Effective marketing/advertising to the expat community.

[mark]

Zuricher - I believe this is the thread you maybe wanted to start? Care to start it?

[DaveA]

1. Play on their ignorance (for new arrivals)
dave

	Quote:	mark
	Zuricher - I believe this is the thread you maybe wanted to start? Care to start it?

[gbn]

	Quote:	DaveA
	1. Play on their ignorance (for new arrivals) dave

Hey Mark, can we have a new smilie for "cynical git".
"Sarcasm" doesn't cover it that well...

Back on thread, and following on nicely from DaveA:
There's also a firm (I forget the name) that advertises on extwats and presents courses for "how to cross the road in switzerland" and "how do trains work" and other equally banal things.

Which is all for free here and elsewhere..

[Lob]

it's not the funny coloured sky company is it? :spits:

[mark]

Sigh.....

Ok, I'll start the thread off. Seems a bit late though since everyone has beat me to the punch.

This purpose of this thread is for business people who have a product or service that wish to promote it to the expat community in Switzerland. Before I go on:

This thread is not to promote a particular product or service.

(There, did you all see that - it was in bold type, and even really huge letters. So if you claim "oh I didn't see that" then you are going to look really silly - right?)

This thread is to discuss the best methods of marketing or advertising your product or service within the expat community.

If you have experience in reaching the expat community, then tell us what you did, and what was effective for you. Did you advertise in particular magazines, which ones were effective? (note: if you are assosciated with a particular advertiser, honesty requires that you declare this if giving advice).

Was marketing effective over the web? Print media? Are the expats a tough bunch to market to? What about expos - there have been some expos lately - were these effective, or was it a case of giving out business cards and not hearing anything again?

Are you just starting a business and trying to reach your target (expat) audience. Then explain a little bit about your business, and specific information about the market you are trying to reach. Try to make it look like an attempt to get advice, rather than just an excuse to promote the business - common sense can tell the difference

Hopefully that will get the ball rolling and those who actually had these questions will join the thread and chip in.

[Sauron]

Totally agree and to explain the best way to market your product let me talk about my coffee I sell to everyone here in Switzerland .... lol



Sauron

[DaveA]

Guerilla Guide to selling to new expats:

2. Assume they know nothing (new arrivals) and that you know all about the magic.
3. Find out where they go out to drink. Easy.
4. Find out where they are from.
5. Find out what they want (see 4.)
6. Find out who holds the purse strings (search for use of word "hubby" on expats should give you a clue)
7. Make person in 6. feel really important - like they're cool, brave explorer of the wild frontier.(Where's the "vomit" smiley ?)
8. Scare them into thinking they are widely misunderstood.
9. Scare them into thinking that the locals won't accept them or like them without your service. (Admittedly the swiss lend a hand here)
10. Persuade them that you are the only company in switzerland that does what you do.(ex-pat will be too ignorant either to know otherwise, or even how to find out)
11. Hint at how their kids might be disadvantaged without your help (guilt at taking kids from their familiar environment will help here)
12. Use paranoia to your advantage (everyone in Eewrope hates us, cos we're hosting a war in the Middle-East)

This may come across as very cynical but there is truth in the points above. An expat-newbie and his money are soon parted.

My theory is that a lot of the expats here are middle to senior ranking execs (as someone else pointed not many people come to Zürich to flip burgers ) with large relocation packages which can be invested (read squandered) on such familiarisation packages.

I'm not cynical at all

dave

	Quote:	gbn
	Back on thread, and following on nicely from DaveA: There's also a firm (I forget the name) that advertises on extwats and presents courses for "how to cross the road in switzerland" and "how do trains work" and other equally banal things.

[mark]

	Quote:	Sauron
	Totally agree and to explain the best way to market your product let me talk about my coffee I sell to everyone here in Switzerland ..

Is your coffee specifically aimed at expats - if it's more "general" then it's probably not a discussion for this thread.

[mark]

DaveA - referring to any company in particular? It's ok, I think you are, no need to name names...

Your comments were more directed at those selling relocation or "advice" services to expats. What about other things. Just to take a cross-section of the businesses run by our members:

Photography, Pilates studios, Wine, Online food stores, large format printing, expos, clothing stores, etc. there's a long list, apologies to anyone I've forgotten!

[DaveA]

Its not aimed at any company in particular, I just have no respect for such "familiarisation relocation" companies, and bracket them with lawyers and estate agents. Some may be ok but their reputation is tarnished by those indulging in sharp practices.
dave

	Quote:	mark
	Your comments were more directed at those selling relocation or "advice" services to expats.

[DaveA]

I know there are many expats making a living selling just to expats, but its not a type of business I would like to be in: its small , incestuous, fickle and fragile. The "things are expensive or not available over here brigade" may lose their business overnight when Migros starts stocking their brands or are forced to complete with incoming retailers. To be honest with you , as a Brit there are not that many things I can't get here.

