Sometimes when I approach decision makers about the opportunity to reach out to Hispanics they tell me, “Well, I would like to but I am not there yet.” So I ask them, why do you feel that way?
Ninety-nine percent of the time the answer is: “I will have to convert everything into Spanish, produce new materials, and hire bilingual people in the company. So, instead of an opportunity I see it as a big hurdle right now. I would much rather keep doing the same because I feel safe and secure.” So, I think, believing that you can’t change encourages you to accept your weaknesses. But these weaknesses can turn into strengths if you are willing to learn.
During my career, I have come to the conclusion that for some people common sense is not common anymore. One of the legendary gurus in Marketing, Mr. Philip Kotler says that in order to grow your business, you need to expand to new markets. This expansion doesn’t mean that it has to be done in 24 hours, one week or in one month. The idea is that you will gradually implement it into your business model. Learn from it, make adjustments, embrace it and stick to it. However, you have to have a starting point somewhere.
As we all know, sometimes people refuse to change to something new. They are afraid of things that keep them away from the ordinary, the famous ‘daily routine’. Now, if you want your company to be successful, you need to be flexible to adapt, rather than changing the way you are doing business. This is where some corporate America businesses fall short when reaching out to minority groups. The market is getting more fragmented because of the way the economy is at this time and also because our society is changing. Based on the latest census, it is estimated that by 2050, 50% of all consumers will speak Spanish. So those companies that have a plan in place to reach out to minorities are the ones who will succeed in time of crisis. A great example of this is McDonalds, Verizon, AT&T, General Mills, Toyota, Kraft and General Motors. They were considered to be within the top 10 Hispanic advertisers in 2011 according to an article from mediapost.com.
Now, you may tell yourself “Well, I do not have the budget these companies have to reach out to Hispanics.” It is completely understandable. But, what you do have is the same determination and starting point as they had many years ago to make their companies successful in the Hispanic community. They learned from it, made adjustments, embraced it and stuck to it. It is the simplest common sense formula in business.
Hernan Tagliani-President The Group Advertising
