Buyer Behaviour Regional Research:

Collaborators Dominant Latin America which can

Neutralise the Power of Action-Oriented Advocates
LATIN AMERICA BUYER PERSONALITY RESEARCH
June 2015
Bob Johnson, IDG Connect
Kim Wallace, Wallace & Washburn

SURVEY METHODOLOGY

LATIN AMERICA BUYER PERSONALITY RESEARCH

IDG Connect surveyed 491 IT professionals in Latin American countries; Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Guatemala, Mexico, Panama and Peru. Over 400 of the respondents were from the non-tech industry while the further
65 respondents were from the tech industry. Respondents were asked a multiple choice question to discover which buyer
type they adopt when participating in a buying team.
From this, the respondents answer was categorised into one of the three buyer behaviours:
Collaborator: Collaborators seek comfortable team consensus when it comes to a purchase decision. They
welcome members opinions, including the pros and cons, considering these to be as valuable as facts and
figures. They consider features & benefits comparison charts to be very useful.
Challenger: Challengers consider themselves the experts in the group and will not hesitate to challenge points to
arrive at the best decision. Challengers respect expertise, competence, know-how and the views of industry
authorities.
Advocate: Advocate are vested in the potential impact the teams decision will have on company and personal
reputations as well as enhanced visibility. Advocates are action-oriented, working to promote their favoured
vendor(s) forward. They tend to be impressed with big name clients and famous founders.
This research is part of a global survey that was conducted by telephone to 3420 IT and Business Professionals.
The survey was conducted across Benelux, DACH, EMEA, Latin America, MEFA, Middle East, Nordics, Scandinavia regions.

Buyer Behaviour Regional Research | 1

LATIN AMERICA BUYER PERSONALITY RESEARCH

72%

72% OF LATAM
IT PROFESSIONALS
ARE COLLABORATORS
19%
10%
COLLABORATOR
Buyer Behaviour Regional Research | 2

CHALLENGER

ADVOCATE

LATIN AMERICA BUYER PERSONALITY RESEARCH

BY COMPANY SIZE
LESS THAN 500 EMPLOYEES

500+ EMPLOYEES

9%

10%

ADVOCATE
1 - 499

17%

20%
500 +

74%

70%
GRAND TOTAL

ADVOCATE

CHALLENGER

Buyer Behaviour Regional Research | 3

COLLABORATOR

CHALLENGER COLLABORATOR GRAND TOTAL

18

33

145

9%

17%

74%

30

58

207

10%

20%

70%

48

91

352

196

295

491

LATIN AMERICA BUYER PERSONALITY RESEARCH

BY JOB TITLE
DIRECTOR & ABOVE

MANAGER & BELOW

12%

10%
14%

ADVOCATE

CHALLENGER

Buyer Behaviour Regional Research | 4

COLLABORATOR

CHALLENGER COLLABORATOR GRAND TOTAL

DIRECTOR +

36

49

MANAGER BELOW

42

84

316

442

GRAND TOTAL

48

91

352

491

19%
71%

74%

ADVOCATE

ADVOCATE CHALLENGER COLLABORATOR GRAND TOTAL

BUSINESS DIRECTOR +

IT DIRECTOR +

35

48

IT MANAGEMENT

33

64

189

286

OTHER

20

127

156

GRAND TOTAL

48

91

352

491

INSIGHTS & IDEAS

LATIN AMERICA BUYER PERSONALITY RESEARCH

Buyers in Latin America decisions are strongly influenced by a desire for consensus. Over seventy percent of Latin America buying team
members are collaborators who tend to focus on people issues, sharing ideas and viewpoints as well as programs that insure a positive
hassle free impact on everyday work. Vendors beware the purchase influence of collaborators is unusually strong in Latin America
versus other regions. If you want to win over collaborators dont try to force yourself on them or you might end up in the maana
category. Instead, provide data and information they can use with others such as features & benefits charts. Collaborators are so
dominant in Latin America that they can neutralise the power of action-oriented advocates which are more prevalent elsewhere in the
world, especially the US and UK. Cultivate relationships with collaborators as they may become your advocate over time.
Keep in mind that the advocates interest in image and visibility, or big name clients will be countermanded by the vast majority of the
team saying in essence lets do what is best for our family team. If you push too strongly in your sales and channel enablement, it
might alienate the collaborators.
Marketers can use a bubble up approach in Latin America to better influence purchase decisions. Remember that because collaborators
tend to be more accessible than the other buyer types, they are oftentimes the best gatekeepers for vendors to approach. That can mean
going where the rank and file users of technology tend to be on social media sites, news sites and then presenting the risk, control and
rewards aspect of your solution both on an individual level, and an organisational perspective as well. And dont hesitate to use case
history success stories, especially those that demonstrate how employee involvement and feedback helped insure your programs
success.
Bob Johnson, IDG Connect
Bob_Johnson@idgconnect.com
Kim Wallace, Wallace & Washburn
kwallace@wallacewashburn.com
Buyer Behaviour Regional Research | 5

IDG Connect is the demand generation division of International Data Group (IDG), the worlds largest technology media
company. Established in 2005, it utilises access to 38 million business decision makers details to unite technology
marketers with relevant targets from any country in the world. Committed to engaging a disparate global IT audience with
truly localised messaging, IDG Connect also publishes market specific thought leadership papers on behalf of its clients,
and produces research for B2B marketers worldwide. www.idgconnectmarketers.com

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