Live broadcast, domestic sales … How can foreign trade enterprises "play the whole audience" break through?
The way out for "export" is to broadcast live on TV and sell in domestic market … How can foreign trade enterprises that "play all the seats" break through?
This Tuesday (June 30th), when the day is over, it means that the page will be turned in the first half of 2020. In the past six months, from the individual to the country, from the small society to the big world, the sudden epidemic has strongly impacted and destroyed. The sharp drop in enterprise orders, the serious backlog of warehouses, the broken capital chain and the lack of work for workers are not the problems of several enterprises, but a common phenomenon. In order to stabilize foreign trade, there is not only the relevant policy of transferring exports to domestic sales, but also a forum held in the State Council last Sunday, emphasizing the need to innovate foreign trade methods and promote foreign trade to promote stability and improve quality. Also last week, the first online Canton Fair in history just ended, and this week’s online Lanzhou Fair has started again. How can China’s foreign trade tide over the difficulties?
Zhang Jian, the person in charge of Zhejiang fiegel Sanitary Ware Co., Ltd.: We encountered an epidemic in the first year of 2020. When the new factory was laid out, we just built a finished product warehouse with a floor full of about 4,000 square meters. But the actual situation is that in March and April, we used up this floor, and our workshop has more than 2,000 square meters, and we also made a finished product warehouse. Therefore, all eyes are full of money, and all eyes are full of goods that I don’t know when I can deliver.
Spell it online
Zhang Jian, head of Zhejiang fiegel Sanitary Ware Co., Ltd.: We really didn’t have any idea at that time. In fact, we didn’t have a choice. If we don’t fight like this through the online Canton Fair, we won’t have any other chance to turn over. Can it be regarded as a foundation for us in the next two or three years? We must catch it.
On June 15th, the Canton Fair opened, and Zhang Jian’s team soon conducted the first live broadcast. For this day, they have been practicing for more than a month. From writing the live script, to carefully picking up every English grammar, and then to when to insert the physical display of the product with the live broadcast, they all designed one by one. After 10 days of live broadcast, more than 100 valid customer inquiries were received, which is almost a world of difference compared with the cold and cheerless in the past few months.
Ding Haihong, sales manager of Zhejiang fiegel Sanitary Ware Co., Ltd.: I’m a little comfortable these two days, so my focus must be on customers. Next, it’s time to really show our real strengths. We have a guest appearance as an anchor, so next time we play this routine, we will be so easy, no problem.
With the passenger flow, the next problem seems to be less difficult. Although Zhang Jian’s team is a novice in live broadcast, it is still a killer to contact customers and make sales. At present, they are trying to turn these more than 100 effective inquiries into real orders as soon as possible.
Difficulty 1: Input cost to transform products
The survey found that Europe and America like large trash cans with simple design and single color matching; In China, in different scenes such as bedrooms, kitchens and bathrooms, small trash cans with exquisite design, various colors and even a little "black technology" are popular. The difference in usage habits brings about a world of difference in product positioning, design and research, and the product line needs to be rebuilt.
Han Anqing, general manager of Ningbo Shunda Risheng Electric Appliance Co., Ltd.: If it is designed abroad, it is relatively simple, and it is a square (shape) or a circle. But in China, because everyone has different aesthetic concepts, we also have to design various shapes and shapes, which are basically more than three times the number of foreign trade products.
Difficulty 3: After-sales and payment
Chen Aihua, sales director of Ningbo Shunda Risheng Electric Appliance Co., Ltd.: I think foreign trade is still a little simpler. After foreign trade, we will tell our customers that I will provide you with free spare parts (to prevent damage), but domestic trade is different. For domestic trade, the customer may think that he won’t use it after he buys it back, and he will also ask you about the after-sales problem. At the same time, what’s wrong with his use? He also came to your manufacturer, so this workload will be great.
The redefinition and adaptation of users’ usage habits and purchasing habits in the market is a great investment of human and material resources, and issues such as product certification and patent standards are also blocking points on the domestic market. After investigation, many departments believe that although the domestic market has great potential, it cannot follow suit, which involves top-level design and whether enterprises have the ability to comprehensively plan and adequately respond.
