The numbers read that over 400 million Spanish speakers are in the world. Therefore, Spanish is the fourth most commonly spoken language right under English, Chinese and Hindustani. Additionally, now that Hispanic commerce is booming in North America, it is important for business competitors all over the world to find some way to keep up.

Most people don’t know that over 91% of fortune 500 companies and forbes international 800 companies cannot meet the needs of people who speak a foreign language because they do not have the ability to respond correctly to a foreign language.

Since learning Spanish would increase the general ability to communicate with the large amount of immigrants that come into the country each year, some wonder if requiring Americans to learn Spanish would be the solution to keeping up with the increasing needs of the Hispanic culture.

There are two different sides to this issue. Some believe that Americans should learn Spanish because if Americans learn Spanish, they would mostly help themselves in the long run. When people learn Spanish, they are able to have a more competitive resume when they move into the work force. Such an edge in the job market would then allow Spanish learners to demand higher pay than other job searchers who can only speak English. Furthermore, if fortune 500 companies are not able to satisfy the needs of Spanish speakers, the Americans who learn Spanish will become like precious jewels among these types of companies.

Also, when people learn Spanish, they learn about another culture. Learning about other cultures decreases the likelihood of discrimination not only in relation to the Spanish culture, but other cultures in general. People will become more aware that other types of people exist, and that these people have needs and wants that may be different from their own. An increase in cultural awareness cannot help but be beneficial to the general mindset of Americans.

On the other hand, many people believe that since the amount of Hispanic immigrants is so large, Hispanics often get very comfortable when they come to the U.S., and often they don’t feel that they have to learn English. It is not rare for immigrants in the United States to either never learn English or remain in America for many years without even trying to learn the language.

It seems that if Americans were required to learn Spanish whether by their jobs or schools, Hispanic immigrants would find even greater comfort and feel that they do not have to learn English. Americans that learn Spanish would continue to experience all of the benefits of the language. However, Hispanics would experience many negatives.

A Hispanic living in the US who does not learn to speak English would experience a lack in the number of jobs they are eligible for. Therefore, such a person may experience high levels of unemployment or poverty and may only be able to obtain jobs that require manual labor. Other workers will be able to pick and choose where they would like to be employed.

With the increase in Hispanic businesses many companies may push their employees to learn Spanish. However, it does not look like it will be a requirement any time in the near future.

Americans are flooded with advertisements.  In 2007, U.S. advertisers spent an estimated $153.7 billion on advertising.  In addition to television, radio, and print, advertisements also adorn bathroom stalls, coffee mugs, and racecars.  The strategy of many marketers is clear — target consumers though sheer volume advertising.  Although that approach can be successful in some circumstances, there is a more intelligent and efficient way to reach consumers.  A direct response marketing campaign that targets the U.S. Hispanic population is a prime example of marketing that is both effective and quantifiable.

Consider that the 45.5 million Hispanics in the U.S. comprise the nation’s largest minority group.  Additionally, the U.S. Hispanic population is young, projected to sustain continued growth, and is gaining in disposable income and buying power.  A direct response campaign that offers a product or service to the Hispanic market presents several business advantages.

Simply stated, reaching out to the Hispanic market can move a business ahead of its competitors now.  The Hispanic market is full of untapped opportunities that many businesses fail to target.  Hispanic buying power in the U.S. will soon reach $1 trillion annually.  However, the Hispanic market can also be broken down into at least five major subgroups: U.S. Hispanic, South American, Central American, Caribbean, and European.  A direct response campaign can be tailored specifically to any, several, or all of these subgroups, each of which has substantial independent buying power.  Few businesses capitalize on such a finely tuned marketing campaign.  The business that does can move ahead of its competitors immediately.

In addition to immediate results, investing in direct response marketing focused on the Hispanic market can also pay long-term dividends.  By 2030, one in five people in the U.S. will be Hispanic.  A business that establishes itself in the growing Hispanic market now will not have to later take on an expensive full-blown campaign that markets to an even greater Hispanic population.  Staying ahead of the curve and growing with the Hispanic market gives products and services exposure now and saves money later.

Finally, direct response marketing is designed to solicit a specific and quantifiable response from the consumer.  Thus, it offers tangible results so that businesses can accurately measure the effectiveness of a campaign.  Not only is a direct response campaign to the Hispanic market more effective from the start, but its efficiency will only increase as a business tracks its marketing efforts and focuses on the methods that work; those methods that are not as effective can be modified or abandoned.

A direct response marketing campaign is effective for start-up businesses that want to focus on the Hispanic market, but also for those that are already established and want to expand into the Hispanic market.  Executing a finely tuned direct response campaign that targets the Hispanic market is a business choice that is superior to generally ineffective and inefficient volume marketing.