Thirty percent of the 50 million Hispanic consumers online live in the US and that percentage continues to increase every year. Studies show that Latinos spend an average of 9.5 hours a week online, which is one hour more than other US residents dedicate to online activities. Latinos tend to use the same search engines as everyone else when it comes to information, as well as to establish buying patterns and when they are given a choice to choose between an English or Spanish website, a large majority prefers a Spanish site or likes the option to have one at hand. The first step in understanding Hispanic buying patterns when it comes to legal and medical services is to gain an insightful understanding of the factors that influence Latinos buying patterns.
Challenges in Latino Legal and Medical Services
Thirty percent of the 50 million Hispanic consumers online live in the US and that percentage continues to increase every year. Studies show that Latinos spend an average of 9.5 hours a week online, which is one hour more than other US residents dedicate to online activities. Latinos tend to use the same search engines as everyone else when it comes to information, as well as to establish buying patterns and when they are given a choice to choose between an English or Spanish website, a large majority prefers a Spanish site.
The first step in understanding Hispanic buying patterns when it comes to legal and medical services is to gain an insightful understanding of the factors that influence Latinos buying patterns.
Buying Pattern Hispanic Groups or Segments
The potential income growth, which includes the geo-demographics within the Hispanic market, is another vital consideration for legal and medical referral services. Latinos can be divided into distinct buying pattern groups or segments:
- The elite earners in the Hispanic sector are professionals in different industries which include medicine and law and are aware of how various services operate.
- The high income earners have white collar occupations in management, education and other industries which increase their online awareness, but they need information that guides them.
- The average earners are considered the working class with occupations in the food, auto, hotel industries and other retail industries. They are high school educated couples who are split between US born Latinos that only speak English—or that are bilingual—and non-US citizens that prefer to use Spanish online for consumer products and services. That group continues to expand rapidly and needs special attention.
- With some exceptions, the lower income Hispanics work in construction, the food and beverage industry, landscaping and usually communicate in Spanish only. This segment is also growing and becoming aware of different services and opportunities.
Each group is different in terms of buying patterns and online awareness. An online strategy that is capable of stimulating each market segment individually as well as maintaining a connection to the cultural needs of the community as a whole is preferred for those marketers with the greatest commitment to the market.
Is a Spanish Web site Imperative to Reach the Online Hispanic Market?
If you’re a professional or a small- or medium-sized business in the legal and medical industries looking to serve the online Hispanic family, translating your Web content into Spanish might be your greatest dilemma. Nevertheless, it is sure to be your best decision. Hence, before deciding whether you really need to embark on this process, you’ll need to fully address the following three questions:
1) How many Spanish-speaking prospective customers could you reach with the new Spanish-language site?
2) What percentage of this pool of Spanish-speaking prospective customers is Spanish-reliant or Spanish-preferred?
3) How do Spanish-reliant and/or Spanish-preferred prospective customers fit into your short- and long-term goals and your overall business strategy?
Make sure that you address these three key questions. Only then will you be able to size your market for online Spanish-speaking customers, master the profiles of new Hispanic customers, and choose a strategic partner who best understands your needs, goals and objectives.
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