How to Effectively Reach the U.S. Hispanic Market

Studies show that Hispanics over-index other consumer groups in their loyalty to brands and organizations that effectively engage them and demonstrate a commitment to the issues they care most about. To actually take part in the promise and opportunities Hispanic consumers bring, a company must have a long-term outlook and a robust marketing strategy. Celebrating Home has continually worked to invest in and advocate for some of the issues affecting Hispanic consumers, and it has also incorporated bilingual and bicultural experts into its management team to help raise the company’s profile and preference among Hispanics.

The success of our program at Celebrating Home is intimately linked to the support it receives from the highest corporate officers, starting with our President Heather Chastain, and the leadership provided by our Vice President of Sales Dan Boyles. They have supported the creation of an entire department devoted to Hispanic marketing, made up of five Latinas, including two translators, who “transcreate” all company communications into Spanish. To “transcreate” means that Hispanic catalogs are not just presented in-language—that is, in a basic translation from English to Spanish. Instead, their headings, calls to action and marketing messages are adapted from English. While maintaining the English-language concept, message and purpose, the messages are copy-written with culturally relevant words and ideas that speak to, resonate with and influence Hispanics. This effort conveys the clear message to the Latino field and Hispanic customers that the company is creating initiatives specifically tailored to them, and that traditions and culture actually do matter to the company.

Biographical profiles and testimonials from the field, an essential part of all English-language communications, also appear in their Spanish-language counterparts, portraying Hispanic leaders as role models whose level of success is readily achievable. To continue to lay out the “welcome mat” to the Hispanic market, we implement various changes and adaptations in ongoing efforts to increase sales and recruitment. Dan Boyles often talks about the bond we’ve created with our Hispanic women by “embracing their traditions and culture.”

We work with, and are consulted by, executive leadership on matters related to marketing, training, leadership development and sales, and are in constant contact with Hispanic leadership in the field, acting as a “cultural bridge” in the rollout of all company collateral and tools, which has increased our field’s effectiveness and sense of participation in the company’s overall mission.

Over the last 18 months, we have been able to roll out our first opportunity recruiting events in some of our company’s Hispanic hot spots and in close collaboration with local field leaders. These events have strengthened our Hispanic recruitment numbers, as we have tripled the number of Latinas touched by the company’s messages.

Additionally, this year our team coordinated and presented Spanish-language leadership and training seminars, not just in-language, but adapted to our field’s culture. Most important, the seminars were presented and led by our team, who understand the underlying motivational components of the Latino psyche, thus generating larger attendance and follow-through from participants.

The impact of Celebrating Home’s Hispanic Outreach Program has been dramatic. Over the last 18 months, our Hispanic market grew from a baseline of 9 percent in sales and 16 percent recruitment to 27 percent of our total sales and an astonishing 42 percent of overall recruitment.

Why is it so important to target the Hispanic market?

Hispanics in the United States have experienced the largest growth of any ethnic group in the last 25 years. Figures from the recently concluded 2010 U.S. Census reveal a record 50 million Latinos—one in every six U.S. residents—which is a stunning 42 percent increase from the previous census in 2000. Hispanics are now the nation’s second-largest consumer market, at more than $1 trillion of combined purchasing power, second only to white non-Hispanics.

Other demographic characteristics emerge as notable. More often than not, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Latinos eat family meals at home, spend a larger percentage of their disposable income than other ethnic groups, are rapidly moving to city suburbs, focus on community and have very high aspirations for their children. In short, they mirror the ripe market for consumer goods and services baby boomers represented for companies in America during the 1950s—a great segment for the direct sales industry.

Our President Heather Chastain recently said, “We are very proud of the strides and success we’ve experienced with our Hispanic designers. We have studied the unique characteristics of this market and have implemented specific adaptations to our products, training practices and business model to embrace Latinas. Today, this market is an integral part of our field, one which enriches our family of designers with sustained growth and which has had a positive impact even within our non-Hispanic leaders.”

Same Products, Different Enhancements

Celebrating Home’s catalogs are also specifically designed to Hispanic tastes and color palettes, and the company considers the practical decor implications of smaller homes and larger family sizes, which many times also include extended family members. While the company’s product inventory and selections largely remain the same, layout designs, groupings and themes are culturally tailored to appeal to Hispanic tastes. The added appeal and impact of these recently presented catalogs has had a measurable sales effect among Celebrating Home’s Hispanic field and customers.

Additional projects we are implementing and supporting include an Advisory Council made of Hispanic field leaders and New Director Training and other programs in the same culturally adapted methods as we use in the “transcreation” of messaging. We are also working with all field leaders regardless of ethnicity to share the opportunities in the Hispanic market effectively. What is working well at Celebrating Home can be adopted by any direct selling company, no matter what product, because the approach is actually quite simple: Respect the Hispanic culture in marketing by appealing to Hispanic sensibilities.

We are using all of these methods to effectively engage U.S. Hispanics and look forward to implementing even more strategies over the next few years. Hispanic growth is an exciting business opportunity for everyone in our company, as we also work to equip non-Hispanic leaders with the tools, confidence and support to reach this market themselves, making Celebrating Home a truly multicultural and integrated company, with an opportunity for all. 

Laura Bujanda is the Director of Hispanic Marketing at Celebrating Home.