Top 9 Tips for Building a Hispanic MROC

A successful and fruitful market research community (MROC) requires thorough planning in order to gain consumer insights that were previously unrealized. There are many useful guidelines and tips that describe how to implement best practices when building and sustaining a community, but few ever address how to build an MROC meant for Hispanic users.

Only a handful of research firms have the infrastructure and capabilities that allow them to tactfully engage the Hispanic community. U.S. Hispanics are the fastest non-White growing economic force in the nation and it would be a costly mistake to ignore this emerging group. Here at ThinkNow, we have the resources and the market research experts that know how to take the fundamentals of MROC building and know how to apply them when building an online Hispanic community. Here are some beneficial tips when building a Hispanic MROC...

1. Which language should I use?
   a. Determining the acculturation levels of community and fitting the use of Spanish, English, or both to the majority acculturation level of that community is the first step to communicating with members successfully. Regularly meet with the moderators and the administrators to make sure the messages and form are consistent in a bicultural or single language community.
2. How do I create an authentic experience for my community members?
   a. Besides translating, moderators must ask questions and share stories from around the web that are related to community members’ interests and preferences. It is not enough to just translate English content to Spanish because the lack of knowledge about dialect and culture is not genuine and members will detect this flaw. Regularly communicating the results of studies will enhance trust and will remind them that their contributions matter.
3. What kind of activities and discussions do I create for my community?
   a. When planning future activities and discussions, it is important to tailor them to the interests of the community. For a sports Hispanic community, a larger number of them would be more interested in discussing their favorite soccer club than discussing Tiger Wood’s achievements.
4. Cultural Differences
   a. 69% of U.S. Hispanics believe that Latinos have many different cultures, and do not share one culture in the U.S. There are many subgroups within the Hispanic community that consist of different generations, countries of origin, immigrant/non-immigrant, and language use. It is essential to acknowledge the different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds your members come from, so asking condescending or confusing questions can be avoided. Creating a research goal for the community will help focus the recruiting efforts to a certain Hispanic subgroup.
5. Branded vs. unbranded MROC
   a. When building an MROC from the ground up, a company must consider whether to attach the brand to the community or not. 23.7 percent of Hispanics enjoy following brands and companies on the web, compared with just 19.6 percent of non-Hispanics. If the members know they are contributing to a brand they positively perceive, they are more willing to participate and put in more effort in answers. Trust factor is key amongst Hispanic community. Fully 86% of Latinos say you can’t be too careful when it comes to dealing with people. Levels of personal trust are lower among Latinos than general public. Transparency starts with administrator and moderators. This helps the members feel more comfortable with contributing personal facts and anecdotes.
6. Consumer behavior trends
   a. As previously stated, most Latinos believe there to be several Hispanic subgroups in the U.S., and not just one culture. For each subgroup, consumer behavior differs vastly and must be studied in order to understand that subgroup. For example, affluent Hispanics are willing to spend more money than non-Hispanics. Knowing consumer behavior trends and the motivations behind those purchases will show the community that you are somewhat familiar with their Latino experience.
7. Optimize MROC for mobile devices
   a. 60 percent of U.S. Hispanic mobile users have smartphones compared with only 53 percent of U.S. Caucasians. Pew also reported that about 42 percent of Hispanics use their mobile phones as their primary access point to the Internet. Creating and maintain a flexible MROC by thorough backend and frontend web development will make logging on and using the features of the community a much simpler and more enjoyable experience for members.
8. Positivity bias
   a. When asked to evaluate brands, members of the Hispanic community tend to be more positive than average when it comes to brand reception. Take this adjustment into account when comparing their brand evaluations with non-Hispanics.
9. Where do I recruit community members?
   a. Look for online panels that specialize in effectively representing the U.S. Hispanic population (like DigaYGane.com). These specialty online panels can help find the correct users that fit the customer profile for your MROC.

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