I've just got back from Prague where there are two Tescos, a Boots and an M&S. I bought some sherbet lemons and some pear drops, and some digestive biscuits. M&S are coming to Zürich and there are many huge shopping developments are in the offing. Simply selling commodities brought across in a transit van won't cut it.

IMHO to succeed you need to have a niche and add value. There are many such opportunities in this country to do this and sell to the swiss. A crossover service or product may seem like holy grail, but I would spend more time researching the mysterious swiss than the open book expats.

dave

	Quote:	mark
	Photography, Pilates studios, Wine, Online food stores, large format printing, expos, clothing stores, etc. there's a long list, apologies to anyone I've forgotten!

[zuricher]

	Quote:	mark
	Zuricher - I believe this is the thread you maybe wanted to start? Care to start it?

Ok I am tring to find cheap and effective ways to advertise for the business i work with. Its a women's clothing company and i dont want to mention names because i dont want to annoy anyone, but im sure you all know now......anyway.

I have currenty organised a fashion show at Mascotte for the 16th of October, after a successful show at Hotel zum Storchen.

I am now looking to contact local magazines, and ask them to write editorials for the store. I have contacted magazines such as 'Air', 'Annabelle'. Can any one help me with any others?

Mark, I hope this is to your regulations.

[evilshell]

	Quote:	mark
	Just to take a cross-section of the businesses run by our members: Photography, Pilates studios, Wine, Online food stores, large format printing, expos, clothing stores, etc. there's a long list, apologies to anyone I've forgotten!

pssst...music, too

[mark]

Zurcher, you are free to mention the name of the store - wasn't that clear? I just said it must be a real help message, not a big plug.

Are you aiming your product purely at expats, or is the Swiss market important for you as well? Are you considering marketing to expats at the moment because you aren't really sure how to market to the Swiss (language barrier etc?)

[Lob]

@Zuricher: BoyD is shamelessly trying to promote his "Inside Magazine" somewhere on this site IIRC - not related to Cream but trying to fail in, sorry - FILL the same gap in the market.

Hopefully his editor there does not have to clean up as much as I do on here and on my footy site

edit: perhaps he's not (yet) but search for it on somewhere like www.search.ch

[DaveA]

There are many marketing, sales and promotions web guides for the small businesses out there on the internet. Do some research, and you will find many killer tips for free publicity. The Americans are much better at this than us Europeans.

dave

	Quote:	zuricher
	Ok I am tring to find cheap and effective ways to advertise for the business i work with.

[Lou]

	Quote:	zuricher
	Ok I am tring to find cheap and effective ways to advertise for the business i work with. Its a women's clothing company and i dont want to mention names because i dont want to annoy anyone, but im sure you all know now......anyway. I have currenty organised a fashion show at Mascotte for the 16th of October, after a successful show at Hotel zum Storchen. I am now looking to contact local magazines, and ask them to write editorials for the store. I have contacted magazines such as 'Air', 'Annabelle'. Can any one help me with any others? Mark, I hope this is to your regulations.

I don't really know if it would cover your target market but there is an ex-pat magazine called the New Stork Times. May be worth look?

p.s. Can you post details of the fashion show in the commercial section if that's allowed, I'd be interested in going.

[zuricher]

Hi Mark

My main aim is to create awarness that we are here, and to establish the brand in Zurich.

Our store in Geneva is well known now and doing well, but here in Zurich its quiet

So promotion to both expats and Swiss is needed.

The reason i posted on this website is because we get so many people in the store saying how much they love Karen Millen but didn't know it was here.

[mark]

	Quote:	Lou
	p.s. Can you post details of the fashion show in the commercial section if that's allowed, I'd be interested in going.

Excellent idea - if it were directly relevant to expats (for example, if the show was being done in English) or marketed towards expats then it would be very relevant in commercial events.

[mark]

	Quote:	zuricher
	The reason i posted on this website is because we get so many people in the store saying how much they love Karen Millen but didn't know it was here.

Ok, here's a REALLY useful bit of advice, so listen very carefully. Expats in Switzerland are usually quite web-savvy, and if looking for something will use google (unless they are in here asking dumb questions because they are too lazy to use google, but that's a story for another day). So anyway, I tried a little experiment and put "Karen Millen Zurich" into google. Nothing. So I took a guess at www.karenmillen.ch and found there was a site there. But the site doesn't mention Zurich at all!

Now, from a search engine point of view there is almost no content on the site, and any information there is contained within graphics, which are invisible to the search engine. When google arrives at the site, it sees a couple of words, and leaves.

I've been involved in marketing of a few businesses here. I don't want to go into too many details here, but let's just say that the competition is still scratching around for customers and the businesses with a good internet strategy are scratching around for more staff.

You don't have to spend a fortune on fancy flash-based sites (which don't work in search engines anyway), but you cannot afford to remain so invisible on the internet if you want to make any headway!

My point is - why bother with trying to think of marketing ideas when the people who are out there looking for you can't find you?