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Episode 25 – Roots and Riches: How Understanding Culture is the Key to Your Success

In this episode, we'll talk about how you can take advantage of blending culture and business.

Today’s guest is Stacie De Armas, a first-generation Cubana who lives in Los Angeles and currently works for Nielsen. While we often associate Nielsen Global with media and viewer interactions, they also conduct social and economic research and that's Stacie’s area of expertise.

2020 Trends for Businesses

One very simple, but powerful, statistic is blowing everyone’s minds: The Changing Demographics of America.

Let’s talk about good old Mean, Median and Mode. For the US Hispanic community, the median age is 28. On the other hand, the median age for non-Hispanic whites is 44. This means that the next 10 years, which are considered to be the big acquisition years for the 20-somethings of today, are going to be populated largely by Latinos, Asians and African Americans. Whether it's home purchases or cars, the new group coming into this space will demand the attention of brands as the shift in their ages and lifestyles occurs.

According to NAHREP, Latinos are the fastest-growing population of first time home buyers as well.

What does this mean for your business? Talk about the opportunities for your business to grow and where that's coming from. At this point, we can see that the steps you choose in the context of Hispanic marketing will matter.

Collectivist Culture: Traditions hold, and they are now married with Technology

A collectivist culture is one that's based on valuing the needs of a group or a community over the individual. The roots of the Latin community remain strong despite the individualistic culture in the US. In essence, they continue to value the interest of their peers and use the same communication and business channels that their community uses.

What does this mean for your business? The Latin culture is strong and is not about to melt away into the fabric of the American culture. It’s not just about marketing to them and making them want your products or services, you have to understand what makes them tick.

Be knowledgeable of places online where the Hispanic community converges. These are your best target locations. They think highly of products that provide value -- products that provide a direct answer to their needs. And these products must come from companies that are engaging and meaningful to them.

And that is why Latino entrepreneurs are now growing at faster rates. As Stacy says, “I really mean this, I say your business does well, because of who you are. And I don't mean, who YOU are, it's who you are CULTURALLY. You are naturally high touch, you are naturally engaging. That's a cultural predisposition, you can't take that away.”

What is the best piece of advice that you have ever been given or someone has told you?

My dad always says it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Whether it's an extra degree or an extra sweatshirt. Whether it's a pair of socks when you're going bowling. It’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it now. So whether this information comes to you at a time that you don’t need it, it could be handy for you in the future. And if it helps you now, well then all’s well that ends well.

Thanks for listening!

Links:
Twitter: theriahgonzalez
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IG: AdminPrestigePlus
Nielsen 2019 Latinx Report
Telemundo Latina 2019 Report

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