Community

Hispanic culture is centered around people and relationships. Realizing this is essential for understanding and, therefore, reaching Hispanics. Their community philosophy influences how they interact with businesses, and it can be seen in two specific ways: their priorities and online activity.

Priorities

For Hispanics, people are the number one priority. How does this affect their interaction with businesses? They want to establish a relationship before giving a company their business. They want to know they can trust your bank, your employees, and you. And this takes time.

As mentioned earlier, they are rarely in a rush and probably won’t sign up for anything within the first hour of being in your office. Winning their business requires investing more time in them.

One financial institution found that it meant an initial visit to gather information, a second visit with additional questions, and possibly a third visit to finally agree to open an account. Instead of stressing out about how many meetings it will take or trying to get around the endless small talk, embrace it. Realize they are not being rude; their priorities are just different.

When they see that you care about them personally and are willing to address all their concerns, they will be far more likely to choose your bank. A Hispanic insurance agent proved this philosophy while calling prospective Hispanic clients. Though she only made one or two calls an hour, she became one of the highest producing agents with a 100% close rate. Why? Because she took the time to build a relationship during each phone call.

Additionally, due to this community mindset, Hispanics can be very loyal customers. Once they have built up a relationship they feel secure in, why would they want to go anywhere else?

And if they refer your company to a friend, their friend will take the recommendation seriously due to the already established relationship your company has with someone they trust. Invest in one person, and the investment may very well return to you in more than one loyal customer.

Online Activity

Hispanics enjoy connecting online. They are tech-savvy consumers and active internet users. Hispanics are more likely to shop online, as well as use social media for local shopping. Multiple studies have been conducted on Hispanic online activity, and the results are very revealing.

• 80% of U.S. Hispanic adults use social media, compared to 72% for the country’s adults overall.
• 84.2% of U.S. Hispanic consumers said they have searched for an online coupon based on a recommendation, compared to 70.6% of all U.S. consumers.
• In 2013, Hispanic households earning $50-100K spent $3.7 billion in online purchases in the preceding 12 months.
• Among mobile banking users, 44% said they had visited their primary bank‘s Facebook page.
• As of 2012, 32% (nearly 11 million) of online Hispanics participate in online banking.

For brands struggling to create customer engagement on social media, Hispanic consumers may be the answer. For brands already targeting Hispanics, social media will be a great boost for helping Hispanics connect with your brand. They want to connect, and social media gives them the opportunity.

A strong online presence—through your website, social media, and digital ads—is a necessary ingredient to your Hispanic marketing strategy. Hispanics are willing to be a part of your online community, and if you don’t have one yet, they will help you build one!

The point: Think people. Think relationships. That’s how you’ll reach Hispanic consumers—by tapping into their community mindset.

Stay tuned for the final C……

–RNL