Qing Yanping, deputy inspector of Yuyao Municipal Bureau of Commerce: It doesn’t mean to follow up in the external transfer. There are a lot of preliminary work to be done. For example, the first market investigation and research, the second accurate positioning of the enterprise, and the third research and development of high-quality products. In fact, what is their problem, summed up in two points: one is the cost input, and the other is the risk they have to bear.
||| The government set up a platform for enterprises to think about change
In the past, exporting to domestic market was a good sign for some shops to promote sales, which meant high quality and low price. But nowadays, the competition in the domestic market is extremely full, and the quality is also very good. The gap between the exported goods and the domestically sold goods is very small, and even some areas are gone, so you know how fierce the competition is. It’s not easy to export to domestic market, and at the same time, export to domestic market will face the inconsistency of standards, because you are producing for other countries, and it may not be suitable for the standards of our domestic market, so you have to change it and find a way. Yes, in the face of foreign trade problems, if you want to break through, these three words are really the most important: find a way.
On Monday, this foreign trade company of agricultural products in Lanzhou, Gansu Province conducted the first live online delivery. Although the anchor was still a little nervous and unfamiliar, the live broadcast time was only ten minutes, but the effect was not bad. The company received inquiries from several overseas customers one after another.
Fang Yusheng, general manager of Gansu Yusheng Agricultural Products Development Co., Ltd.: I got a lot of traffic on the first day, and at the same time, nine customers directly inquired about us and negotiated through video on the Internet. It should be said that there will be results soon.
The platform used by the company is not a well-known domestic e-commerce or short video platform, but a new trade platform named "Online Exhibition Trade" purchased by the Gansu provincial government. The China International Trade Digital Exhibition opened in Lanzhou on Monday. As an exhibitor, this enterprise, like other foreign trade enterprises in the province, will enjoy a one-year platform service. Relying on the big data information of a foreign trade exhibition company in Zhejiang, the platform will accurately recommend 100 overseas customers for the enterprise within one year, and will also help to match the negotiations between the two parties. More importantly, these services are all free.
Wang Haibin, Director of Exhibition Department of Gansu Provincial Council for the Promotion of International Trade: Our service for enterprises this time is mainly online matchmaking, online consultation, online negotiation, online display and big data mining. In addition, in order to help our enterprises, we have applied for special funds from the provincial finance and subsidized them.
In fact, as early as March and April this year, due to the serious reduction of overseas orders, this company has already started to transfer its business to online and settled in Alibaba International Station, a foreign trade e-commerce platform. In a few months, new customers and new orders have increased a lot, but the annual membership fee is not low, which makes the company somewhat "painful".
Fang Yusheng, general manager of Gansu Yusheng Agricultural Products Development Co., Ltd.: To be honest, this fee is a bit expensive, about 250,000 yuan a year. We also hesitated, but considering that this is the era of big data and the general trend, we must cooperate and change our concepts.
The reporter learned that in Lanzhou, there are some small foreign trade enterprises that gave up their presence because of the high membership fee of the e-commerce platform. At this time, the free online service paid by the government undoubtedly provides a basic guarantee. Under the current situation, if there is no online channel, foreign trade enterprises may find it difficult to survive.
Fang Yusheng, general manager of Gansu Yusheng Agricultural Products Development Co., Ltd.: We hope that (the government) will expand some services in this digital trade. We are still short of figures (trade). I hope the government will give us more support in this respect.
In terms of export to domestic sales, some local governments have paved the way for foreign trade enterprises to "touch the net". Shandong province will give 50% membership fee subsidy to the first batch of production-oriented export-to-domestic enterprises on the 1688 procurement wholesale platform; Ningbo reached an agreement with Pinduoduo, an e-commerce platform, to help 15,000 foreign trade enterprises enter the domestic market. The vice mayor of Ningbo also went into the live broadcast room to speak for foreign trade enterprises. In Yuyao City, Ningbo, the local government and several major e-commerce companies set up a "Yao Pinhui" platform, hoping that foreign trade enterprises that want to sell domestically can settle in for free, and they can also use free live broadcast venues, props and equipment.
Xi Ming, secretary of Yuyao Municipal Party Committee: We mainly help them set up a platform to bring together foreign trade products suitable for domestic sales. Then, Yuyao’s foreign trade products are sold to all parts of the country by introducing professional teams, live broadcasting with goods and endorsement by the government.
Qing Yanping, deputy inspector of Yuyao Municipal Bureau of Commerce: Our government contacted them with the e-commerce platform, contacted them with specialized professional planning companies, contacted them with sales companies, helped them make suggestions, and helped their own people board the live broadcast platform. Let’s gather these enterprises from outside to inside so that we can share some resources, reduce our costs from outside to inside and improve our efficiency from outside to inside.
For foreign trade enterprises, the word "change" has become the norm. Whether it is offline to online or export to domestic sales, it is a new change that has not happened for many years. I am afraid that it is difficult for enterprises to do foreign trade comfortably again. In the changing situation, not only enterprises have to change, but also government services. When foreign trade enterprises ride the wind and waves in the crisis, government departments should escort them.