Hispanic Marketing: 5 Facts About the U.S. Hispanic Population Every Entrepreneur Should Know

By Mario Xavier Carrasco

 As an entrepreneur that keeps track of the pulse of consumer demographics, I’m sure you have already heard the hype surrounding the Hispanic market. It was inescapable after the 2012 election results came out with Obama winning 71% of the Hispanic vote, arguably becoming one of the most important demographics in the election results.

So without furthering the hype, what does this mean for you as an entrepreneur? Derived from extensive Hispanic research panel studies and panel, check out these 5 facts that may make you rethink your next product or service offering:

1. Hispanics comprise 16% of the U.S. population

Fifty-two million is the estimated Hispanic population of the United States as of July 1, 2011, making people of Hispanic origin the nation’s largest ethnic or race minority, according to the Census Bureau.  So what does that mean to you as an entrepreneur? If your product or service is not “Hispanic-friendly,” you are losing a big piece of the pie. How big you ask?

2. Hispanic buying power is worth $1 trillion

The Hispanic population is expected to grow another 50% to $1.5 trillion in the next 5 years, according to a new Nielsen report. It also found that Latino households earning more than $50,000 are projected to grow at a faster rate than the total number of households.

I thought that number would grab your attention, but maybe you are still unimpressed because you are an entrepreneur that focuses on B2B sales; not B2C sales. The next figure may interest you, then.

3. Hispanic-owned business generated $350.7 billion in receipts

According to the American Immigration Council, “Latino-owned businesses had sales and receipts of $350.7 billion” in 2007. This is up 55.5% from 2002. So, B2B entrepreneurs, you can’t ignore the Hispanic market either. Are you an entrepreneur going after a younger market? You should be paying to the Hispanic population too — for the following reason.

4. 27-years-old was the median age of the Hispanic population in 2012

This compared with 36.9 years for the population as a whole.  So, if your product or service is going after a younger demographic, you better make sure you are thinking of the Hispanic population. If your product or service is going after an even younger demographic, you better listen up as well.

5. 26% percent of children younger than 5 are Hispanic

All in all, Hispanics comprise 22% of children younger than 18. Thinking of releasing the next slinky? Make sure you have the Hispanic population in mind.

Mario Xavier Carrasco is the co-Founder of ThinkNow Research, a full service Hispanic market research agency. He is an accomplished entrepreneur and a Hispanic market research expert. His blog has been featured on Huffington Post, Hispanic Business, and Quirks Market Research directory.

BY YFS SMALL BUSINESS CONTRIBUTORSIN GROW · MARKETING & SALES