There has been a steady increase over the past few decades in the number of United States residents who speak a language other than English. A 2010 United States Census brief revealed compelling statistics:

• The Latino population increased by 15.2 million between 2000 and 2010.
• Latinos accounted for more than half of the total United States population increase of 27.3 million during this time period.
• The Hispanic population grew by 43% in these ten years – four times the nation’s 9.7% growth rate.

These following statistics are a strong indication that a significant percentage of your current and future customer base is likely Latino.

• Latino consumers living in the United States account for $27.9 billion in registered new vehicle transactions.
• More than 35% of Hispanic car shoppers find in-app mobile ads persuasive.
• Latinos are 50% more likely to buy a luxury car as their first vehicle.

Customers Appreciate Comfort And Familiarity

Regardless of the language spoken, people feel more comfortable doing business in their native language. They can rest assured that they know exactly what is conveyed. This sense of comfort gives them confidence that is critical when it comes to making a major investment like a new car or approving expensive repairs on their current vehicle.

Further improving customers’ comfort level is familiarity with their culture and customs. When customers feel like employees at your dealership understand where they come from and their values, they will be more likely to return again and again.

Interactions Go Smoothly

Exchanges with customers will go more smoothly when they can continue with the original employee instead of pausing to find an employee that can speak some halting Spanish. If at least one or two of your sales and service staff already know Spanish, interactions can take place without time-consuming interruptions. It is much more convenient for both your dealership and customers.

Easy Access To Spanish Communications

Fortunately, there is a way you can make communicating with Spanish-speaking customers convenient and easy for them – even if you do not yet have any employees who know Spanish. TEXT2DRIVE™, a full-featured texting communications platform, is now available in Spanish. The features were designed to streamline communication between Spanish-speaking customers and your dealership.

Automated text messages carry out important service and sales functions including thanking customers for purchasing their vehicle, alerting customers their vehicle is due for service, reminding customers they have an upcoming appointment, asking customers to complete a customer satisfaction index survey and offering customers the chance to pay their bill online.

Safety recall alerts let customers know you care and give you an opportunity to generate additional service revenue. INTERACT™ suite of features on the Spanish version of your website encourage customers to contact your service staff and redeem special offers by getting them sent to their phone.

This is particularly important because nearly half of the website traffic to Spanish-language automotive websites is organic. What does this mean to your dealership? Hispanic consumers take the initiative to do research on various brands and they will appreciate a website that makes it easy to find the information they seek. Additionally, nearly four in 10 Latinos prefer to read online and offline content in “all Spanish” or “mostly Spanish,” further proving the importance of a Spanish website.

Customers can text the stock number of a sale vehicle to a provided number and receive engaging information about it in return. All of the information you need to spark their interest is easily accessible on their phone.

These are just some of the features available in Spanish that you can leverage to improve customer retention and increase revenue.

Engage Spanish-Speaking Car Owners & Buyers