How to Boost Sales in the DACH Region: Digital Marketing Strategies

Last updated: 22 August 2023

Do you want to sell your products or services to Germany, Austria and Switzerland (the DACH region market)? Then it's important to know who and where your target audiences are and how to connect with them.

We’ve got some tips and tricks for you.

Introducing the DACH Region

The DACH region includes the countries Germany (D), Austria (A) and Switzerland (CH). The DACH countries are closely associated both geographically and culturally, primarily through shared use of the German language. The region hosts around 100 million inhabitants. Germany is the biggest contributor to the region, with 83.65 million inhabitants.

The DACH countries enjoy a high standard of living, which is reflected in a large GDP per capita in each country. The DACH region has a GDP worth of 5.1 trillion dollars. This means that the DACH region would by far be the biggest economy in Europe.

DACH Market of 94 Million Internet Users

With an average internet penetration of 93%, the DACH region is a highly-connected region. This percentage equals almost 94 million internet users. The DACH region counts around 47 million social media users. With these numbers, it can be stated that it is an interesting region to execute digital marketing actions.

*Table 1: Statistics of Germany, Austria and Switzerland*
	Population	Internet users	Internet Penetration	Active Social media Users	Social Media Penetration
Germany	83.65 million	77.79 million	93%	38.00 million	45%
Austria	8.98 million	7.90 million	88%	4.50 million	50%
Switzerland	8.62 million	8.28 million	96%	4.50 million	52%

With an internet penetration of 88%, Austria is the least connected country in the DACH region. However, Austria takes digitalization very seriously. With Digital Austria, the initiative of the Austrian Federal Government, Austria sets the course for digital transformation in their economy. The initiative aims for new opportunities for growth, jobs and prosperity.

*Table 2: Addressable advertising audience per social media platform*
	Facebook	Instagram	Twitter	Snapchat	LinkedIn	XING
Germany	28.0 million	21.0 million	5.3 million	12.2 million	10.0 million	14.0 million
Austria	3.5 million	2.4 million	0.9 million	2.1 million	1.4 million	1.0 million
Switzerland	3.4 million	2.7 million	1.1 million	1.9 million	2.9 million	1.0 million

In 2016, display and search engine marketing as a tool of online advertisement overtook television spending, making the internet the strongest medium for the first time. Looking at the addressable advertising audiences per Social Media platform in table 2, it can be said that Facebook is the most popular platform in the DACH region.

However, from 2019 to 2020, there has been a clear change. Although there was a decrease in addressable Facebook users in all DACH countries, on Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and LinkedIn, there has been a strong increase. In Austria, social media advertising and search advertising are by far the most popular digital advertising tools.

Targeting the DACH Consumer

It is important to know that consumers in the DACH region value security and quality. In order to be successful in the DACH region, one must bring the famed “German quality” to the table. To do this, one should use badges, testimonials and certificates in their digital marketing strategy to attract customers. Trust and security have to be key words in your strategy.

Furthermore, one should consider aiming for localized domains (.de .ch .at) to increase trust. Needless to say, communication has to be in German. Despite the fact that the countries in the DACH region are ‘highly proficient’ in English according to the EF Proficiency Index, the people prefer German as language. This fact also shows in the movies; almost every movie has a German voice-over (even in the cinemas).

The Swiss are comfortable with shopping online. However, Switzerland might be the hardest to advertise in since the country has four official languages (German, French, Italian and Romansh). Also, ranked 19^th, Switzerland has the lowest rank in the EF English Proficiency Index in the DACH region. It is good to keep in mind, though, that most cantons and divisions within Switzerland are bilingual or trilingual.

Leveraging B2B Platforms in the DACH markets

In most countries, in a B2B setting, the most obvious choice when using social channels is LinkedIn; it is well known, has a big audience and has great targeting options. However, in Germany, there is another B2B platform that is even more popular; XING. XING is the German equivalent of LinkedIn and is used by 14 million people in Germany. LinkedIn counts around 10 million users in Germany. You can learn more about XING in our previous blog.

We have learned that not only LinkedIn, but also XING is an important player in the online B2B marketing landscape in the DACH region. Therefore, we encourage you to have multiple advertisements for multiple target audiences on both LinkedIn and XING. From our experience, it is preferable to have multiple advertisements for multiple target audiences, so we can really know which score best.

Dach markets' B2B platforms

Furthermore, in order to turn prospects into clients, one should demonstrate and communicate trust and security in their DACH digital marketing strategy. Without stimulating trustworthiness in your digital marketing practices, the DACH consumer is not likely to start doing business.

Last but not least, one should carefully determine which advertising tools to use. Our advice is to focus on the trends that are happening in each country, for example, search advertising in Austria.

Where we add value

EuroDev is your go-to agency for all European marketing. If you’re looking to make sales in these countries, our Digital Marketing services can help you reach out to the right people, increase your brand awareness and kick-start your sales. We would love to help you with your European digital marketing strategy. Together we will define goals, strategy, target audiences, channels and actions for your company.

If you’re interested in more detailed country-specific information or the opportunities for your business in the DACH markets, feel free to contact tim.vaesen@eurodev.com.

Source: https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2020-global-digital-yearbook