The Latina market is built upon truly engaging her and her network.

Latinas now have $1.3 trillion of annual buying power, which is equal to that of Mexico! Eighty-six percent of Latinas say they are the primary household purchase decision maker. With 63 percent of Latinas having children under the age of 18, they have a strong focus on family wellness. For example, 82 percent choose fresh food, rather than packaged, and 63 percent buy organic.

Latinas are also embracing education and technologies. They are now exceeding non-Hispanic women in college attendance. A record 73 percent of Latina high school graduates are attending college.

And Latinas are leaders in embracing smartphones. Fifty percent of Hispanic adults own a smartphone. Importantly, they use their smartphones more than other demographic groups to access the Internet.

They are using social networking apps to build affinity groups that influence their purchase decisions. Almost 70 percent of Hispanic smartphone owners access Facebook and Twitter from their smartphones.

Latinas are also creating their own self-definitions. Eighty-seven percent define themselves equally as American and Hispanic. They are holding on to their Spanish language while also demonstrating proficiency in English. Millennial generation Hispanics are not shifting to English but, rather, holding on to Spanish while also using English. Using Spanish in your campaigns is not a magic bullet for engaging Hispanics. Aligning with their culture is the communication path to the Hispanic consumer.

4 Keys to Building Brand Loyalty and Sales With Latinas The $1.3 trillion Latina market is now an obvious business opportunity. But previous attempts at building Hispanic brand loyalty have generated mixed results for businesses. The following are four lessons learned in building Latina brand loyalty and sales:

1. Respect. It begins here. Latinas have earned, and are earning, respect. Respect for them is the willingness of a company to engage, rather than tell. The budget investment needed to build respect with Latinas can be a challenge for companies that allocate marketing dollars to programs using quantitative metrics that heavily weigh least cost per customer contact. These metrics will miss the mark for Latinas who place importance on relationships and the views held by their influence leaders. The path to winning Latina brand loyalty is to respect her family and community by developing a relationship with her and those who influence her. The good news is that more companies are recognizing the growing commercial opportunity of the Hispanic community. Their challenge is that few are succeeding in building personal connections.

2. Family wellness. Family wellness is core to Hispanic decision making and building brand loyalty. For example, there is growing Latina concern over the link between obesity and dollar menu items. Air quality and related health impacts are of concern for Hispanic families that often live in more polluted industrial/agricultural locations. Conservation of resources is both a financially prudent action taken by Hispanic families and a path for recognizing the legacy of parents and grandparents. For these reasons, the Hispanic community has the highest affinity for going green among all American demographic groups.