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Polish Immigration and Foreign Direct Investments to Poland add the ‘Oomph’ to British Economy
The number of Poles migrating to the UK seems to be growing algebraically every year. Great Britain’s open door policy is one contributing factor to the 1.5 million and growing portion of the 60 million people in the country recently topping the 60 million mark. But the UK government does not seem to fear the future problem of overpopulation and seems to still be encouraging its open door policy perhaps owing to its advantageous effects on the country’s open market system and economic development.
The Characteristics of a Typical Pole Consumer and Tips on Marketing
Much of Britain’s immigrant population consists of Poles. Moreover, Poles wield a considerable amount of purchasing power and disposable income and are good target markets of any British business. To effectively market your goods and services to Polish communities, whether in Britain or their homeland, a guaranteed strategy that is sure to hit home is to entice the Pole identity. In other words, incorporate into your marketing plans signs, symbols, images, and what not that hint at their culture and history because most Poles, if not all, harbor strong nationalistic attitudes. This has been a strategy adapted and is still currently employed by Britain’s leading supermarkets: J Sainsbury, Tesco and Asda. What they did was to include in their usual aisles, new products that specifically cater to the Polish population especially recipes and ingredients that Poles love: pickled cabbage, sauerkraut, and other native delicacies. In addition, Poles have very well-established and fortified family ties and are also very religious. Appealing to this aspect of the Polish identity by finding ways for them to obtain access to their relatives abroad is a sure way to get the Polish consumer population riveted to your business. According to The Times,
“Polish migrants undertake a strategy of keeping options open, taking a ‘wait and see approach’ and adapting as life goes on, not excluding going back, bringing families to the UK, travelling the world and moving to the US or Australia”.Good advertising does not stop here and expensive flashy marketing mediums won’t always guarantee optimal Pole consumer responses and return of investments. In fact, background studies regarding Pole communities in the UK state that Poles prefer advertisement via referral. Hence, effectively marketing to a few Poles will inevitably result to a ripple effect.
Though Poles are very loyal to their homeland, most Poles especially the young ones, are attracted to high-quality, expensive, and trendy Western goods. Young poles also have the tendency to be engrossed with products that are advertised humorously.
The Role of Language
It is believed that more than 70% of Polish immigrants in the UK are skilled professionals and graduates. As a result, they are quite knowledgeable and independent. However, most Poles do not wield excellent command of the English language and may still be very much attached with their mother tongue. Subscribing your business to Cooltura, a UK Polish language publication may help you reach out and communicate with the Polish market. In addition, the publication has informative lists on money transfer firms, call cards and travel tickets to their home. The magazine also reveals a list of firms who can act as intermediaries between you and the Polish consumer. Still, there are language translation and interpretation services that span both the real and virtual markets. In fact, because the Polish portion of British population is a very promising market, some banks like those in Scotland have made Polish versions of banking literature and are highly on the lookout for staff members fluent with the Pole’s language to increase their hold on the Polish consumer market.
The ability to communicate with language to the Polish market is key to earning and maintaining the population’s trust, support, and loyalty. Furthermore, professional translation helps them with necessary documentations that consequently speeds up any business transactions.
Polish Immigration and the UK work force
With millions of Poles living and projected to still migrate to Great Britain, the country has access to fill up any industry experiencing problems with labor force scarcity. Labor availability for blue and white collar jobs remains abundant from extreme ends of the industrial meter. Moreover, Polish labor is generally affordable because most immigrants are vigorous and do not mind working for minimum wage. And since 70% of the immigrants are educated and are professionals, they contribute considerably to high-skilled and technical jobs such as those in the IT and engineering industries. Thus, the problem of inflation is kept at bay. Consequently, the British pound is strengthening and maintaining its relation to other European currencies. The Polish work force also did wonders to Great Britain’s dormant and unproductive businesses. With their vigor and number, production became fast-paced leading to expansions in industries.
As compensation, the British government took measures in maintaining and keeping the Polish work force and communities happy. The country’s government actually coordinated with the Polish government abroad to eliminate the immigrants problem of double taxation which happened in earlier years. Another measure taken by the British government is the emphasis and maximization of benefits delivered to the Polish work force.
05.04.2008. 16:31
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