As the world’s second-largest economy, China is unlike any other market in the world. It’s changing at breakneck speed and requires brands to develop strategies based on recent dedicated research. Developing an effective marketing strategy is the key to providing a trustworthy, reliable and adaptable service, as well as developing an advertising campaign suitable for the market of China.
Are you a foreign business looking for a way to enter the China e-commerce market? In this article, we summarize some advice for Chinese e-commerce marketing for foreign companies wanting to develop e-businesses in China.
The differences between Chinese and Western E-Commerce
Venture capital
Chinese and Western e-commerce have different requirements for initial capital. Taking Amazon as an example, if an entrepreneur chooses FBA or the overseas warehouse stocking model, tens of thousands of dollars is enough as start-up capital. If the entrepreneur only has a few thousand dollars, it is also feasible to choose the self-delivery model to start. That’s not necessarily the case for Chinese e-commerce. In order to set up a Chinese e-commerce store requires a certain amount of initial capital. If the entrepreneur has insufficient funds, it is not enough to make money.
Team size
Western e-commerce businesses were used to start by one or a couple of people, which is the most common method.
But copying it to Chinese e-commerce will not work. Chinese e-commerce has great demands on the team, for example, you need operations, artists, customer service staff, etc.
Taking customer service positions as an example, western e-commerce consumers are more accustomed to placing orders silently. That is, pre-sales customers will not ask merchants many questions besides learning some details about products, customers will send emails to ask and may not receive a reply until several hours later. However, timely communication is essential for Chinese e-commerce. For example, each store on Taobao has its own customer services staffs. If the customer service does not respond within a few minutes, the customer may choose another store instead. So the requirements for the team are different.
Industry prospects
Chinese e-commerce, strictly speaking, is no longer an emerging industry, but has become a new traditional industry. Because the most popular Chinese e-commerce model now is the short video commerce and live commerce. The development of the Chinese e-commerce industry is far ahead of other countries in the world.
But in western countries, even in countries like the United States, traditional e-commerce is still a sunrise industry, and their customers are still increasing, not to mention markets like Europe or Japan, whose customer growth rate is even faster.
At present, short videos or livestreams are slowly becoming popular abroad. But this is only just getting started in some particularly developed countries. Short video commerce has not yet been recognized by the western market.
5 Awesome China Marketing Advice to Reach Chinese Consumers
Branding
Branding is one of the most significant China marketing strategies for overseas merchants.
The importance of brands to Chinese consumers
Why do merchants prefer to build their brands, and what can they gain from branding? Branded products are easier to obtain market share than unbranded products. When Chinese consumers purchase the same type of products, they prioritise branded products. For example, in offline supermarkets such as Family Mart or 7-11, new products go through a round of screening before entering such supermarkets. Although it is new, consumers are willing to give them a try. Once the brand of those new products becomes recognized, it will be solidly retained in the minds of consumers. Then every time consumers need to buy products in this category, the brand will pop up in their minds and become a fixed habit. Nevertheless, branded products have better gross margins, which means more profit.
Brand localization
Localization has become important for foreign-funded enterprises to integrate into the Chinese market. Whether Coca-Cola’s in-depth cooperation with COFCO and Swire in the Chinese market, or Nestle and Starbucks helping to grow coffee in Yunnan, the essence is deeply cultivating the Chinese market.
For foreign-funded enterprises, researching Chinese consumers and following the rules of their behavior is an important starting point for the development of the Chinese market. Chinese local delicacies such as deep-fried dough sticks, moon cakes, and rice dumplings have also appeared on their menus, along with the localization process of foreign-funded enterprises.
With the vast changes in the consumer structure in the Chinese market, SENCENT’s China marketing advice for e-commerce is that one of the only ways out for overseas brands is cultural localization. There are many failed cases of overseas investment in China’s development and acquisitions of local Chinese FMCG companies. Only by correct localization can they have the opportunity to continue to develop in the Chinese market. Whether overseas-funded enterprises localize themselves or seek local companies for expansion, the core is to lower their arrogance and integrate into local consumer culture.
Maximize Branding on Social Media
Operating a social media account is a brand’s business card, and it is also a manifestation of “brand personification”. Any business that wants to develop an e-commerce business needs a website, but also needs to promote their brand on major social media. Click to know more about trends of China’s social media 2023.
General business model
As long as there is enough budget, enterprises can choose social media platform they want to run their ads on. Every social media paid advertising campaign is different, just like Baidu, Weibo and WeChat all have their own advertising services.
Build a customer database through social media
Enterprises can not only increase brand awareness through social media, but also develop potential customers by observing user behavior. Once you have identified your target audience, you need to create a database of potential customers’ names and email addresses to help develop your email marketing strategy.
Create content-rich articles
Every enterprises should know how to create informative articles and post them on prominent social media platform. People like to know relevant industry content, and companies need to publish industry-rich articles. Whether creating promotional offers or controversial content to attract customers, brands can gain traffic and attention.
