Desert Financial Credit Union (DFCU) has stated its objective to increase its Hispanic market share in Arizona from 10% to 25%. Although trusted and community-oriented, DFCU’s Cultural Fluency Score of 2.7 out of 5 showed a gap between its brand and the rapidly growing Hispanic communities driving Arizona’s economic and population growth.
Nativa partnered with Desert Financial Credit Union (DFCU) on a multi-method, bilingual research program that transformed raw data into a Strategic Roadmap. We combined virtual focus groups, ethnographic interviews, survey research, social listening, and a marketing and competitor audit to understand how Hispanic consumers across DFCU’s Arizona footprint think about banks, credit unions, and financial trust.
Key Tactics
– Monitored bilingual financial attitudes through 6 virtual focus groups (3 English, 3 Spanish) and 12 ethnographic interviews (5 English, 7 Spanish), for 42 total participants.
– Quantified financial institution needs with a survey of 615 general market Hispanic respondents and 62 current DFCU members across five Arizona service counties.
– Analyzed 10,041 online conversations about banks, credit unions, and money decisions across social channels, including X, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and YouTube.
– Benchmarked 8 credit unions and 10 banks on accessibility, representation, and DEI to identify gaps and high opportunity Hispanic segments.
This engagement provided Desert Financial with a data-driven roadmap to transition from simply serving Hispanic communities to truly belonging to them. Clear metrics on language, channels, and generational needs, combined with the five-pillar Strategic Roadmap, now guide investments in access, representation, trust building, financial education, and public accountability as DFCU pursues its goal of growing Hispanic market share to 25 percent.
Connecting Brands with Hard-to-Reach Audiences Through Data-Driven Insights & Culturally Relevant Content
3428 N. 15th Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85015
46 S James Rd
Unit #616
Columbus, OH 43213
