As of the last census, there are 50.5 million Hispanics living in the United States and growing. Take that rate of growth and apply it to the Hispanic community’s fair market share of prescription and over the counter medications and you get billions of dollars in sales growth opportunity.
To tap into this growing market effectively, you need to reach the best avenue for communicating to this Community. In this case, young Latinas between the ages of 25 and 34 mark the healthcare marketer’s bulls eye.
Typically caring for her own children, parents and grandparents, she is in the middle place. Como una araña (spider) she connects it all.
She is young, acculturated and highly engaged in social networks but not the kind you think. Culturally she has been taught from birth to respect her abuella with frequent visits and have Sunday dinner with her tios and tias. She doesn’t use Facebook or Twitter to connect, she is already attached.
She is also likely insured either through an employer or a spouse and prefers to receive her healthcare information in English which she then translates for other generations of Spanish speaking relatives.
Does this mean marketers should scrap Spanish translation communications? On the contrary, communication may spin through her, but the influence comes from the top.
With a real life tight and highly influential social network, a Latina’s decisions are molded directly by the people for which she cares. If brands do not endear themselves to older generations or attempt to gain their trust, marketing efforts won’t stick.
In a survey conducted by Cultur Health, the Hispanic healthcare communications agency of vox collective and Cooney/Waters Group, 64% of Latinas (ages 25 to 34) claimed “family, friends and neighbors” were most influential in their decision to buy OTC health products. “Pharmacists” ranked next with 51% and only 21% declared “advertising” was influential.
A Latina’s web of communication is powerful and extensive. It twines and spreads across families and generations. Reach her in the middle while still respecting the outlying generations and healthcare marketers can effectively tap into a growing audience of potential customers.
Sherry Dineen