Some Useful Tips to Drive Your Cross-Border E-Commerce Business in China

The growth rate of China’s cross-border e-commerce transaction volume has been higher than that of imports and exports in spite of the slowing-down global trade, which means that the penetration of cross-border e-commerce in import and export trade has been very high.

Cross-border e-commerce in China was expected to hit $85.76 billion in 2016, up from $57.13 billion in 2015, as 40 percent of China’s online consumers buy foreign goods, according to a new analysis by digital marketing researcher eMarketer. While cross-border ecommerce is not a new trend in China, it is spreading to a much wider population base. By 2020, a quarter of the Chinese population, amounting to more than half of all digital buyers, will be shopping either directly on foreign-based sites or through third parties.

Below are the tips you must consider when tapping into cross-border e-commerce in China.

1. Choose the suitable cross-border channel

Some Chinese clients would like to purchase foreign products on foreign e-commerce platforms. These platforms usually have some limits for Chinese consumers, for example, not all of them could offer proper and convenient payment solutions.

However, customers who are really appealed to by some products on the foreign platforms will try to make extra efforts, such as having a Mandarin version of their website, using payment methods that allow Chinese consumers to pay on foreign sites, or select an advanced delivery system. These services can be expensive for small players, hence finding partners to deal with this matter is essential.

2. Pick the right tone of voice

Tone of voice is how the character of your business is reflected in the words you write and speak. Your business tone represents your brand and your culture, and it helps you communicate with your customers.

Especially in China, picking the right tone of voice is important. Through the right tone of voice, you can establish a bond between you and your Chinese e-commerce customers, culturally and emotionally.

3. Promote in the way that locals like

Nobody likes promotion more than a Chinese e-commerce customer: Chinese shoppers are price-concerned, so promotional campaign can largely increase your conversion rate.

If you decide to run a promotion, make it compelling. Always remember to choose your promotional contents carefully. Since you are in a new market, a lot of promotional methods you knew may not really ring a bell to Chinese.

4. Focus on branding

Information gets spread in two different ways in China: either you provide Internet users with quality content and they will simply share it without changing its format, or you do not provide them with one and your information will be changed or exaggerated. You should thus be careful with what is said online.

However, since Mandarin is a tonal and contextual language, it can be easy to come up with creative content to support your sales.

5. Connect with local social platform

There is no need to tell you how important social media is to your e-commerce. In China, the power of social e-commerce goes stronger: other than customer engagement online, social platform like WeChat offers mobile payment that has been widely accepted.

Therefore, it is really necessary to gain your presence on local social media platforms in China. Forget about Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (they are blocked in China anyway), and start to embrace WeChat and Weibo. The average 16-30 years old internet users in China spent 3.9 hours per day on the mobile internet, so make efforts to let them explore your e-commerce on social media further.