International business plan development and strategy

Business Plan: Marketing to Brazil

In recent years, the economy of the Latin American, Portuguese-speaking nation of Brazil has been booming. Brazil's government has grown more democratic and friendly to doing business with the United States, partly because of the increased value of its own currency, and Brazil's domestic economy has grown and diversified in the range of the products that it exports to other lands. Today, "Brazil has one of the most advanced industrial sectors in Latin America. Accounting for one-third of GDP, Brazil's diverse industries range from automobiles and parts, other machinery and equipment, steel, textiles, shoes, cement, lumber, iron ore, tin, and petrochemicals, to computers, aircraft, and consumer durables. Most major automobile producers have established production facilities in Brazil...the country has become increasingly involved in international economic and trade policy discussions." ("Brazil," 2006, The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affairs)

As Brazil grows increasingly international in its focus, particularly amongst its wealthy elites, but also in its middle-class population, it will face one possible conflict -- it must deal with nations, particularly America, where its native language of Portuguese is not spoken. There is a great desire in Brazil for businesspeople to sharpen their English language skills, for learning the language with an academic approach in school is very different from deploying the language in commerce, especially in technologically related fields like computers and telecommunications. Thus, a United States firm could capitalize upon a potentially expanding market and export to Brazil a series of English-language learning devices, such as CD-ROMs and DVDs that were specifically designed to orient Brazilian businesspeople in English in the language of technology and commerce.

No matter how extensive Brazil's current range exports and imports, America has an invaluable resource that cannot be replicated in Brazil. America has English-speaking native speakers of its own language and the intellectual resources to make language learning fun and accessible. While it is true that there are already well-known international language instruction programs such as Berlitz, many of these are general programs in language learning, not suited to the specific needs of the Portuguese speaker. Consider how successful a French language learning series was called "French in Action" that specifically targeted the needs and problem areas of English speakers learning French many years ago. Also, this series of English learning aides would not simply be targeted towards Brazilian speakers, but Brazilian speakers wishing to hone their English business vocabulary and cultural fluency in the ways of the United States.

To gain further fluency (no pun intended) in the English-language learning needs of Brazilians, a joint venture with a local company, or with a Brazilian university might be advisable. "Joint ventures are very common in Brazil, particularly as a way for foreign firms to compete for government contracts or in heavily regulated sectors."("Brazil: CS Market of the Month," 2006, Export.gov) The potential for joint ventures to sell such products would be great, thus circumventing another possible problem, that of increased government regulation of outside enterprises. Some Brazilian businesses might want to engage in joint arrangements to have workers going to do business or live abroad in English-speaking languages learn from these tapes, and there could be special discount agreements with such companies, to make use of these resources. Additionally, the national economy would greatly benefit from a more fluent population that was better able to engage in a variety of business endeavors in other nations. This would encourage the Brazilian government to not place any additional legal obstacles when engaging in negotiations regarding such an exporting arrangement.

There already a clear and strong desire to learn more about the United States, to do business with the United States, and to travel to the United States. Brazil was the ninth largest source of visitors to the United States in 2004 and has one of the fastest growing outbound travel markets in the world. "With only 4 million outbound travelers from a population of 182 million, and the country's economic growth prompting more middle-class travelers, growth seems likely to continue...over 40% of total outbound trips from Brazil are for business. Brazilian business travelers are lucrative targets as they often include some leisure days during their trip and spend more than the average traveler," and business travel to the United States by Brazilians increased 33% overall in 2004. ("Chapter 4: Best Prospects for U.S. Businesses -- Travel and Tourism," 2006, Focus Brazil: U.S. Government Export Portal)