Helping Dealers Reach Hispanic Car Buyers

NORFOLK, Va. - AutoMercado.com will be “Targeting Hispanic Car Buyers” in a seminar for Dallas/Ft. Worth area dealers on Thursday, May 2 in Arlington, TX.

AutoMercado.com launched in the spring of 2006 as the nation’s first fully translated Spanish-language autos website. In the past year, AutoMercado.com has been well positioned as the leader in Hispanic online automotive advertising.

The misconception that Hispanics are not online searching for their next vehicle is one of many pitfalls dealers fall into. Hispanics are in fact online and just like the general market, want to find a good vehicle at a fair price, from a dealer that will provide excellent service. The question becomes how to reach this growing (both in population and affluence) market.

The Hispanic market is unique to the general market, particularly online. The AutoMercado.com seminar will focus on helping dealers understand their local Hispanic market while breaking through the stereotypes.

According to Melissa Commons, General Manager for AutoMercado.com, “The generational status of online Hispanics ranges widely. Dealers have the opportunity to reach both Spanish-only speaking Hispanics and the bilingual, Spanish-preferred Hispanic through proper advertising.” Commons goes on to state, “Our research has shown that although almost half of our users are bilingual, over 75% of our total users prefer to research vehicles online and in Spanish.” Furthermore, the AutoMercado.com studies have shown that 60% of users will buy a vehicle from a dealer that does not have a Spanish-speaking sales rep, 22% stated they weren’t sure. “These figures are incredibly important. Dealers that may not be able to fulfill the language need but are making an effort by advertising on Hispanic/Spanish-language media will go a long way with the consumer.”

AutoMercado.com usability varies from market to market because of the complexity of the Hispanic consumer base. “The AutoMercado.com sales and support teams are experts in this industry. Translation is only one aspect of being effective in Hispanic advertising. We want to share our knowledge and build further trust in this community,” says Commons.