KOL (Key Opinion Leader) Marketing
It is very common for celebrities to publish China marketing promotion content for brands on social media. Content creators are able to create genuine connections with consumers through social media, especially younger ones.
Through WeChat, Weibo, live broadcast, short video, Xiaohongshu and other new media social forms, relying on the celebrity’s social media influence, as well as the celebrity’s personal commercial IP, film and TV drama IP resources, KOL marketing can integrate brand demands and carry out online & offline exposure.
Different from the one-way output of print and TV advertisements, KOL marketing achieves accurate and efficient marketing effects through precise positioning, recommendation guidance, comment interaction. Lower costs and strong conversion capabilities are the advantages of the KOL economy. SENCENT believe that in the selection of KOL, brands need to have a basic understanding of market positioning and China marketing purposes in order to formulate targeted promotion strategies.
Build Your Own Official E-Commerce Sales Channel
In the Chinese e-commerce market where genuine and fake goods are mixed, it is very important for overseas merchants to open a self-operated store. Now Chinese e-commerce has many platforms for overseas merchants to choose from, such as Tmall, JD.com, Douyin Cross-Border Store, Pinduoduo, etc. Choosing a platform that is suitable for your own brand to open a store is the basic of everything. Tmall and JD.com are the first choice for many overseas merchants, but now the rapid growth of Douyin has also allowed many merchants to settle in Douyin cross border store.
Tmall
Website: https://www.tmall.com/
Tmall is a B2C-oriented marketplace that was spun off from Taobao in 2011 and quickly became one of the largest marketplaces in China and the world. Tmall is the most popular website in China and the third most popular website in the world. Tmall takes the counterfeit problem very seriously. To this end, Tmall has set a higher entry deposit and annual fee. Tmall’s offshoot, Tmall Global, specializes in serving oversea brands looking to establish a presence in China. It is now the largest cross-border Chinese e-commerce platform.
JD com
Website: https://hongkong.jd.com/
Another big competitor in the Chinese e-commerce market is JD.com. JD.com has been around for nearly three decades, starting as a computer equipment seller. Gradually expanding to CDs, DVDs, electronic devices, and finally a wide range of merchandise, JD.com became one of the largest retail platforms today. JD.com is keen to explore new technologies, including autonomous driving, artificial intelligence-powered vehicles and drones. While much of the innovation is still being developed, JD.com already has the world’s largest drone delivery infrastructure.
VIPshop
Website: https://www.vip.com/
Vipshop started operations in 2008, and its success is based on the model of “deep discount-limited time offer-quality assurance”. Until a few years ago, it was getting closer and closer to being the number one Chinese e-commerce platform, ranking third after Tmall and JD.com.
Suning
Website: https://www.suning.com/
Suning started out as a home appliance chain, but eventually expanded its product range to include a variety of everyday items — from baby care products to books. Suning has one of the most powerful logistics systems in China, with 10,000 physical stores and 100,000 truck drivers. It also operates the largest state-of-the-art warehouse in the country, serviced by fully automated driverless robots.
SENCENT offers solutions to set up sales channel
Whether you run a small business or a large corporation, you may be interested in Chinese e-commerce and want to know about solutions. If you want to increase your sales channels in China, but don’t know where to start, please feel free to contact us.
Strengthen interaction with Chinese consumers
A good relationship between the brand and consumers is inseparable from communication, because harmonious and smooth communication can make both parties feel that they will be understood and respected. With the gradual rise of digital technology, consumers expect to be able to establish fast communication channels with merchants around the clock, and nearly half (49%) of consumers worldwide say that 24/7 support is an important characteristic of high-quality customer service.
It is very important for overseas merchants to respond to Chinese consumers in a timely manner. Most Chinese consumers love to ask questions about your brand and the products, so you need to be prepared to respond to them in detail. For example, it is crucial to have a WeChat official account or online customer service team so consumers can discuss with you via live chat (make sure to optimize the live chat available on every Chinese e-commerce platform). Many cases have shown that instant communication can retain customers and increase the probability of successful purchases. You may also encourage them to buy your products by giving them e-coupons.
SENCENT helps you with the latest Chinese E-Commerce Marketing Advice
Chinese e-commerce is a new and advanced opportunity for China’s market entry for overseas businesses. The potential for brand manufacturers and retailers is colossal. But entering the Chinese market also has many challenges, e.g. constantly changing framework conditions such as import regulations, the rapid development of the deeply digital environment, complex and ambiguous information from different sources, fierce competition despite the extensive potential cultural differences and communication barriers… Despite China’s vast size and growth prospects, misunderstandings over how CBEC in China works frequently end in costly disappointments and withdrawals from the market.
SENCENT sincerely hope to help your business with China marketing advice entering the dynamic and vast Chinese e-commerce market. Our company has a professional team with enough experience and practical success cases to answer all kinds of questions you encounter while exploring the market of China. For any questions about CBEC in China, please feel free to Contact Us.
