Adriana Eiriz is the Chief Marketing Officer of Nexxo Financial Corp. Eiriz, a 20-year veteran of the US Hispanic marketplace, was the first Latin American female to be elected to the Board of Directors of the Electronic Retailing Association.

What was your professional background before coming to work for Nexxo Financial in the CMO position?

Prior to coming onboard with Nexxo, I had the opportunity to spearhead the development and creation of a Hispanic Direct Response agency, Vivar Advertising.  I was brought on board as the Managing Director.  Vivar was a joint venture of two very successful Direct Response agencies/marketers which later became the Hispanic arm of Quigley-Simpson – a direct response advertising agency in the general market that works with Fortune 500 companies like Procter & Gamble.

What influenced you to work within the Hispanic marketing sector?

I have spent the last 20 years focusing on this specific marketplace and had the opportunity to work for almost 10 years at Lexicon Marketing. With this number of years having been involved in the segment, I’ve been able to be part of its evolution, growth and new complexities.  Twenty years ago when companies targeted the Hispanic market, strategies implemented were simple and we spoke to the market with one message. As the market has evolved we find ourselves needing to determine exact levels of acculturation which we are targeting, dive deeper into our customer’s behaviors and needs. We have more data today to analyze that will help us in the development of strategies but the market segment has become more complex therefore it demands more from a marketing perspective.

What we do know is that in the large population of Hispanics that come to the United States they are in search of a better tomorrow. They leave their families behind and work hard to adapt to a new country and system. In my industry it’s very interesting to identify the emotional triggers and the customers’ dynamics. For me, as a Latina, being part of the intricate growth has become a passion and a professional challenge

How have you seen this market grow, particularly in the financial services sector?

Every day is an exciting day when you look deep at what has and is happening in the Hispanic market; it grows and diversifies.  At Nexxo, we are helping Hispanics send money home through a self-serve kiosk, similar to an ATM machine. It’s the future of money remittance. There was close to $70 billion sent last year to Latin America.  So that gives you an idea of the number of Hispanics sending money home and using our and other money transfer services. They send   money home for their families basic needs. 

It’s a fantastic, inspiring and very challenging opportunity to drive and grow the company from a marketing perspective, and to also be in an industry where we’re helping our customers make sure their sacrifice is secure when leaving their hands– all of this makes it even more worthwhile. 

How important do you think it is for marketers to differentiate their marketing messages and initiatives according to cultural background?

I think it’s extremely important.  Our backgrounds and where we come from make us who we are.  So when we market to any different type of segment we need to touch those emotional triggers regardless of what we’re selling, whether it’s a tangible good or if it’s a service. 

We also need to understand what the needs and in our case the fears are.  In financial services, there are a lot of fears; unfortunately, most Latin American countries have had financial debacles, so our customer base tends to lose faith in banks or any type of financial institution.  Therefore, we have to make sure we convey that we’re a service created for them, secure, fast, and convenient and that we’re there to help them at any time.

What marketing challenges do you feel are unique to targeting the Hispanic sector?

One of the most difficult things to understand in this market is the situation of first, second, third generation Hispanics and the difference between them.  My personal preferences for example as a Latina in media are different from those of a customer who has just arrived, might not speak the language yet and has not adapted to the system. .  It’s obviously fundamental to understand whatever your product or services, what the specific level of acculturation is, their needs so targeting becomes more efficient 

Do you see any significant opportunities or trends in the near future in terms of marketing to the Hispanic community?

I believe there is a technological evolution taking place.  Companies that are targeting second and third generation Hispanics are certainly looking to social media and online tactics.  I think there’s an incredible opportunity in this segment to use mobile campaigns – we use them today to communicate with our portfolio – at the end of the day it is about multichannel - reaching customers wherever they go and at all times.

Hispanics are growing faster in the acceptance of Internet and online communication – they’re more likely now to conduct online searches for brands and are connecting with their families through emails or other online media.  

