The Request

A Brazilian automotive accessories manufacturer sought to diversify its revenue through exporting its products. The company sought the assistance of Link Estratégia for an exploratory market study using Competitive Intelligence and Market Intelligence (CI&MI) tools.

Executives identified four geographies in Latin America. The company needed to know the potential of each country and the type of competition it would face. Additionally, it was necessary to identify any regulatory, technical, or fiscal barriers that could hinder internationalization plans.

The Process

Link’s team delved into secondary data sources from the four countries to measure each one’s potential. After an internal exercise to identify factors impacting the automotive accessories segment, the team began mining for information.

Fleet size and growth, economic capacity by age groups, cultural characteristics (as the client’s accessories were popular with a young audience interested in car tuning), and various other factors were assessed. With this data, a matrix was created with weights for each factor, ranking the four countries by market potential.

The primary research team then contacted local retailers to understand competitor behavior and potential customers, which caused Mexico to drop in the ranking. Interviews revealed that Mexicans preferred American brands due to their proximity, over Asian or local brands.

The goal was to identify the market with the highest potential for quick and cost-effective results. A market with these characteristics was identified to be the first to receive the company’s attention, along with recommendations for local sales channels.

The Outputs

Over the next two years, the automotive accessories manufacturer began exploring the recommended channels, initially sending test shipments to selected representatives and retailers and participating in local tuning events.

The brand’s communication efforts accompanied the export efforts, with the communication narrative exploiting the weaknesses of competitors identified by the Competitive Intelligence and Market Intelligence work. In the third year, the company already had a well-established export channel and was beginning to grow in the local market. By this year, exports accounted for just over 15% of the company’s revenue. Based on the knowledge acquired in the process, the company expanded its foreign trade team and advanced to other countries in the region, taking advantage of the data initially collected by Link Estratégia in other geographies.