New Marketing Breaks Through Overseas Markets

When Guo Jianhua graduated from a foreign trade school and joined a foreign trade company in 1976, he had never heard the word "marketing". Today, 26 years later, Guangzhou Qingchu Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Guangzhou Qingchu"), where he is the general manager, has negotiated a lot of business through the emerging marketing method of the Internet. Breakthroughs in marketing strategies have helped more and more Chinese export companies like Guangzhou Light Out to show their talents in the international market.

After conducting in-depth interviews with 6 outstanding Chinese export companies, the magazine found that their successes have in common breakthroughs in marketing strategies. Marketing guru Philip Kotler in "Marketing Management" (New Millennium Edition) pointed out the new marketing trends, including new products, communications, channels and partner strategies, these export business leaders are successfully using.

New Product Strategy

"From engineers designing products alone to involving marketing and other departments as well as customers in product development." --- Philip Kotler

Excellent Chinese exporter , has let the market guide its product strategy. The product strategy of Guangzhou Light Express is "multi-product, multi-variety", and there are 15 categories of commodities with an annual export value of more than 5 million US dollars. Guo Jianhua introduced that Guangzhou Light Out's product strategy is market-oriented.

On the one hand, adjust the product structure according to market changes. In view of the sluggish economy in Europe, America, Japan and other countries, the promotion of medium and low-end daily necessities, small household appliances and other commodities has been appropriately increased. For example, in 2001, in addition to supplying more than 10 styles in the Middle East market, it also launched a series of stainless steel vacuum bottles suitable for the European market and a series of air pressure bottles specially designed for the American market, which further entered the European market and traded in the main market in the Middle East. In the case of halving the turnover, the transaction volume still remained at over 5 million US dollars.

On the other hand, develop new products according to market trends. At each trade fair, Guangzhou Light Express launches new products, and the replacement rate of products reaches more than 30%. For example, more than a dozen new styles and new varieties of thermos are launched at each trade fair; footwear is constantly improving the serialization of products of various grades, and the styles keep up with the trend. In 2002, exports increased by 114% year-on-year. The company's salesmen also often feedback the product information to the factory, and develop new styles together with the factory.

For Shandong Xiaoya Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Xiaoya Group"), entering the air-conditioning industry is also a successful move to take full advantage of market opportunities to develop new products.

Since the introduction of automatic washing machine production lines from Italy in 1992, Xiaoya Group has become a leader in the second echelon of the washing machine industry and is a household name in China. However, with the increasingly fierce competition in the washing machine industry, product profits continue to decline, and the sustainable development of enterprises has become a problem. At this time, the air-conditioning market presents a great opportunity for development. By 1999, the global air-conditioning industry had been on the rise for 4 or 5 consecutive years, with a clear momentum of rapid growth. In 2000, Xiaoya Group successfully acquired Dongyang HSBC Air Conditioning Factory in Zhongshan, Guangdong, targeting the lucrative international market from the very beginning.

Entering the air conditioning business proved to be a wise move for ducklings. Zhang Haibo of Xiaoya Group Import and Export Company said: In addition to recovering all the investment, the air-conditioning factory also made a small profit, creating a miracle in the home appliance industry. In 2001, the export of air conditioners alone reached 6 million US dollars. In the first three quarters of 2002, Xiaoya Electric, a listed company specializing in washing machines, suffered a loss of more than 1.3? RMB, but the profitability of the air-conditioning plant continued to increase. Chairman Zhou Youzhi announced that he plans to increase capital of 700 million yuan in South China to develop export-oriented industries related to refrigeration, thereby driving the development of Xiaoya Group.

New Partner Strategy

"From operating the company as a separate entity to building a network with higher value delivery and making suppliers and distributors affiliate partners."-- -Philip Kotler

China's outstanding export enterprises are establishing close strategic partnerships with buyers and suppliers. For exporters, attracting new customers can be costly. If an old customer becomes a strategic partner, it will not only bring stable orders, but also benefit the exporter in information, quality, management, product development and other aspects.

Yantai Huixin Sanchuang Electronics Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Huixin Sanchuang"), established only 3 years ago, is a professional manufacturer of quartz resonators. In Huixin Sanchuang's annual export volume of millions of dollars, 90% is supplied to the Raltron company in the United States, accounting for 1/3 of the company's purchase volume. Payments are never made by letter of credit, they are settled by wire transfer. Buyer representatives often come to the factory to discuss with employees on product development, quality control, market trends, and even the factory environment—the rudiment of the strategic partnership between the two parties is basically formed.

Two years ago, when Raltron representatives came to China to find suppliers, they were met with disappointment after disappointment. The person in charge of Raltron said with emotion that many Chinese manufacturers cannot escape the whirlpool of low-price strategy due to the influence of the domestic competitive environment. When buyers are willing to pay higher prices, they cannot find a manufacturer that is willing to invest more for high quality.

Ms. Wang Xiaomei, the chairman of Huixin Sanchuang, readily agreed to the buyer's request, and immediately invested in the R&D team, equipment and materials to meet the other party's stringent requirements in terms of quality. The buyer also quickly dispatched quality experts to stay in the factory for supervision and guidance. In terms of quality control system, company development strategy, etc., buyers will provide opinions. "Our buyers are also subject to the strict quality requirements of downstream buyers. In such a supply chain, any problem in any link will lead to a complete collapse. All losses will be lost, and everyone will be prosperous. Everyone is in the same boat." Wang Xiaomei said.

