One of my favorites subjects - Consumer Research: Final Project for a class at UCLA, applied for a real client.

1. Consumer Marketing Research
Focused on the Brazilian Market
December 12th, 2013
By Lisandra Maioli

2. Intrax is an English as a Second Language school based in San
Francisco, CA, with additional centers in Chicago and San Diego,
focusing on Career Development. The main programs offered:
§ Business English
§ Career Prep Activity
§ Professional Certificates
Currently, the main market for Intrax is Asia, but the company is
willing to increase its sales in Brazil, especially via directly
applications.
The objective of this Marketing Research is to help Intrax better
understand the Brazilian market and how to attract more clients from
this country.
Situation/Background

3. HOW we can attract
more Brazilians?

4. Research
This Marketing Research was done in 4 phases:
1st – Secondary research to understand the market and
its potential
2nd – Customer Journey to understand the purchasing
steps
3rd – Online survey to better understand what potential
clients think about studying abroad
4th – In-depth Interviews to understand the experience
of former Intrax students

5. Secondary Research
Understanding former Brazilian students

6. *Belta - Associação Brasileira de Operadores de Viagens Educacionais
42
167.5
215
2004 2010 2011 2012
thousands students studying
280
>>one of the two countries that grew
fastest in the first semester of 2012
>> one of three countries that sends
more students to study abroad
*ALTO (Association of Language Travel Organizations)
2013:+300 thousand(predicted)
Thousands of students studying abroad

7. 4th position growing fast:
College, Extension and Masters
Language courses
(63.4%)
High school
(22.5%)
Specialized
courses - vacation
(11%)
Types of courses

8. “To improve or learn a second
language, gain experience
and accumulate cultural
baggage valued in the
working market” –
G1.com.br (portal)
Why study abroad?

9. Why study abroad?

10. 10% more then 30
Age of students studying abroad
70% 18 and 30
20% teenagers (under 17)

11. Countries to learn English
ü lLow cost of living
ü Easier to get a Visa
ü Canadian Government incentive
ü Business
ü Good Universities
ü Closer to Brazil
UK (15%)
Canada (66.3%)
EUA (15.5%)
ü Traditional
ü Possibility to work
ü Visa is not
necessary
ü Possibility to travel
around the Europe

12. The new middle class
They helped grow the
number of students
abroad
They are investing in
education
They plan and save
money to study
abroad

13. SWOT Analysis
• Intrax offers courses beyond General English
(Business English and Certificates)
• Career Preparation Program
• Teachers and employees who speak
Portuguese
• Affiliations & Credentials (including for
applying for the TOEFL exam)
• Excellent infra-structure
• Perceived as a school for adults and for
people who need to improve their careers
Strengths
• Olympics Games and World Cup
• Increase in interest in English courses
• Increase in Brazilians online (especially
Social Media)
• Increase in purchasing power of “Classe
C” (new emergent middle class)
• Dissatisfaction or problems with agencies
• Possibility of Visa Waiver Program
Opportuni/es
• The brand is not popular in Brazil
• Intrax doesn’t have a webpage in Portuguese
• Intrax doesn’t have a Portuguese-speaking
student advisor
• No center on the East Coast (especially NY)
• Difficulty to create new courses or products
Weaknesses
• Brazilian
agencies
don’t
know
how
to
promote
Intrax
(or
don’t
know
very
well
their
services
or
are
not
well
prepared)
• Preference
for
Canada
(cheaper,
work
possibility)
• Difficulty
geDng
American
Visas
• Increased
interest
in
Europe
(became
cheaper
due
to
the
crisis)
• Local
schools
Threats

14. Customer Journey
Understanding the purchasing steps

15. Online purchase decision steps (Box1824)
Google
(general)
Forums/
Friends
(general)
Official
online pages
(general)
Google
(specific)
Forums/
Friends
(specific)
physical
store
(specific)
Share with
their friends
Blogs/Social
Media
Forums
Searching for information
Making decisions and Purchasing
Sharing experience
http://vimeo.com/user5169819

