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Defining the so-called 'Latin market'

Businesses in the United States - including many in the ATM industry - are focusing a great deal of attention trying to attract what they consider the Latin market. But assuming that everyone with an Hispanic-sounding last name will fit into the same category for marketing purposes can be a costly mistake.

September 19, 2005

Jorge Fernandez

Perhaps you started reading this article wondering what it had to do with the ATM business; perhaps you thought I was going to describe the Latin market as it refers to countries south of Texas.

I am writing this in an attempt to correct something - at least within our industry - that has been a pet peeve of mine for quite some time: assuming that everyone with a Spanish-sounding last name fits into the same category of consumer.

It seems that catering to the "Latin market" has become fashionable in the United States these days. After all, with 41 million "Hispanics" estimated to live in the country, it sounds like an appetizing market to go after. 

It makes me wonder who is defining the "Latin market," and how are they doing it?

And why does it need such a special distinction? I don't see these same marketers going after the Italian, French, Russian, Irish or other ethnic groups in the same fashion.

Also, how these marketers qualify the Latin market is another source of confusion for me. But in the end, how we pursue market segments and the marketing message we have in our sales and marketing campaigns directly correlates with how the markets perceive us and what level of success we have within them.

Don't take the easy way out

Most marketers follow the approach of the easy way out: If it sounds like a Spanish name, it must be the Latin market. Unfortunately, that is how 99.9 percent of companies, including ones in our industry, decide how to approach leads. But I am here to tell you, oh how wrong you are.

Here are a few examples and anecdotes that show how one should not judge a book by its cover.

I have been in the ATM business since 1998; and since 2000, I have had my company registered by the Florida Department of Revenue as being in the "ATM business."

That designation, however, seems to have little impact on some ISOs who often try to sell me an ATM. One company in particular puzzles me. I won't give out any names, of course; let's just call them "a leading national ATM distributor."  The company has me on their target list, and of course, since my name is Latin/Hispanic, I must therefore qualify as a "Hispanic" target.

So I get calls from telemarketers from this company using very unusual Spanish terms and language that is obviously not from a native Hispanic person.

At the end, I answer in English - often hearing the shock on the other side of the phone ("Oh my God, he lives in Miami, has a Spanish-sounding name and speaks English, quick, what do I do?") - but they still continue to try to sell me an ATM in Spanish.

Know your target

I am not making fun of these folks - God knows their job is hard these days and I love people that try to communicate with others in different languages. So, "A" for effort, but if I was in the market for an ATM, this would not be the company I would buy it from.

Why? Because they never bothered to understand my true needs, they pigeon-holed me into a market just because of my name and tried to sell me using folks that did not really speak my language. Point No. 1: know your target market.

I am 44 years old, I left Cuba when I was 9 and have lived in this country for the last 31 years. I am a U.S. citizen and feel perfectly comfortable speaking either English or Spanish. On the other hand, my wife is 42, she came to the U.S. when she was 5 and while she does speak Spanish, she feels more comfortable speaking English. I have two kids; both were borne in the U.S. At home, we speak 95 percent in English; we do not consume so-called "Hispanic" media or most of the other products that have become fashionable to pitch to Hispanics.

However, because of my last name, I get lots of junk mail for products I do not consume and for which I am a good target. Back in the days of telemarketers, we hardly ever got anyone to call us in English; all the calls were in Spanish. Now, given our background, would we qualify as a "Hispanic" target market? I would say not.

On the other hand, I have a very good friend of mine whose name is Michael Newport-Jones. He came to the U.S. a few months ago and hardly speaks any English. He is a better Hispanic target than my household, yet everyone assumes he is not Hispanic. Point No. 2: Do not judge a book by its cover.

Ever since I set foot in the U.S., people never have been able to pigeon-hole me as far as ethnicity is concerned. I wish I had a nickel every time I have been told "you don't look Cuban." This has prompted me to ask, "what does a Cuban look like?"

After all, am I supposed to look like Desi Arnaz, Livan Hernandez, Luis Tiant, Tom Harper, Lyle Elias, Jose Canseco, Rafael Palmeiro or Andy Garcia. (Yes, all of these folks are of Cuban descent. Shocked?) Point No. 3: Don't assume.

Growing up in the New York City area, I always wondered why a lot of my Italian friends hardly knew how to speak Italian. Now that I am getting older and see the new generations of Hispanics being born, I understand better. My kids' generation will know a lot less Spanish than my generation; their kids will most likely speak very little. It's the law, it seems, that the native language begins to fade.

Look before you jump

I know many folks in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston and San Antonio, Texas, with Hispanic last names that don't speak a word of Spanish. Their parents or grandparents came to the U.S. a long time ago. Should they be considered the Hispanic market? Hardly. Point No. 4: Look before you jump.

The point of all of this is that in the euphoria of capturing the Hispanic market, many companies forget to do the most basic aspects of marketing and research. In not doing so, they waste a lot of marketing dollars in the wrong demographic and worse, risk alienating their true customers.

So what is the answer? The true answer is somewhat complicated and it depends on what you are selling and how you are selling it. Don't assume that because someone has a Spanish last name that they do not speak English, and that they automatically fit into a Hispanic market. I, for one, do not fit the global description of the Hispanic market and neither do millions of other people in my situation. There are many generations of Hispanics in the U.S., the longer one has been in this country, the more "Americanized" one becomes. That is the case for my wife, myself, and virtually all of my generation.

In conclusion, do your research before you decide to do a Hispanic market campaign, decide what your product is and why that person really needs it. I do not need money transfer services or prepaid cards, but my mailbox constantly is stuffed with offers for those products. Similarly, I do not read the Spanish version of the local newspaper, but I constantly get calls to subscribe. I do not watch Spanish language television, but I get lots of calls on the subject from research companies .

As you decide what is a Hispanic market, ask yourself if Italians, Irish, British or American folks would use it just the same.

Most American companies make the mistake of assuming that all Latin American countries fit into a single homogenous market with identical likes and dislikes. That is a huge mistake. Just as one would not assume that all countries in Europe have the same taste, the same thing can be said of Latin America. While the countries do share a similar language and similar heritage, that is where the similarities end in most instances. Mexicans think very differently from Argentineans who think very differently from Brazilians. Trying to sell a generic "Hispanic" product is one of the biggest marketing mistakes I see these days.

About the author: Jorge Fernandez is president of Level Four Americas LLC, a global supplier of ATM simulation and emulation tools. Prior to his work with Level Four, Fernandez founded Miami-based Capture Systems LLC, a company that pioneered the concept of off-premise ATMs throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Fernandez also has served in senior level management positions for Verifone, Ingenico, eFunds and Triton. He has an MBA from the University of Miami and was the winner of the 2002 Best Practices award from ATMIA.