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May 15, 2006,
Phoenix, Arizona--
The US Census
Bureau records indicate that in 2004 the
US Hispanic population numbered
40,425,000. This can be compared to the
1994 census offering a US Hispanic
population total of 26,646,000. Many
view the census reports and conclude
that the American population is becoming
more diverse because the white, non-hispanic
ethnic category that has historically
represented the majority continuously
increases at a much slower rate than its
ethnic group counterparts so its percent
of the total population is lower each
year. Others who view the census reports
conclude that the American population is
not getting more diverse…it is getting
more Hispanic. The Hispanic population
is undoubtedly the fastest growing
ethnic category in the US. The explosion
of the US Hispanic population has
resulted in some big changes in the way
companies market their services and
products. The corporate response
continues to evolve as the Hispanic
population continues to expand to
represent a larger portion of target
consumers for Corporate America.
In 1990 the US
Census Bureau reported that 18.8 percent
of the Arizona population was Hispanic.
In the year 2000, just ten years later,
the Hispanic population in Arizona was
reported to be 25.3 percent. The percent
of the Phoenix area population that was
accounted for by Hispanics was 34% in
2000. Phoenix, AZ was ranked 6th
in the nation in percentage of Hispanics
in the total population. This is big
news to corporations attempting to reach
the largest number of consumers in their
area. The marketing strategies that are
employed change for different ethnic
groups and demographics. Phoenix based
companies and any company that depends
heavily on the Phoenix area consumer
pool has to learn to market to the
Hispanic consumer pool that continues to
grow each year. Many businesses are
recognizing not only the massive growth
in numbers, but the value of including
them in marketing strategies as
potential consumers. Companies are
beginning to realize that the Hispanic
consumer pool on average is achieving
higher rates of annual income; the
Hispanic consumer group is taking its
place in the Arizona economic market.
K. Hovnanian Homes Tucson recognizes the
strength of the Hispanic consumer group
and has implemented corporate policy to
support their decision to include the
large minority group in their efforts to
provide consumers with the service they
need when purchasing a new home. K.
Hovnanian Homes Tucson now offers to pay
for any employee to learn Spanish in an
effort to provide a sufficient amount of
Spanish speaking representatives to
resolve any needs by members of the
large, and ever growing, Hispanic group.
Many corporations based in the
Phoenix/Tucson area and other areas with
similar demographics are incorporating
programs to increase the recognition of
the Hispanic group as consumers in order
to assure continued success in areas
where the Hispanic population continues
to outgrow other ethnic groups.
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