When trying to understand market research in a specific region, it’s important to talk to the people actually doing the research on a local level. Sometimes, when we’re doing this, it can be easy to get caught up in speaking to department heads and category leaders, but those aren’t the only voices driving market research in Latin America. In this piece, we wanted to highlight the voices of three market research professionals in Colombia, Brazil, and El Salvador, who make up the lifeblood of the industry, along with the thousands of others who devote themselves to this work.
Ana Vanegas, Colombia
Ana Vanegas is a senior researcher at Echo Market Research. She fell in love with market research when she took a class on it at university. To her, it was the perfect practical application of math, a subject she had long been passionate about. Her passion for market research only blossomed from there.
When asked what her favorite thing about market research is, she says, “Discovering what people think. The most amazing thing for me is discovering that not everyone thinks the same. Not everyone has the same habits, preferences, issues, and routines. So I like to understand others. I like to see how other people live. I like to see how other people think, and I like to understand what their main motivations are. I like to see that not everyone is like me, that everyone is in a completely different world.”
Ana has some thoughts about how market research is conducted in Colombia specifically. “Here in Colombia, the incentives are not as great as in other countries. I mean, incentives are low, and I feel that companies do not highly value the participants’ time. The other thing that I have seen is that a lot of companies cannot offer good platforms or good technology options that are available in the United States because of pricing.
So paying these types of platforms in dollars is something that not all companies can do or that not all clients will do. So they prefer to keep working with basic things or basic platforms, and they don’t have access to the innovation they would like to have. Not because they are not available; no, the innovations are available for everyone. The thing is that local companies and local clients cannot pay for that because the prices are too high in our context. So that’s something that is sad for me because they could be doing more innovative things, but because of pricing, they are limited to continue work with the same things or with basic things.”
If there’s one thing that Ana wishes businesses knew about Colombia, it’s that “In Colombia, we have amazing talent. We have great people. We are hard workers, and we are always hoping to learn. So the talent here in Colombia is outstanding.” In her free time, Ana likes to exercise and play with her kids.
Marilia Monteiro, Brazil
Marilia Monteiro is a senior project assistant at Echo, and she got into market research by accident. She wasn’t trying to get a job within the industry, but an opportunity presented itself, and she took it. Once she entered the industry, in her words, “I started to really take an interest in it, and it made a lot of sense when I got in.” Now, her favorite thing about market research is “getting in touch with so many different opinions, getting to know a lot of different ideas, and how companies work – specifically big companies. Usually, we don’t have access to those kinds of things, so it’s interesting to know how they work and what they need to know in order to improve.”
To her, market research in Brazil is a burgeoning industry with ample opportunities for growth. She thinks that market research in Brazil is under-utilized and is excited to see the growth of the industry within her country. Outside of work, she enjoys going to the movies and going to the beach with her dogs.
Dave Lovo, El Salvador
“I will say that’s the key part on any research that you want to do in El Salvador – getting people to trust that the process is real, that this is not a scam, and that this is something that is actually happening.”
Dave Lovo didn’t intend to get into market research either, but now that he’s here, he wouldn’t give it up. Similarly to Marilia, his first introduction to market research was through Echo. There he’s learned that his favorite thing about market research is “That every single day is different. It doesn’t always stay the same, and there are always topics to talk about… [Market research] opens your mind to new markets, products, and industries that you had never thought about previously. I have done several different research studies about new and interesting topics, and that makes the profession at large interesting for me.”
When it comes to conducting market research in El Salvador specifically, Dave says that one of the major issues facing researchers is trust among the participant pool. In Dave’s own words, “I will say that’s the key part on any research that you want to do in El Salvador – getting people to trust that the process is real, that this is not a scam, and that this is something that is actually happening.” Similarly to Brazil, Dave feels that El Salvador has a steadily growing and opportunity-laden market research landscape.
Outside of work, Dave enjoys watching films!
Highlighting heterogeneity
The amazing people highlighted in this article are just a few of the many that make the market research industry in Latin America so vibrant. Their voices and hard work should continue to be put in the spotlight and celebrated!
