'Selling to Russians' presentation at the Federation of Small Businesses London b/breakfast by Ignaty Dyakov, MD of Russia Local Ltd

Selling to
Russians
Presentation at FSB Central London b/breakfast, 20/8/12

Ignaty Dyakov

www.russialocal.co.uk/en/

Today, I’d like to briefly share how to:

Appreciate the background and culture of Russian customers,

Understand the drivers behind Russian buying habits,

Connect with Russian customers,

Understand the correct etiquette,

Create the right shopping experience for Russian customers,

Impress with key phrases in Russian (if we have time).

2
Ignaty Dyakov at FSB Central London business breakfast 21.08.2012


 Russia is still the largest country in the world by its territory. It is

8th country in the world by population.

 Russia has 686 families with the wealth of more than $100 million

each. It is 4th place in the world.

 Further 111,000 families own more than one million USD each.

IMPORTANT:

Comparing to the Soviet times, Russians

can now legally and with no restrictions

transfer and spend money abroad.
3


Russians no longer

look like this:

“New Russians”
in 1990s
4


They most probably look

like this:

5


Or like this:

6


Or like this:

7


They can look like this:

8


… and, of course, like this.
9


Although they might speak Russian there are many

more nationalities than people outside of former USSR

generally think. Never assume they are all the same.

If for Russians it is all right, other nationalities

(Ukrainians, Belorussians etc) might be offended.

Sometimes, Russians might want not to admit that they are

Russians, especially if they talk English well. There may be

different reasons for this, not last one is the shame of the

behaviour of other Russians. Don‟t pressure them.
10


Build relations: you can‟t underestimate the importance of

building relations with Russians. It takes time, but is worth it.

They will not only use your services themselves

constantly, they will recommend you to others.

Occasions: Birthdays, New Years, Weddings, or even signing

a contract are big occasions. Russians are generous. Most of

them would spend substantial amounts of money for gifts if

invited to their friends or relatives. 11
Ignaty Dyakov at Virada Ltd. 21.08.2012


It is a cliché but Russian Buyers tend to buy more on

emotion and less on price than most Westerners.

Emphasise any aspirational features of your product. If

you get this right there is a good chance Russians won‟t

negotiate much on price.

Americans like to buy the cheapest house on the

best block. Never offer anything of this sort to a

Russian. They tend to buy goods for prestige and

want the best within their budget. They are

competitive. 12


It is still a very conservative society in terms of gender

roles. Men always pay for women. Men would behave in

such a manner and women would play the role of a

beautiful decoration. Although never underestimate the

woman‟s participation in making the decision

– so always talk to both of them.

Age is important. Unless we talk about an attractive

young woman, Russians would prefer to deal with a

more senior and experienced person.
13


Small talk: Russians are proud of their culture

(ballet, opera, literature, arts) and sports

(football, tennis, hockey). Try to get the names of

prominent Russians in your area of interest and

praise them.
You might want to avoid talking about politics

with Russians. You never know if the supporter of

the current government or someone from the

opposition has come to you. They move from one

side to another in no time too.
14


Dress Up: Russians tend to wear high style luxurious

clothes and accessories. They would also show off on

every occasion. They buy not only for practical

reasons, but for reputation. They would expect

everyone they come across be stylish and elegant.

Security: As of Russian history, Russians are

extremely afraid of scams, frauds etc. They

are very suspicious. It is even worse as they

do not believe in win-win situations.

Confidentiality is paramount. 15


Price tags: Russians better understand price tags in US

dollars or euros. Less so in pounds. If you don‟t have time to

think of the price in $ or €, just multiply price in pounds by

50, which will give you price in Russian roubles.

Vocabulary: Less than 5 % of Russian people are

able to get your message in English. They

will, however, understand certain words in

English, like

16
“Sale”, “Present”, “Exclusive”, “Lux”, “VIP”, “B

rand”, “Fantastic”,
Ignaty Dyakov at FSB Central London business breakfast “Designer”... 21.08.2012


If you are a native English speaker and you hear that a

Russian speaks good English, do not hesitate to praise him

or her on this. Russians pride themselves on their

education system and their eagerness to learn. They

sometimes may prefer to speak English just to practice it

– give them this chance, please.

If they speak not such good English, make sure you try

to guess what they say. You can ask them to repeat what

they said, but avoid doing this again and again.
17


BASIC RUSSIAN LANGUAGE

Russians use the Cyrillic

alphabet, but they

generally do understand

English characters too.

Russians differentiate You formal and You informal, as do
Germans, French, Italians. If you are to pick up some words
from the Internet, you‟d better remember this: always look for
a formal version of verbs, addressing, greeting etc. 18


Greetings:

„Dobra-yeh „ut-rah – Good morning

„Dobryj dyen‟ – Good afternoon

„Dobryj „vye-cher – Good evening

Kak u vas dyi‟la? – How are you?

Spa‟siba – Thank you

Hara‟sho – Good, OK

Pa‟zhaluysta – Please; welcome

19


Eta? – This one?

Sleva? – Left one?

Sprava? – Right one?

Vot, pa‟zhaluysta – Here it is for you, please

„Posle vas – After you

Vot „vashi pa‟kupki – Here are your purchases.

Dasvi‟daniya – Good bye

Pri‟haditye ye‟shyo, pa‟zhaluysta – Come and

visit us again.
20


THANK YOU!!

Should you have any questions, please contact me:

Ignaty Dyakov Russia Local Ltd

id@russialocal.co.uk www.russialocal.co.uk

+44 (0)207 1933 573 www.facebook.com/RussiaLocal

www.twitter.com/dignaty www.twitter.com/RussiaLocal

*Images for the presentation taken from the Internet 21

'Selling to Russians' presentation at the Federation of Small Businesses London b/breakfast by Ignaty Dyakov, MD of Russia Local Ltd

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (11)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

'Selling to Russians' presentation at the Federation of Small Businesses London b/breakfast by Ignaty Dyakov, MD of Russia Local Ltd