Return to Home Page Telemarketing To U.S. HISPANICS OVERVIEW OF THE U.S. HISPANIC MARKET The growth in size and purchasing power of ethnic groups has made targeting ethnic groups a popular targeting strategy among American Corporations. Hispanics represent one of the fastest growing demographic groups in the U.S. During the 1980's, the Hispanic population grew more than 50%, compared with the overall population. America is said to have the fifth largest Hispanic population in the world. This means there is more Hispanic in the United States than Canadians in Canada. According to some estimates the Hispanic population could double within the next fifteen years, Hispanics will overtake African Americans as the largest ethnic minority in the U.S. The estimated annual purchasing power of the Hispanics is greater than $180 billion. A great deal of research has been done on the language preferences of the Hispanics In regard to the media they listen to watch or read. “One” Hispanic market does not exist, a commonality of language does not mean a commonality of cultures, or socioeconomic profiles. Latinos in Los Angeles or Texas bear little resemblance to second generation Cubans-Americans in Miami or Puerto Rican Families settled in New York City.(Valdes,10). Who is Hispanic? Webster’s tenth New collegiate Dictionary Traces the origin of the word Hispanic to Hispania Iberian peninsula (Spain) and defines as Hispanic any person”of Latin American decent living in the U.S., especially one of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican Origin”. Why Should We Be interested in the Hispanic Market Growth? Here are some facts. +The Hispanic population reached 22.3 million in 1990. +In 1990 there were 7.7 million more Hispanic consumers than in 1980 and 15 million more than in 1960. +17 million more Hispanics will be added from 1990 to 2010, and 40 million by 2040. +Every year after 1995 Hispanics may account for more U.S. consumers than any other group. +By 2010 the Hispanic population will surpass that of African Americans and Asians. +More than 3 million Hispanic immigrants settled in the U.S. during the 1980s. +As many as 380,000 Hispanic immigrants each year will be added to the population during the 1990s. +Even without immigration, the number of Hispanics could reach 51 million by 2050. +By 2010 there will be 15 million foreign born Hispanics living in the U.S. +Hispanics , in 1991 Census had an aggregate monthly income of $ 184 Billion Dollars! Given their size, growth, rate and purchasing power, many retailers are interested in better understanding this segment of the market. This paper presents the actual guidelines for any U.S. consumer product and service organizations targeting the Hispanics using telemarketing in their search to gain a piece of the fastest growing market in the U.S.. HISPANICS AS CONSUMERS Cultural heritage , The Spanish language and disposable income are the three things most of the U.S. Hispanics have in common. Every day, Hispanic consumers pour millions of dollars in to the U.S. economy. Regardless of how much money they make individually or other differences between the different Hispanic groups the result stays the same: “U.S. Hispanics earn and spend more money than most Hispanics in Latin America.” The region with the highest concentration of Hispanic income is the southwest (California , Texas , Arizona and New Mexico) this is the prime region for marketing Hispanics. On average the income of the Hispanics is Higher than that of the African Americans. California a has the highest rate of affluent of Hispanics in the U.S. New York And New Yersey follow in affluence. There are more affluent Mexicans than any other Hispanic group many Cubans are also affluent. This means that the two markets to target are the Mexican and Cubans in the areas of California and Florida where the most affluent concentration of these two groups are located. Buying Preferences Hispanic consumers tend to be very price sensitive placing importance on price and promotion. Hispanic consumers are more conscious of a brand’s reputation and quality than other consumers and have strong brand preferences and loyalty. This is due in part to the strong brand advertising in Spanish and to the assimilation of ethnic consumers to the mainstream economy. Hispanics are not likely to buy private levels brands. This because of the need to show that they have arrived in the domestic economy and are able to provide their families with the highest quality products. Other Mexican immigrants are familiar with many prominent national brands. Many retailers vary their assortments and merchandise practices to match costumers characteristics in ethnic market areas. Ethnic stores and ethnic marketing specialists are becoming very popular. In order to determine the level