Marketing Agency Germany: Reaching German Customers from Abroad

What does a digital marketing agency in Germany do for a company from abroad?

It turns your offer into something German customers can find, understand and act on. That means German-language pages, visibility in search, advertising and a way to count the enquiries that result. Digital030 offers this from Hohen Neuendorf, directly north of Berlin, for companies that want customers in Germany, whether they are based in Germany or abroad.

As an online marketing agency in Germany, we cover the areas below. Most projects use only a few of them at the same time.

• Search engine optimisation and local SEO
• Google Ads and Meta Ads
• Lead generation and performance marketing
• Social media and LinkedIn
• Cold email for business customers
• Copywriting and branding
• Reputation management, which means a steady and fair way to collect reviews

The agency was founded in 2017 by Simon Krebs, who leads the work personally. He speaks German natively and English fluently, so a German marketing agency like ours can be briefed in English while the customer-facing work is done in German.

Why do German-language content and tone decide the result?

People who look for a supplier in Germany usually search in German, so pages in English rarely match their searches. Copy that was translated from another market also tends to sound foreign. Writing German texts for the German market therefore comes first.

• Search terms. German buyers often use words that differ from a literal translation of your English ones, so keyword research starts in German.
• Form of address. Many business texts use the formal Sie. The informal du is common in some industries and start-up circles. Decide once and use it everywhere.
• Trust signals. A German address, a phone number, a complete imprint, named contacts, references and real reviews help a visitor see that your company exists and can be reached.

For copywriting we start with a briefing call, research your audience and competitors, and write only after you have approved the concept.

Which channels fit which goal?

Start from the goal and pick the channel afterwards. A channel only helps if your customers use it and you can measure what comes out of it.

We usually start with one channel that we can measure cleanly and add others when the numbers support it. For an overview of the whole market entry, read our guide on how to market your business in Germany.

Which German legal basics should you know before a campaign starts?

A few legal topics shape what you can publish and send. It is easier to meet them at the start than to repair them in the middle of a campaign.

• Imprint and privacy notice on your website. Our guide to website legal requirements in Germany lists them with sources.
• Consent for cookies and tracking tools.
• Rules for advertising by email and phone. Our article on cold email in Germany goes through them with sources.
• Fair-competition rules for advertising claims, such as comparisons and promises of results.

We name these topics at the start so that nothing surprises you, and we recommend that a lawyer checks your own case. We do not give legal advice.

How do we work with you from near Berlin?

We work remotely, in steps and with written results. Simon Krebs speaks English fluently, so calls, quotes and monthly reports can be in English or German, whichever suits your team.

1. Free first call by video, 30 minutes. We cover your offer, your customers in Germany, what you have today and what you want to achieve.
2. Goals and numbers. We agree what counts as a result, for example enquiries, appointments or revenue.
3. Set-up. German pages or landing pages, tracking down to the enquiry, and advertising accounts that belong to you.
4. Launch of the first channel, followed by a monthly report with real figures and the next steps.
5. Fee and ad budget are quoted separately, so you can see what goes to us and what goes to the advertising platforms.

We publish no prices. You receive a quote after the first call.

How do we set goals and measure them?

We work backwards from the customers you want. Goals are set before the first campaign, tracking runs down to the enquiry, and the monthly report shows what each channel brought in.

Here is the logic with invented numbers, which show the method and are not prices. Suppose you want 8 new customers a month. If 1 in 5 qualified enquiries becomes a customer, you need 40 qualified enquiries. If an enquiry may cost no more than 90 euros, the advertising budget comes to about 3,600 euros a month, plus the agency fee. With your real numbers the result changes.

This is why we ask for your sales figures in the first call. For performance marketing we usually recommend at least 500 to 1,000 euros of ad budget a month, and for competitive sectors such as solar or real estate around 2,000 euros and more. Reports show the figures that matter for decisions, such as enquiries by channel and the cost per enquiry, and they say what we will change next.

What should a start-up in Germany do first for marketing?

A start-up that enters Germany needs fewer channels than it thinks, and a marketing agency for start-ups in Germany should say so. A clear offer in German, one channel with working tracking and a complete Google profile come before everything else. If the budget is small, the paid channels can follow later.

• A page in German that says what you sell, to whom and what happens after an enquiry
• Legal basics on the site, such as the imprint, the privacy notice and consent where needed
• One channel with tracking, for example search ads, or LinkedIn for business customers
• A way to answer enquiries quickly, in German, with a named contact
• Reviews and references that you are allowed to show

Our guide on starting a business in Germany lists the marketing steps in order. Registration, tax and company law are outside what we do, so ask your adviser about those.

Who gets the most from working with us, and who does not?

We work best with companies that want direct contact with the founder, German-language execution and results counted in enquiries. In the following cases you will usually find a better match elsewhere.

• You need national brand advertising on television or radio. We work in digital channels.
• You want promises about rankings, lead numbers or revenue. We make none.
• You want a large agency team with several layers of account managers. You work with Simon Krebs directly.
• You need legal, tax or company registration advice. We point out the topics, and a specialist advises.
• You want a price from a form. Our quotes follow a conversation, because the goal and the budget decide the plan.

Frequently asked questions