David Cole (pictured) discusses latest research into the cross-border buying habits of seven European countries.
If you’re direct marketing to consumers in the UK, France, Germany, Holland, Spain, Turkey or Italy, it might be helpful to know that most buyers in all those countries used search engines to source foreign goods and services.
Company websites were second most commonly used, followed by comparison websites and emails, but outside these commonalities (and even within the above findings response rates differ from country to country) buying experiences and habits vary.
But if you’re thinking of dipping your toe into the European direct marketplace, Italy might be a good place to start, since14% of Italians often buy goods direct from other countries. To put this in context, only 5% of the British buy often – less than in the other six countries, followed by 6% of Germans. Click here to view the chart.
Other countries where people often buy direct from abroad are France 12% and Turkey 13%. Half of the French, Dutch and Spanish sometimes do, along with 37% of Germans.
Spain offers potential; 65% often or sometimes buy from abroad, as do 62% of the Dutch.
In mid-February, GMA commissioned online research company fast.MAP to ask panels of French and UK adults about their direct buying habits. These insights were so useful to marketers that, in March, GMA extended the study to take in 344 German, 389 Dutch; 415 Italian, 566 Spanish and 406 Turkish under-65s.
The research indicated some customers have already been alienated by the hurdles of cross-nation purchase – 4% of Dutch and Turkish pioneers won’t try it again, along with 2% of the British, French, Germans, Spanish and Italians.
Germany is definitely the toughest of the seven European direct sales markets to crack. There, only 6% buy often, 37% sometimes and 55% rarely.
Second most foreign-sales resistant after the Germans are the British – 46% often or sometimes; 52%rarely buy.
Once you’ve decided upon which countries to target, you need to decide how to reach potential customers there.
Across the seven European countries, search engines drive an average of 44% of foreign direct purchase. Three countries are above this average: Germany 52%, Italy 50% and France 49%.
Company websites drive an average of 3 in10 direct foreign sales; comparison websites around a quarter (including 3in 10 in Italy and Germany); email an average 23%; and mobile ads an average 6% (the latter includes a massive 20% of Turks).
Across the seven countries an average 6% bought at exhibitions (including 1 in10 of the French, Germans and Italians). An overall average of 1in 10 also bought via direct mail.
An average 12% were motivated by a TV or radio ad; 1 in 5 via an auction site; and 14% in Turkey and Italy bought because of a print ad.
Online ads motivated 37% of Turks, a quarter of Germans and a fifth of Italians; and an average of 17% across all seven European countries bought goods on social media (a figure boosted by 31% of Turks and 25% of Italians). View chart here.
Lost in translation
Language presented more problems in some countries than others.
For example, three quarters of the Dutch, half the Germans and a third of the Spanish who bought direct from abroad spoke the language of the country marketing the goods, whereas 7 in 10 in the UK and 4 in 10 in France bought from native-language websites.
A fifth of Turks, 15% of Spanish and 14% of Italians (average is 12%) overcame problems by using translation software.
9%Turks; 7%Italians; 5%Spanish; 4%French encountered translation software problems. The French were the most likely to persevere and 8% bought despite this.
Exporters are not well prepared to cope with buyers’ language problems. They only offered help to 2% of Dutch, Turks and Italians and 1% of Brits, French; Germans and Spanish. Chart here.
The results suggest sellers need to concentrate on providing as many language options as possible on their websites as well as in their other marketing initiatives and consider spreading their reach by using the sales routes favoured within each country they target.
Since translation software is the source of problems for all but the multi-lingual, lost sales might be avoided if more real-time foreign language help was offered by exporters.
David Cole is MD of online research company fast.MAP.