The why & how of reaching the Hispanic marketplace

At this year’s CU Members Mortgage National Lending Conference in Dallas (March 2-3, 2015), we had the privilege of addressing the importance of the Hispanic market and the business opportunities within this growing population. In this session, we reviewed the trends behind this flourishing audience and were reminded once again why this growing segment deserves a strong focus regardless of where your credit union is located. Check out these quick facts:

• Of the 17 million new households formed between 2010 and 2025, 13 million or 74% will be from diverse market segments (40% which is specifically Hispanic).
• Nearly 2 in 5 Millennials are Hispanic, amounting to approximately 18 million Americans.
• By 2020, 50% of all new homebuyers will be Hispanic
• States with the fastest growing Hispanic population are Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Dakota, Arkansas, North Carolina, Mississippi, Maryland, and Georgia.

It’s easy to see the need in reaching out to this diverse market segment, but what does this market look like.

• 61% of Hispanic households consist of a married couple with children younger than 18.
• Hispanics are looking to move into urban and rural areas, revitalizing distressed areas, and rejuvenating neighborhoods.
• They are great with technology with heavy use of mobile devices.
• While the median household income is $40,400, 22% of Hispanic households earn $75,000 annually.
• Bilingual, educated, and maintain close ethnic ties.
• Self-employed and often do seasonal work.
• Non-permanent residencies with non-traditional income sources.
• Thin credit files with multiple co-borrowers.

This session then addressed how to reach this market segment. Developing a loyal Hispanic member includes these important factors:

• They communicate seamlessly in Spanish and English and therefore it’s not necessary to have a complete website in Spanish. However, do communicate to them in both languages.
• Women are the primary decision makers and are very family-oriented. Spend the first few minutes of your meeting getting to know them. Developing a relationship is key to building their loyalty.
• They are heavy social media users and interact widely in these networks. Optimize your reach with mobile viewing and social media interaction.
• Hispanic consumers don’t want to be sold to, but they want to connect with brands that embrace their culture.
• They are not driven by loan product or price, but make decisions based on their trusted advisors. Just adding “Se Habla Español” is not enough.

If you haven’t included the Hispanic market segment as a significant portion of your home loan marketing, consider that more than 50% of new homebuyers will be Hispanic by 2020. You can’t afford not to make them a priority.

What is your credit union doing to attract and garner new mortgage lending business within the Hispanic community today?

Statistical information provided by Nelson Ramos, Account Executive with Radian, are a sample of the data collected by the US Census, Agua Hispanic Marketing, Joint Center for Housing at Harvard, and Experian Marketing Services.