How to succeed in the European market during times of crisis

Right now, for instance, nations across the globe are busy implementing strategies to cope with expensive energy bills, which are currently taking a toll on consumers and businesses alike. It's safe to say that the world as we know it is changing, and it's happening rapidly. So, if you're a business owner trying to break into the European market, how do you adjust to these new circumstances and appeal to potential customers – despite the dramatic drop that consumer confidence has recently taken?

Sell your products on a user-friendly platform

With everything currently going on in the world, it's no wonder that consumers aren't as open to buying from new businesses as previously. The future seems uncertain, which makes people more careful of spending their money, resulting in lower sales numbers for most businesses. So, how do you bypass this fear and convince consumers to give your product a chance anyway?

A great place to start is by making it easy for them. Especially since the pandemic, people have been spending more and more of their time online, and the European Union is currently the third largest ecommerce market in the world. So, if you want to reach European consumers, why not emulate successful European marketplaces like eBay and Zalando and create an intuitive, user-friendly online platform to sell your goods on? By having a presence where your target audience is already spending a big portion of their time, your chances of them stumbling upon your products and buying them – and thus, your chances of success – increase dramatically.

Be transparent and provide quality services

During the pandemic, many of us learned first-hand how quickly we were able to adapt to being home constantly. Many even ended up taking such a liking to not having to leave their homes to shop that they've continued to prefer online shopping, even now that physical stores have reopened. Of course, this has mainly benefitted bigger, already well-established marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay. But that doesn't mean that you as a smaller business owner can't also carve out a successful corner of the internet for yourself. Instead of cursing the big marketplaces for being hard to beat, observe what they're doing right and what their weaknesses are – and use these observations to build a platform for yourself that stands out and offers features that consumers are missing.

One of the main reasons that people prefer bigger, well-known online marketplaces is due to their perceived safety and security. For instance, since most people know someone who's had a positive experience buying products on Amazon, the platform has gained a reputation for being reliable and trustworthy. A recent check showed that 40 percent of online shops engage in manipulative practices, and people are hungry for platforms that they can trust. So, when setting up your own online store, don't fall into the trap of e.g. trying to make your product seem better than it is, doing countdowns for fake sales, nudging consumers to buy more expensive options, hiding important information, etc. As the saying goes, honesty is always the best policy – and if you're selling a quality product and spreading the word through effective marketing, you shouldn't have to manipulate people into buying it. Plus, gaining a reputation as a trustworthy place to shop online will only make even more consumers willing to give your products a chance.