US Hispanic Market Size

How big is this market? – Are they going home any time soon?

Spanish Version - ¿Qué tan grande es este mercado? - ¿Cuándo se van a ir a sus países?

Many of us have heard how some uninformed people try to group every person who speaks Spanish and/or looks Hispanic, in a big pot called “The illegals”.  Well, the Spanish speaking market in the US is more than that.  It is made up of about 50 million people based on the PEW - 2010 Census, 39 million citizens and authorized residents, and 11 million unauthorized immigrants.  Three quarters of these 50 million have Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban roots.  The other quarter has roots in Latin America and Spain.  You mostly will find them in the southern and western states of California, Texas, and Florida. Next in line after Florida is New York, which exceeds by far any other northern state.  By 2050 this market will have reached the 130 million mark. So the next time you inadvertently hear the statement “they need to go back to wherever they came from”, Stop and Think … What does this person mean by this statement?  This is my market.  Most of these people were born here.  They are Americans.  They are not going anywhere.  This is home for them as much as it is for me.  Let’s embrace them and make them feel part of us.

Spanish speakers - Marketing

How to understand this market – Hispanics? Latinos? By country?

Spanish version - Hispanos / Latinos / por país - ¿Cómo podemos entender este mercado?

Every time someone asks me, Are you Latino?  Lots of things come to my mind, and then I ask myself: Are they asking me if I speak Spanish?  Are they asking me if I eat spicy food?  Are they asking about my origin?  What are they actually asking?

One might think, “Hey! Just answer yes or no and let the speaker decide by himself/herself”.  We’ll for us, people who come from Latin America, the Caribbean, or the Iberian Peninsula, this is not an easy question to answer.  As for many Americans when they are abroad, our homeland is closer to our heart when we are away from it.  In our minds the answer is always, “No.  I am not Latino/Hispanic. I am from Mexico, Spain, Brazil, Cuba, or any other country among the many located south of the US or the farthest southwest of Europe.”. Then what would be an easier and simpler question?  Voilà! Where are you from?  One might find a friendlier answer, possibly with extra information about the origin of the person.  The responder will be more willing to communicate with you if he/she feels you empathize with him/her.  We all know there is always a need for market segmentation as a show of respect for the differences within the target market.  Why would someone think that this market should be treated any differently?