomer: presently, US Hispanics comprise 15% of the population; by 2050, that number will double, making Hispanics the largest ethnic group in the country.More significantly for you as a marketer, the combined buying power of the 46 million Hispanic consumers in the United States is close to a whopping one trillion dollars. The number of purchases made by Hispanics between 1995 and 2007 grew twice as fast as that of non-Hispanics. Twenty-three million of these buyers are online: US Hispanic consumers spent $12.8 billion shopping the Internet in 2007, a number that’s projected to jump 90% by 2011. US Hispanics use search engines to research their purchases before they buy (and 44% of them know the difference between paid advertising and “organic” search results,) and they are more likely to use the Internet to find recipes, read news and blog postings, and download music than the general population.

Yet many companies persist in ignoring this market. Citing the down economy, they cut back on marketing to this huge emerging market segment, stubbornly imposing a false economy because they’re not forsightful enough to see the return on investment.

But let’s look at what actually triggers a purchase. Though companies may spend millions developing marketing plans and advertising campaigns, research indicates the most powerful driver still remains word of mouth. Moreover, word of mouth has a ripple effect: people talk about the commercials they see on TV and the Internet.

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Hispanic marketing allows a company to harness the power of word of mouth. US Hispanics, on the whole, live in a networked community. Advice is offered on the street, at church, in the grocery store. Need to know which pre-paid cell phone is best? Ask someone. Other marketing strategies are amplified through this information exchange and a satisfied customer becomes a brand recruiter. This phenomenon translates into the world of online social media, where Hispanics are present in ever greater numbers.

Simply put, Hispanic marketing offers more bang for the buck.

So how do you reach the US Hispanic market?

Well, first, of course, there is no homogenous “Hispanic market”: a Hispanic living in California may have a very different consumer profile than a Hispanic living in Florida or Texas, and search engine marketing (SEM) should target these differences explicitly. Niche marketing dictates that selected keywords for regional products and services resonate with their markets; both English and Spanish words should be tested to see which combination of the two is better for converting surfing into sales and maximizing revenues. US Hispanics also come from a wide variety of geographic regions: the content that acts as an entry page for a person with Latin American roots will be substantively different than that enticing someone whose family was from the Caribbean.

And like all consumers, Hispanic consumers will respond to outreach cues depending upon where they are in their own life cycle. A marketing blitz targeting younger consumers, and second and third generation of Hispanics might do best to focus resources on bilingual campaigns, social media and music sites while one aimed at seniors and first generation of Hispanics -- whose primary language is more likely to be Spanish -- might see better results with more traditional media like Spanish language newspapers and websites, radio and television placements.

One thing’s for certain: The US Hispanic market remains an underappreciated market. Those companies who have listened to the market cues and acted on them are a few steps ahead of the game. One sure way to boost your company’s profits is to tap into Latino buying power. If you dismiss this emerging market as merely a small “niche market” that may develop some day you are hurting your own bottom line.

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Understanding Your Hispanic Audience and Being Strategic

Latinos have become a large ethnic group in the United States. In fact, according to the last U.S. Census Bureau, there are now over 45 million Latinos in the U.S. with the numbers getting larger every year. The implications of this Latino population explosion are that American business owners must think of ways to sell their products to Latinos in the U.S. since the numbers of Latino consumers are growing each year. However, marketing products to Latinos is not as easy as it might seem. One reason that it is not easy is the language barrier. Many Latinos' first language is Spanish and not English. Thus, marketing ads that are in English which rely on understanding of English word usage and American humor may not be comprehensible to a Latino audience. There are other potential problems that are due to differences between Latino culture and mainstream American culture.

In order to sell products to Latinos or develop a successful social media strategy with a Hispanic audience, it is necessary to become more familiar with Latino culture and become more familiar with the wants and needs of Latinos in the U.S. There must be efforts made to read books and magazines that describe Latino culture and interests. In addition to that, there must be efforts to go to social networking sites and communicate with Latinos in order to find out what they are interested in and what they want. There must be efforts to understand the cultural motivations that are motivating your Hispanic audience in general and there must be efforts to understand the cultural motivations that specifically motivate your Hispanic audience towards social media.

