Language, loyalty: Speaking Spanish can secure a customer for life

February 26, 2006
By Christine McManus

As some businesses in Northern Colorado are figuring out, doing business in Spanish is much more than just translating a few signs and documents.

Taking the extra time to be cordial, forming bonds through true sincerity, proven reliability and honesty are essential to doing business with bilingual and Spanish-speaking customers.

So says Northern Colorado business leader Edgar Sanchez — the newest board member at the Loveland Chamber of Commerce.

The 39-year-old owner of Spanish Communications Language Consultant Services not only grew up bilingual but also was raised bicultural.

“My intent is to be more than ‘The Spanish Guy’ on the board,” said Sanchez. “I bring more than that to the table, and I think I can serve the business community well.”

For many Hispanic customers, it’s all about solid relationships with businesses, from the bank officer to the hairdresser. Word-of-mouth is the main form of Hispanic referrals, especially when it comes to business relationships with mortgage lenders or attorneys, for example.

Once a bond is formed, people who speak Spanish will typically remain loyal to a business with great customer service over a business with lower prices, or with a more convenient location or hours. It’s part of Latino culture.

“It’s just not that easy (to do business in Spanish). There are folks out there who mean well, but it’s just not that easy,” Sanchez said. “To be successful, you can’t just have a few documents and signs translated. You need to have systems in place and good, full-time employees who can serve customers.”

Learning even basic Spanish can be helpful. But language alone is not nearly enough.

“I liken it to building houses; you don’t start with the second floor. Without a cultural foundation, your results will be weak,” said Sanchez. “Doing business in Spanish is so much more than learning the language. The cultural differences are vast.”

Sanchez and his three employees help people in Northern Colorado with interpreting and translation services. Cultural do’s and don’ts are included in Spanish classes for restaurant managers, construction bosses, cops and nurses.

A story is told of the cultural divide rearing its ugly head at a Christmas party in Northern Colorado. A well-intentioned boss tried to show his gratitude to one of his best employees by kissing her hand, in front of her boyfriend.

Her boyfriend, also Hispanic, was horrified at the sight. She quit later that week, and the boss probably never knew why.

“It was like watching a train wreck; I couldn’t stop it,” said Sanchez. “It was probably very hard for the couple. It cost him, but he was more willing to have her not work than wonder, ‘If this is what they do in my presence, then what happens when I’m not around during their work day?’ ”

More Spanish-speaking businesses are forming in Greeley. For more than a year, the Greeley Chamber of Commerce has focused on inviting Spanish speaking business owners to join, said Kathy Lopez, membership coordinator. Nearly three dozen of the chamber’s 800 members speak Spanish.

About 32 percent of the population in Greeley speaks Spanish, she said.

“Because of the growth in Weld County, you’re seeing a variety of Spanish businesses come in, all over town, not just on the north side anymore,” Lopez said. “And the businesses don’t always have Spanish in the title.”

But for English-speaking and Spanish-speaking businesses alike, there are significant untapped markets. Sanchez says Mexican-American business people also miss out on opportunities with non-Hispanics. The Greeley Chamber wants to serve them all with networking, business building, advertising specials and other membership benefits, said Lopez.

When Maria (Lupe) Barrientos-Hegan was recently assigned by American Family Insurance to an office at 3633 23rd Ave. in Evans, she had no idea of the market potential.

She now speaks Spanish with 50 percent of her customers who buy auto, home, life and health insurance.

“This area seriously needed (Spanish-speaking) service,” Barrientos-Hegan said. “I am honored to work with people and to find a good deal for them. To me, it is not just about selling a policy. They can call me on Saturday morning or 8:30 at night with a question about anything.”

Spanish-speaking customers often require explanations about insurance policy options or the importance of credit ratings.

Sanchez said an estimated 70 percent of Latinos do not have bank accounts. Though some may speak English also, it is more comfortable to hear about complicated financial decisions in one’s first language. Some banks in Northern Colorado have bilingual employees.

“Being bilingual is my job security,” Barrientos-Hegan said. “You almost really have to live it to understand it.”

Short of growing up in Latino culture, options exist for non-Hispanics. RE/MAX Alliance Loveland real estate agent Franci Wunderlich lived in Colombia from 1991-1996.

“I recently spoke (Spanish) with a client on the phone, and when he came into the office he said, ‘Are you the same girl I was speaking with on the phone?’” said Wunderlich, who is white. “I really enjoy working with the Spanish community, and I have a heart to serve them.”

People forget that there are investors who speak Spanish, in addition to immigrants, said Wunderlich.

For those who are willing to begin making an investment, Spanish language immersion programs have sprung up throughout towns in Latin America and Spain. Three to six hours a day of intensive, one-on-one tutoring and living with a local family cost about $150-$350 per week, depending on the program and location.

Interactions in business, as well as in the legal system, can be smoothed with certain phrases, said Sanchez.

“I suggest saying, ‘Hablo Espanol un poco. Habla Ingles?’” said Sanchez. “I’m also a huge advocate of always using Usted, the more formal word for ‘you’ to be polite and respectful.”

As customers, native Spanish speakers in the U.S. typically share a number of traits, Barrientos-Hegan said.

“We’re big consumers. We want a good deal and we want to be sure we aren’t being taken for a ride,” she said. “If we sense something is not appreciated, even just a little, we’ll continue to shop around.”

Spanish customers want to go to a place where they can chat with the owner or employees for a while and to relax. Businesses with Spanish words in the name are automatically favored.

“If we are looked down upon because we don’t speak the language, we will go elsewhere,” she said. “We are not fickle. You reward sincerity with complete support.”

Source: The Coloradoan