Commentary

Hispanic Email Marketing

by daniel.c , Melinda Krueger , January 8, 2008

Dear Email Diva,

Have you seen a lot of retailers doing Hispanic email marketing? Do they also have Spanish-translated Web sites? Any tips and best practices for marketing to this segment online? Any statistics for this segment as well? (Average HHI, market size, etc.)

Jenny

Dear Jenny,

You are wise to be thinking about how best to reach the Hispanic population. It is the largest and fastest growing minority in the U.S., and, according to a recent Marketing Dailyarticle by Tanya Irwin, more receptive to email marketing.

Here are some quick stats. As the Email Diva learned at a highly entertaining presentation by Geoff Ramsey of eMarketer (hear him speak if ever you have the opportunity), market stats will vary greatly depending on the source, but these will give you a legitimate sense of the Hispanic online community.

Size: 16.5 million (37% of total population)

o U.S. overall: 75%¹

Growth rate (new users coming online): 12% per year

o US overall: 1% per year¹

Median income: $40,000¹

Hours spent online: 9.2/week

o US overall: 8.5/week²

Welcome email from companies they know: 11 x/month

o Non-Hispanics: 7.4 x/month)²

Language preference:

o 21% Spanish dominant
o 27% Bilingual
o 52% English dominant¹

¹ComScore Media Metrix, as reported by Lee Vann of CapturaGroup

² Mintel Comperemedia, as reported by Tanya Irwin for Marketing Daily

According to Lee Vann, founder and CEO of CapturaGroup [Best Buy is one of the few major retailers with a fully functioning transactional Spanish language site. According to my focus-group-of-one Argentine neighbor, many sites have a Spanish language option, but it is frequently a watered-down, poorly translated version of the English site. Bilingual site visitors frequently compare the two and use the English language site to get the better content. Most would prefer, however, to read in their native language, so the inferior site has a negative impact on the user experience.

Beware of online translators. While they are very useful for decoding a phrase or two, they cannot be relied on for a real translation. "You are better off not translating your site at all than doing a word-for-word translation of English into Spanish," says Vann. Says my neighbor, "The result is ridiculous."

Beyond language translation, one needs to understand the cultural differences and preferences of the population. According to a study done by CapturaGroup and Idiom, Connecting With the US Hispanic Market Online, the attachment to their native culture is much stronger for U.S. Hispanics than it was for previous waves of immigrants, making us more a tossed salad than a melting pot. Look to this great white paper for more ideas, but as Vann sums it up: "Know your audience, do your research and be strategic."

There is a large and rapidly growing population that is spending more time online, is more receptive to email and untapped by your competitors.

¡Buena Suerte!

The Email Diva

Send your questions or submit your email for critique to Melinda Krueger, the Email Diva, at emaildiva@kd-i.com. All submissions may be published; please indicate if you would like your name or company name withheld.

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