Article by ICG member Iris Griffiths, Across Research
Latin America has changed enormously in the past decade. Businesses are more digital, consumers more connected and entrepreneurs more comfortable working across borders. Yet the companies that perform best still understand the people and culture behind the market—not simply the numbers in a market-size slide.
If you are entering, growing or repositioning a business in the region, these five principles remain central.
1. Latin America is not one market
Brazil is not Mexico. Mexico is not Colombia. And national borders are only the start: a strategy that works in São Paulo may need meaningful adaptation in Recife, Salvador or Manaus. Doing business in Latin America means choosing priority markets carefully, then learning the local commercial, regulatory and consumer context.
2. Build trust, not just transactions
Technology has made business faster; it has not made relationships irrelevant. Trust is built through consistency, responsiveness, personal contact and a genuine interest in the people you work with. A video call or WhatsApp message may replace a lunch, but credibility still has a human dimension.
3. Adapt the model locally
Pricing, distribution, payment behaviour, communications and purchasing decisions can vary sharply across the region. The useful question is not “How do we introduce our way of doing things?” but “How can what we offer work well in this market?” Latin America market entry is an exercise in curiosity, not copy-and-paste expansion.
4. Communicate with context
Language matters, but communication is more than vocabulary. Meetings may open with a personal conversation; decisions may need explicit follow-up. Avoid stereotypes and learn how communication works in the particular country, organisation and situation. Strong partnerships combine relationship-building with clear documentation.
5. Speak the language—and understand what sits behind it
Spanish opens doors across much of the region; Portuguese is essential for Brazil. English can be common in multinational settings, yet local-language research and communication give a company deeper access to humour, social cues, consumer language and the meaning behind a response. Cultural intelligence turns translation into insight.
The opportunity in 2026
Latin America is more mobile, connected and digitally capable than many international businesses assume. But technology does not guarantee that a company will be understood, trusted or wanted. The organisations that succeed pair speed with local learning.
About Across Research
Across Research helps organisations understand international markets through qualitative research and culturally grounded insight, with particular expertise in Brazil, Latin America and Latin American consumers worldwide.