The significant Hispanic consumer market in this country is the proverbial elephant in the room that is the US economy: it exists, it’s big, and it has a huge impact. ¹Younger generations of Hispanics in the US—from Gen X to the Millennials—are well educated, tech savvy, American born and steadily growing in population. They identify as Latinos or Hispanic² and are not distinguishable by color or socioeconomic status. This population does, however, share a sense of pride and connection with many elements of their heritage, including language, food, music, and other aspects of Hispanic culture.³ In our increasingly interconnected digital world, this group can much more easily work together to maintain their cultural identity than ever before, and they can keep in close touch with distant relatives.

The buying power of the US Hispanic market is equal to that of several of the world’s top economies.⁴ Hispanics have tremendous influence on industries such as residential real estate, food, retail, education, financial services, transportation, entertainment, and media.⁵ It is significant to note that Univision is now the fifth-largest television network in the United States, behind ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox.⁶ Many commercial and non-profit organizations recognize that their success heavily depends on this rapidly growing population.⁷ Such organizations include Procter & Gamble, General Mills, Unilever,⁸ Disney, McDonald’s, AT&T, L’Oréal, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Deutsche Telekom, Dish Network, State Farm Insurance, Walmart, and The Coca-Cola Company.⁹ 

Studies have shown that, when contemplating a purchase, people are less likely to get carried away with their emotions and more likely to be rational when they are conducting the transaction in a foreign language.¹⁰ Businesses need to consider this if they want to sweep the Hispanic population off their feet and encourage them to purchase products in the heat of the moment. Businesses need to recognize that their employees’ inability to effectively communicate with the Hispanic and Latino population can result in the significant loss of sales revenue. The Language School will help your business reach its untapped potential by empowering your employees with the language and cultural skills necessary to effectively communicate with customers in Spanish and thus increase your bottom line. 

Although the United States is often thought of as a “melting pot” of different ethnic identities, cultures, and languages, of course not everyone speaks English at home.¹¹ And just because a business is located in this country does not mean that its employees should speak just in English.¹² In order to increase financial potential, companies need to maximize their level of communication with this ever growing population.¹³

Unfortunately, many businesses fail to realize that they can successfully tap into this audience if they simply train their employees to speak another language.¹⁴

To effectively provide true quality and customized care to your customers, it is imperative that you not only understand their language, but also understand their culture. Often, the true meaning of a conversation literally gets lost in translation, leaving consumers questioning whether less linguistically adept companies truly understand their needs. This uncertainty leads to lack of consumer trust. As a result, this ineffective communication propels potential customers to competitors that do, in fact, understand their needs.¹⁵ The ability to understand and communicate with consumers in their mother tongues fosters trust and loyalty, which can only benefit business.¹⁶ 

The Language School also provides English classes for employees. If you have employees that do not speak English very well, can you imagine how efficient and loyal they would be to your business if you offered them English courses? The Language School is here to help your business reach its potential. Classes are offered either in our Ridgefield office or in your place of business. In fact, the school offers classes before, during, and after hours in your place of business. Please contact Karen at 203-241-7010 or email her at KRB@thelanguageschoolglobal.com to schedule a free consultation. In as little as eight weeks your employees will be more efficient, and your business can tap into new markets.

¹ The Nielsen Company, State of the Hispanic Consumer: The Hispanic Market Imperative Quarter 2, 2012, http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/us/en/reports-downloads/2012-Reports/State-of-the-Hispanic-Consumer.pdf

² The State of the Hispanic Consumer: The Hispanic Market Imperative Mónica Gil Senior Vice President, Public Affairs and Government Relations Nielsen, p. 11
http://labrewery.com/brewery/sites/default/files/LatinoOpportunityNielsen052312.pdf

³ Id.

⁴ Goldman Sachs Global Economics, Commodities & Strategy Research: BRICS Monthly Issue 11/06, June 24, 2011. Hispanic per capita income is from Census in 2009 constant dollars. Hispanic per capita income is second to Russia, but above Brazil, China and India. http://labrewery.com/brewery/sites/default/files/LatinoOpportunityNielsen052312.pdf

⁵ The State of the Hispanic Consumer: The Hispanic Market Imperative Mónica Gil Senior Vice President, Public Affairs and Government Relations Nielsen, p. 10, http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/us/en/reports-downloads/2012-Reports/State-of-the-Hispanic-Consumer.pdf

⁶ Hispanic Marketing Hispanic Marketing By: Christina Hoag,2015 SAGE Publications, Inc., https://phelpsagency.com/newsroom/articles/SAGE-Business-Researcher-Hispanic-Marketing.pdf

⁷ The State of the Hispanic Consumer: The Hispanic Market Imperative Mónica Gil Senior Vice President, Public Affairs and Government Relations, p. 9.
http://labrewery.com/brewery/sites/default/files/LatinoOpportunityNielsen052312.pdf

⁸ The Nielsen Company, State of the Hispanic Consumer: The Hispanic Market Imperative Quarter 2, 2012, Mónica Gil Senior Vice President, Public Affairs and Government Relations Nielsen, http://www.nielsen.com/content/dam/corporate/us/en/reports-downloads/2012-Reports/State-of-the-Hispanic-Consumer.pdf

9 Hispanic Marketing Hispanic Marketing By: Christina Hoag,2015 SAGE Publications, Inc., https://phelpsagency.com/newsroom/articles/SAGE-Business-Researcher-Hispanic-Marketing.pdf

10 Scientific American, We might be least rational about money in our native tongues By Jessica Gross on November 1, 2012, http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reasoning-is-sharper-in-a-foreign-language/

11 United Census Bureau, Language Other Than English Spoken At Home, http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/meta/long_POP815213.htm

12 The future of language- The Washington Post, WorldViews, By Rick Noack, September 24, http://blog.adobe.com/globalilzation./2012/07/09/globalization -myth-3/

13 Globalization Myth Series – Myth 3: Language support should be limited to the official language(s) of a country; http://blogs.adobe.com/globalization/2012/07/09/globalization-myth-3/

14 The Hispanic Population: 2010 2010 Census Briefs, By Sharon R. Ennis, Merarys Ríos-Vargas, and Nora G. Albert, http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-04.pdf

15 Advertising To Hispanics: The Answer Is In Balancing Language And Cultural Signals, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/29/advertising-hispanic-language-culture_n_1385353.html

16 CIA World Factbook, Estimates Online, 2011. U.S. Hispanic buying power was $1.1 billion in 2011, and would be 14th on the list of G20 countries, ahead of Turkey, Australia, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa. 3 Goldman Sachs Global Economics, Commodities & Strat.