For example, you must answer questions such as the following. What social networking sites are Latinos interested in predominantly? Are there any social networking sites that are totally in Spanish where large numbers of Latinos go in order to converse with each other? Are Latinos keeping in constant contact with their relatives who do not live in the U.S.? Are Latinos resentful because of having to speak English? Do they prefer to speak Spanish during times when they are not working at jobs which require English language? What social media strategies would make the most sense given what is known about Hispanic culture? You must ask these questions and many other questions in order to find out what is going on in the hearts and minds of your Hispanic audience.

Research, Plan and then, Strategize

Once you understand what is going on in the hearts and minds of your prospective Latino customers, then you will likely have a better chance at being successful when you join their conversations at social networking sites. In other words, starting conversations, engaging their interest and maintaining their interest takes careful research, planning and a sufficiently strategic approach. It is not something that can be done overnight. Establishing a successful social media strategy with a Hispanic audience requires a lot of learning and a lot of effort on the part of American businesses. But the efforts will be worth it for your business.

For more information about understanding the Hispanic population in the United States and how to connect with the right Hispanic audience, feel free to contact Hispanic Market Advisors.

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Online Language Preferences for US Hispanic Community

The online business community has grown expediently, over the past few years, bringing more and more consumers from all over the world online including the US Hispanic community. Recent studies from market research firms indicate the US Hispanic speaking community is one of the largest search groups online. This market is not only searching the web using the English language, but also using their native language (e.g. Spanish) to search.

While many consumers today write and speak in English even though it is not their native tongue, they often will choose to search the web using their language preference. Up until a few years ago, it was common for US businesses online to offer the online community the ability to search, read, and communicate in the English language only. However, time has changed and consumers shopping and buying habits are constantly changing as well. Such behaviors demand that online companies optimize their search availabilities as well as, translating their landing pages to offer convenience and a customer-centric approach in languages other than English.

Customer-Centric Approach as a Win-Win Solution

A customer-centric approach is a tool businesses can use to enhance the way their customers feel about them. Customers, of course, are human beings with purchase power and word-of-mouth marketing control. We all want to feel included, listened to, important, and valued as a customer and as a business. Many companies today are leaning more toward its direction and drawing a bigger crowd of perspective customers who feel good about shopping on their site.

Today, many companies have had their website programmers translate their existing site into Spanish as well as optimizing their url to capture the consumer looking for their services in Spanish. Some of these companies have also implemented other translations and optimization techniques to amplify their broad spectrum of offerings to the world. These implementations broaden a company’s horizons by expanding their target audience thus, bringing more customers and clients to them as well as helping to secure profitability.

Since the web is available for just about anyone to access, provided they have an internet connection, businesses are rethinking their marketing strategies in order to attract and engage consumers and businesses worldwide. By offering simple marketing techniques such as website translations and optimizing their urls to trigger searches in Spanish, it is a win-win solution for all involved. Businesses gain a larger customer base, which in turn can increase profitability, and consumers feel important, appreciated, and acknowledged as a Spanish-speaking consumer.

All consumers interested in conducting web searches to easily locate, buy, communicate, and learn about a business services have plenty of businesses to choose from estimated well into the billions. So, if all online businesses want to attract and retain more customers worldwide then, they will need to optimize their sites to bring in the masses worldwide and stay competitive among their fellow competition.

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How to Market to US-Born Latinos Effectively

There are many ways to market to US-born Latinos. Since there is a wide variety of lifestyles and culture among Latinos, it can sometimes be hard to choose the right way to market to them. However, with a few key factors, marketing to US-born Latinos effectively does not have to be an incomprehensible task.

Many Latinos in the Hispanic market are bilingual. Spanish and English are interchangeable in many Latino homes. One easy way to utilize the Hispanic market is to promote marketing campaigns that have English and Spanish words attached. Alternatively marketing strategies can be composed of either English or Spanish, but to reach the Hispanic market most effectively it is wise to use both forms of language and writing.

Marketing to US-born Latinos is different than marketing to the Latinos born elsewhere in the world. Acculturation is a big occurrence for Latinos in the United States. Many of the cultural practices and traditions from other countries mix and meld into the traditions and practices of the United States. What this means is that Latinos are not strictly Latino or American, but a unique melding of both cultures. Marketing for this group of people must reflect melding of cultures. Some Latinos have completely aligned with American culture, while others prefer to celebrate their own cultural heritage. It is important to study each city where marketing is to be done to know what practices and beliefs the Latinos have in that city.

