Marketing To Canadians

Marketing Sherpa:

The Canadian dollar is on equal footing with the U.S. dollar, and trends suggest it will stay that way for a while. Now is the time for marketers to tap into Canadians’ new-found spending power.

Just four years ago, the Canadian dollar was worth 62 to 64 cents of the U.S. dollar. That means “there’s a lot of pent-up demand for U.S. goods and services,” says Murray Owen, VP Marketing, Metamend Software and Design Ltd., a marketing agency in Victoria, British Columbia.

Vacations, electronics, cars and real estate, for example, are hot items for Canadian consumers. And online sales are rising. A recent Statistics Canada report said last year that online sales increased at a double-digit pace for the sixth consecutive year. And total Internet sales hit $62.7 billion in 2007 – up 26% in a year.

You will have to deal with some major challenges that will make it a bit tougher to market in Canada. Here are three main ones:

Challenge #1. Physical distance between buyer and seller

The three biggest turnoffs for Canadian online shoppers are shipping, duty and custom costs.

Challenge #2. Language and cultural differences

In the province of Quebec, 95% of the population speak the official language — French. It’s no surprise, therefore, that French Canadians want to be marketed to in French.

Challenge #3. Creating a Canadian presence

Show Canadians that you take their market seriously and you want to do all you can to appeal to them:

Create a Canadian website and/or blog. If you want to take it a step further, set up a Canadian office or purchase a warehouse in Canada.

Have a Canadian address and phone number to complement your online presence. Even though the investment costs more, it fosters loyalty with the Canadian consumer and creates positive ROI in the long run. Keep in mind that calling a local number is more convenient and less expensive for Canadians. So, register a Canadian phone number and route it to the company’s 1-800 number. You don’t need a physical presence in the country to do this.

Build a “.ca” domain website in English and in French.

Read more.

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