of ethnic orientation a marketing strategy should involve, a retail store conducted a study to investigate this shopping behavior. A scanner data was used to determine the models of market response in three different product categories. The data and final results obtained by a southwestern state grocery chain store that has high concentration of residents who are Hispanics of Mexican descent. The categories tested were familiar to Hispanic and non-Hispanic consumers and not specifically associated with ethnicity and had a reasonably degree of price variation. The results indicated that Hispanic market areas are responsive to price discounts but their response was not ver different from non-Hispanics. The most significant finding was that Hispanics shoppers are prone to purchase private label brands. This price sensitivity and tendency to substitute brands in response to price changes suggest that retailers can influence their shopping behavior with carefully planned promotional strategies.(Mulhern,p332) These are some of the key spending preferences of the Hispanic Market that the marketer trying to target the Hispanics must take into account; regardless of the marketing strategy he or she tries to apply: +Food consumed at home. +Rental Housing. +Apparel. +Telephone Services. +TV radio and other sound equipment. + Personal care products. +Public Transportation. +Cleaning Supplies. ESTABLISHING A TELEMARKETING NETWORK FOR THE HISPANIC MARKET About Telemarketing The use of the telephone in doing business is not new. But marketing across the telephone or telemarketing, is something new when is specifically directed to a minority group such as the Hispanics in the U.S. Telemarketing is the planned and systematic use of the phone as a global marketing strategy. Telemarketing is preprogramed and evaluated objectively. In this strategy the telephone is not used when "the opportunity shows up " or everything else fails. The use of the telephone is planned and then taken in to practice in an orderly and methodic manner. Today the telephone is not just an instrument, is a way of doing business. The concept of Telemarketing is based in the systematic incorporation of telephone marketing to the sales programs.(Purdy.p71) Nowadays Telemarketing is becoming the primal source for excellent contacts and efficient low cost variable. Telemarketing is not for all products nor all costumers. Among the many advantages found in the use of Telemarketing we can mention : + Lower sales costs. + Increase in sales due to lower costs and a wider coverage of the market. + Creation of new markets , before impossible to create using conventional methods. + Better and more frequent contact with clients. + Optimization of the results generated by, print ads, media and direct-mail. + Better promotion of your company and products. + Quicker response to potential clients. + Excellent control over the clients accounts. + Automatic reactivation of inactive or lost accounts. + Save time (no street sales.) + Provide "personal service" regardless of distance and type of account of the client. In the case of the Hispanic Market this strategy presents very good perspectives due to specific characteristics that the Hispanic Market posses. But still some major adaptations and modifications have to be done in order to establish a Hispanic Telemarketing program. Some of these modifications are based on the logical and cultural basic principles others might come from actual researches results . Direct-Mail to Hispanics One of the important components of the telemarketing program is without a doubt the mailing. The Hispanic market receives on average 35 pieces of direct mail a year, compared with 300 for the rest of the general market house holds. When a direct mail company received a 60% response to a recent survey to the domestic Hispanic market, executives knew, they were onto something. This survey mailed to 1,700 Hispanic house holds across the U.S. whom direct mail marketers had targeted in the past, netted 975 replies. Of the 94% of respondents who said they receive direct mail communication, 66% always open and read the literature and 44% of those place orders. Also 49% of the respondents noted that they are not treated with respect in traditional, in-person shopping environments another 41% noted that they purchase through direct mail to avoid the bad experience of retail sales. Typically, direct mail targeting Hispanics have simply translated the copy from English to Spanish. It is suggested to the marketers who want to use Spanish in their ads to create some new ads. (Zbar,p34) According to these studies, direct mail to Hispanic consumers, could represent the desire for respect these consumers are looking for As further evidence of the Hispanic market receptivity 50% of the respondents said