Demographic-specific marketing for e-commerce in the United States is unlike that found anywhere else in the world. Our mixing pot mentality and open-door immigration policy have made us a conglomerated country of cultures, languages, and people. As a provider of products or services to the Hispanic market, you may be well aware of the unique opportunities that are available to those savvy enough to tap into the potential spending power of Spanish- and English-speaking US Hispanics.
Before you can begin to expand your sales to US Hispanics, you need to effectively quantify the number of people in that demographic you are currently selling to (sizing your online Hispanic market). This will give you a starting point with which to determine the effectiveness of your new marketing strategies. There are a number of ways to do this:
– Coupons: If you have issued Spanish-language coupons or other offers, the number of them that were redeemed is a good indicator of your base market penetration.
– Correspondence: You may offer your customers a newsletter or different form of paper or digital information. If you have made available a Spanish version, the number of requests for that version is also a great way to begin viewing the number of your current US Hispanic clientele.
– Records: Some customers may already be purchasing your products or services. Check your credit card statistics, your email payments, and customer profile language preferences, if any. The ratio of Spanish-to-English records will provide you with a good figure for calculating comparable ratios in the future.
Being operationally ready to support Hispanic consumers
One of the best ways to increase your e-commerce sales within the US Hispanic market is to make sure you have an adequate amount of Spanish-speaking employees (preferably bilingual). Remember: the ability to speak Spanish is different than the ability to read and write it. If you currently have no one in your employ that is fluent in speaking, reading, and writing Spanish, then your ability to take advantage of this huge market is severely limited.
If you cannot communicate with your US Hispanic market in a language that is most comfortable for them, you may find yourself struggling to maintain your current Spanish-speaking customers. This will make it increasingly difficult to increase the amount of sales activity you conduct with that particular demographic. Ensuring you have staff that can offer sales, customer, and technical support in Spanish is the most important way to welcome US Hispanics to your e-commerce marketplace.
After making sure you can communicate and provide an exceptional level of service in English and Spanish, the next step is to make your customers aware. When a customer visits your website, they should quickly be able to see that Spanish-language support is available, and need to also have the ability to access that service or information easily. Browser pop-up windows have proved an effective method of letting the customer know Spanish support is available. Sometimes, it can be as easy as putting a link or a graphic in an obvious area of your page.
Adopting privacy and security policies that protects the buyer
Once your US Hispanic customers know you are there to help them, and have taken the extra effort to offer services and support in Spanish as well as English, you will need to assure them of the security of their information online. In the United States, internet security is stronger than that in some other countries, but doubt and mistrust of the electronic system still abides in the US Hispanic market – among others. Posting information about your company’s privacy and security practices will help to allay the apprehension some potential customers may feel about conducting business, financial, and other transactions online. The goal is to increase your e-commerce sales figures, remember. If your customer base is not confident in your ability to protect their information, the chances of them providing that information to you to purchase a product or service are not very high.
There are an unfortunately low number of methods for low-cost or even free market expansion to US Hispanics. For almost no capital expense, it is possible to grow any intended demographics market base with your company. With a few simple steps and a couple of quick changes to marketing and advertising materials or customer correspondence, you will arm yourself with the tools required to watch your numbers grow.
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