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“The heart of great customer service is great communication.” Micah Solomon, Contributor, Forbes
The US Spanish-speaking population is growing, increasing in its purchasing power and becoming more demanding. In fact, The Hispanic population is projected to increase from 55 million in 2014 to 119 million in 2060, an increase of 115 percent. Many big brands and retailers have made great strides catering to this market for the last 10-15 years and marketers and advertisers see it as a no-brainer that a different strategy should be created. Any company wanting to establish a brand story and emotional connection with their products, ensuring those groups feel represented in the messaging is extremely important.
The same tailored approach applies to great customer service as well. The more understood a customer feels, the greater their customer experience. Great empathy and understanding is the key to great service, and sharing cultural understanding and a common first language, can be a major differentiator between you and your competitors when it comes to your US Spanish speaking customer base.
Are you giving them the support they need?
According to information from the Cervantes Institute, Spanish is the second most spoken language in the US, and there are more than 45 million people that have Spanish as their first, second or heritage language, making the US the third-largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. And the number is growing. Data from the US census shows the amount of people speaking Spanish as the primary language at home has more than doubled from just 20 years before.
In 2015, US Hispanic purchasing power reached US$1.3 trillion, according the Selig Center for Economic Growth, surging 167% from 2000, and is expected to hit US$1.7 trillion by 2020. US census figures demonstrate that fully half of the 2010-2015 US population growth came from Latinos, with projections for the Hispanic population to more than double in the next two generations.
According to Deloitte’s 2017 Global Contact Center Survey, 85% of organizations anticipate customer service interactions will become more complex in the next 2 years. This is due to the increased prevalence of automation with bots and self-serve technology. Today, if a customer has reached an agent with a problem, it is generally not an easy fix, such as resetting a password. So, what does this mean for a growing Hispanic population in the US? As you’re trying to communicate and create positive experiences while delivering comprehensive, empathetic support, are you sure you’ve considered their cultural viewpoints and perspectives as part of your overall customer experience strategies? Creating an inclusive customer experience is integral to business growth.
Read on to part 2 and part 3 of this series to learn more about Prestige Call Center in the coming days and how it is uniquely qualified to support Spanish speakers in the United States and contribute to the bottom line through improved customer experience.