Joel Saegert

Characteristics of Mexican American Consumers

Three consumer variables suggested by the literature to be characteristic of United States Hispanics were investigated in four surveys of South Texas Mexican Americans. Evidence that Mexican Americans are more brand loyal than non-Hispanics was weak, at best. Support was found for the hypothesis that Mexican Americans prefer familiar stores and are more price conscious.

Sales managers and sales force feedback: Information left in the pipeline

In a study of sales force feedback at management levels, salesmen from two large corporations “planted” competitive new-product information with their sales managers. The object was to monitor the responses of the managers to reports from the field. Only about half of the 35 managers sampled passed the information on to higher levels. The importance of sales force feedback seems to have been lost on these managers, even though the use of such information had been stressed in their management training programs. The study indicates a need to provide motivation to use sales force feedback as a link in management information systems.

A Study of Hispanic New Car Buyers1

Although a number of studies designed to determine distinctive characteristics of Hispanic shoppers have recently been reported (e.g., Deshpande, Hoyer & Donthu, 1986; Saegert, Hoover & Hilger, 1985; Wilkes & Valencia, 1986), they have chiefly focused on consumption of nondurable products. It is certainly true that Hispanics must also be said to constitute an appreciable market for durable-goods products, and it would seem important to attempt to discover what characteristics distinguish Hispanics from non-Hispanics in durable goods purchasing. This study surveyed Hispanics who had recently purchased a new automobile, and asked questions concerning search behavior, expectations, make of car purchased, and satisfaction with the purchase. Earlier work has raised the issue of whether differences between Hispanics and non-Hispanics are attributable to socioeconomic factors rather than cultural differences. In this case, since Hispanics who can afford to purchase a new car have at least some purchasing power, such a study could point to true cultural characteristics of Hispanic buyers.