Much has been written about the rise of Hispanic consumer purchasing power and how to tap into it. “Go spend lots of money” seems to be favorite advice. That’s great if you’re selling consumer products like soap or cars. But what about selling, say, an employee benefits program to Hispanic businesses in San Diego County?

Before we begin to answer that, let’s look at some Hispanic marketing trends. The late 1980s saw the rise of Hispanic radio and television. The late 1990s dot-com boom gave birth to Hispanic horizontal Internet portals. On the heels of these portals came B2C e-commerce sites — many of which were almost identical to their English-only brethren. The focus then, as it is now, was on Hispanic consumers. In 2004 and beyond, more attention will be paid to Latino-owned businesses.

It’s already starting to happen. Last January, Office Depot, “Recognizing the valuable role of Hispanic businesses in today’s marketplace,” announced the launch of its new Spanish-language Web site, a mirror version of its 14,000-product English-language site. A month later, Union Bank announced it would target the Hispanic market, in part, by “meeting the financial needs of Hispanics in a culturally sensitive way.”

But it’s not just the Office Depots and Union Banks of the world that can penetrate this market. And you don’t have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a Web site or hire an expensive advertising agency or PR firm to do it. Quite the opposite. Expensive marketing campaigns may not be the most efficient way to reach the Latino business community.

For example, Sheppard Mullin, a 400-attorney law firm with offices in San Diego, has organized a Hispanic Business Practice Group that provides specialized legal representation to Hispanic-influenced businesses. The efforts are geared toward aligning its internal operations and services with the specific needs of these businesses, as opposed to spending huge amounts in advertising.

Unlike the mass market, as exemplified in the Sheppard Mullin example, a more targeted and cost-effective approach is necessary. It requires as much attention to internal operations and core competencies as to the Spanish copy on the marketing slick. The bottom line is that done right, ethnic product differentiation can be a cost-effective strategy to reach the Latino business community.

Here are some general guidelines on how to gain market share in the growing Hispanic-owned business segment:

Define The Market

More than 2 million Latino-owned businesses opened nationwide (expected to grow 55 percent to 3.2 million by 2010), more than half a million in California and about 35,000 in San Diego County alone. These are the businesses that Office Depot is going after. But for a small, regional player offering an employee benefits program to businesses with, say, 10 or more employees, that firm must know that there are fewer than 2,000 Latino-owned businesses of this size in San Diego County. Depending on a firm’s profile, it may be helpful to further segment the market by type of business and more granular geo-targeting. It’s also important to analyze Latino owners’ attitudes toward the general category of products or services that a firm provides. Are any competitors addressing this market in a meaningful way? What other analogous initiatives are out there?

Research Business Views

Without knowing it, a business may already be doing things that resonate with Hispanic business owners. A business seeking this market should determine what products it has that may already be a good fit for Latino businesses. How can existing Hispanic employees help implement a strategy? What can be done for minimal costs and minimal resources?

Wherever possible, look for opportunities to “re-purpose” existing company infrastructure, assets and programs. For example, the underlying providers in the employee benefits program example already may have similar initiatives and/or resources that can be leveraged toward a Latino business plan. In addition, new providers might be added to be able to offer, for example, a health insurance program that covers doctor visits or hospitalizations in Mexico.

Use Of Language

Two-thirds of Hispanics are foreign-born and almost all Latino-owned businesses use Spanish to some degree in their business operations. Knowing this, how can you improve customer relationships at critical touch points to be sure that your Spanish-speaking customers are comfortable? You may want to program your voice mail system with a quick link Spanish option: “Welcome to Employee Benefits Program Inc. Para Español marque dos, to speak to an operator press 0, to speak to sales press 1.” No need to make someone who feels more comfortable in Spanish listen to 15 directory options in English before offering them a choice in Spanish.

Develop Vision Statement

This product vision statement should clearly state how the product is different from the competition. For example: “Unlike other employee benefits program providers that offer a one-size-fits-all approach, EBP Inc. takes into consideration the specific needs of Hispanic business owners and their employees. We do this by…” The product vision statement will help team members pass the elevator test — the ability to explain the project to someone in less than one minute.

List Product Features

A business that has gotten to this point should begin to analyze how the “new” product would be used by a real customer. What happens inside your organization to get this product used by customers? What are the critical interactions that need to take place with your customer to make this happen?

Now that you have a product that meets the needs of your specific segment of the Latino-owned business market and you have an operational plan, you need a cost-effective way to get it to market. E-mail and the Internet are great marketing tools. They also can be very effective post-purchase, helping to reduce or eliminate the need for hiring additional Spanish-speaking personnel.

The San Diego Hispanic Chamber of Commerce also is a marketing venue. By definition, this Chamber’s members are Latino-owned businesses or members interested in accessing this same market. Look for partnering opportunities with non-competing firms with analogous initiatives. Advertise in the Chamber’s “Business Referral Directory & Hispanic Market Resource Guide” as well as the San Diego Metropolitan and other publications that have Latino-focused content.

Finally, analyze the impact your strategy will have on your company’s value-chain. What are the benefits for your company, customers, partners and channels (current and future) and other stakeholders?

Start developing your corporate strategy to address the Hispanic-owned business market. Doing so puts you in a position to take advantage of the next wave in Hispanic marketing trends. Ignoring it means giving away business to your competition.

Elias Terman, available at elias@sandiegometro.com, is the San Diego Metropolitan’s director of multicultural affairs.