• These top speakers will be speaking at the CrossBorder EventTospeakers
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  • These top speakers will be speaking at the CrossBorder EventTospeakers
  • Buy your ticket To tickets
  • These top speakers will be speaking at the CrossBorder EventTospeakers
  • Buy your ticket To tickets

Sietze van der Wal

Sietze (1969) is CCO and Co-founder of Sparkles - a creative e-commerce company. Started in 2011 In the Netherlands we are with our brands the player in the field of personalizable products for special moments in life. Think of birth cards, wedding cards, invitations and all kinds of personalized products and gifts. Inspire people with personalized products for life's special moments' is Sparkles' mission statement.

Success at home does not guarantee success abroad. The lessons of Sparkles

When you sell a product that is bought by consumers in multiple countries, how can your marketing strategy be so different in different countries? And how does that work when you sell a personalized product that the customer can customize entirely according to their own wishes? What challenges are you facing and what is the importance of thorough market research. Where are the differences in culture, how do you deal with them and what choices can be made to be just as successful across the border as in the Netherlands. Sparkles knows that a step across the border is not always plug-and-play with a translated website. Sietze is happy to take you on their journey over the past few years from the Netherlands to Belgium and Germany and, since the beginning of this year, to France. What choices were made, such as working with a local marketing agency. And how to arrange logistics and customer service. Not everything goes right at once, so calculate learning costs. All these facets are covered in the presentation. Doing business abroad is exciting and challenging but most of all a lot of fun!