MERCAPLAN Overview

Mercaplan is a market research and brand consulting agency that has been in operation for over 30 years. It is one of the few agencies in the region that can handle projects in many product and service categories in the consumer and business-to-business sectors. It has clients in over 40 countries, including Asia, Europe, and America.

The company, which is based in Central America and the Caribbean, has a lot of experience helping businesses learn about their target markets and come up with plans to reach and engage their customers.

Mercaplan is a leading provider of qualitative and quantitative marketing and opinion research from Canada to Argentina, with a special emphasis on Central America and the Caribbean. The company employs 140 professionals and has a high-quality local agency in each market.

It has offices in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Dominican Republic. There are excellent focus group facilities in all major cities, including one-way mirrors.

Mercaplan offers a range of services to help businesses succeed, including market research, brand positioning, and marketing strategy development. Its team of experienced professionals works with clients to identify their target markets, gather insights about consumer behavior and preferences, and develop marketing campaigns that effectively communicate the value of their products or services.

Mercaplan provides businesses with support and direction as they navigate the difficulties of starting and growing a business in addition to its market research and brand consulting services. Its group of guides and industry specialists can give important experiences and skills to assist organizations with prevailing in their business sectors.

The creation of business plans is one of MercaPlan’s most important services. Market research, financial data analysis, and sales, marketing, and operations strategy development are all part of this. Additionally, the company offers direction on how to put these strategies into action and evaluate their efficacy.

MercaPlan’s focus on sustainability is one of the things that sets it apart from other business consulting firms. The company helps businesses implement environmentally friendly practices and adopt sustainable business models, which not only benefits the environment but can also lead to cost savings and improved profitability.

Businesses of all sizes and sectors rely on the high-quality consulting services that MercaPlan offers. It is well-positioned to continue assisting businesses in achieving their objectives and succeeding in today’s competitive market thanks to its team of experienced professionals and commitment to sustainability.

Founding year: It was founded in 1987

Headquarters: Managua, Nicaragua 

Workforce strength: As of 2022, it has 51-200 employees

Company type: Private Company 

Industry type: Advertising, Research, Consultation

Website:  https://www.mercaplan.com/

• Eye tracking: A neuroscience tool owned by the company can monitor eye movement and quantify intuitive and facial responses to stimuli. The neuroscience tool can be used to complement all of its qualitative and quantitative offerings. This paves the way for a deeper comprehension of how consumers react to advertising campaigns, concepts, and ideas. As well as a deeper comprehension for customers of how to optimize their communication to generate perceptions and actions that propel their brand’s growth.
• Market Research: Mercaplan provides ethnographic market research, also known as observational research. It makes use of specific techniques to collect data regarding how consumers use products or services, this entails collecting and evaluating data on consumer behavior, preferences, and trends.
• Brand Positioning: Mercaplan helps businesses come up with a distinctive and compelling brand identity that appeals to the people they want to sell to. This includes creating visual elements like logos and branding guidelines, defining brand messaging and positioning, and identifying key differentiators.
• Marketing Strategy Development: Mercaplan collaborates with businesses to develop marketing plans that effectively convey the worth of their goods or services to potential customers. This includes figuring out the most important channels for marketing, coming up with marketing strategies and campaigns, and figuring out how well marketing efforts are working.
• Business Support and Guidance: Mercaplan provides support and guidance to businesses as they navigate the challenges of starting and growing a business. Its team of advisors and industry experts can provide valuable insights and expertise to help businesses succeed in their markets.
• Mystery shoppers: The staff at Mercaplan has extensive evaluation experience and is well-trained in fast food, automotive, supermarket, mobile, and other services. This service aims to compare and contrast the various aspects of the service with the company’s plans, standards, and strategies. Clients can view the assessments’ results in the level of detail they require on the company’s online platform.
• Brand equity: Mercaplan utilizes worldwide demonstrated techniques, to gauge the worth of brands. The used analysis models have demonstrated their usefulness and adaptability to any category and context, resulting in improved analysis quality. The company understands the consumer’s relationship with the brand from knowledge to bonding by analyzing the value of brands based on the functional or emotional perceptions that consumers have about them.
• Digital media evaluation: Mercaplan has the technical know-how and expertise to conduct online studies in Latin America, tailoring its methods to the local market and digital customer demographic. It provides a set of solutions for measuring the effects of digital activities across all online formats, microsites, web and mobile applications, social networks, games, searches, and more to determine the efficacy of digital advertising.
• Through an independent Quality Control department, Mercaplan also provides fieldwork services for quantitative and qualitative methodologies and data processing to guarantee data quality. PAPI, CAPI, CASI, CATI, and CAWI are all examples of quantitative fieldwork.

Overall, Mercaplan provides a variety of services to businesses in order to assist them in comprehending their markets, creating a strong brand identity, and devising efficient marketing strategies for reaching and engaging customers.

Pros 

• Extensive experience: Mercaplan has been in operation for over 30 years, giving it a wealth of experience in the market research and brand consulting industry. The company has worked on projects in a variety of locations, indicating a level of experience and competence in these areas. This experience can be valuable for businesses looking for guidance and expertise.
• Comprehensive services: Mercaplan offers a range of services, including the option to tailor its offerings to clients’ specific needs.
• Training and development: The company has invested in training and development for its executives, which could lead to a more knowledgeable and skilled team.
• Supportive team: Businesses can benefit from Mercaplan’s team of advisors and industry experts’ assistance in navigating the business world’s challenges as they begin and expand. The company’s executives participate in international events and workshops, which could give them a broader perspective and help them stay up-to-date on industry trends.
• The company is capable of delivering databases using various software and can present findings in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese.

Cons 

• Limited geographical scope: While the company has experience in Canada and Argentina, it is not clear if it has a wider geographical reach beyond the Central America and Caribbean region.
• There is no substantial information on the pricing of its services, so businesses are unable to know if the services are affordable or not.

Businesses looking to develop effective marketing strategies to reach and engage their customers can rely on Mercaplan as a reliable resource to better understand their markets. It is a valuable partner for businesses looking to succeed in Central America and the Caribbean because of its extensive experience and expertise.