16. ESL course purchasing decision steps
(simulating)
Google (General)
Agencies
(specific)
Official
online pages
(general)
Google.com.br
- “estudar ingles EUA” (“studying English USA”)
- “curso de ingles nos EUA” (“English course in the USA”)
Agencies
- Mystery Shopper: Simulating interesting in a specific
program
Social media
- Impressions of Intrax
Searching for information Making decisions Sharing experience

17. Searching for information
Schools
ü Kaplan
ü EF
ü Embassy CES
ü LSI
ü ELS
Agencies
ü CI
ü STB
ü Experimento
“estudar ingles EUA” and “curso de
ingles nos EUA”(Google.com.br)
Results of 1st page
News and articles
Google.com.br

18. Google - diagnosis
ü Intrax did not appear in Google.com.br search
results (we looked up to the 10th page)
ü It is important to develop SEO and Google Ads
projects in Portuguese and focus on the
Brazilian Market

19. Agencies Official Online Pages
Making Decisions
CHAT / E-MAIL / FACEBOOK
Describing myself:
§ Journalist, 35 years old
§ Studied in England
4 years ago for one month
Brief:
§ English Course focused on
Business or Marketing
§ San Francisco
§ 6 months
§ internship/part time job

20. Chat
ü They did not know whether there was a course with this format
Rio de Janeiro’s office
ü They have recommended Kaplan for Business English
ü They said there was no internship program in the USA
São Paulo’s office
ü They have recommended ILSC
São Bernardo do Campo’s office:
ü CI from Sao Bernardo do Campo suggested ILSC to study Business
English
ü They said there was no school in the USA that offered programs with an
internship

21. Website form (answer by e-mail)
ü They said they had a perfect program, but only at Intrax in San Diego
ü They suggested the General English and the Certificate courses
Facebook Direct message (answer by e-mail)
ü They told us that there was a program with this description, but they were
sold out
ü Did not provide the school's name
ü I asked for more information: they suggested a 3 month of General English
course and 3 months of full-time work (they said that I would not have time
to study)

22. Sao Bernardo do Campo’s office
ü At first, they recommended Kaplan
ü In a second email they mentioned the Certificate of Intrax (need level 7)
ü They didn't cite Business English or Career Prep
Sao Paulo’s office
ü They recommended Intrax (however
they are using an old picture of the school)
ü They suggested 3 months of Business
English + 3 months of internship
ü They told me that it wouldn’t possible to
study and work during the internship

23. São Paulo’s office
ü They said there is no program in the format that I was expecting,
suggested a University and, after that, General English
ü I insisted, said a friend told me about Intrax, I asked what they knew
about the school
ü They responded that Intrax was a very nice school, but I could not take
the Certificate course because of my level of English

24. São Paulo’s office
ü They suggested Embassy and Intrax
ü I asked for more references about Intrax; they said Intrax was excellent,
but it was a school for a higher level of English and that Embassy was a
school for those with an intermediate level of English
ü They sent me 2 YouTube videos about Intrax and one about Embassy

25. Agencies - diagnosis
ü The Agencies are not prepared to answer
questions from students
ü A lot of wrong information and misunderstandings
ü They don't remember Intrax easily, even though
the school is in their portfolio
ü The same agency can send different information

26. Searching Experience
doubts
work travel
questions
trouble with agencies
experiences
information
Social Media and blogs

27. Social Media - diagnosis
ü Students share their experience during and after
the course
ü Students make questions to other students
regarding the course/school
ü They are not afraid of to tell the truth
ü Students are unhappy about their experiences
with the agencies

28. Online Survey
Understanding potential Brazilian clients

29. Online Survey to Brazilian Prospects
Defined
Objective and
Screener
Listed
questions
(Intrax)
Designed
the Survey
Used Instant.ly
Published
link on SM
Analyzed
results
Intrax approval

30. Main Objectives of Research
Knowing the potential of Brazil to send more students - since the
country will host soon two big international events - Intrax wants
to understand more about the Brazilians as a target and figure out
how to reach and attract them to the school.
Screener
• Brazilians interested in studying English abroad at any age
• Internet, Social Media and/or email users
Online Survey to Brazilian Prospects

