Italy: Digital Consumers

Sales Outsourcing in Italy, Commercial outsourcing in Italy, Sales Expansion in Italy, Commercial expansion in Italy

Italy is the third most populous country in the European Union and e-commerce is common among its 60 million inhabitants. The Mediterranean country still has plenty of room to boost the digitisation of its economic sectors and is counting on the support of the public and private sectors to do so.

To differentiate your product, you will have to demonstrate quality, attention to detail and originality, especially in the retail sector. The spread of fibre optics and 5G is fertile ground for Cloud technologies, Artificial Intelligence and digital customer services. In addition, real-time data exchange between networks, plants, machines and sensors are a plus for the more than 110,000 companies in the manufacturing sector.

Shaped like a boot, in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, with multiple historical features and a diversity of landscapes, Italy is one of the most attractive countries in the world. It is a land with an extraordinary cultural heritage and a bold and charming attitude.

Italy's economy is powerful and ranks among the top ten in the world. It is also the third most populous country in the European Union with almost 60 million inhabitants, more than 34 million of whom, more than half, regularly shop online.

However, there is still a lot of room for digitalisation to grow in Italy. The ICT market alone is worth around 32 billion euros and has an annual growth rate of 3%. There, both governments and companies are investing heavily in it.

BUSINESS CULTURE

The Italian market is particularly attractive for expanding software vendors. Although it is a powerful economy, Italy is still "green" in terms of digitalisation.

When doing business in Bel Paese there is one variable that should not be forgotten: the Italians themselves! Working with Italians requires contextual knowledge, sales skills and a generous dose of dialectical skills. The entrepreneurial culture is oriented towards human relations: first the person, then the product. For this reason, courtesy is a priority and communication is usually constant and fluid. This is how they will measure how reliable and attentive a business partner is.

Punctuality and meeting deadlines are not typical Italian traits and bureaucracy sometimes represents a real obstacle. This makes patience a key element for success in doing business in Italy.

Italians are generally meticulous, so a negotiation can have many steps and many conversations. A good business strategy aims not only to identify a need, but also, and above all, to generate a desire.

Overcoming an Italian manager's "no, we already have this solution" is possible. All you have to do is convince him of the unique value of what you are selling. Italians love quality and any solution that can give them a competitive advantage, but they usually rely more on the familiar. That is why the sales channel is the most functional in a country where they trust the closest and most similar people.

WHERE ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES?

The Italian economy is driven by the production of high-quality consumer goods produced by small and medium-sized companies.

In retail, originality always pays off; in media and communication, competition can be fierce; the manufacturing sector is going through a positive trend, leading more than 110,000 companies to adapt to new technologies related to Industry 4.0.

Italy is the sixth country in the world in terms of interconnection between industrial machines (M2M communication), which allows real-time data exchange between networks, plants, machines and sensors. As in other European economies, Italy's telecommunications and pay-TV sectors are promising, as the extension of fibre and 5G coverage will foster the implementation of new technologies (cloud, Artificial Intelligence and ICT services) and customer-facing digital services.

Last but not least, Italy has a strong and well-established energy sector in continuous evolution and transformation. It is no coincidence that some of the largest energy companies in the world are Italians.