Five Reasons to Get Into Brazil - Now

With an estimated 201 million inhabitants and a land mass nearly equal to that of the U.S., Brazil is a huge player in the global marketplace. It has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, with an average annual GDP growth rate of over 4% in the past five years and purchasing power of over $2 trillion. Economists estimate at least 7% growth for 2010. Much of this is due to a quickly emerging lower middle class of 95.4 million people who are snapping up cars, cell phones, new homes and all the items needed for these newly-built homes — commodities and discretionary products that American companies produce and sell.



So is now the time to start offering your company's products and services to Brazilian consumers? Absolutely. Here are five reasons to start tapping into the potential of this market:



1. The economic future is bright. Thanks to the prudent fiscal and monetary policies of President Lula and his economic team, Brazil was shielded from much of the fallout from the global financial crisis of 2008-09. Though growth rates slowed, the overall impact was minimal, and the country emerged in 2010 to lead South America with sustained growth, strong exports, moderate inflation and decreasing unemployment. It is predicted to become one of the five largest economies in the world in the decades to come.



As an American company, breaking into the Brazilian market is not as much of an obstacle as in other countries. Since Brazilian independence in 1822, the U.S. and Brazil have enjoyed relatively friendly, active political and economic relations. Currently, the United States is one of the largest exporters to Brazil, representing nearly 16% of their $128 billion imported goods and services, followed closely by China.



2. Translation – easy! Unlike countries with high-growth economies like India that have multiple official languages plus an incredible amount of dialects, Brazilian Portuguese is fairly straightforward. When translating your websites, documents and software for the Brazilian market, it's not necessary to create multiple versions with different vocabulary and grammatical formations unless you are purposely targeting consumers in a specific region or cultural group. Though Brazil has a highly diverse population, with immigrants from Italy, Germany, Spain, Japan, Poland and the Middle East, more than 99% of the population speaks Portuguese. Mass media penetration, such as national television networks viewed by the majority of Brazilians, help to further diminish the need for linguistic variations.



In addition, due to an economy closely aligned with the States, expert, professional translation from English to Brazilian Portuguese is relatively inexpensive and easy to accomplish.



3. There are clear opportunities in particular industries. Among the E7 countries, Brazil is ranked the third most attractive consumer electronics market, as the emerging lower middle class shops for mobile phones, TVs, DVDs and other new gadgets. Their disposable income is also being directed toward purchases of home goods such as washing machines and freezers.



4. Affordable marketing tactics. In the U.S., companies are putting more of their budget toward web-based initiatives such as search engine optimization (SEO) and social media marketing. Brazilians, particularly youth in areas with high broadband or smartphone penetration, are searching the web for what they need and using it to socialize with friends. If you do your research — on Orkut, for example, instead of Facebook — and find out where those consumers are, you can create targeted, high-impact campaigns that leverage the social group to promote your products among a trusted network of consumers.



5. Time zone differences? No problem. Unlike other emerging markets such as India, China and Russia, Brazil’s workday has overlap with the entire U.S., as well as Western Europe. Trips have less jet-lag and there’s no need for the dreaded 4am or 11pm conference calls. Depending on your U.S. location, you’ll be able to communicate with your Brazilian office and track progress from your desk in real time.



Learn how Acclaro can help you translate your products and services for the emerging Brazilian marketplace. Contact us today.