Promotion of companies on the Polish market

What is the difference between a Polish client and a British client? Where should you start marketing a company in Poland? In what situations is it worth letting go of cooperation with influencers?

About how to promote a company on the Polish market from All 4 Comms – a Polish marketing agency in the UK.

Is a Polish client different from a British, German, or American client?

In fact, every nationality or ethnic group will have something different. Although foreign companies are transferring most of their global advertising campaigns to the Polish market 1:1, there are a few issues that should be taken into account (if we have a budget dedicated exclusively to the Polish client). First of all, income growth in Poland is still below the EU average. What is a cheap product in Germany or Great Britain may be an insurmountable amount for a Pole with average earnings. It is not without reason that the combination of, for example, a cup of coffee from Starbucks, an iPhone, and Converse sneakers was a meme in Poland until recently, describing the new wealthy society of big cities. If the focus of the company’s promotion strategy on the British market is the emphasis on the low price of products, it should be considered whether the same marketing communication on the Polish market will also be relevant. Very often, not.

Is it worth talking about price at all in marketing in Poland?

Definitely yes. As research results show, Polish customers mostly shop rationally and the price is one of the key factors when making decisions. Poles are not very loyal to one seller. As the Millennials and the Z generation play an increasingly important role on the market, differences between a Polish client and a foreign client are slowly blurring.

Where should you start promoting your company in Poland? What should be the first step?

Promotional activities are the same as in any other market. Marketing in Poland should start with analysing the target group and preparing a strategy appropriately tailored to this group. You have to take into account not only what the company will communicate, but also what will be the distribution methods of this content. Contrary to stereotypes, the Polish marketing and PR market is highly digitised, and companies spend the lion’s share of their budgets on online communication.

Where to start? Preferably from the beginning, i.e. adapting the company’s website to Polish customers. The Polish language version of the website, taking care of SEO for key phrases in Polish and (in the case of stores) the possibility of safe and convenient shopping in Polish currency at a low price for delivery and return of goods. It is also good to ensure that the company is generally spoken of on the Internet, i.e. the Polish content marketing strategy. Sponsored articles in Polish media, preferably industry-specific, will work here. Articles in their native language on websites well-known to Poles will allow them to quickly trust the brand and its products.

Are there any absolutely necessary ways to promote the company in Poland?

Definitely social media, which shouldn’t surprise anyone, because this trend is spread all over the world. According to the data from the “Digital 2020” report (Hootsuite and We Are Social), 47% of Poles present on the Internet use social media. Here, Facebook is still in the lead with over 18 million Polish users, with a high percentage of Millennials who have huge purchasing potential for most industries. Facebook, with a well-developed communication strategy, should become the basis of marketing in Poland.

What about Instagram or YouTube? On the American and Western European markets, the importance of Facebook itself is slowly declining, especially among the youngest recipients.

It all depends on our target group. Instagram in Poland currently has 7 million users, of which 35% are people between 18 and 24 years of age, and 60% are women. So it will be a great medium for communication with young Polish clients. There is a reason why Instagram is the main communication tool for brands from the fashion, beauty and design industries (where pretty photos and aesthetic feed). YouTube, in turn, should be considered on two levels: on the one hand, it is a great platform for advertising (display ads, overlays, sponsored cards, etc.), and on the other – it allows brands to set up their own channels and show their “human face” to Polish customers. In the latter case, however, it should be remembered that Poles prefer to watch content created in their own language. So if we use the company’s English channel and add only subtitles, it’s no wonder that it will not gain popularity. However, organising a studio, writing a Polish script, employing Polish actors and distributing such video content in Poland is an expensive undertaking and requires the employment of a separate team (e.g. a Polish marketing agency) to watch over it from start to finish.

Is it worth using the help of influencers?

Definitely yes. Here, however, it is all about the right strategy and budget adjusted to it. The influencer market in Poland is constantly growing and we are not lagging behind other European countries. Over 50 Polish accounts on Instagram currently have over 1 million followers. Polish micro-influencers, willingly employed for smaller campaigns, are also very popular. Of course, a general campaign with foreign influencers may also hit the Polish market. However, it should be remembered that they must be people known in this market. Fortunately, there are many simple methods to test the interest in a given influencer in Poland. In our Polish marketing agency in the UK, we use tools ranging from Google itself to professional Internet monitoring tools.

Are there any topics that are better avoided in marketing for Poles?

First of all, it will be good to emphasise once again that Poles generally prefer the company to communicate with them in Polish. A fanpage for Poles in English will not work at all (apart from a few exceptions, such as brands targeted only at very young recipients). There are also several types of sensitive content that you should be careful about. These are, inter alia, hot in recent years, religious, ideological and minority topics (national, but also sexual). Currently, there is a huge polarisation of society in Poland. Many young people distance themselves from conservative ideals, important even to older generations. To avoid unnecessary controversy, it is safest for the company to remain politically neutral. Poles like to discuss on the Internet and do not care whether they conduct a political dispute in a closed group or under the post of a clothing brand. No company needs it.

If you are looking for a Polish marketing agency in the UK that will help you build strategic, long-term, consistent and effective communication with Polish recipients, please contact us. We have years of experience on the market and we know what can and should not be communicated to Polish customers.