Latino Population Growth and Market Profiles for the Hispanic Market

The number of Latinos in the United States is a constantly growing number. Some analysts have projected that in just a few years the Latino population will have the majority of people in the United States. This means that marketing to Latinos is very important. Without Hispanic society backing a product or business, it will have a hard time remaining popular and successful.

There are several different market profiles for the Hispanic market. There are US-born Latinos who live in close relation to non-citizens. These people stick closer to the culture of Mexico rather than what happens in the United States. There is another group of Latinos who have lived in the United States for generations. These people are more concerned with cultural practices of the United States. Then there are the Latinos who fall somewhere in the middle. Each of these groups is important to any marketing plan.

Some large cities that have a large number of Hispanic people are: New York, Boston, Detroit, San Antonio, and Chicago. The number of Latinos in these areas equal up to one in five people. That is a very large segment for marketing potential. Industries that are growing among Hispanics are: hotels, automotive, clothing, car rental, credit cards, supermarkets, fitness, health and life insurance, hair care, and many others.

The future for Hispanics is very bright. As the population continues to grow, they will have more and more impact on marketing and products that are created. Soon Hispanics will have more marketing impact than any single other market group.

For more information, please complete this Hispanic Market Advisors contact form

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*Reaching More Customers by Tapping into the US Hispanic Audience
*Tapping into the Hispanic Online Market

Drive Bilingual Websites with User Research

Small and medium-sized companies that have operations in Spanish speaking countries rely heavily on bilingual websites to drive local business. In order for these websites to be effective, they must be localized in order to appeal to the core demographics of each local community. Many companies make the mistake of simply translating their English website copy into Spanish and find that their sites are not well received by the communities they are attempting to reach. Extensive user research must be coupled with proper translation in order to create bilingual websites that are effective at driving local Hispanic business.

Where to Begin

Before beginning the website design process, small and medium-sized companies would be wise to perform field studies and cultural probes into the communities they wish to reach with their company message. This user research will enable the creation of bilingual websites that are able to resonate with the customs and culture of your local Hispanic audience. When small and medium-sized companies rush into site construction without the necessary understanding of the local culture to which they are attempting to appeal, they suffer the consequences of a website that falls flat and does not generate the additional business activity they had hoped to achieve.

Research is the foundation on which quality bilingual websites are built and accurate information on the various cultures to which you are marketing, will enable your business to create vibrant and relevant online content that is highly likely to increase your sales base within any given region.

User Research

Many small and medium sized companies do not have the manpower necessary to conduct the listening labs and usability tests that are necessary in order to produce relevant bilingual websites. Their overseas communication strategy must therefore include hiring a marketing team that specializes in user research among Hispanic populations. It is important that the marketing company with which you choose to do business understands the nuances of Hispanic culture. This is important because it will ensure that they are using the right marketing tests for the market within each of the local Hispanic communities to which your company would like to appeal.

Continual Learning

Communities evolve over time and it is therefore imperative that your user research continues past the creation of your website. Ongoing learning will keep your website on the cutting edge of any new trends that spring up within your target Hispanic audiences in various communities. This knowledge and understanding will in turn enable your company to keep your website relevant and appealing to your target markets. The time and money invested into the research that will make your company website relevant, will be returned to you in the form of favor with your local market and increased sales potential.

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Small Business Tip:How to Operate a Bilingual Site in the US

US Hispanic and Latin American Market or Markets?

It is probably fair to say that many marketers have long since been unsure how to treat the US Hispanic market. It is a large market worth approximately one trillion dollars a year (Nielsen Media Research) is worth reaching, but the fact that there has yet to be a consensus on how to address that market is and therein lies the problem: Is it a completely separate market with its with own unique interests and purchasing needs? Or is it to be treated as an extension of the existing Latin American market? Keep in mind that the Latin American market is itself actually a diverse hodgepodge of cultures and peoples with varying consumption habits.

