Wednesday, November 29, 2006
You'd think a global (and public) company would know better
With great anticipation I opened up an article from the Houston Business Journal on computer company Hewlett-Packard's new Hispanic marketing effort.I say with anticipation as I remember chuckling at the HP ad that Marketing y Medios profiled in their column that ridicules bad language and grammar use. The ad (see picture) promotes HP's customer service line, and reads, "Garantia y soporte al cliente." They intended that to translate to "customer support and warranty" but the word "soporte" that is used actually means "tolerate" in Spanish and not "support" as they intended. So, in essence, HP is promoting its phone number that "tolerates calls from its customers." Ouch!
So, back to the article ... it mentions HP's new Spanish website that I eagerly click on. To my great disappointment, not only does HP continues to use the word "soporte" where they mean to say "support," it's also riddled with other grammatical errors.
I personally don't know if they are using a Hispanic agency or not or if they paid a translation service to translate their site to Spanish or something else.
I'm also puzzled by the banner that reads, "HP te da la bienvenida a nuestra comunidad" (HP welcomes you to our neighborhood) as if we Hispanics are outsiders that are now being welcomed into the HP community ... rather than HP acknowledging that we Hispanics are already a critical and growing part of that community.
Semantics, perhaps, but none the less I hope this marketing effort isn't about communicating that HP is inviting us into some "exclusive" club (do we get to know the secret handshake too?) but rather recognizing that we are a critical part of the market and they are offering products and services that appeal to us.
Then again, maybe I shouldn't complain since once I'm invited in, at least I know HP will "tolerate" ... I mean "support" me ...
Monday, November 27, 2006
How rude of me!
I also meant to say that I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We went to the in-laws and had a really traditional meal just like the Pilgrims and Indians had ... you, know, turkey with arroz con gandules!
I am also among the lunatics that hits the Black Friday sales. I reached Best Buy at 3:15 a.m. and, this year, that was too late. I'm usually about 20-30 people back at that time. This time, the line was already around the building, through the parking lot and about to the street. Guess next year I'm pushing straight through and not trying to catch a few hours of sleep before making my trek for the door busters!
I am also among the lunatics that hits the Black Friday sales. I reached Best Buy at 3:15 a.m. and, this year, that was too late. I'm usually about 20-30 people back at that time. This time, the line was already around the building, through the parking lot and about to the street. Guess next year I'm pushing straight through and not trying to catch a few hours of sleep before making my trek for the door busters!
Wal-Mart wants in on the banking industry
Some in the banking community are fighting tooth and nail against Wal-Mart's application to charter its own industrial loan corporation, according to an In Business Las Vega article.
They worry that Wal-Mart will wipe them out, hurt small business and speculate that Wal-Mart would control the fate of its diminutive competitors by potentially withholding loans, according to the article.
What Wal-Mart is trying to do, according to a spokesperson quoted in the article, is to serve customers who wouldn't otherwise seek financial services from banks: money transfers, bill pay services, money orders and check cashing  "at the customer service desk, and at Wal-Mart style prices."
Wal-Mart actively markets its $3.00 payroll check cashing, $0.46 cent money orders and $9.46 money transfers to Hispanics. These are prices far lower than most banking institutions.
What ever you think of Wal-Mart, this is an idea that will work. As they say in the street, don't hate the player, hate the game.
Speaking of the game, this isn't really a novel idea. Some banks, such as Bank of America, are actively engaging the Hispanic market through offering products such as wire transfers.
Rather than complain and protest, other banks should follow suit and continuously offer products to meet their new customers' needs.
They worry that Wal-Mart will wipe them out, hurt small business and speculate that Wal-Mart would control the fate of its diminutive competitors by potentially withholding loans, according to the article.
What Wal-Mart is trying to do, according to a spokesperson quoted in the article, is to serve customers who wouldn't otherwise seek financial services from banks: money transfers, bill pay services, money orders and check cashing  "at the customer service desk, and at Wal-Mart style prices."
Wal-Mart actively markets its $3.00 payroll check cashing, $0.46 cent money orders and $9.46 money transfers to Hispanics. These are prices far lower than most banking institutions.
What ever you think of Wal-Mart, this is an idea that will work. As they say in the street, don't hate the player, hate the game.
Speaking of the game, this isn't really a novel idea. Some banks, such as Bank of America, are actively engaging the Hispanic market through offering products such as wire transfers.
Rather than complain and protest, other banks should follow suit and continuously offer products to meet their new customers' needs.
