Marketing to Latinos: What Are You Missing? – Part 2
In this second part of our Marketing to Latinos article, we explore additional missing links to maximizing your outreach to the Latino consumer.
By Jodean Robbins
With an estimated current population of more than 46.9 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and controlling more than $978 billion of spending power, according to the University of Georgia, Latinos represent a significant and growing market segment. Their propensity to prioritize perishables, especially fresh fruits and vegetables, makes them an ideal customer for the produce industry.
Am I Communicating Effectively?
Effective communication is vital to a successful Latino marketing strategy. The produce floor is the first and perhaps most important contact point. “Well-trained staff who are equipped to provide optimum service for the Hispanic shopper is essential,” says Emily Fragoso, marketing manager with Coast Produce Co. Inc., headquartered in Los Angeles, CA. “A key to Hispanic marketing is creating a fun experience for the shopper.”
“Produce presents opportunity because a customer can still walk into the department, find the produce manager and ask them to bring something in for you,” points out Jaime Leon, marketing manager for Frieda’s Inc., located in Los Alamitos, CA. “At larger stores, Latino customers may not feel comfortable approaching the produce manager, so the onus is on the produce manager to better know the market and to encourage interaction from their customers by having someone on staff that speaks the language.”
Comfortable communication may mean the difference between keeping and losing a customer. “Bilingual staff not only encourages sales, but also encourages feedback,” says Dick Spezzano, president of Spezzano Consulting Service Inc., located in Monrovia, CA. “If the customer feels alienated from employees, they will not interact with them, and eventually, you’ll lose that customer.”
“Latino customers are not as vocal as Anglo customers when outside of their comfort zone,” explains Alfonso Cano, produce director for Northgate Market, a 30-store chain based in Anaheim, CA. “Therefore, an unhappy Latino customer may never let you know. That may be the main determining factor for their reason to shop at a certain store. If they do not feel comfortable or confident to ask a question, or even complain, then they will just never come back. You don’t necessarily have to speak the language, but a positive attitude will make them feel valuable. It’s the opposite in our stores. I always tell my crew that the Anglos, Middle Eastern and Asian customers are the ones we should focus on when we have them in our store in order to keep them coming back. Our Latino customers can shop in our store with their eyes closed.”
“It is very important for Hispanics to feel comfortable at retail,” adds Marion Tabard, marketing director for Turbana Corp., headquartered in Coral Gables, FL. “They like to have information about the products they shop and also what they can do with them after the purchase. For stores with high numbers of Hispanic households, advertising in Spanish through local radio stations, cable TV or by targeted flyers can have a tremendous impact. We also recommend retailers to sample products, thus giving ideas of menus and recipes that consumers may try at home.”
Successful Latino marketers put heavy emphasis on providing a variety of communication mediums in-store. “Interaction at the store level is so important,” says Maria Brous, director of media and community relations for Publix Super Markets Inc., in Lakeland, FL, with 1,000-plus stores, including four Publix Sabor stores and an additional one opening soon. “It’s the point where the opportunity to really understand occurs and we encourage customer communication with us in many ways. We have Customer Voice cards, where customers can place a survey in a box. We also have a Consumer Relations email on the web so they can email us questions. We also have an 800-number for them to call, and we ask our store managers for feedback.”
“The MBWA, or Management-By-Walking-Around, strategy is very important,” adds Veronica Kraushaar, president of VIVA Global Marketing, LLC, in Nogales, AZ. “Latinos can be a bit hesitant to answer surveys, and their nature is to try to please the surveyor, so you may never get the true answer. We have found little surveys where they are asked to vote for their favorite product, or variety of item, and put the answer slip in a box -- meaning its private -- works well.”
Bilingual marketing and POS materials send a message of being valued to the Latino customer. “Bilingual signage is one of the most important elements of merchandising that appeal to all Latinos,” remarks Tabard. “Having precisely the products they are looking for and bilingual signage information says to them that they are welcome in that store and appreciated.”
“We create and use recipe cards to reach out both to the Latino customers as well as our mainstream customers,” reports Brous. “All of our materials are in English and Spanish and some are also translated into Creole. These languages represent the heavy concentration in our markets.”
“When you see a Latino shopper in a non-ethnic store you want to over-communicate your desire to serve their needs,” advises Cano. “They may feel under represented and if you take the offensive you can create momentum. Our company was built by a loyal word of mouth.”
Am I Value Focused?
The Latino customer tends to focus on value as well as selection of products. “Value is a major driver for the Hispanic,” says Spezzano. “This doesn’t mean a cheap price, but rather having good quality at a good price.”
“Retailers should understand that the days of cheap prices due to marginal quality are over,” adds Northgate’s Cano. “When customers come to one of our stores and buy the same item with little or no variance in size, smell, taste, at a lesser price, then we know that we are buying right. Our customers are not really price shoppers, but loyal due to the fact that we are consistent in our direction to serve them.”
