Multilingual Staff Can Drive Up Auto Sales
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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.
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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.”
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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.
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Ethnic preference Here’s the 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% Hispanic 1990 34.6% Southeast Asian 1990 18.4% Middle Eastern 1990 46.9% Northern European 1990 72.1% East European 1990 41.8% Sources: CNW Marketing Research; USA TODAY research 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% Hispanic 1990 2.4% Southeast Asian 1990 1.1% Middle Eastern 1990 1.7% Northern European 1990 68.4% Eastern European 1990 1.9% Sources: CNW Marketing Research; USA TODAY research |
(Posted on February 22, 2005)