How the Cultural Perceptions of Money, Debt, Death, Food, and Happiness affect Hispanic Behavior.

The key to a successful positioning in any of the Hispanic market segments is to understand why specific segment groups behave the way they do. Positioning is the communication garment that dresses the product or service to appeal to the consumer. (Korzenny and Korzenny, 2005.)
Changing the existing product is not necessary, but the message the marketer sends to the segment group explaining how the product is going to benefit the prospective customer must be altered. A Hispanic consumer is more likely to buy a Chevy if many of the people in his or her social circle own one. A non-Hispanic Anglo is more likely to buy a Porsche if he or she has made the decision to stand out from the crowd. These are two very different perspectives. Due to cultural norms, social pressure in marketing to Hispanics can be a more powerful tool than when marketing to others (Korzenny and Korzenny, 2005.)

While many non-Hispanic Anglo consumers prefer to be unique by purchasing a product that nobody else in the neighborhood owns; a Hispanic consumer may want to own a product many of his or her neighbors have purchased. This is a proof of good quality, trustworthiness, and that he or she made a decision congruent with community values.

As part of the research about the insight for money and debt, I interviewed Sonia Castorena, a 25 years old young adult from Aguascalientes, Mexico. Sonia arrived to the U.S. 5 years ago, when she was 20 years old.

When asked what she thinks about retirement. She said, “I don’t think about it.” She prefers thinking about more realizable goals such as the next car she wants to purchase, or the house she would like to own in a few years. Sonia expressed that only God knows if she will still “be here” by her retirement age. “What if I die before I can enjoy the retirement fund?” she said, “So many years of saving for nothing. The money is going to get wasted”. Sonia thinks it is unrealistic to plan for retirement at this time of her life. Since life is ephemeral and unpredictable, a deep sense of fatalism is strongly rooted in many of the Native American and Mestizo groups of Latin America (Korzenny and Korzenny, 2005.)

Sonia expressed that today’s world is very violent, especially in Mexico. She plans to eventually go back to Mexico and rejoin her family. She doesn’t know if she will become the next victim of street violence or a shooting. Because of the cultural belief that life is a gift, and not assured, Hispanics celebrate the morning. They thank God that they are still alive. Being spared by God and awakening in the morning is a joyful moment in the day (Korzenny and Korzenny, 2005.)

When asked what if she has the chance to enjoy longevity, Sonia said she will figure out something by then. Now is too early to worry about it. If she raises her kids in Mexico, she would expect them to provide for her financially. If they end up growing up in the U.S., Sonia believes their mentality would be more “Americanized” and will probably be less willing to support her financially.

For Hispanics, “mañana” (tomorrow) doesn’t necessarily mean the day after today, but the future. Mañana is safe because by tomorrow many things will have happened; thus enjoy today and let us worry about tomorrow when it comes (Korzenny and Korzenny, 2005.)

Hispanic merchants humorously use the term “mañana” by placing a poster in front of their businesses saying “Hoy no se fía, mañana sí”, meaning “we don’t lend money today, tomorrow we do.” If you go back tomorrow, you will see the same poster. It is not unusual for Hispanics to buy groceries on little more than good faith. Grocery stores owners generally trust that their neighbors will come back to pay them back. Since “lending with interest permeated the culture with the belief that lenders are evil” (Korzenny and Korzenny, 2005), no interest is charged in these situations, and the customers usually do come back. The problem arises when some of them don’t. Customers around the corner get used to the bad habit of not taking money with them or paying back what has been owed, so some store owners had to wisely say no with a humorous poster.

Sonia mentioned an interesting fact about debt. Some of her friends have plans to go back to Mexico someday. They don’t think it’s necessary to pay loans on time, finish paying them, and even keep a good credit here in the U.S. They don’t plan to stay here for a long time. This is just a temporary place for them to live and earn money. “The problem is,” she says, “They keep saying it, and many years later, they are still here.”

Sonia, like many other Hispanics of Mexican origin, celebrates “Día de los Muertos” (Day of the Dead) every November 2nd. During that day, the family leaves the favorite food of the deceased on their graves. This allows their ancestors to enjoy it in heaven. On the other hand, the visiting family members drink, eat, and celebrate next to the grave. It’s a big family reunion, combining the living with the dead in a festive environment.

There are interesting parallels in Chinese culture. Although they don’t celebrate the dead, they do leave the deceased food, by placing the plates next to the grave or in front of the urn. Besides food, the adults give money to their deceased parents. “Dead people money”, imitation currency, is sold in some traditional stores and are burned next to the grave or urn, representing the younger generations continued financial support even beyond the grave.
Sonia expressed that her family takes time to enjoy their meals together. For them, meal time is another family reunion. Not something reserved for Thanksgiving Day. Eating dinner together is the time to share about what happened that day. They take time to tell their stories and enjoy the food together. It is a time of celebration.

The fact the Hispanic men usually don’t cook doesn’t mean mom is the only one who cooks in the home. Sonia and all her sisters, including the youngest one, who is 14 years old, know how to cook authentic Mexicana food. Whoever arrives home first, either from school or work, starts cooking. When the second female member of the family arrives, she will also help cooking, and so on. “It’s a team work,” said Sonia, who is smiling by just thinking about it. She enjoys cooking with her family. It is fair to say that women learning how to cook at a very young age is an example of marianismo (Korzenny and Korzenny, 2005.)

Above examples of archetypes can help marketers better understand Hispanics’ idiosyncrasies. After understanding the archetypes, a successful marketer can take advantage his or her knowledge to create the right message and explain how the product or service is going to benefit the prospective customer. The message must be coherent to the consumer in order to be effective. The key to a successful positioning in any of the Hispanic market segments is to understand the various archetypes of the culture and establish an emotional connection with the consumer (Korzenny and Korzenny, 2005.)

BY Ana Ng
Student
Florida State University