|
Multilingual staff can drive up auto sales
By Chris Woodyard, USA TODAY
EL MONTE, Calif. - A stroll through the Longo Toyota showroom on a busy afternoon is like eavesdropping at the United Nations.
Buyers of all nationalities and races - many of them immigrants - flock to the dealership where the staff speaks more than 30 languages and dialects. From Vietnamese to Punjabi, the sounds of many tongues float across the cavernous, open sales floor.
|
|
ETHNIC PREFERENCE |
|
|
|
percentage of ethnic people who said they would prefer to buy a new car or truck from a person of the same ethnicity
(among new-car shoppers): |
|
African-American |
|
1990 |
42.8% |
|
1995 |
44.9% |
|
2000 |
43.7% |
|
2002 |
45.8% |
|
2004 |
46.2% |
|
Hispanic |
|
1990 |
34.6% |
|
1995 |
35.7% |
|
2000 |
37.1% |
|
2002 |
37.2% |
|
2004 |
37.7% |
|
Southeast Asian |
|
1990 |
18.4% |
|
1995 |
17.7% |
|
2000 |
17.9% |
|
2002 |
18.3% |
|
2004 |
19.1% |
|
Middle Eastern |
|
1990 |
46.9% |
|
1995 |
51.2% |
|
2000 |
58.8% |
|
2002 |
62.3% |
|
2004 |
65.4% |
|
Northern European |
|
1990 |
72.1% |
|
1995 |
70.6% |
|
2000 |
65.8% |
|
2002 |
63.5% |
|
2004 |
61.8% |
|
East European |
|
1990 |
41.8% |
|
1995 |
42.9% |
|
2000 |
44.4% |
|
2002 |
47.9% |
|
2004 |
47.5% |
|
Sources: CNW Marketing Research; USA TODAY research |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Catering to multiple ethnicities has proved to be a winning formula. Longo came in first on industry tracker Ward's 2004 list of top-selling dealerships. It sold 20,320 new vehicles last year - an average of 56 cars and trucks every day - on a lot so big that it has its own Starbucks and Subway shops.
Other dealers - manufacturers, too - are realizing the value of catering to ethnic and immigrant markets across the country, mirroring changes in the communities where they sell.
They are trying to become more culturally attuned. Some dealers are adding aftermarket accessories to tailor cars to young Hispanics or seeking out feng shui experts to avoid architectural mistakes that can turn off some Asians.
And they are hiring more diverse staffs. Combined, the percentage of Hispanics and African-Americans employed by dealerships doubled from 1990 to 2004 to nearly 15%, CNW Marketing Research reports. The percentage of Asian employees was flat.
A diverse staff can make a difference. Buyers say they often develop a bond with a salesperson, something that's easier to do when they share the same cultural background. "In the Philippines, you build your business based on trust," says two-time Longo customer Peter See, 58, of Montebello, Calif., who turns to salesman and fellow Filipino immigrant Mel Castelo, a friend from church. "I know he won't sell me down the primrose path."
The immigrant population, both legal and illegal, now numbers more than 34 million, the Census Bureau says in a report today. That means almost one in eight people living in the USA was born in another country, the highest percentage since the 1920s.
Those immigrants have huge buying power. Hispanics and Asians together are a $1-trillion-a-year market. Cars are at the top of the wish list. Hispanics and Asians bought more than 3 million new cars and trucks last year out of 16.7 million sold, according to an American International Automobile Dealers Association analysis of CNW data.
Paying attention to ethnic customers "is a smart thing for anyone selling cars to do," says Lisa Navarrete, spokeswoman for the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic advocacy group. "It's a growing market."
|
|
DEALERSHIP STAFFING |
|
|
|
Auto dealers have been hiring more ethnic minorities, especially Hispanics and African Americans in all aspects of their operations. But Asian staffing has remained flat. |
|
African-American |
|
1990 |
4.6% |
|
1995 |
6.8% |
|
2000 |
7.2% |
|
2004 |
7.7% |
|
Hispanic |
|
1990 |
2.4% |
|
1995 |
2.9% |
|
2000 |
5.6% |
|
2004 |
7.1% |
|
Southeast Asian |
|
1990 |
1.1% |
|
1995 |
1.3% |
|
2000 |
1.2% |
|
2004 |
1.2% |
|
Middle Eastern |
|
1990 |
1.7% |
|
1995 |
1.3% |
|
2000 |
1.1% |
|
2004 |
1.1% |
|
Northern European |
|
1990 |
68.4% |
|
1995 |
66.8% |
|
2000 |
62.9% |
|
2004 |
60.9% |
|
Eastern European |
|
1990 |
1.9% |
|
1995 |
2.4% |
|
2000 |
7.3% |
|
2004 |
7.9% |
|
Sources: CNW Marketing Research; USA TODAY research |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Some car dealers are on the front line of seeing how attitudes toward the newcomers are changing in the heartland. When Susan Schein ran Spanish-only TV ads in 1999 to lure customers to her Pelham, Ala., dealerships, the response was overwhelming.
"Immediately, I started getting calls from people saying didn't I know this was America," recalls Schein, a Chevrolet and Dodge dealer. She found her telephone operator in tears after receiving a slew of insults.
Today, Schein says, Spanish-language ads bring shrugs. The fast-growing Birmingham metro area has seen an influx of not only Hispanics, but also Vietnamese and Chinese. Immigrant businesses have become commonplace, says Schein, who gets her nails done at the Vietnamese salon across the street. "I was just too far ahead of my time," she says.
The most successful dealers at luring ethnic customers go beyond learning the language. "It's learning about the culture, values and purchasing preferences of specific ethnic groups," says Marianne McInerney, president of the AIADA. Dealers are:
- Reaching out. Hispanics often don't just show up, says Yrma Rico, CEO of Weber BMW in Fresno, Calif. "The Hispanic buyer is not going to come to your dealership if you don't invite him in," she says. More dealers are extending a welcome.
Once a year, Fort Myers Toyota in Florida clears the sales lot for Hispanic Appreciation Day. About 2,500 visitors typically show up for the bands, talent show, food and job booths, general manager John Marazzi says. "When they show up, there's no cars and no salespeople," he says. "It's all about the event."
Rob Bennett, a Toyota dealer in Allentown, Pa., has long sold cars to local Syrian- and Greek-Americans, but wants to get to know the area's recent Hispanic arrivals, as well.
After a successful holiday party last year at a local social club popular with Hispanics, the dealership hopes to host other events at places where it can meet more Hispanics, such as cafeterias where they work. No hard sell. Just park a few new cars and trucks outside, mingle with potential customers and give a $25 gift card to the local Home Depot store to anyone who fills out a credit application.
"We noticed a lot of people were bringing interpreters with them. We sensed that we could appeal to a lot more people if we made it easy and more comfortable to do business with us," Bennett says.
- Understanding attitudes about negotiation. Some ethnic customers expect to negotiate. Others come from cultures th | 
