Creating a Pan European Marketing Strategy

So, you’ve launched a business and it’s doing amazingly well in your regional or national market…

Suddenly you feel that itch all business people get saying you need to grow your business!

The truth is, deciding when to expand your business is important and timing can be everything. If you’re looking to grow your business within Europe (and eventually all over the world), learn how to develop a Pan European Marketing Strategy.

Taking Your Product or Service Global

When taking on a Pan European Marketing strategy, you have to start with your product or service. Can it be expanded internationally or adapted to different markets? To determine this, you must do take into account things like:

• The size and abilities of your team
• Your language and time zone
• The product or service itself
• Competitors and risks
• Costs associated with expansion

Identify a target market you’d like to enter, whether due to product/service fit or similarity to your current market (in language, culture, etc.) List all the changes you’d need to incorporate into your business in order to enter that market. If it’s viable, continue on to the next step.

Approaching a Pan European Marketing Strategy

Europe is not one single country and therein lies the problem. For the United States, the same Marketing Strategy will probably work across the entire country, regardless of the state the consumer lives in. For Europe, however, it can be challenging to utilize a single strategy.

Europe is a continent diverse in language and culture. For example, an advertising or email marketing campaign will probably be different in language and tone of voice depending on if you’re talking to a Dutch person versus a Spanish person. However, there are trends and behaviors that will be similar across Europe. You will need to decide whether you will adopt a uniform approach across the entire block or an individualized strategy for each country or group of countries.

You must also consider whether your expansion plan lies within or outside of the European Union, a group of 28 member states in Europe (27 with the United Kingdom leaving the EU). As a group, the EU is the largest economy and trading block in the world. Individual economies like Germany, France, and Italy are among the top 10 individual economies worldwide. Even for companies outside the EU, the block operates with few restrictions and is considered one of the most open trade zones in the world (source).

Start Out Slowly, Use Momentum When You Have It

Once you’ve got your strategy defined and you’ve made all the adjustments necessary to your product or service, it’s time to jump in.

Start out slowly, with one target country or a small group of similar countries. Prepare a website and landing pages specifically for your new Marketing campaigns. Make sure to do A/B testing to see what works best. Sometimes, failure in foreign market happens simply because we fail to adapt or make changes. If you see your campaigns gaining momentum in certain regions, give them an extra push or use that success to continue your expansion plan. 

Examples of Pan European Companies

A lot of companies have started out in a single European country and expanded to the entire block. Below, see a few examples of small to large businesses that have successfully used a Pan European Marketing Strategy in their business model. 

Bla Bla Car

Bla Bla Car is a ride-sharing company operating across Europe. The premise is simple: You’ve got a car and are traveling to a certain destination. You publish your route on the Bla Bla Car website and other people who want to go to that same destination book a spot in your car, at a price usually much cheaper than traditional transport options like bus or train. The rapid expansion of this company was due to a great idea and the realization that most European travelers fall into one of these categories:

• Don’t own a car
• Don’t want to drive long distances alone
• Can’t afford the gas money
• Dislike the environmental effects of driving solo
• Can’t use other transportation options due to price or unavailability
• Are looking for a better mode of transport

Bla Bla Car was founded in France and was able to expand quickly across Europe without much variation in strategy between markets. They now have a presence in 22 countries (most in Europe, but also includes India, Mexico, and Brazil). 

Lidl

Lidl is a German supermarket that is beloved across Europe and also operates in the United States. The small, organized stores offer general staples, but specialize in diverse, quality food items at lower prices than you’ll find in other supermarkets. This is part of their strategy: “a smaller product range, allowing them to invest in the quality of those products, and focus on own-branded products” (source). 

Red Bull

Who doesn’t know Red Bull? It's vibe, branding, events, and publicity stunts take everything to the extreme. But did you know that Red Bull an Austrian-Thai company? Originally a local Thai recipe, the Red Bull co-founders figured that a "remedy for sluggishness [is] a universal concept", so they did some tweaking and came up with a new flavor. It was launched within Austria, then expanded to Eastern European markets. It was slow going at first and only really reached success once they entered the American market (source). All that to say: one amazing market can make your success...never give up!

mbudo

Not only is mbudo itself operating globally, but we employ a Pan European Marketing Strategy for some of our clients. Although the products and services they offer may be the same globally, their Marketing efforts are often done in the regional language and time zones, with a website and landing pages for their particular country. We also work with the Marketing departments in each country to learn their specialized needs and adapt the content to new releases, events, etc.

A Pan European Marketing Campaign or strategy is something every business based in Europe should consider. Even companies located abroad who want to break into the European Market should use this type of strategy. What works in Europe will probably not work in markets like Asia or South America.

As we mentioned above, Europe as a whole is the largest economy and trading block in the world...the possibilities for growth and success are endless! If you're looking into outsourcing your Marketing, mbudo is a Madrid-based Inbound Marketing agency that can help you develop a Pan European or Global Marketing Strategy. Discover our Inbound Marketing Agency in Madrid or get to know us by downloading the ebook below.