If you are trying to make the case for your organization to begin targeting the Hispanic market, here is some data from the U.S. Census Bureau which may help you:

• The average size of households defined as Mexican is 4.1.  There are 3.2 members in all households surveyed by the Census.  If you sell packaged goods, this means Hispanic households will need to buy more of your product.
• Half of Mexican households own the home where they live.  If you're in real estate, the other 50% represent a big opportunity for you.
• The Hispanic population skews younger than the rest of the population.  The media age of Latinos in the U.S. is 27.6, compared to 36.6 for the total population.  As a marketer, reaching out to these consumers will help develop long-term relationships with your brand.
• Hispanic-owned businesses grew by 31% between 1997 and 2002.  This is triple the national average.  Don't forget these entrepreneurs when marketing your business services.

How will the increase in the Hispanic population affect your business?

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Image courtesy of khawkins04

Savvy bankers understand the importance of establishing relationships with foreign born Hispanics at the beginning of the acculturation process.  Education is an important part of the dialogue.  While many consumers are familiar with the fast food industry because they come from countries where Burger King operates, the same may not be true when it comes to financial services. 

• Advertising is key.  Businesses that advertise are seen as more credible, particularly among more recent or less educated immigrants.
• Word of mouth strongly influences purchase decisions.  Positioning a bank, S&L, or credit union as Hispanic-friendly will quickly become known in the community.
• Testimonials are a powerful tactic.  Use them in ads, brochures, and direct mail.
• Bilingual signage and customer service personnel communicate respect and appreciation of your Hispanic customers.

Eventually, the "unbanked" Hispanics will open a bank account and that will lead them to use other banking services, like loans to buy homes.  Will they go to your bank?

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Did you know that searches conducted in Spanish often deliver results from sites outside the U.S.?    One reason this occurs is because Spanish language websites here are not optimized as well as sites based in countries like Mexico and Spain.   U.S. advertisers have also been slow to target Hispanics online. 

Make sure you optimize your site for Spanish speakers before you go live so that your customers find you, not your competitor.

You can read the full article at MediaPost.

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Photo by Joe Shlabotnik.

Today's issue of Engage:Hispanics notes that many companies continue to ignore the growth potential of the Hispanic market by not investing enough of their advertising dollars.  Hispanics represent 25% of children under 5 yet toy companies spent only 1.1% of their ad budgets to target them.

Kellogg spends less than 3% of their budget advertising to Latinos, even though people under 25 eat twice as much cereal as people aged 25-50.  34% of the Hispanic population is under 18, that's 15 million consumers.

The CMOs of companies who ignore the Hispanic market risk losing market share and limiting future revenues.  Shareholder indignation, anyone? 

You can read the full article at MediaPost.

• The U.S. Hispanic population grew 29% between 2000-2007 and is now over 45 million.  That's 15% of the total U.S. population, and larger than Canada.

• 60% of Latinos were born in the U.S.
• 65% of Hispanics are of Mexican origin and 9% are Puerto Rican.

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