On the heels of expanding its services and products internationally, the Glenn Llopis Group (GLG), a thought-leadership, human capital, and business strategy consultancy firm, is turning its focus to the growing Hispanic market and its economic impact on industries (healthcare, retail and consumer packaged goods, insurance, financial services and banking, travel, etc) by issuing its latest business whitepaper, Convert Hispanic Cultural Intelligence Into the Required Intellectual Capital to Grow Your Business and Build a Power Brand; How Top-Tier Industries Unknowingly Create Tension Points That Make It Difficult to Earn the Loyalty and Trust of Hispanic Consumers, on March 10th.
As the demographic shift continues, the United States is seeing an increase in buying power not happening in other countries due largely to the explosive Hispanic growth. Between 2000 and 2010, the Hispanic population grew by 43 percent, or four times the nation’s 9.7 percent growth rate. In real numbers, this was an increase of 15.2 million people of Hispanic descent and accounted for more than half of the total U.S. population increase of 27.3 million. “Hispanics are a force to be reckoned with,” says Glenn Llopis, GLG Chairperson and a Forbes contributing writer. “All of this adds up to one of the greatest untapped markets ever seen and industries need to step up to the challenge, embrace the opportunity, and reap the benefits.”
Further, with the total number of Hispanics in the U.S. today, 55 million people, the emergence of Hispanics as a consumer force has grown rapidly and shows no signs of slowing down; in fact, their purchasing power is expected to reach $1.5 trillion dollars by 2015. Dubbed “super consumers,” Latinos in the U.S. are blowing past the mainstream and other minority groups in this regard. With a young and vibrant talent and consumer base with household incomes that are growing faster than the overall population and accounting for approximately half of total job growth in this country, Hispanics will be sure to dominate the workplace and the marketplace.
“As Hispanics rise as consumers and business owners,” continues Llopis, who will be a featured panelist at the Hispanic Radio Conference in San Diego, California on March 10th, which coincides with the release of GLG’s latest research. “We also have to acknowledge the growing pains, or ‘tension points’ between the community and major industries in the U.S. Hispanics expect companies they do business with to understand and address their unique and diverse needs, and research indicates common themes across industries looking to build relationships with Hispanic consumers. Many of these themes tie into the growing prevalence of social media, mobile solutions, big data, and interactive technology – and the spotlight all of these developments put on the importance of relationship building.”
Based on GLG’s proven track record consulting with Fortune 500 companies on business strategy and human capital development, the objective now with corporations is to help them capitalize on the growing Hispanic market by improving their relationships and communication with Hispanic consumers in order to influence their buying behaviors online, and leave a targeted value impression that creates customer conversions. “Increasing conversions means building brand loyalty and bolstering the Hispanic community with reassurances that their needs are being understood and addressed,” says Marisa Salcines, GLG Vice President of Business Development and Media Relations, who heads up the firm’s communications service offerings. “Because research shows that the Hispanic consumer in particular is influenced by value-added impressions that target them specifically, this can be achieved by adding a targeted Hispanic value-added message and impression, for example, to an existing web page in order to establish an association between a company, their products or services, and the Hispanic community.”
From a psychological and behavioral perspective, Hispanics are also one of the most optimistic groups: most believe the struggling economy has hit them the hardest, yet conversely, they have the highest hopes for the future. According to a Pew Research survey conducted in January 2012, two-thirds of Hispanics expected to improve their financial status that year, while just over half could say the same in the general population. “Their optimism is tempered with a good deal of skepticism, however,” explains Llopis. “Ideas such as financial planning and insurance coverage can be foreign concepts to those from families or home countries where it was not common. The institutions that offer these services are just beginning to broach this skepticism by getting past their own preconceived notions to truly understand the Hispanic consumer.”
However, this growth is not confined just to the Hispanic consumer either. According to Forbes article, the recovery is being spearheaded by Latino – and Latina – business owners and suppliers. These businesses are growing at twice the national average. Over the last measured five-year period, Latino-owned business revenue grew 55 percent and reached nearly $350 billion. Such businesses, with their built-in connection to the Hispanic consumer, are serious competition to many industries looking for a toehold into the market. “By recognizing them as more than competitors – for example, by partnering with Latino business owners and forging relationships with Latino suppliers – corporations will be building an important base from which to develop their cultural intelligence,” adds Llopis, whose firm offer such services keynotes, executive coaching, and leadership retreats as well as content marketing and communications.
Whatever the industry, the common themes, which are further detailed in the forthcoming GLG whitepaper, with regards to the Hispanic community include:
- The Hispanic community is underrepresented (in the media), “unbanked” (in finance), and underserved by all industries.
- Companies need to do a better job of reaching out to the Hispanic community, targeting them with culturally-appropriate messages and language, providing education, showing care for the community beyond just selling to them, and understanding their diversity (i.e., not treating them as a single bloc of consumers).
- Hispanic consumers are fast and furious adopters of new technology, providing myriad opportunities to reach them online, via mobile devices, and through social media.
- Companies must get past preconceptions about the Hispanic consumer; those who strategize now to understand and capture this large and fast-growing market will be gaining a huge competitive advantage.
Adds Llopis, “The important take-away fact to remember is: success will come to those who embrace the immigrant perspective. Companies must not force the Hispanic consumer to see through their lens, but rather, they must adapt and seize new opportunities by looking through the lens of the Hispanic consumer.”
About Glenn Llopis Group
The Glenn Llopis Group(GLG) is a nationally-recognized thought-leadership, human capital, and business strategy consulting firm whose product and service offerings for Fortune 500 clients as well as entrepreneurs include leadership and talent development, cultural intelligence competency, content marketing, communications, business strategy and modeling, and workplace culture transformation
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