American businesses spent $5 billion reaching the Hispanic market in 2008, and for good reason. By 2013, Latinos will control 10 percent—or a staggering $1.4 trillion—of the country's buying power. So reports Chanin Ballance in an article at MarketingProfs. "That puts Hispanics ahead of all other minority groups, including African Americans," she notes.

It's clear that the Hispanic market holds plenty of appeal for marketers—especially those looking for new customers during a slow economic recovery. But, as Ballance warns, appealing to this savvy consumer population is not as simple as running your marketing copy through a translator.

"To successfully reach the Hispanic audience," Ballance says, "marketers should understand that what works with the general market can't simply be transferred to the Latino market. Instead, messages must be culturally adapted to capture the thought, meaning, and feeling, not just the words."

For instance, a marketing message that resonates for the competitive Anglo market might not fare as well with Hispanics, who think in terms of a collective "we" and value cooperation over competition, she notes.

→ end article preview
Read the Full Article