“The Hispanic shopper looks for quality and price,” agrees Mary Ostlund, director of marketing for Homestead, FL-based Brooks Tropicals LLC. “Without the right product in your store, they will shop elsewhere. If they can get quality and price at the second store, you may lose the entire produce purchase.”
The Latino is looking for the entire equation when shopping for produce. “The Latino consumer concentrates on freshness, bulk packing, pricing and availability more than anything else,” says Robert Schueller, director of public relations for Melissa's World Variety Produce Inc., in Los Angeles, CA.
Offering additional grades still meeting basic quality requirements is another strategy some retailers are implementing. “Having value may mean you have a two-tier program in some items,” suggests Spezzano of Spezzano Consulting. “By offering different grades of certain products you’re giving customers greater choice. It may not be easy, but it is do-able.”
Am I Seeing The Entire Potential?
Latino-focused marketing may also have a cross-over effect with non-Hispanic customers. “You’re not only marketing to Hispanic customers, but you’re marketing to all your customers,” Publix’s Brous points out. “Many of our customers have palates for cuisine from all around the world. You have an opportunity to build on this and make it much larger than just a Latino focus.”
“The general market consumer is becoming aware of the changes in demographics throughout the United States and they understand the reality of bilingual marketing,” explains Frieda’s Leon. “It’s not one extreme or the other; it’s a happy medium, and certain Hispanic products are gaining popularity with the general market consumer.”
Increasing general Hispanic cultural influence and the popularity of television cooking has fueled interest in Latino foods. Sonderup explains, “Thanks to the Food Network and celebrity chefs such as Rick Bayless, Bobby Flay and Ingrid Hoffman, savvy general market consumers who enjoy preparing ethnic dishes have molcajetes and cazuelas in their kitchen and are searching for convenient sources for authentic Latino food ingredients.”
“Think Cinco de Mayo; think Chinese New Year. These are two marketing events that cross cultural lines effortlessly,” notes Ostlund. “With the North American palate having expanded over the last decade to include more tropical and exotic produce in their diets, this should be more of an opportunity than a concern.”
Integrating Latino products throughout the department and store provide benefits for all shoppers. “An integration of products throughout the produce department is helpful to both Latinos and non-Latino customers,” asserts Schueller. “Marketing to both consumers at the same time through integration of products and the offering of both Spanish and English POP materials will help encourage all consumer groups to buy. Also packing innovations, such as our product line offering full information about storage, recipes and other information, can help cross-over sales.”
“The majority of our stores have the Latino products intertwined with the regular line,” explains Brous. “Some of our stores, depending on the customer base, may still have an ethnic section, but the trend is to integrate the products. It’s also how customers normally shop. It makes it easier for them.”
Retailers concerned about upsetting a non-Hispanic customer base are advised to analyze their future market demographic and make decisions based on it. “A savvy retailer should be looking at the changes in their marketing area,” advises Spezzano. “If the Hispanic population five years ago was 18 percent and today it is 26, then I guarantee you in five more years it’s going to be 36. You have to look at it from an ‘intelligent loss of sales’ perspective. Even if you irritate a hard-line English-only Anglo customer who refuses to shop in your store because you have signage in Spanish, your appeal to the population will get you two customers for the one lost. And, even if it’s only one-for-one, Latinos spend so much more money on perishables and food in general, it will still be a win.”
Am I Totally Utilizing My Suppliers?
Suppliers represent a wealth of support and Latino-specific information for retailers. “You can get a lot of the information from your traditional suppliers on the Latino market,” says Brous.
“Count on your suppliers,” states Frieda’s Leon. “Even if you’re new to this demographic, chances are, your suppliers are not. We see ourselves as a partner with the retailers we work with. If they’re going to be successful, we’re going to be successful.”
Many suppliers conduct their own demographic research for their products and share this information with retailer customers. “We research demographics for each different and diverse area,” explains Coast’s Fragoso. “This helps us cater to specific retail locations and the many subgroups that exist within this ethnic group.”
“We provide customers with demographic information on their marketplace on both Hispanic and other ethnic communities to help them understand what a product selection might be,” says Frieda’s Leon. “We also advise them and provide them with products complementing the rest of their produce department.”
Many suppliers have decades of experience in working with this market and their products. “Retailers can really benefit from category management with companies like Melissa's Produce who specialize and were founded on this category of product over the last 25 years,” states Schueller.
“Because of our long history of serving this segment, we are able to tailor displays reflecting the target demographics’ needs and tendencies,” says Fragoso. “Coast has the ability to customize in-store presentations, creating effective promotions that drive sales. The sweet spot in ethnic marketing lies at the intersection of relevant product mix, creative merchandising and a sensitivity to cultural habits.”
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