To effectively target Hispanics, you should consider doing more than just carrying the "right" products and services. What's good for one Latino can be bad for another. You need to make sure to look into the cultural sensitivities of the group you are targeting. By developing culturally relevant materials, you'll not only help increase your Hispanic member base, but you'll also gain further trust with your current Hispanic membership.
Two key examples of Hispanic-related products are Quinceañera loans and remittances. Both meet financial needs of Hispanics, and both types of financial needs arise from cultural norms more commonly seen in Latin America.
Quinceañera The Quinceañera is a Hispanic celebration of a young woman's 15th birthday. This elaborate rite of passage is often as intricate and ornate as a wedding and calls upon significant financial commitments from the family and "padrinos" (godparents). One way a credit union could tailor their products is to repackage a secured or unsecured loan, or structure a savings product oriented toward the preparation for this event.
RemittancesTraditionally, the Hispanic community keeps their family ties extremely strong, regardless of distance. Therefore, remittances play a huge role in strengthening their family connection and also reveal a unique dynamic within many Latin American families - children playing a financial role.
In the U.S., it's common for a non-Hispanic, working-age son or daughter to seek independence from their family. However, in most Hispanic families, working-age children begin contributing financially to the family early on along with other family members.
For example, if a Hispanic man marries and has kids in the U.S., he will continue to support his entire extended family by sending money to relatives world-wide.
Acculturation
Hispanics believe it's most important to understand acculturation and how it pertains to your membership. There are differences and nuances among various Latin American nationalities, but there are more commonalities that can be drawn upon for marketing.
For instance, a Spanish-speaking 24-year-old from the Dominican Republic will have many of the same challenges, preferences and financial needs as a recently-arrived, Spanish-speaking Central American Hispanic.
However, a 24-year-old born in the U.S. with parents who emigrated from Latin America will have vastly different outlook and approach to the same services.
Both groups will benefit from word-of-mouth approaches, but the U.S.-born Latino is likely to receive recommendations from social media and online communities, while the Latin American-born Hispanic is likely to receive recommendations from his physical community and trusted advisors within the community.
This impacts not only the way you would communicate with each type of Latino, but also the type of testimonial stories you might use and the focus of the offer.
Therefore, while it is important to understand each location's composition in terms of national differences, language preference, and many other factors, the level of acculturation is arguably the most important to understand.
