LOCALIZE B2B MARKETING IN CHINA

After Linkedin is shutting down in China, it is even more true that you need to localize B2B marketing in China.

Western companies should develop further their capabilities to use Chinese digital solutions to succeed in China. Linkedin was used for B2B marketing to generate and nurture leads through content posting, sharing and interactions. B2B marketing can be done using WeChat.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BRAND REPUTATION FOR B2B COMPANIES IN CHINA

When it comes to entering the Chinese market as a B2B company, reputation management must also be a key part of your strategy. As China is a digital market, on-line reputation is the one to develop.

Potential leads want to know they’re getting involved with a trustworthy, reputable company that is going to provide them with an exceptional product and service. One bad review can easily persuade any of those decision-makers to go with your competitor instead.

It’s important to remember that people talk about you online, even if you’re not yet online yourself. That’s why the first step to reputation management is monitoring online activity, so you know what is being said about you and where it’s being said.

Once you know what your brand presence looks like online, you can then communicate your brand message, give news about your company, establish yourself as a thought leader by publishing content on industry portals.

EFFECTIVE LEAD GENERATION AND NURTURING FOR B2B COMPANIES IN CHINA

As there is no Google in China, you need use Baidu for your SEO strategy to generate leads.

Baidu SEO

Then you need nurture your leads during a certain period of time, B2B purchasing cycle is rather longer than in B2C.

Instead of doing it in LinkedIn, you need doing it on WeChat, the most popular social media in China. It is used for daily life but also for business.

A company doing business in China must be visible on WeChat to exist. The first step is to open a WeChat official account (different from personal WeChat account).

Through a WeChat official account, it is the perfect touch point for your company to connect with Chinese businesses.

BASICS OF B2B MARKETING IN CHINA

While a strong online presence is vital, offline events such as conferences or meetings are still very important if it is possible– nothing beats having a conversation face to face.

It’s easy to keep in touch with clients – we recommend posting once a week about things like industry news, company news and company activities, all of which serve to show that you’re a thought leader in your industry, that you’re highly active and that you have a strong company culture.

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You will use also another Chinese platform, Zhihu. It is the largest Q&A platform which aims to provide in depth insights from industry professionals. It is a good place to do content marketing. The audience of this platform is quite educated.

You can develop your brand awareness, demonstrate your authority, and educate your audience.

Zhihu has also great authority on Baidu and Sogou search engines.

LOCALIZE B2B MARKETING IN CHINA: HOW TO DO WECHAT MARKETING?

WeChat is your Website

Do not forget that in China, WeChat is your website

If you are a big company, you can also set up a local Chinese Website, but Chinese people do not check them so much.

Create a comprehensive content to bring you the right audience and encourage sharing

Social media is about content. The right content will bring you the right audience. It has to be appealing, interactive and entertaining.
You need to encourage sharing the content to your audience.

WeChat should not be just company news. It must be also have educational and social features. To educate your audience is an excellent way to get leads in China.

Advanced search function

WeChat users can now search for any content using related keywords. Generally, Chinese people like to research, look at media articles or ask their friends about products or services they are interested in. This means that pushing out high-quality, useful content is essential to successfully market to other businesses. It allows you to showcase your brand

Personalised interactions

WeChat is a great for businesses to leverage if they are looking to build relationships and create stronger business partnerships in China. It is important to note that in with B2B, your target audience is not another business but rather someone who holds a certain position in that business. This means that driving a more personalised interaction is fundamental for WeChat B2B marketing.

Paid campaigns using WeChat Ads

For a new created account, utilizing paid options to give the account an initial boost is very effective, in particular for B to B

Join WeChat groups and Engage with your audience

WeChat groups are where people with the same interests exchange ideas. Find and join WeChat groups related to your industry, and share your best articles, cases studies and create stories to get more leads.

QR codes

Every WeChat official account has a QR code, which works as the “business card” of your WeChat account. The QR code can be used in exhibitions, brochures…

There are just some of the keys to do WeChat marketing for B2B and build-up your business community.

It is really important to localize your B2B marketing in China more than ever to get effective results.

NEED HELP TO LOCALIZE B2B MARKETING IN CHINA?

Emotion Digital has a strong understanding of the Chinese market― we want to help you unleash your business’s potential to one of the largest populations in the world. Schedule your free consultation today.

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Direct to consumers sales with WeChat

Why develop Direct to Consumer sales on WeChat?

Brands should also not overlook the development of brand-owned direct-to-consumer sales in China, even if active on big e-commerce platforms such as Tmall or JD.com.  

As you know in China, WeChat is your Website, therefore DTC e-commerce should be implemented on WeChat. Chinese consumers are not using website for e-commerce.

WeChat is the leading platform in China with more than 1,2 billion monthly active users.

The main features are:

  • Official accounts which push feeds to subscribers, interact with subscribers and provide them with contents
  • Mini-programs are really apps within an app. It is possible to do business through a mini-program while users can enjoy other functions
  • Channels, the new feature of WeChat launched this year, where people can enjoy short videos shared by their network and other business owners

“A WeChat DTC business offers brands multiple touchpoints to engage with consumers proactively and repeatedly, maximising the lifetime value of a single brand,” says George Xie, Planning Head of CPG Industry at Tencent Marketing Solution.

