A Look @ Hispanic-Owned Businesses Could Result In Better Communications & Customer Service.

Salt River Project and the Hispanic Research Center of Arizona State University have released the results of the most comprehensive study of Arizona’s Hispanic-owned businesses.

The SRP Arizona Hispanic Business Study, the first of its kind in the nation, will provide an in-depth profile of Arizona Hispanic-owned businesses as well as identify the most critical issues facing this business segment.

“The Hispanic market is not only the fastest-growing ethnic group in the state and country, it is fast becoming a large segment of our customer base,” said SRP General Manager Dick Silverman. “It’s crucial that we understand the preferences and priorities in the Hispanic community to provide the best customer service possible.”

The results will create a baseline to track trends and changes over time.

The research was conducted by WestGroup Research during the summer of 2005, and included a random sampling of Hispanic-owned businesses through telephone interviews with nearly 700 business owners across the state.

Among the findings:

The types of Hispanic-owned businesses closely resemble the rest of the nation with service being the most common type among the Arizona Hispanic-owned businesses surveyed as well as the rest of the nation.

One out of three Hispanic business owners was born outside the United Stated and 76% of these businesses are family-owned.
The majority of Hispanic business owners reported that they voted in the last presidential election: 66% compared to 47% of the voting-age general population.

Seventy-eight percent speak at least some Spanish at their businesses and are exposed to Hispanic media an average of 12.3 hours a week.

Hispanic business owners may not be fully utilizing government organizations, chambers of commerce and non-profits to their advantage. While many of these entities have programs to help minority-owned businesses, the majority of these business owners may not be aware that they are available.

Arizona Hispanic business owners say they feel they face the same issues as other Arizona businesses.

“This is the first and the most comprehensive study, via telephone interviews, of Hispanic-owned businesses undertaken by anyone in the United States,” said Dr. Louis Olivas, Assistant Vice President, Academic Affairs and Associate Professor at ASU’s W.P. Carey School of Business.

“The results of this study will be both surprising and revealing to all businesses in Arizona and across the nation. SRP in partnership with the Hispanic Research Center, ASU have raised the bar and set a new standard for research on Hispanic-owned businesses.”

The study has been endorsed by the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Grand Canyon Minority Supplier Diversity Council, Chicanos por la Causa, Greater Phoenix Economic Council and Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. In addition, the Arizona Department of Commerce was a collaborating organization in the study.