Do I Need to Speak German to Enter the Swiss Market?

A week ago, I met a friend from New York for dinner. He built a sizable IT service company and is mostly serving US clients.

However, since he will be relocating to Europe next year, he’s considering the DACH market, especially Switzerland.

So we talked about the Swiss market, its nuances and the specific culture. We also talked about language barriers.

So he asked "Is German the Language Border to Enter the Swiss Market?”

I gave him the annoying answer of “It depends”. Because it really does.

Switzerland is Split

Switzerland is a very fragmented market. Even though it’s small, we speak 3 languages (well, 4, but one is almost extinct). We also have 26 cantons with sometimes very different dialects. And of course Zurich and Geneva could not be “further” from each other, even though you can drive from one city to another in about 3 hours. Geneva is more like Paris and Zurich is more like Munich.

25% of Switzerland’s population is non-Swiss. In the cities, that percentage in much higher. You can easily notice when you travel by tram in Zurich, you mostly hear English spoken as a language.

Swiss and Non-Swiss

If your target market is family-owned, 150-year old, Swiss companies, then YES, you better be Swiss to do business with them.

However, if you do business with multinational companies, high-growth startups or anything in between that does not resemble the category in my first sentence here, German is much less of a border.

At the end of the day, it’s really about perspective. Let me explain.

Let’s say you approach German-speaking decision makers in English. There are generally two types.

First, the ones who feel uncomfortable with the English language. Or they may have the more patriotic mindset of “I want to deal with Swiss.”

But then there is the second category. For them the English language is an adventure. And they see it as an opportunity to be more international. So for them, English resonates well.

Switzerland as the Global Business HQ

As you probably know, many global companies are headquartered in Switzerland. With that, their top management is often located in Switzerland too. And they are often not Swiss.

So if you are targeting those, forget about German. They don’t speak German themselves.

Going with German or English

In general, if you don’t speak fluent German and want to enter the Swiss market, don’t try to become Swiss. It will take you 10 years and cost a few millions in the process.

Start with the group that resonates most with you, the foreigners. There are countless expats living in Switzerland and they feel like you. Both of you are non-Swiss, so you have that in common. And cultural bonds can be very strong.

Like with everything, you have to test it. See what kind of group resonates most with you. And then built up from there.

The Swiss That Does Everything in English

That would be me. I don’t care if somebody is Swiss or not, I always start the conversation in English. Usually that conversation starts on LinkedIn.

Why? Because then I can easily start with “Hi Claude” and not with “Mr. so and so”. 

I haven’t addressed anybody by their last name in years. A few weeks ago, I had a first meeting with the Group CIO of one of Switzerland’s biggest banks. He greeted me with “Mr. Jordi” and spoke in German. I immediately said “Can we please address each other on a fist-name basis, I haven’t done anything else in years”. He was of course totally OK with that.

So English is also a great informal entry into the conversation. It opens doors easier. The distance between people is much closer that way.

If you are looking for specific messages that have worked well in reaching top level decision makers in Switzerland, download this PDF called “23 Mental Triggers That Make Busy People Say YES”.

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Daniel is the Founder of LeadersBridge.org, Switzerland’s leading cross-industry network for Digital Leaders, to connect on business, partnership and board opportunities.

Over the past years, LeadersBridge has grown into an ecosystem of 100+ top technology decision makers through the CEO Collaboration Day and The Aligned Leader Show.

Through these initiatives, LeadersBridge has enables more than CHF 20m in new business and investments.

We are currently bringing selected Solution Partners on board who want to expand in the Swiss market to serve the needs of our ecosystem members.

If you’re interested, send me a message on LinkedIn.