 WeChat has touchpoints spanning the entire consumer journey from awareness to loyalty, then brands have a greater opportunity to engage with and reactivate client profiles once they are part of the brand’s WeChat database.

DTC or traditional e-commerce platforms have both advantages and disadvantages, depending on business profile, brand milestones, range of audience….

Brands should not rely only on DTC or only on traditional e-commerce platforms, but develop a mix of both.

However at the time of China market entry, we advise to start with DTC only if you address the consumer market. It is cost effective way to test the market and start the sales.

With the development of cross-border e-commerce, WeChat shops are also a good solution to connect Chinese consumers with foreign brands.

Activating WeChat Stores

There are 2 ways to activate WeChat store, as explained below:

It is important for brands to create scarcity through campaigns and marketing initiatives to generate sense of urgency for consumers to shop on WeChat. They must give a reason to visit and shop directly on WeChat.

Brands also need to ensure that the quality of content on their WeChat Stores is proper to excite consumers. Besides making sure that the store is constantly updated with the latest campaign products, brands should leverage visually trending  formats such as videos or animations on this channel as well.

It is also possible to launch new or exclusive products only on WeChat store to differentiate from other marketplaces. This is usually the strategy of some luxurious fashion brands.

Brands are also starting to explore other entertaining methods of shopping within the WeChat ecosystem, such organising raffles to give consumers a chance to purchase limited edition products.

Driving Traffic to WeChat Stores

One of the most effective ways a brand can drive traffic to its WeChat Store is through content published on its Official Account. A brand can push content directly to its followers’ WeChat inboxes up to four times a month, and these content pushes should be fully leveraged with relevant product links and calls-to-actions embedded within articles to drive consumers to the WeChat Store

Brands can also drive traffic to their WeChat Stores by designing specific user journeys.

And it is also possible to use advertising or other social media platforms to generate traffic.

For more information about the Chinese market, do not hesitate to contact us.

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WeChat B2B marketing

How to succeed in B2B with WeChat

Do you know that WeChat is also for B2B marketing? In Western countries, B2B industry gives less attention to social media for brand awareness and lead generation.

However, visibility on social media in China is critical for B2B companies.

WeChat is right solution for marketing campaign in B2B businesses in China.

But how to succeed with WeChat B2B marketing?

Why is WeChat important for B2B marketing?

Any business in China has its own WeChat official account. It has become a powerful marketing channel to reach a targeted audience.

WeChat is a great tool for businesses to leverage your products to Chinese clients.

WeChat monthly active users have reached more than 1.1 billion! It is really the smart app that Chinese people are using 24 hours a day in their life and at work.

WeChat has also a quick search engine then many people are using it for quick search.

Check How to open a WeChat official account?

If you do not have a WeChat official account, you are not visible from your customers, suppliers, leads, then you do not really exist.

It is better to have a WeChat official account rather than a Website in China.

What are the main features of your WeChat account?

Communication

Of course WeChat allows users to send documents such as powerpoint, pdf, excel files which is quite convenient. It is the commun way to exchange documents in China.

WeChat is also a messaging app for business use, it replaces the email.

Automatic reply

It is the message that a customer first follow your account, will receive. This welcome message introduces the account, promote the recent campaigns. It is important message as it is the first impression given to new customers.

Translation tool

WeChat offers an in-app translation tool which is quite convenient to use in business communication between western countries and China.

It really helps the communication with the audience.

Group messages

It is possible to send group messages to your target audience, according to location, gender. It is helpful for targetted marketing.

Customized menu

WeChat gives you the possibility to add up to 3 menu categories, and under eacg category, you can have up to 5 sub-menus.

The menu can lead to a message, an app page, a website.

Some best practices for B2B WeChat marketing

Content is king

Social media is about content. The right content will bring you the right followers.

Getting followers on WeChat is the main challenge. It is therefore important to identify what type of content your audience is looking for. You can check what your competitors are posting in China.

Your content need to be appealing, interactive, original.

Also your content must be shareable. Marketing on WeChat purpose is to encourage sharing .

Encourage sharing

WeChat encourages one to one sharing and group sharing. Encouraging sharing is not limited to your audience. It is good to encourage your employees to share the content to their own contacts, as employee advocacy is quite effective.

Join WeChat groups

WeChat groups are where users with the same interests exchange ideas, share some informations or knowledges. It can be up to 500 people per group. Find and join WeChat groups related to your industry or market. If your content is value to them, you will get new followers and get some interesting comments.

Set up customer support

People like to contact a brand directly in WeChat after they become your followers. It is then important to make easy for them to contact you through mail or phone. You can set up also some auto-replies.

Be active on WeChat

Users will unsuscribed your account if it is not frequently updated. You need to make sure have your account consistenly updated.

Do you need support to succeed with B2B WeChat marketing ?

WeChat marketing is a great tool for businesses to leverage your products and services to the Chinese customers. But it is also a must have to be visible in China.

Through WeChat, you can also educate your market, engage your audience, and so much more!

If you need some help on WeChat marketing, do not hesitate to contact us.

For more information, do not hesitate to contact us

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