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Our local teams plan & execute
Alliance experts helps you to develop your market entry strategy on the go. We scan the market, launch your product and grow your sales, constantly monitoring the responses and improving your approach.
Germany is one of the largest markets of Europe, but also a conservative one and difficult to penetrate from abroad.
Up to the 20th century Germany consisted of various independent kingdoms, duchies and city states. As these were relatively small and heavily dependent on each other, this has created a culture in which modesty and the pursuit of agreement are important values. The protestant beliefs, mainly practised in the north, have only added to this.
This means also that the sales process can be longer than normal, with more contact points, and personal sales is still valued very much. It also means that once they have chosen for a specific brand, Germans won’t switch so easily, although this will be less with the younger generations.
A website providing extensive information, a well trained call-center and a good guarantee policy is important. Also pay attention to online reviews and -if applicable in your sector- articles written by journalists about your products.
The group that has the highest purchasing power in Germany is the 55 years and above category. Though the younger generation always appears to be more online savvy, it is the older group that is is catching the eye of local retail players. Even the 65 plus age group is fast catching up to adopt online shopping habits in Germany. German consumers are using their mobile phones to compare prices even when shopping in a store.
Germany is also one of the leading European markets for e-commerce cross-border trade, and their already established delivery infrastructure is another huge benefit to retailers looking to reach the country’s 58 million online shoppers.
The fact that over 50% of these shoppers are already purchasing from international sites, again reiterates the opportunity Germany provides. Click and collect stations are becoming more popular due to customer service convenience but the click and collect concept is yet to be adopted by German shoppers.
As of 2014, twenty-eight German companies have made it to the Top 100 European E-Commerce Companies. Zalando is one of the successful local brands, that launched a mobile first strategy in 2015 and has captured 15 international markets across the globe, owing to its prowess in the areas of Technology, Marketing, Fashion and Logistics.
Consumers are becoming increasingly demanding. They are exercising a stronger will in purchase decisions regarding purchase points, shopping behaviour and frequency. Thus, it is very important to combine different sales and marketing channels to be able to cater to a wider clientele. This variety is however lacking in the German market place.
“Click and Collect” combines offline and online shopping. This approach in shopping has entered the in home furnishing markets. Click and collect stations are becoming more popular due to customer service convenience but the click and collect concept is yet to be adopted by German shoppers.
Parcel service providers are now facing a challenge in order to meet the changing demands of the German consumer. Hence, they have begun offering free deliveries, same-day deliveries, pre-booked delivery time frames and eco-friendly delivery models. This industry presents business opportunities due to its competitiveness.
The inclination to pay online is a growing one in Germany though they are traditionally known as being averse at taking risks. However, online payments for expensive commodities will only gain popularity once return and refund methods are introduced into the German market.
We work with local teams, who already know the market, speak the language and know the business culture.
We can compare different markets and as we can help you in all of them, we only favor the market that may work out best for you.
We help you avoid cultural misunderstandings, compliance issues, and other risks associated with entering a new market.
The best way to learn about a market is to start reaching out and adjust your sales pitch on-the-go. This is what we do in our Scan-Launch-Grow approach.
1st month
We dive into your product and what sales strategy has worked for you in other countries. We show you offering to various potential distributors or customers to collect feedback. And we review your competition so that we can determine the best market entry strategy.
2nd month
Together with you we develop a first pitch for your target group. We extend our long-list of potential targets further and start reaching out, getting to the right decision makers and pitching your product. And we discuss the results with you, in order to optimise your strategy further.
3rd and next months
We keep searching for new distributor candidates or clients and reach out to them. We also follow-up on previous contacts we had and on leads that you bring in. We introduce you to interested parties, but we can also support in meetings or close deals on your behalf. Every month we review our results.
Mehmet Aksoy
RR Engineers
Francis Huang
Würth
James Martin
Brabantia
Vitello Benevetti
Harley Davidson
Jing Zhang
Kamtec
Nouraldin Banaeinejad
CAN Home appliances