they didn’t mind receiving telephone calls at home yet only 21% said they received calls in Spanish. Hispanic TSRs (Telephone Sales Representatives) The telemarketing companies have to look for many details before they go ahead and try for Hispanic markets. There is a great deal of planing and hard work to cover the obvious and not so obvious differences between providing state of the art telemarketing services to English language customers, and to those for whom Spanish is the native language. Hispanic TSRs (Telephone Sales Representatives) have to be selected and trained based on their ability to communicate with a wide array of people from different cultures and socieconomic groups, just as they would when speaking to English speaking customers.(Nufel,p72) Learning as much as you can about the Hispanic audiences is another important step. When trying to advertise your offer through the media, you have to kno where the highest concentration of Hispaics are living and also which state is increasing its Hispanic population the fastest. Knowing the place where your target audience likes to get its information is also important. Another concideration is cost, you have to know if you have the budget to mount a Hispanic program. The hiring and training of the bilingual crew could result a very expensive one.The calls conducted in Spanish are usually of longer length since it can take as much as one and one half times longer to comunicate the same message in that language. Another cost you have to concider when targeting the Hispanic market is having many C.O.D.or “cash on delivery” sales.(Zbar,p34) Fewer Hispanics answering to a Spanish language offer may use credit cards to pay for their purchases. Telemarketers using The C.O.D. sales method must make sure their designers use the largest looking package possible, this would build value into your packaging. The delivery person would act as your silent salesman in this case. In the area of recruitment and training the telemarketer must take in to account some important facts. try to recruit individuals who are totally confortable speaking reading and writing in English and in Spanish without the indication of national origin.This way, Spanish speakers from different backgrounds can identify the accents and dialectsof those with whom they need to cominicate. it is also very important that all information that is put into the TSR report be written in English so the telemarketer can share the information with all client management representatives. One of the key aspects of Hispanic telemarketing is identifying the language preference of the person on the other end of the line. Many of the Hispanics living in the U.S. may be totally bilingual others may prefer to speak in their mother tongue. Either way an important clue to their preference is if they are answering a “Spanish Only”offer.(Valdes,p321) C O N C L U S I O N As we now know the Hispanic market is goings throughout a tremendous change in many ways. The growth in their population as well as the economic and purchasing power is increasing every year. This is not a market that can be left as second hand anymore. Any business centered marketer who is interested in increasing the profits and the size of the market can clearly see this is an emerging gold mine. There is no way the Hispanic market is stopping its growth nor its economic influence among the U.S. markets. It is now the time to learn as much as possible about this very potential market. Learn about the ir likes and dislikes as well as how is the best way to approach them. One of the most profitable and effective ways to target a market like this one is Telemarketing. With the development of specialized Hispanic media in the U.S., the way to reach millions of Hispanic costumer is already halfway trough. All that is left to the marketer is the development of a good telemarketing program focused and shaped specially to the Hispanic market needs. BIBLIOGRAPHY Purdy, Christopher. Telemarketing “Bell strikes gold with Latino telemarketing program” Vol.13 May 1995, p. 71. Valdes, M Isabel. American Demographics. “Hispanic Buying Power” Vol. Marketing Supplement Oct 1995, p. 10. Zbar, Jeffery. Advertising Age. “New Research Spotlights Hispanics” Vol. 66 Jun 1995, p. 12. Mulhern, Francis. Stores. “Understanding Hispanic shopping behavior using retail scanner data” Vol.77. Apr 1995 p. 333-345. Zbar, Jeffery. Advertising Age. “Hispanic direct-mail greeted by open door” Vol.66 Jan 1995 p. 34. Neufel, Arline. Telemarketing . “Here’s what you need to know about the Hispanic market today” Vol.13 May 1995 p. 70-74. Valdes, M Isabel. Hispanic Market Handbook. New York: Gale Research, 1995. WEB SITES Hispanic Business Network. www.iag.net Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce (TAMACC). www.tamacc.org