Looking towards the future for the next year or two, what are your goals?

As a marketer for Nexxo, and with our technological growth, my focus will be to continue communicating to our customers all the different services we are starting to add to our platform. Educate our customers so that they feel confident when using our service. We have just launched bill pay in our self-serve kiosks as well so this is a new offering that we are working on showing our cash preferred customers how easy it is to pay their bills and also send money through our machines. Focus will be to continue to leverage our service and it’s easy, simple and convenient use.

One of my main objectives – and I think that this is something all marketers are after – is to  constantly improve the service that we offer , trying to give customers more of what they’re looking for, make the customer’s experience unique - be very customer-centric. 

Do you have any key recommendations for marketing executives want ensure they incorporate a multicultural element into their marketing strategy?

Most marketers today are aware of this market segment. I do believe it’s crucial for marketers to truly understand the dynamics – very different from the general market.  I am a big supporter of multicultural marketing departments within companies.  It’s extremely important for all marketers to continue to grow the businesses we are responsible for. Leaving the Hispanic market out of the mix is leaving millions of dollars out in the street. Incorporate strategies to target this segment is a most to increase revenue.

Greater Innovation Through Closer Collaboration – an excerpt

CMO Council & BPM Forum

Today, we live and work in a highly interconnected world. Global interdependence has become a definitive economic reality. The flow of goods, information and capital across borders is accelerating at an astounding pace. World exports grew from about 40 percent of global production in 1990 to more than 55 percent in 2004, according to the World Bank. Crossborder listings on world stock exchanges have also increased rapidly. Non-U.S. listings on the
New York Stock Exchange doubled from about 8.5 percent in 1994 to 17 percent at the end of 2003 and, as of June 30, 2009, there were some 3,100 foreign listings on the world’s 52 leading exchanges. Nearly all Global 2000 companies now derive more than half of their sales from international markets.             

For most companies today, borderless business is far more than a statistical abstraction. It reflects a new way of doing business. In a 24x7 interconnected economy, corporations are relying more heavily on outside business partners to innovate and deliver products and services, drive critical business processes and ensure seamless experiences for customers around the world. As a result, companies of all sizes and across all industries are seeking to redesign the way they do business in order to integrate a diverse mix of suppliers, partners
and vendors more tightly into the fabric of their business. To do so, companies are seeking to transform the way they connect, communicate and collaborate across complex interconnected networks of customers, suppliers, business partners and vendors. If improving and integrating internal enterprise processes and systems was the mandate of business in the 1990s, today those requirements extend far beyond corporate boundaries.

“If there is a rating system of one to ten, and ten is the most critical in running your business, I would say our dependence on our suppliers is something in the eight to nine range.” - John Viele, Vice President, Procurement, WellPoint, Inc.

To read more, click here »

Why Relevancy Drives Response and Relationships – an excerpt

CMO Council

Consumers today are deluged and overloaded with a plethora of unwanted direct marketing and promotional messages that are blasted out via email, or mass-produced and mailed in vast quantities, ending up choking mail boxes and filling recycling bins. In most cases, recipients ignore, or have become immune, to standardized commercial overtures. And with the advent of the Internet are seeking product information and affirmation from trusted sources and referral networks online.

Staying relevant, valued and connected to customers has become the number one challenge for marketers. This requires a new level of precision marketing base on deep data mining and customer analytics, transactional and behavioral insights, as well as effective listening and feedback systems. Tailoring and targeting communications on an individual level with mass-customization technologies in print, digital and retail channels enables marketers to significantly improve consumer reaction and response to marketing campaign and continuity relationship building programs.

Continuing to grow and leverage knowledge and understanding of a customer across the life cycle of the relationship is essential to staying relevant, welcome and wanted. This is at the heart of individualized relationship marketing and requires a strong commitment to customer data integration (CDI) and continuous tracking of life stage developments, customer value, purchasing activity, buying intentions, and up-sell and cross-sell opportunities.

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