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Sunday, June 08, 2003
With American-made products enjoying a recent rise in popularity
in Europe, the
time is right to launch a cross-border catalog campaign.
The Euro has also made
doing business much easier by eliminating multiple exchange
rates and creating
greater price transparency. But before beginning, there are
five important steps
that should be considered:
- First, research is critical in
international efforts due to cultural and
linguistic differences that can sidetrack an
unprepared cataloger. Find out
whether or not the product has sufficient in-country
demand, who the main competitors
are and how American products are perceived. Use local marketing
people to gauge
feasible opportunities.
- Do not attempt a multi-country catalog campaign. Successful
direct marketers
entering overseas markets target one country
at a time. Once they find success,
they move on to the next country.
- Even if the “American-ness” of the catalog offer is a major selling
point, at every point of touch, the goal should be
to make the customer as comfortable
as possible with the entire buying experience. Localize
efforts as much as possible,
from the initial offer to the sales and follow-up. Offer
preferred payment methods
appropriate to individual countries – not everyone uses credit cards.
Catalogs being sent overseas should be sensitive to the
fact that different cultures respond to messages and
images in different ways. For example, Germans
like offers that feature facts and benefits, while Britons
often prefer more
promotions and discounts. Special attention to local
tastes, formats, sizes
and other differences can spell the difference between
success and failure.
- Once the sale is made, response capabilities should also
have a local look
and feel. Use local indicia, local return addresses,
and when possible, local
call centers using native speakers to field calls.
As always, each step of the
process should be as user-friendly as possible. Imagine
as a U.S. consumer,
receiving a catalog in a foreign language, dealing
with customer service representatives
who do not speak English and returning merchandise
to a costly overseas address.
It’s no different for n-n-American consumers.
- Be aware that address formats differ from country
to country. In many European
countries, the street number follows the street
name. Some countries have eight
blocks for addresses, while the U.S. has four.
Some postal codes are all numbers
like in the U.S. and Germany, while others are
alphanumeric like in the U.K.
and Canada. It’s critical to have reliable, accurate local advise
on addressing.
One way to avoid potential pitfalls is to purchase
locally produced lists that
are often more current and country-specific than
those produced outside of Europe.
Rainer Hegnst is vice president of public affairs for Deutsche
Post GlobalMail
(www.globalmail.com).
From:
Print Media - May/June 2002
Deutsche Post GlobalMail, Deutsche Post World Net, Deutsche
Post Global
Mail Address Doctor, SmartCharge and the Deutsche Post Global
Mail logo are
the property of Deutsche Post GlobalMail Ltd. All other
names, brands,
trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective
holders.
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