Connecting Your Brand with the Fast Growing Hispanic Market
The Big Question: If a Spanish-speaking client calls your customer service team today, will your team be prepared? Are you marketing your products and services to the Hispanic market?
Your response to this question may lead to a huge impact on your brand reputation and company performance. This is especially true, given that Hispanic and Latino audiences are fiercely loyal and outspoken about brands they love. But to earn their loyalty- you’ve got to take the right actions to make your Spanish speaking clients feel welcome when doing business with your company.
Help Spanish Language Speakers Feel at Home: Actions to Take
If your answer to the Big Question- is- “No”, then you’ve created an obstacle blocking large populations of potential Hispanic customers who are in need of your products and services. This also creates a disservice to your brand and company performance. What kind of impression would Spanish speaking clients have of your brand, if they and your customer service team could not communicate with each other?
A company that spent years dealing with this obstacle was a Ford Dealership in Houston. In 2012 the Dealership ranked 170th among Ford retailers in terms of sales. That was before Ecuador native Tania Eubanks was hired as general manager at the dealership. Once Eubanks put into action her plan to court Hispanic clients, the dealership’s ranking skyrocketed to 20th making it the 6th most profitable dealership in the country!
What did Eubanks do to ignite this change?
Action 1- She recognized the Spanish language demand in her local area. Eubanks realized that the dealership was not catering to the Hispanic market in a city where Hispanics are the largest and fastest-growing ethnic group, accounting for 44 percent of its 2 million residents in the 2010 census.
Action 2- She embarked on a smart hiring strategy soliciting bilingual salespeople. Eubanks brought in staffers from other AutoNation stores and from the outside and placed an ad on a Spanish radio station soliciting bilingual salespeople. Today, more than half of the 130-member staff is Hispanic, and nearly all of the store’s managers speak Spanish.
Action 3- Make sure that advertising and marketing campaigns are culturally relevant. This effort involved building presence in Houston’s Hispanic community by sponsoring and participating in cultural events. Spanish language marketing and advertising material were broadcasted heavily on Hispanic TV and radio.
This is perhaps the most crucial action you’ll take. “Hispanics are more inclined to build trustworthy relationships with people and companies that take the time to understand who we are and what we represent morally, ethically and culturally.”, says President of The Axis Agency, Armando Azarloza. As a general rule, understanding your target audience’s culture is a must when delivering Spanish translations. In marketing and advertising translations, cultural relevancy is your compass. For instance, when translating your brand tagline from English into Spanish, a straight translation will often not be appropriate because our cultures’ values are not similar. Spanish localization must come into play to make your brand message culturally relevant to Hispanics.
Be aware- the effort to build trustworthy relationships with your Spanish speaking clients will not happen overnight. Placing talented individuals in the right positions within your company to serve the Spanish speaking community takes time. Understanding and implementing cultural values into your marketing strategy takes time. But you’ll need to take that first step in realizing there is a growing need for the Spanish language, and then have translated Spanish content available to them.
I Need Help Being Prepared for the Hispanic Market
Have you come to the realization that there is a large Hispanic community within your locale, who are looking for your products and services? If so- please contact us today for to schedule free consultation on how our Spanish marketing translation and Spanish website translation services can help you connect with them. Whether you need translation services in Houston where there is a sizeable group of Spanish speakers, or any place else- we look forward to preparing your brand for the growing Spanish speaking market!