31. What questions Intrax wanted to answer?
ü Which country the Brazilians prefer to study English and why?
ü What motivates them to study English abroad?
ü Do they know about Intrax? And about the competitors?
ü Would they apply directly or do they really prefer to apply through an
agency? Why?
ü What kind of courses should we offer to Brazilians?
ü Which courses, city and school attributes can most attract Brazilians?
ü Where we should advertise our School in Brazilian Media? Which Media
should we to use to reach the Brazilians prospects?
ü Which websites do Brazilians use to research traveling and/or studying
in the US?
Online Survey – Key Questions

32. Survey Plataform:
Online Survey – Tools
https://www.instant.ly/report/5082c92ae4b0f73accaba3b0
Period
November 18th – December 6th, 2013
Published on:
Personal Facebook, Twitter and email
Results:

36. Studying English
30% used to study,
but stopped
26% study for
less than 5 years
50% male | 50% female
65% 18-30 years old
75% male | 25% female
50% 18-30 years old
33% -18 years old
80% are
considering
studying abroad:
64% 18 – 30 years old
18% 31 – 45 years old

37. Studying English abroad
USA, Canada and UK are the favorite
Other (5%)
Australia (8%)
UK (21%)
Canada (26%)
EUA (Pacific) (21%)
USA (Atlantic) (19%)

38. Studying English Abroad
How long would they like to study
abroad?
I have no idea! (10%)
At least for one year! (29%)
More than 6 months (8%)
Between 3 and 6 months (14%)
For two or three months (10%)
For ONE month (25%)
A few weeks, less than one month
(5%)

39. Studying English Abroad
How long would they like to study
abroad?
At least for one year! (29%)
For ONE month (25%)
What kind of course
56% English + Internship
13% General English
27% Business English
What kind of course
64% General English
14% Business English
Age
64% 18-30
21% 31-45
Age
65% 18-30
18% -18
18% 31-45

40. Studying English Abroad
47% New York
36% San Francisco
5% Miami
4% Chicago
4% San Diego
83% believe that studying English is
important to their career
Where would they
like to study?
38% General English
29% English + Internship
22% Business English
Which kind of
course?

41. Studying English Abroad
From the people who would like to
study abroad:
48% prefer to apply through an
agency. However, 52% prefer to apply
directly:
16% prefer to apply directly to the school
36% would like apply directly if the school
had a Portuguese speaker
72% of the people
who have already
studied abroad
would like to
study again

42. 41% General English
27% English Business
18% Business English
Studying English Abroad
Why San Francisco?
“Being close to the Sillicon
Valley, in San Francisco, I
can meet interesting
people!”
ü Tech city, close to Sillicon Valley
ü Friends recommended it
ü Multicultural and friendly city
ü Nature, beach and landscape
“There is a great Brazilian
community there. That
makes me feel more
comfortable, like in my
home country”
29% to have specialized
short courses
29% to study in a
university
14% to improve their
English
Brazilians who would like to study English in
San Francisco

43. Studying English Abroad
Why San Diego?
ü California lifestyle
“I would love to live in
San Diego because I like
the lifestyle. It is less
tropical than Miami
and less chaotic than
New York”
Why Chicago?
ü Recommended by friend
“I have great
references about the
city from a close friend
who went there
before.”

44. Studying English abroad
School attributes
1 being “the least important” and 5 being “the most important”
Price 4% 5% 23% 50%
Discount/
Promotion 4% 9% 20% 29% 39%
Housing
Service
4% 21% 36%
Location 2% 23% 29% 36%
Extra activities 4% 9% 25%
Be certified 5% 4% 5% 21% 64%
Methods
Payment 4% 2%
Teachers 2% 2% 7% 29%
Programs
offered 2% 0%
Ease of application 4% 7% 16% 25%
18%
11% 29%
11%
32%
14%
21%
14%
36%
30%
1 2 3 4 5
66%
61%
41%
48%

