Belgium

Online marketing in Belgium

In general, Belgians are less advanced digitally than, for example, the Dutch, but they are catching up! That’s why Belgium offers a lot of opportunities for you as an entrepreneur or marketer. Very important: don’t ‘recycle’ your Dutch website for the Belgian market, it’s essential to adapt the website to specific Belgian needs in order to achieve optimal results. A .be domain, implementation of Bankcontact as a payment method, the correct use of specific Belgian words and a bilingual website can result in much better online rankings and greater success with your Flemish and Walloon customers.

Cultural differences

Belgium and the Netherlands are very close to each other on many fronts: linguistically, geographically and culturally. But what do you have to take into account?

Language
Belgium has 3 official languages: Dutch, French and German. So make sure you take this into account when doing business in Flanders, Wallonia or Limburg!

Geography
Of course, Belgium and the Netherlands share a border, but did you know that Belgians are much more internationally oriented in their online behaviour? Being a small country wedged between the big countries, they are used to buying products/services in France, the Netherlands and Germany. They know better than anyone how to make a smart choice from a wide range of products, quality products and the best delivery conditions.

Cultural
For Dutch and French people the language is not necessarily a problem, but the way in which Belgians communicate and do business is different. Belgians do more out of trust and are less direct in their dealings than the Dutch.

Tip: be humble in your communications. The motto of an average Belgian: ‘see first, then believe’..

Working together

The Dutch generally see Belgium as a relatively small country, but because of the differences in language and culture it can certainly become a great challenge.

Besides the fact that we are right next to the Flemish border from Tilburg, our native Flemish colleagues also take care of the smartest local approach. They ensure that our customers are brought to the attention of the right specific target group at the right time, through the right channel, with the right message. Exactly what you want as an entrepreneur/marketer, right?