Customer

In Brazil, business transactions happen between people, not between companies. When you buy from or sell to Brazilians, you’re entering a relationship, not just completing a deal. They want to know who you are—your name, your background, who connects you.

The transaction itself is shaped by this personal connection. If they know you, or know someone who knows you, everything changes: terms become more flexible, trust develops faster, problems get solved through conversation.

If you’re unknown, you’ll face more caution and more formal process. This isn’t inefficiency—it’s how Brazilian commerce works. The relationship isn’t separate from the business; it’s the foundation that makes good business possible. Invest in becoming known, in building personal connection. Transactions flow from relationship, not the other way around.

When you do business with Brazilians over time, you’re building a web of mutual obligation. Each time a supplier delivers well or a customer pays faithfully, you’re not just completing a transaction—you’re creating bonds that carry expectations. The supplier who has served you reliably expects your loyalty, not just your next purchase order.

The customer who has been flexible about terms expects accommodation when they face difficulty. These obligations aren’t written anywhere, but they’re real. Brazilians remember who has treated them well and who has let them down. Abandoning a good supplier for a marginally better price, or failing a loyal customer when it becomes inconvenient—these actions damage your standing.

The relationship creates obligations on both sides. Honor them, and your commercial relationships deepen. Violate them, and you’ll find doors closing.

Brazilian customer-supplier relationships require flexibility from both sides. When circumstances change—when a customer faces cash flow problems, when a supplier encounters production delays, when the unexpected happens—the expectation is accommodation, not rigid enforcement of terms. The supplier who demands literal contract compliance without regard for customer difficulties damages the relationship.

The customer who refuses any variance from specifications without considering supplier challenges does the same. Flexibility signals that you value the relationship beyond the immediate transaction. Rigidity signals that only the contract matters.

In Brazilian commercial culture, the rigid party is the one damaging the relationship. This doesn’t mean accepting anything goes—expectations exist and matter. But the relationship must have room to breathe, to adapt.

When you show flexibility, you build trust. When you insist on rigid terms, you erode it.

Brazilian commercial trust is built through knowing people, not through credentials or contracts. A certificate tells you what someone has officially achieved; working with them tells you who they actually are. Over time, you see how they handle problems, whether they keep commitments, how they behave under pressure.

This accumulated experience creates trust that no document can provide. Brazilian businesspeople prefer suppliers and customers they’ve worked with before, or who come recommended by people they trust. New relationships start with limited trust—you’re unknown, so caution is appropriate. Each positive experience builds trust; each failure damages it.

When Brazilians ask about references, they want to talk to people who know you personally, not just read letters. Your reputation lives in the network of people who’ve experienced you directly. Protect it.

In Brazilian customer-supplier relationships, one party typically has more power—the supplier who controls scarce goods, the customer who controls major purchasing. But power comes with obligation. The supplier who has what customers need is expected to treat them fairly, to provide genuine value, to be responsive. Exploiting a strong position—offering poor service because customers have no alternatives—violates expectations and damages reputation.

Equally, powerful customers owe fair treatment to dependent suppliers. Squeezing suppliers because they need the business, treating them as disposable, demanding impossible terms—this marks you as someone who abuses power. Brazilian commercial culture expects both parties to honor their obligations regardless of who holds more leverage.

The question isn’t just what you can get away with but what the relationship requires. Honor your side of the bargain, and you maintain standing. Abuse your position, and you may win the battle but lose the war.

Brazilian business relationships expect personal warmth, not just professional courtesy. The supplier representative who remembers your name, asks about your family, takes genuine interest in your situation—this is normal, not exceptional. The customer who treats service providers as real people, who brings human warmth to interactions—this is expected behavior. Cold efficiency might technically accomplish the transaction, but it feels wrong.

Brazilians want to do business with people they like, people who engage with them as humans. This affects everything from sales approaches to customer service to how meetings are conducted. Don’t skip the personal conversation to “get down to business”—the personal conversation is part of the business. Take interest in people.

Remember what they tell you. Be warm. In Brazil, warmth isn’t a soft skill layered on top of competence; it’s part of what competence means.

In Brazil, who you know matters enormously. Having connections—direct relationships or links through others—opens doors, provides better terms, smooths processes.

When you’re connected to someone at a company, problems get resolved faster, requests get prioritized, information flows more freely. This isn’t corruption; it’s how relational commerce works. Brazilians trust known parties more than unknown ones, so being connected means being trusted more quickly. Network-building is commercial infrastructure.

Maintain relationships even when you don’t need anything; they’ll matter when you do. When entering a new company or market, ask who knows someone there. An introduction from a mutual connection is worth more than the best cold approach. Invest in becoming well-connected—knowing people across industries, maintaining relationships over time. Your network is commercial capital.

In Brazilian business, giving more than you strictly owe creates relational capital that pays returns. The supplier who delivers beyond contract terms, provides extra service, invests in customer success beyond immediate obligation—they’re building something. The customer who pays promptly, provides referrals, supports supplier development—they’re building too.

This generosity isn’t just niceness; it’s strategic. What you give beyond requirement today creates relationship value that produces return tomorrow. Purely contractual relationships—where each side provides exactly what’s required and nothing more—fail to build this capital.

When you need flexibility, when problems arise, when you want preferential treatment, your accumulated generosity becomes the resource you draw on. Be the supplier who goes the extra mile. Be the customer who treats suppliers well. The relational capital you build is real, even if it doesn’t show on a balance sheet.

In Brazil, negotiation is expected and welcomed. The customer who accepts stated price without discussion seems either naive or uninterested in relationship. The supplier who refuses to negotiate seems rigid and unwilling to engage.

The process of negotiating—discussing terms, exploring possibilities, finding mutual accommodation—is itself relationship-building. It shows you care enough to engage, that you see this as relationship rather than mere transaction. Even when terms don’t change much, the conversation matters.

When buying from Brazilians, negotiate. Not aggressively, but engagingly—showing you understand how this works. When selling, expect negotiation and participate willingly.

The back-and-forth isn’t obstacle to the deal; it’s part of how the deal becomes a relationship. Embrace the process. Brazilians respect those who negotiate well; they distrust those who won’t negotiate at all.