Five Reasons Your Business Needs a Bilingual Answering Service
The most successful businesses follow one simple rule when it comes to communicating with customers—meet them where they are. If they prefer texting, text them. If they’d rather get emails than calls, email them. The fewer barriers there are between you and your customers, the easier it will be for them to buy your goods and services.
Many businesses miss an important opportunity by failing to communicate effectively with the growing number of Hispanics in America. While many Hispanics are bilingual, a large number of them only speak Spanish, have limited English proficiency, and some are just more comfortable speaking their native language. Businesses that offer after hours call centers to allow customers to connect with them can benefit from having a bilingual answering service that communicates with clients in the language they prefer speaking.
Consider these reasons for hiring a call answering service that provides bilingual support:
- Hispanics accounted for 56.6 million people in the U.S. in 2015, 17.6 percent of the total population. By 2050, the U.S. Census Bureau expects the Hispanic population to hit 106 million. About 68 percent of Hispanics today speak English proficiently, but that leaves 32 percent who do not.
- Spanish is the most spoken non-English language in U.S. homes. About 37.6 million people ages 5 years and up speak Spanish at home, including 2.8 million non-Hispanic persons. Chinese is the second most spoken non-English language in U.S. homes, accounting for about 2.8 million speakers.
- The five largest Hispanic metropolitan areas are Los Angeles, New York, Houston, Riverside-San Bernardino, and Chicago. Businesses operating in these cities and beyond need the capability to reach out to their large Spanish-speaking population.
- Hispanics’ economic power is growing rapidly. In 1990, Hispanics had $210 billion in spending power. In 2000, that buying power had grown to $488 billion. By 2012, Hispanics controlled $1.2 trillion in spending power, according to Georgia Trend magazine. By missing out on chances to do business with Spanish-speaking men and women, you could be losing significant money.
- Marketing research says that many Hispanic consumers prefer to make personal connections with the businesses they trade with via telephone conversations. A New York Times piece says that call center research indicates Hispanic callers spend more time on the line than non-Hispanics. Having the capability to talk to these consumers in Spanish will foster relationships and loyalty.
Hiring a bilingual answering service for after hours and business hours calls will make your business more accommodating to an important demographic, allowing you to best competition that does not offer these accommodations. When choosing an answering company to provide bilingual service, it’s important to find an organization with staff highly proficient in both the language and in customer service.
Answer MTI provides bilingual answering services to clients across the nation. Answer MTI professionals offer continuous call answering 24/7, with appointment setting, virtual receptionist, emergency dispatch, and more call center programs. Well-trained Answer MTI staff won’t just speak your customers’ language; they’ll also use soft skills to make these customers feel appreciated. To reach out to this important demographic, contact Answer MTI for a free consultation today.
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