In a recent episode of the television series "X-Files," a fatal fungus disfigures its victims before killing them. Only a pair of brothers -- Mexican illegal aliens -- who contract this fungus survive it. Agents Scully and Mulder want to track them down, but they have their work cut out for them. As Scully puts it, even though the brothers are terribly disfigured, finding them will be almost impossible because illegal Hispanics don't even register in the consciousness of most Americans.

Like the fictional brothers, real Hispanics seem to be invisible to many eyecare professionals in the United States. Although there are practically no opticals that will single out Hispanics and deliberately keep them away, few practices set out to capture this segment of the market.

Joseph Martel, M.D., thinks that not courting the Latino market is one of the biggest mistakes an eyecare professional can make. "There is a huge potential for profit in the Hispanic market, and many people don't recognize the spending potential there," he says.

Martel practices with three other ophthalmologists and three optometrists at Martel Eye Medical Group in Sacramento, Calif. He also serves as the president of the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. "We take tremendous advantage of this market," he adds. "The problem with many eyecare providers is that they are not trained to be businesspeople."

Indeed, the Hispanic market can be a lucrative one. According to Pilar Avila, vice president of marketing for the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, "Hispanics in this country have $350 billion in spending power today. That number is expected to reach $477 billion in the beginning of 2000."

Part of the reason for the expected rise is because the Hispanic population is the fastest growing segment in this country. Within 10 years, Latinos are projected to number 42 million, and by 2040, this group will be the largest minority, comprising 25 percent of the total population. "Companies looking to get their share of the profits will target the Hispanic market," Avila stresses.

Another part of the story is that most Hispanics come to the United States from other countries in order to look for prosperity for their families. As they enter the workforce, the amount of discretionary income they have increases. And as they establish families here, their American children have even greater opportunities for increased income.

Isabel Valdes, president of Cultural Access Corp. in Los Altos, Calif., and co-author of Hispanic Market Handbook, cautions that simply because some Hispanics might not show outward signs of wealth, it would be a mistake to conclude that they would not make valuable patients.

"Many service workers in the United States are Hispanic," she says. "That means that they have a cash income. They don't have mortgages and they don't have expensive cars. There are also two to three workers in the typical family. All this adds up to more disposable income per capita than the average American family," she points out.

"Some new arrivals to this country may not end up with a lot of discretionary income, but they do have to spend money for survival, which includes eye exams and eyeglass purchases," counters Avila. "They have to spend their money for these things somewhere. If I were in the optical business, I would like them to spend it in my shop."

Martel has also found the advantages to inviting working-class Hispanics into his practice. "A lot of our patients are blue-collar workers," he says. "Their optical insurance is better than that of a lot of our white-collar patients, because the unions offer their members exceptional benefits."

Among affluent Latinos, the lack of advertising and marketing to Hispanics is costly to U.S. eyecare businesses. The perception is that the optical profession does not welcome them as a consumer group, Valdes says. "Nobody is targeting the Hispanic market for procedures such as LASIK, which many of us would like to have done. So a lot of us go to Latin America for it and other procedures."

Valdes has worked with many large corporations, such as Procter and Gamble and Honda of America, to develop marketing campaigns that reach Hispanic consumers. These efforts have paid off for the companies, she says. "Honda of America started targeting the Hispanic market 10 years ago. In that time, the Accord and the Civic rose from holding the number 4 and number 5 rankings in their class to the number 1 and number 2 slots," she cites. "As a Japanese company, Honda had no preconceived ideas about Hispanics. They just looked at the population and income figures and went for the Hispanic market."

Understanding the Market

The demographics are an important piece of the U.S. Hispanic picture, but they tell only part of the story. Within the Hispanic group are people from many different cultures and countries. With the exception of Brazilians, who speak Portuguese, they are united by the Spanish language (although slightly different dialects are spoken in different places). Avila recommends that eyecare professionals who would like to capture their share of the Hispanic market familiarize themselves with some of the differences before embarking on a marketing campaign.

"The most important thing is understanding that the Hispanic population is not homogeneous," she says. "The larger group can be broken down into sub-groups. Hispanics come from different backgrounds."

The main groups in the United States trace their heritage to Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Central and South America. The population distribution is generally broken down by geographic region, Avila says. Latinos in the Northeast tend to be of the Caribbean descent: from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

In Texas and California, most Hispanics are Mexican, while Latinos in Florida are Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Central American. Chicago is an interesting mix, with a balanced community that reflects the overall U.S. Hispanic population.

But it would be a mistake to conclude that there are no Hispanics worth courting in other areas of the country, Avila cautions. "In Arizona, for example, the number of Hispanics is not large compared to the overall number in the United States, but they comprise 35 percent of the total population in the state," she says.

Market Sensitively

According to Avila, the biggest challenge in marketing is to remember the diversity among Hispanics, especially when making a nationwide effort.

Because cultural differences are so important, the symbols that appeal to Latinos of Caribbean descent, for example, simply will not work when vying for the interest of those from Mexico. "Puerto Ricans have more in common with Spanish heritage than Mexican-Americans do," she says. "For the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of Columbus's voyage, there were huge celebrations in Puerto Rican, Caribbean, and East Coast communities, but Mexican communities had a historical objection. Mexican history remembers the Spaniards as conquerors of their land, not as heroes," she clarifies.

In the same way, it would be inappropriate to use Mayan images when targeting Latinos in Florida or the Northeast. Mayans are identified with Mexican culture, and those symbols would be foreign to Caribbean Hispanics.

What is common to the larger group of Hispanics is their sense of what are sometimes called "mainstream" or "traditional" values. The family plays a very important role in their lives, and they tend to be loyal to a brand or service provider. Smart eyecare practitioners can make these values work to their advantage.

Offering reading material in Spanish as well as in English in the waiting room will help patients feel comfortable, regardless of in which language they prefer to communicate. Many companies offer literature about eye disease and products such as contact lenses in Spanish. Having this material available to patients lets them know that the eyecare professional is sensitive to their needs and welcomes them.

The referral network possibilities are also much greater within this group: once the family and friends as well as the patient sense that an optical goes out of its way to accommodate them, they are likely to return and recommend the optical to friends and family.

In addition, Martel points out when the whole crowd descends upon an optical for one person's eye exam, there is bound to be at least one bilingual member who can translate for the doctor or dispenser if need be. But it also helps if a staff member can converse in Spanish.

Regardless of who your potential customers may be, basic business practices remain the same, says Martel. "You need to recognize who your potential patients will be and target them," he says. "Whoever they are, patients want to feel that their culture is welcomed and respected, and that they are treated appropriately. They want to obtain treatment in a comfortable environment."

The key to increasing business in the new millennium is to research the market, then go after those consumers. The eyecare professionals who begin courting Hispanic consumers now will find themselves doing a thriving business in the coming years. As Martel puts it, "It just makes good business sense to cater to groups with spending power." EB