Meeting the Needs of a Growing Hispanic Market With Bilingual Call Centers

Hispanics are the single largest and fastest growing ethnic group in the United States today, and if your business is reaching out to this market, it may be time for you to consider a bilingual call center service.



Bilingual call centers offer the added features of interpretation and translation of a second language. Most often Spanish is the second language offered, but a thorough search can provide you with bilingual call center services in other languages as well.



Be sure you know what your callers need and what the bilingual call center offers in terms of dialects. If your client base is more comfortable speaking the language of Puerto Rico, Mexico or Cuba, be sure the bilingual call center you use supports that particular Spanish language. This allows your customers to speak the language they are most comfortable using. If they can talk with a bilingual call center agent who understands their native language, they are much more likely to leave a message and wait to hear back from you. More importantly, the bilingual call center agent can better represent your company's products and services to that caller.



Remember that a bilingual call center also offers call-center services as well as language translation and interpretation. Bilingual call centers should be able to:

• Handle order entry and management via your web site.


• Develop scripts and protocols so agents can qualify sales leads 24/7.


• Up sell and cross sell your products and services.


• Submit leads to your sales professionals via call transfer, e-mail or fax.

Be sure to ask questions about your specific industry. If you receive emergency-response calls from customers because you provide plumbing, heating, electrical support, pest control or another service customers need 24/7 access to, be sure the bilingual call center offers the follow through you need on those calls. Bilingual call center agents should be able to follow your specific instructions to contact repair contractors, schedule appointments and manage the repair process through to completion if that is what you require.



According to Mercury Media's February 2010 report "The Power of the Hispanic Consumer," by 2015, the U.S. Census Bureau projects the U.S. Hispanic market will grow to 57.7 million people, accounting for 18 percent of the total population. If your business is reaching out to this market, now is the time to consider the benefits of using a bilingual call center.