Editor's note: Loretta H. Adams is president of Market Development Inc., San Diego.

Less than 10 years ago, when the market was not yet open to for-eign products, Mexican grocery shelves looked desolate. Most product categories consisted of only a few brands and each brand had only a few varieties. Some major multinational U.S. firms - such as Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive and Kraft - were selling in Mexico, but they took a very simple approach to marketing. They tended to use an aggregate strategy, selling products to everyone who could afford them. Segmentation strategies consisted of providing two alternatives: a low-priced, low-quality variety of the brand and a high-priced, high-quality version.

Since the election of President Carlos Salinas de Gortari in 1988, though, the marketing environment in Mexico has changed substantially. More Mexican brands, more foreign brands and more varieties of each brand are appearing on Mexico's shelves, and more companies are advertising aggressively on Mexican TV. The surge of competition in the marketplace means companies that want to operate in the Mexican marketplace will need to deploy sophisticated brand-differentiation marketing strategies, which will increase companies' reliance on primary market research.

Market research will be used to identify new categories, brands and varieties that will appeal to Mexican consumers. Research will also tell marketers how and why various items will appeal to consumers, and it will help companies find target segments within the Mexican population.

Different approach

The design and execution of research projects conducted in Mexico tend to differ from what companies are familiar with in the U.S. In the past, there were few brand choices and even fewer advertisers differentiating their brands, so Mexican consumers tend to be relatively unfamiliar with much of the imagery used to market goods in the United States.

Historically, market research in Mexico has been limited to primary qualitative research, concept and product tests, and awareness and usage studies, so marketers have very little secondary data to draw on. What's more, marketers have to reach consumers who are not familiar with standard U.S. research practices.

To enter the Mexican market, U.S. companies will need take a step backward when designing research projects. Companies may need to design introductory studies - perhaps focusing on market opportunities - before initiating strategic studies. And marketers may need to define their category users more broadly than they normally would. For example, since the frozen yogurt category in Mexico is less developed than it is in the U.S., a study that focused on frozen yogurt eaters when it was conducted in the U.S. may need to include users of all desserts when undertaken in Mexico; a study of quick-service restaurant users in the U.S. might be expanded in Mexico to include all restaurant users.

While all of these issues will have large impacts on U.S. researchers in Mexico, they should not cause any grave concerns for experienced researchers, who typically go through many of the same processes when approaching any new market.

Cultural characteristics

Researchers will also need to adjust to the key demographic and geographic characteristics of Mexico and account for their effects on research design. Mexico's population is extremely young, and the country still has a very clear social class structure. Only the upper classes should be included in research studies for many mass market U.S. items, such as automobiles and microwaves. The class structure must also be accounted for when analyzing usage of and attitudes toward products used by all consumers.
Mexico City contains roughly a fifth of Mexico's population and produces nearly half of the country's GNP, so it's often suitable to conduct research studies solely in the capital. When researchers need a study representative of the whole country, it's not uncommon for them to simply add Guadalajara and Monterrey to Mexico City. But if a marketing strategy is not successful in Mexico City, it probably won't fly in Mexico.

Researchers also need to be aware of the infrastructure and lifestyle factors that will influence research in Mexico. Qualitative research, in particular, will be affected:

  • There are only a few high-quality focus group facilities, so many groups, especially outside of Mexico City, are conducted in hotels or homes.
  • Groups should never be conducted between 2 and 4 p.m., which is when many Mexicans have their main meal of the day.
  • Focus group respondents often view gifts as more appropriate incentives than cash.

To ensure representative studies, in-person and door-to-door interviews are the best data collection techniques. While telecommunications, including cellular service, are rapidly improving, many households lack phones. Further, the reliability of the phone system is still not up to U.S. standards. When calling members of the upper class, interviewers often must get past servants acting as a gatekeepers to talk to the target respondent.

The mail service is also getting better, but less swiftly than telecommunications. Mexico has no consumer mail panels comparable to those in the U.S.

In-person intercept studies are appropriate for concept and taste tests, but there are practically no research facilities in shopping centers, and suppliers are often prohibited by law from setting up shop in malls. For intercepts, it's more common for suppliers to establish relationships with supermarkets, or to rent trailers and park them in high-traffic areas.

Researchers should proceed deliberately through the process of choosing a research supplier. The specific qualities researchers should be most concerned with include:

Accountability. Researchers should make sure that suppliers have a history of completing projects as contracted. When checking references, find out how problems were handled. Most market research projects run into obstacles along the way. Make sure the firm you are considering resolved each difficulty to the client's satisfaction.

Stability. You'll know you're in trouble if your research supplier keeps pressing for the final payment before the project is finished.

Emphasis on quality control. Mexican suppliers' standards and practices are sometimes different from those maintained by U.S. firms. When doing focus groups, it's not uncommon for recruiters to invite many relatives and friends to attend a group. Quantitative research questionnaires often have unclear instructions and sloppy data layouts. The lack of reliability in multi-wave samples poses a major problem when suppliers do not use a sophisticated or matching sample design for each wave. It behooves buyers of research to demand the quality they are accustomed to in the U.S.

Timeliness. While it's true that research in Mexico can take longer than comparable studies in the U.S. (often due to slower fieldwork, slower mail service and the increased time it takes to adapt instruments for Spanish), researchers should make sure that suppliers are just as responsive as the firms they use in the United States. Questionnaire development, data processing and report writing should take the same amount of time as they do in the U.S.

Sophisticated translators. Research buyers truly need to do their homework when it comes to language issues. For focus groups, it's important to make sure the moderator is a native Spanish-speaker who's also an experienced moderator. It's also critical for researchers to make sure the supplier provides them with an experienced interpreter who is truly fluent in Spanish and English, and who will translate everything focus group attendees say.

Translation of questionnaires can cause an even greater problem. Suppliers must be able to understand the intent of each English-language question and translate its concept into the most appropriate Spanish for Mexican consumers.

No tricks to it

There really is nothing magical about conducting primary research in Mexico. While there are some lifestyle and attitudinal issues that can affect the way research is executed, buyers of research are advised not to focus on cultural issues in trying to understand the market. Instead, researchers should attempt to fully understand four factors that come into play:

  • the past and present marketing environment in Mexico;
  • the geographic and demographic characteristics of Mexico;
  • conditions that affect market research;
  • the pluses and minuses of currently available suppliers of research in Mexico.

Once informed, researchers can state their overall objectives and devise a marketing research approach that will achieve their goals.