Compete outside the product

Kotler's theory has great practical guiding significance for Chinese export enterprises. In today's era of serious product homogeneity, the product itself can no longer obtain much comparative advantage. In addition to providing cost-effective products, enterprises also need to work on professional services, customer support and even mutual relations. Improving the purchase value, reducing the cost of purchasing, and maximizing the transfer value are the keys to the competitiveness of an enterprise.

For the exporting firm, what value is included beyond the product? Chen Yuxiu, manager of the international trade department of Fenda Electronics, believes that dealing with customers must first be professional. In addition to knowing the products well, it is also necessary to understand the background of customers in many aspects, and only on this basis can we provide professional services. Think about what the customer thinks, see the subtleties, and strengthen the relationship with each other. Huang Haiqing, deputy general manager of Sanxing Sporting Goods Co., Ltd., believes that companies must respond to the trend of diversified customer needs and provide customers with various supports, including channels, promotions and after-sales services.

Provide professional services

The cooperation with Walmart is considered to be an important pawn in the development of Fenda Electronics' export. Currently, the supply to Walmart accounts for more than 30% of Fenda's total exports. Not long ago, Fenda established a business relationship with French Guo_Love. In addition to strict product requirements, these large customers also put forward special requirements for services, especially the requirements on some documents. Fenda had to provide them with a lot of paperwork, and it took five months to prepare the Walmart paperwork. Without professional service attitude and level, it is impossible to meet the demanding requirements of these major international customers.

Professional service is inseparable from a professional team. Fenda International Trade Department has only a dozen employees, but it has achieved an annual export volume of 25 million US dollars. In order to make the service more professional, Fenda Electronics divides the global market into several regions and sets up several regional sales managers in the International Trade Department. For major customers, special personnel are required to follow up. For example, several employees are specially arranged to be responsible for the work of Wal-Mart, which ensures the quality of personalized and differentiated services. Sanxing company has 4 people who specialize in serving AVIA, a big buyer in the United States, who purchases more than one million pairs of sports shoes from Sanxing every year.

Some things that seem unrelated to you actually have indirect effects. Fenda Electronics has a Romanian customer, mainly engaged in home theater business. The audio part was purchased from Fenda, while the DVD and video were imported from another factory in the Pearl River Delta. Due to the quality problem of the latter's shipment, the customer suffered heavy losses, and the cooperation with Fenda was temporarily suspended. Later, after the negotiation between the two parties, the customer wants to buy the products of the home theater. If Fenda can't produce it, it will take the initiative to recommend other factories with good reputation and undertake part of the quality supervision work. In this way, everyone has business to do and maintains a good cooperative relationship.

Some customers are small in scale and unfamiliar with the market, which requires exporters to support each other through their own professional services, and prescribe a "one-dose prescription" according to the actual situation of the customer to achieve a win-win goal. Chen Yuxiu introduced that small customers with potential cannot be easily given up. First of all, you can recommend some products for trial sales based on your own analysis, and then you need to train customers for sales channels and slowly cultivate the market.

A small Korean client with only a few employees didn't even know which products to buy when he first came to Fenda. Fenda designs products according to the size and price requirements provided by the other party, plus its own understanding of the local market. Since the products catered to the market's appetite, coupled with the expansion of customer channels, after one year of cooperation with Fenda, the customer reached a monthly shipment of 20 small cabinets, which was an achievement that no one expected at first. small single market. Now the customer visits Fenda every two months to further communicate with each other on market information and the next cooperation with each other.

In order to reduce the risk of customers, for those customers who do not understand the market, Fenda Electronics generally adopts a strategy of small quantities and many varieties, and increases the number after the customers understand the market. When we first cooperated with a new customer in Russia 3 years ago, Fenda installed 12 models in a large cabinet. Although the company increased the cost, it reduced the customer's risk, and more varieties are more beneficial Test an uncertain market like Russia. Shipments to this customer are now up to 60 large containers per month.

Maintain full communication

Sanxing's Huang Haiqing believes that it is very difficult to make sports shoes in the international market today, and the low-price competition of small and medium-sized enterprises has disrupted the market order. Sanxing, a large-scale enterprise You can't just fight the price, you can only find a way out from other aspects. Therefore, the company changed its business strategy, emphasizing communication and close cooperation with buyers, and winning orders with more professional cooperation.

The orders from American buyers are relatively large, but because the prices are too chaotic, Sanxing, which is reluctant to deal in low-end products, has turned its focus to Europe. Huang Haiqing introduced that the European market is relatively mature, customer orders are relatively fragmented, the demand for styles is large, and the quantity is small, so the requirements for communication and service are higher. Before confirming the order, it is necessary to proof many times, some need to be tried on, and some even need to be tested. Different from ordinary small factories, Sanxing has always won the trust of customers with a warm attitude and close cooperation.

In addition to the cooperation before the order, the level of after-sales service is also the focus of customers' attention. Perspective export companies will give customers a certain percentage of free spare parts supply to ensure the quality of products after sale. A few months ago, Sanxing Company sent a batch of goods to Romanian customers. Due to the problem of workmanship, the PU bottom was not firmly bonded and it was easy to fall off. According to the 3-month quality guarantee, Sanxing can shirk its responsibility, but finally compensated the customer for 90,000 US dollars. "The after-sales quality guarantee for export is clearly stipulated for 3 months, but we will handle it flexibly according to the specific circumstances of customer strength and cooperation." Huang Haiqing explained.

Major customers generally require high service levels and strict requirements for delivery time and after-sales service, among which communication is the key. In order to determine the order, production, shipment, payment and other aspects of export, in addition to buyers and sellers, it also involves many institutions such as banks, insurance, shipping, etc. In this process, no matter how well prepared, there will always be problems like this and that . At this time, it is necessary to maintain sufficient communication with the buyer. If there is a problem, explain it to the other party in time, and propose a solution. Most of the buyers will give understanding.

Due to the time difference between overseas and overseas, Fenda's international trade department has become a "flexible team", which can arrange time according to needs. In order to be in a hurry, Chen Yuxiu often works until the early morning when shipping. Chen Yuxiu's own mobile phone is open 24 hours a day, responding to customer inquiries at any time and handling various problems in time as needed. No wonder Walmart sincerely praised Fenda as "one of the most responsive Chinese companies."

Support agents

Find powerful agents, or cultivate agents, or even develop exclusive agents, and become a weapon for export enterprises to expand channels. Perspective exporters believe that the interests of the company and the agent are tied together, supporting them, and ultimately benefiting the company itself.