Mark Suarez is Managing Director of Mosaic Multicultural, a new full-service multicultural marketing agency working in partnership with The Lavidge Company. Mosaic provides multicultural advertising, interactive, public relations and marketing services. Recently, Mosaic was named the agency of record for the Phoenix McDonald’s Hispanic business. Here are five things Suarez says you should know about doing business with the Latino marketplace:

  1. You have to connect with us through both culture and language. Language doesn’t always mean in Spanish either. More than half of Latinos in Phoenix speak some English, while only 35 percent are Spanish dominant. Therefore, an approach in both English and Spanish, with culturally relevant strategies and creative would be an effective way to reach our market. We live, work and play in two different worlds most of the time. Take the time to understand us. Invest in bi-lingual collateral and employees.
  2. Consistency is key. When talking to the Latino, or any multicultural market, you must be consistent. Brands that invest in us are rewarded with our business. However, it’s an ongoing process and not a launch and leave relationship. It takes time to build a relationship with us. We want to genuinely get to know and trust you and your brand before we reward you with our business. We also need to be engaged consistently just as you do with the general market consumer, especially since in Arizona we will be the general market very soon.
  3. Community is king. Engage us in our communities through events and our passion points. We are passionate about our families, values, sports, communities and brands, which are not completely different from other’s core values and passions. We are involved in our community and look out for each other. We might bring our entire family to your business for a single purchase. Don’t be alarmed by this as we are just sharing our life with the people closest to us. Even the smallest purchases are discussed with family and friends.
  4. Latinos are not all the same. We are a very diverse group with many colors, income levels, educational levels, social levels, etc. We don’t spend our time trying to “acculturate” to the traditional American culture. Instead, we are shaping American culture into the future, especially here in Arizona. We appreciate businesses that understand our diversity and embrace it.
  5. We have money and we spend lots of it on products and services that are important to us. Our purchasing power in Arizona alone is more than $40 billion and will be $50 billion by late 2014. This consumer revenue is up for the taking, market smartly and you’ll share in the billions.