Let’s start coming to an intelligent and informed answer by taking a look at who actually constitutes the US Hispanic market. Contrary to popular believe this segment isn’t exclusively, or even dominated by, illiterate illegal immigrants. That doesn’t mean that such people don’t exist, but they’re certainly a very minor slice of this rapidly evolving market at this particular point in time. In fact, a 2005 study showed the median US Hispanic household income to be nearly $35,000, lagging only $13,000 a year behind the national average.

Today Latin-American immigrants in the US can be found working in virtually every city, in every occupation and in every socioeconomic stratum. Thinking about them only as low income families probably won’t yield the best marketing results, and may actually offend some middle and upper class Hispanics who might view advertisements with a sharp eye looking for any form of stereotyping. This is decidedly different than the Latin American market(s) where most countries have a very sharp delineation between classes and don’t have much reason to look for stereotyping as a general rule.

Another common misconception is that the US Hispanic market isn’t internet savvy. A 2004 study by eMarketer concluded that Latin-Americans would comprise 8.4% of all US web surfers by 2007. The combination of affordable computers and inexpensive internet access available in virtually every city and town in America makes is hard to understand why any marketer wouldn’t believe that a group would be online based solely upon their ethnicity. Failing to realize this fact alone can cause a company to appear less Hispanic-friendly. Again, this is a sharp contrast to most Latin American markets where Internet usage and computers aren’t nearly as prevalent as they are in the United States.

Don’t get the impression that there is nothing to take away from lessons learned in the Latin American market when it comes to the addressing needs and wants of Latin-Americans. For example, the vast bulk of the current US Hispanic market still shows a strong focus on family values and tradition. These are consistent with those of the Latin American market on the whole, and parallels between the two may prove useful during brainstorming sessions. Don’t, however, assume that what is a good advertisement or campaign for one market will automatically work for both.

Related articles you might like:
*Cultural Nuances in Latin American Countries
*Latin American Communities in Central and South America

Hispanic market in the United States: Myths and Facts

The Hispanic market in the United States is one of the fastest growing markets in North America. The Hispanic and Latino population is growing at an unprecedented pace and bringing untapped business opportunities along with it. Many U.S. companies are already targeting the Spanish-speaking consumer with great success. Some businesses are utilizing bilingual flyers and brochures to get the word out about their products and services, a few have opened Spanish-speaking stores, and others are focusing direct advertising efforts via television, radio, and written media on the Hispanic community. Businesses that want to carve out a market niche have a rare opportunity to be front-line runners in a market that is growing all around them.

One of the best methods of targeting the bilingual or Spanish-speaking consumer is the use of a bilingual website. The Internet will carry the product line or service of a progressive business into the homes of millions of Hispanics that might not otherwise ever be exposed to them. But it's only the businesses that want to take advantage of the growing Hispanic market that will be able to do so.

Understanding Hispanic Consumers

Some businesses make oversimplified and erroneous assumptions about Hispanic consumers. A prevalent myth is that the Hispanic market in the United States is comprised solely of illiterate and financially destitute Mexican nationals from the rural regions of Mexico. This is certainly the case but only to a small degree. The truth of the matter is that Hispanics are working as naturalized citizens the world of business, medical practices, police work, and a host of other well-paying professions and careers.

Another common myth is that Hispanics are unwilling to buy much of anything, preferring instead to keep to themselves to avoid the Border Patrol. Most Hispanics don’t have to worry about law enforcement in the first place and lead much fuller lives than this misconceived notion anyway. Hispanic citizens are alive and well in every facet of U.S. culture and many are looking for places to spend their money.

A third myth is that Hispanics are not capable Internet users. That is far from the truth. The Hispanic market in the United States is discovering the Internet and has become very comfortable with online shopping and advertising. As the Hispanic community has embraced the world of the Web, pocketbooks have likewise opened and a significant amount of money is being spent for online products.

Businesses in the United States that are unwilling or unable to adjust to the demographic changes that are occurring will be left out in the cold. Bilingual websites are generating a lot of traffic and increasing sales of products of every description. It is true that most Hispanics, especially those for whom Spanish is their native tongue, prefer to shop on Spanish-speaking websites. It’s also true that a Spanish website that has been professionally translated with the correct keywords and optimized for the search engines will receive a lot of hits from Spanish-speaking consumers. The expense is minimal and the potential profit margin is high.

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