Dutch Web shop owners regularly let me know "Oh, we'll do that ourselves," when they talk about managing their German SEA campaigns. They then say, "I do speak quite a bit of German." When I hear this, my hairs stand on end, because when I look at ad texts, for example, they are in their best (coarse) German.
Three years ago I left Germany to take my chances in the Netherlands. Especially in the beginning, I noticed that Germans and Dutch people are much more different from each other than I expected. These differences could not fail to be present in online behavior as well. I saw this as a nice challenge to specialize in online marketing and to help Dutch companies make their webshop big in Germany. This blog will give you the tools to build a good foundation for your start on the German market.
Falsche Freunde
Whereas the Dutch don't bother very much (because it may be obvious), Germans are extra critical of the points below:
- Why would I (as a German consumer) order from a webshop that doesn't think it's worth putting decent, error-free German content on its website?
- Why should I (as a German consumer) take the risk of ordering something from a foreign webshop when there is also a German alternative where I can be sure that German law is complied with? AND with whom I can contact more easily if something goes wrong?
Germany is more than the Netherlands wholesale
What I have noticed in recent years in the Netherlands is that the average Dutchman is often unaware of the cultural differences between the Dutch and Germans (as I was, when I came here). Where differences may not be too bad in the private sphere, they become all the more obvious in the business sphere. In (online) shopping behavior, too, there are quite big differences. For example, the "About us page" and the "FAQ page" are among the most visited pages in many German online shops. This already shows that Germans like to know who they are dealing with before doing business.
It's all about 'reliability'
Although 61% of Germans say they have not yet had any bad experiences when shopping online (Statista 04/2017), the fear always remains. On the one hand, there is the fear of being cheated and having no legal basis to solve the problem or running into language barriers. On the other hand, Germans are very critical about who they give their personal data to. Enough reasons, therefore, to make German consumers feel good and safe in the webshop and make it clear that you are a reliable partner.
But how do you do that?
The answer seems simpler than it really is: make your webshop look like an ordinary German webshop. To achieve this, an error-free translation is absolutely necessary. Next, you need to think about:
- a secure (payment) environment;
- proper payment methods (PayPal and paying by invoice are especially popular with Germans);
- low return costs or free returns;
- a seal of approval (such as Trusted Shops, etc.);
- German customer reviews;
- a German customer service department to be able to assist consumers in German when they have questions and problems.
Get in touch
Do you also want to cross the border with your webshop, but could use some help with this? Let this be our expertise!
