The Hispanic Buying Power: Why, How, and Where to market to it

Whether you are a small business or a fortune 500 company, you cannot afford to disregard this huge swath of the U.S. market. As per the 2020 Census, the Hispanic market makes close to 20% of the U.S. population?with a buying power of $1.7 Trillion and is projected to reach $2.6 Trillion by year 2025. The growth in buying power from 2020 will be nearly 50% more than that of white households, which hold the largest share of the market today. In other words, this is a demographic you cannot afford to ignore.

Why market to the Hispanic Consumer

As the Hispanic population continues to grow and expand, so does the influence that the Hispanic audience has in the U.S. economy. The Hispanic consumer is recognized as one of the top consumer segments, the influence and power this segment of the U.S. population wields is undeniable. If the amazing growth potential that is projected for the Hispanic market is not enough incentive for you, take into consideration as well that Hispanics are also more brand loyal than other ethnic groups, once you have acquired their business it is tough to lose it.

However, as an advertiser embarking in conquering this market, it is imperative that you understand and pay close attention to how very diverse this community is and adjust your marketing endeavors accordingly.

How to market to the Hispanic consumer

Start by building trust through engagement. However, there are multiple factors you should take into consideration when reaching out to this market, for example one size does not fit all, what does this mean? Well, when developing a marketing plan make allowances for educational, cultural, and generational differences between the Hispanic population living in the U.S., which can affect their buying behaviors and habits.

Culture is very important with the Hispanic community, make a point to understand the unique identity beyond race, heritage, and language; don’t assume all Hispanics speak Spanish and when advertising in Spanish don’t just translate the material you already have to Spanish and call it a day, chances are that it will not yield the results you are looking for. There is a lot that can be lost or confused in translation.

One of the greatest mistakes marketers make when doing the crossover to promoting to this growing market is not understanding the cultural aspects of this audience, don’t make that mistake. Note the differences between the diversity and cultural differences within the Hispanic community, pay attention and be cognizant of the dialects, notice the nuances and multiple differences amongst them; using the same dialect to target Hispanics who come from Central America as Hispanics form the Caribbean or South America, might cause confusion on your message, one word might have various meanings to each of those regions, use the wrong one with the wrong target audience and you might offend and/or alienate the section you were trying to market to.

Important point to mention – if you market in Spanish, make sure you are equipped and ready to help them in the language you are promoting, have staff that can attend to their language needs.

Where to market

Hispanic consumers are very smartphone savvy, they lead in the adoption of new devices and are amongst the top users of mobile and video consumption, so make sure when creating online promotional materials they are mobile friendly, since they are more likely to interact with brands and products via their mobile devices.

Hispanics use more Social Media platforms than the total U.S. population, which makes it a great way to reach them, and they are highly responsive to this way of communication.

Conclusion

Bottom line is, when marketing to the Hispanic audience authenticity is a must, always keep that in mind when reaching out and creating your marketing strategy, do this and you’ll be on your way to building a loyal customer base.