Different Countries, Different Approaches for Reaching Specific Target Groups

The foundation of success - the targeting approach

A mailing's success depends crucially on the targeting approach used. Across all boundaries, the right tone is important to consumers. Female consumers can also often be won over by enclosing coupons, vouchers and samples. A large number of consumers would like to be targeted by well-known companies. However, even less well-known companies can definitely score points with consumers by paying attention to design. Americans and Asians, for instance, can be won over by a high-quality layout, by being targeted personally or by enclosing coupons, vouchers and samples. Of course, design and content considerations always need to reflect special, country-typical characteristics as well because that is the prerequisite for getting a message - in the truest sense of the word - through to consumers.

Target group profile

When planning a mailing campaign, the consumers in the relevant country need to be included. In this regard, population groups with an affinity to mailings are of particular interest. It turns out that in American-Pacific countries such as the US, Canada, Mexico and Australia, women are slightly more receptive to mailings than men. In Europe, on the other hand, the gender ratio is even and in Asia men even tend to have a greater affinity to mailings. Across borders, the category of the middle-aged (people aged between 30 and 50), of people with a medium level of education and of people living in a threeperson household has a particular affinity to mailings. All over the world, quality and the brand count with the consumers surveyed. The category of regular readers mainly includes women and is more likely to include consumers over the age of 30 and with a medium level of education. In America and Europe, regular readers are to be found in all types of household, whereas in Asia they tend to be found in twoperson households. On average, people who are willing to respond are rarely older than 50 and are more likely to have a high level of education and be on a high income. How response media are used in the different countries varies greatly. In America and Europe, for instance, the telephone and the reply card are the preferred medium; in Asia, on the other hand, the preferred medium tends to be e-mail. A general trend is that e-mail is gaining ground all over the world; the fax machine only plays a very minor role.

Favorite global themes: health and wellness

Health and wellness are by far the most popular themes - there is global agreement on this. Entertainment media and themes only generate as much interest in certain areas. Age and gender play a crucial role in relation to the different consumer preferences. Consumers aged 30 and over mainly have a weakness for wellness themes. Younger consumers, on the other hand, are more likely to be attracted to the entertainment and fashion industry. And the common clichés about the sexes are also confirmed. Women are interested in cosmetics and fashion while men are interested in sport and cars.

Mail-order industry

When it comes to ordering products from mail-order companies, the Japanese are number one in the world - followed by the Germans, the Swiss and the Americans. However, in southern Europe and in Latin America, the mail-order business has barely been tapped to date. It is even a completely foreign concept to Indian consumers. In Europe with its strong sales, people with an affinity to the mail-order business are more likely to be women, consumers under the age of 30, with a fairly high level of education, on a high income and more likely living in a multi-person household.

Ethnomarketing - the market within the market

International direct marketing definitely also plays a role in national markets owing to linguistic, cultural and religious differences and special characteristics. The reason is that societies such as Germany, the Netherlands or the US now comprise a multitude of different ethnic groups. A large number of people live in a kind of subculture but still have close links to society. For that reason, they represent an attractive target group for the relevant market because what lies behind it is as yet untapped consumer potential. Just as it does in international campaigns, advertising needs to take these consumers' moral concepts and preferences into account. Consumers of Turkish descent in Germany, for instance, prefer "ornate" and "warm" visual themes and red tones. So-called intercultural marketing, also referred to as ethnomarketing, offers great potential in domestic markets and can, at the same time, be the key to developing an intercultural and global marketing strategy. The reason is that ethnomarketing is, in many respects, similar to international direct marketing. Here, too, the point of departure for intercultural marketing is the assumption that the consumers in a country have different consumption preferences, attitudes, expectations and perception habits. Different expectations on the part of consumers therefore require constant adaptation of marketing strategies. The first step in identifying and tapping new target groups in the home market involves creating market segmentation. Ethnic attributes, in particular, are used for this purpose in intercultural marketing so that common cultural and linguistic features exist. This has the benefit of ensuring that a direct targeting approach is possible and that the requirements of the target group can be met. Market segmentation criteria are mainly classified according to geographic, demographic, socio-economic and psychographic attributes as well as to characteristics of purchasing behavior. Product offerings and the targeting of advertising can then be adjusted on the basis of these types of target group analyses. Particularly when designing a mailing, it is important to take special ethnic characteristics into consideration. These include the target group's language and esthetics as well as its special needs and moral concepts - also in order to rule out the possibility of causing offence. Generally, it is better to target an ethnic group using advertising material in its mother tongue and visual imagery that is tailored to meet the requirements of the country of origin. The particular ethnic group feels that it is being accepted and taken seriously as a result. Another key success factor for a direct marketing campaign is address quality. The requirement is that addresses should be current and postally correct and should only be from consumers in the target ethnic group - enabling leakage to be kept to a minimum. As a result of this increased target group focus in ethnomarketing, it is still possible, even in saturated home markets, to tap into new consumer groups.

Good conditions for direct marketing campaigns - worldwide

All around the world, consumers are very receptive to mailings. However, the general conditions for direct marketing campaigns vary greatly in individual countries. Particularly "mailing newcomers" like Brazil and Mexico offer great potential. Foreign companies should take advantage of this opportunity to gain a foothold in new markets. However, irrespective of whether companies wish to advertise their products to an ethnic group in Canada, Japan or in their own country, they need to be familiar with the different consumption interests and special, country-typical characteristics. That is the only way they can target the target group in an appropriate way and arouse enthusiasm for their offering.

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