45. Studying English Abroad
Where are they looking for information
about English courses abroad?
Sites and
portals
Blogs,
forums,
Social Media
TV
programs
Magazines
and
Newspapers
Travel
Agencies
Friends

46. Studying English Abroad
Where are they looking for information
about English courses abroad?
Sites and
portals
Blogs,
forums,
Social Media
TV
programs
Magazines
and
Newspapers
Travel
Agencies
Friends

47. 1 2 3 4 5
2% 4% 27% 23% 45%
5% 5% 20% 30% 39%
4% 0% 11% 23% 63%
0% 4% 13% 27% 57%
0% 5% 11% 16% 68%
I prefer to choose a course or a city
recommended by friends or relatives
I will probably use my vacation to study
abroad
I would love if my annual incentive
trip was to study abroad
I would like to optimize my time
studying abroad and also have a work
experience, even if unpaid
I would like to study, but also travel a
lot and visit most of the places that I
can
Studying English Abroad
I’m interested in courses that, besides
the English, I can learn something
specific such as Business, Marketing,
Hospitality, Design, Art, etc.
I would like to participate in a
webinar to know more about a school
0% 4% 7% 25% 64%
5% 9% 30% 25% 30%
1 meaning “ you strongly disagree” and 5 meaning “ you strongly agree”

48. What questions Intrax wanted to answer?
ü Which country the Brazilians prefer to study English and why?
ü What motivate them to study English abroad?
ü Do they know about Intrax? And about the competitors?
ü Would they apply directly or they really prefer to apply trough an
agency? Why?
ü What kind of course we should offer to Brazilians?
ü Which course, city and school attributes can most attract Brazilians?
ü Where we should advertise our School in Brazilian Media? Which Media
should we to use to reach the Brazilians prospects?
ü Which websites do Brazilians use to research traveling and/or studying
in the US?
Online Survey – Key Questions
All questions
were answered!

49. Interview in Depth
Understanding the Brazilian Market

50. Interview in Depth (by Skype)
Screener:
Brazilian Intrax former student
Platform:
Skype / Call Recorder
Duration:
30 min – 45 min

51. Interview in Depth
• Intrax Course: Business English,
Professional Certificate (Marketing)
• Center: San Francisco (CA)
• Duration: 4 months
• Period: March-June 2013
• Housing: Homestay/Hostel
• Application: Agency
Evelyne Guedes (São Paulo)
Administrator, 22 years old
Talked to 10 travel agencies"The agencies were not able togive me details about theprograms, I had to research tobetter understand"
Professional Certificate"I didn't find another school whichcould offer me something similarand my goal was improve mycareer"
Career Preparation"I could improve my vocabularyand speaking skills, but it wasmore about observe than actuallyhaving a practical experience "

52. Interview in Depth
• Intrax Course: Business English,
General English
• Center: San Francisco (CA)
• Duration: 3 months
• Period: April-June 2012
• Housing: Hostel
• Application: Directly
Lisandra Valim (Porto Alegre)
Project Manager, 33 years old
Bad previous experience"It is really hard find a good school
for people who is a little bit older
and has years of career. I decided
by Intrax because a friend referred
the Business English course."
Positive points"In my first week I was impressive
with the infrastructure of theschool and the quality of theteachers. However, my last week I
had a bad teacher."
General experience"Although I had have a goodgeneral experience, I don't feel
comfortable to refer Intrax to my
friends, because I can not unsure
that they will have the same good
teachers that I had. "

54. Research Recommendation
Since this project was a pilot and has no scientific representation, we
highly recommend that Intrax invest in deeper Marketing Research.
Regarding:
Secondary Research - Intrax should keep updated about the changes in
the Brazilian Market by buying some Researches.
Customer Journey – it would be interesting to have some mystery
shoppers going to several Travel Agencies in person.
Online Survey – it is important having a greater number of respondents
and a more diverse sample.
Interview in depth – Intrax should hire a research company in Brazil to
interview more former students and from different Brazilian regions.

55. Marketing Recommendation
• Landing Page in Portuguese
• PR Plan focused on Brazil
• Social Media content in Portuguese
• Answering questions and comments (SM Monitoring)
• Online webinars (travel agency training)
• Road Show (in Brazil)
• New York Center

56. Recommendation
LANDING PAGE in Portuguese:
ü Information
ü Brochure in Portuguese
ü “Fale com a Intrax” (chat and/or email)
ü List of Brazilian agencies (partners)
ü English
test
ü Ideal
program
test
The prospective
student can
book directly or
find a partner
agency
Landing page in Portuguese

57. Ideal program test
Recommendation

58. Advertisement
Ø Google
and
Facebook
Ads
in
Portuguese
ü All
campaigns
have
to
be
linked
to
the
landing
page
in
Portuguese
Recommendation

59. Press (official and non-official)
Ø Press
release
in
Portuguese
for
blogs
ü List
of
interesIng
blogs
ü Produce
and
send
release,
and
follow
up
Ø Partnership
with
local
press
office
ü A
local
press
office
is
responsible
for
promoIng
Intrax
in
the
Brazilian
press
ü In
exchange,
one
professional
in
this
office
can
study
at
Intrax
for
free
Ø Press
trip
ü List
the
best
journalists
ü Invite
a
group
of
journalists
to
visit
SF
Intrax
ü The
SF
Travel
could
be
a
partnership
Recommendation

60. Online tools
Ø Webinars
ü about
the
school
and
give
a
discount
to
parIcipants
ü directed
to
clients
of
agencies
ü promoted
by
partner
agencies
Ø Online
Monitoring
ü Monitor
and
answer
Brazilians’
quesIons
in
forums,
blogs
and
Social
Media
Recommendation

61. Road show in Brazil
Ø Partnership
with
local
schools
(material,
online
classes,
con/nue
course)
ü Local
English
Schools
–
discount
to
groups
(like
Fisk
&
EF)
ü Specialized
Schools
–
conInuing
courses
in
SF
with
visits
in
specific
companies
and
places
Ex.:
Marke+ng,
Fashion,
Social
media,
Hospitality,
Design
etc.
ü Promote
Career
PreparaIon
ad
CerIficates
ü Group
of
English
teachers
(teacher
training)
Recommendation

62. E-commerce School has a international
partnership with a University from Texas

63. Road show in Brazil
Ø Strengthen
rela/onships
with
Brazilian
agencies
(visits,
online
workshops,
including
other
agencies
on
e-­‐mailing)
ü Local:
Visit
some
agencies,
promote
workshops/training
to
employees
ü Online:
promote
webinars
to
employees,
add
other
agencies
on
e-­‐mailing)
Agencies:
h?p://www.agenciadeintercambio.com/
ü SF:
invite
agencies
to
come
to
study
for
one
week
at
Intrax
ü Contests
to
bring
students
ü Invite
people
from
agencies
and
press
o
study
at
Intrax
for
a
short
period
ü Start
a
relaIonship
with
Belta
(Brazilian
EducaIonal
and
Language
Travel
AssociaIon
-­‐
hXp://www.belta.org.br/
Recommendation

64. Road show in Brazil
Ø Visit
for
HR
of
Brazilian
companies*
(special
groups,
special
extra
ac/vi/es)
ü Special
groups
to
study
at
Intrax
(could
be
included
special
extra
acIviIes,
for
example,
employees
from
hotel,
could
visit
wineries
in
Napa
Valley)
ü Study
English
as
an
incenIve
travel
Recommendation

65. Products
Ø Specialized
course
extension
(Design,
Hospitality,
Social
media,
Gastronomy,
Hospitality
etc.)
-­‐
professionals
and
college
students
Ø Tour
with
Language
(learning
English
during
tours)
–
families
who
would
like
to
use
their
vacaIon
to
learn
English
together
Ø English
on
the
road
-­‐
ILSC
offer
a
travel
program
(7-­‐10
days)
with
a
English
teacher.
Brainstorm

66. Lisandra Maioli and Davi Moraes