"It is our headquarters in the United States, and we are its production workshop." Now the sales price of Huixin Sanchuang products is 20-30% higher than that in China, and the profit is of course very considerable. The conclusion of the strategic partnership gives Both sides have brought fruitful results.

China Arts and Crafts (Group) Corporation (hereinafter referred to as "China Arts and Crafts") has established partnerships with suppliers and customers in different regions.

In South America, CGMI's lighting products account for 80% of the market share. The characteristics of South American importers are also more obvious in the procurement process: various styles are required, the number of purchases is small and the batch is large, and sometimes the order quantity of a product is only a few hundred or dozens of pieces at a time. In terms of payment method, it is mostly a 3-month letter of credit.

Zhao Lixin, Assistant President of CAMCE and General Manager of CAMCE Import & Export Co., Ltd., concluded: "There are three important aspects to establish a long-term cooperative relationship with such customers, which are worth noting: adequate supply. Ability, good communication skills and strong financial resources."

Zhonggongmei has established cooperative relations with dozens of factories in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, forming a product supply base. Without defaulting on the factory payment, they accept the customer's deferred payment terms.

CAMCE mainly selects major customers such as Easy Home and Home Depot in South America for cooperation, and is committed to serving as their purchasing partners in China, introducing product information, recommending production companies, and arranging logistics support for them. Currently, CAMCE and Home Depot are planning to set up a joint venture procurement center in China. After the joint venture, the purchase volume will increase by more than 5 times.

Building a partnership means taking a long-term view. Zhao Lixin gave an example: a customer in Germany ordered 2,000 tablecloths, and the inspection company they commissioned inspected the goods one by one, and shipped them after they were deemed qualified. But later, the final customer objected, arguing that it was flawed. According to the provisions of the contract between the two parties, China Gongmei has no responsibility for this, because the goods have been carefully inspected according to the customer's requirements before shipment, and the final customer's objection should be resolved through negotiation with the importer.

However, after investigation, China Gongmei believes that Germany's quality requirements are strict, and the final customer's objection is also reasonable. Although it is not responsible, it has made a certain amount of compensation with a pragmatic attitude. Later cooperation was relatively smooth: at the beginning, the customer's monthly order volume was 40,000 to 50,000 US dollars, and now it can reach 300,000 to 400,000 US dollars.

New Channel Strategy

"From mainly relying on one distribution channel to establishing a combined distribution channel with customers." ---Philip Kotler

China's production-oriented exporter, In the era of planned economy, we can only rely on import and export companies for foreign trade. Now we have the ability to establish our own combined distribution channels. China Standard Sewing Machine Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Standard Group") is a typical use of foreign agents and distributors An example of building a channel.

Since the late 1980s, Standard Group has started the construction of overseas sales channels while expanding the international market. So far, the company has set up a huge sales network around the world, with more than 100 exclusive agents and distributors. The sales network extends to all corners of the world except Central Africa.

Chen Shan, deputy general manager of the company's import and export company, emphasized the concept of "big market" - that is, the whole world is regarded as a market for unified planning and operation.

When selecting agents and distributors, the qualifications of regional exclusive agents, national exclusive agents or distributors should be determined according to their strength and sales ability. For example, the exclusive agency in Eastern Europe, its business covers Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary and other countries. Exclusive agency is also used in India. In many other regions, it is mainly distributors.

However, overseas agent and distribution networks also present many management challenges for manufacturers. After all, there is a big difference between the overseas market and the domestic market. Although the establishment of overseas sales network can transplant some successful domestic experience, it is still very difficult to implement.

First of all, agents and distributors are not their own internal personnel after all. They do not necessarily fully understand the company's strategy and development direction, which will inevitably lead to errors in understanding. Plus any business is chasing profit for the purpose, how to cultivate its loyalty is a difficult problem.

"It is useless to simply talk about the big truth. You must come up with something that convinces the other party and solve the actual problem." Chen Shan gave an example: a product of the Standard Group was very popular in India, but later found some quality problems, so the company asked the local agent to stop selling it. However, the quality problem cannot be solved in the short term, and the dealers threatened to sell similar products of other brands. Later, after negotiation between the two parties, it was agreed to use another product launched by the Standard Group as a substitute, which not only reduced the loss of the agent, but also promoted the new product of the manufacturer.

Due to differences in language habits, cultural backgrounds, and market environments in different regions, regional supervision becomes necessary. To this end, Standard Group divides the export management into 4 service departments by region, in charge of Asia Pacific, Europe and the United States, the Middle East and Africa.

Due to the development of the distribution network and the increase of members, the company is preparing to move the functional supervision center forward to the target market and implement "zero distance" management of the local sales network.

New Communication Strategies

"From dissemination, sales promotion, primarily through persuasive advertising and salespeople, to the use of a broader set of communication tools and platforms." - Philip Kotler

Intranet and Internet provide new means and space for communication and promotion. Among the 6 companies interviewed, the application of Internet technology is quite common, and each has its own website. Standard Group, Zhonggongmei and Guangzhou Qingchu also introduced ERP management. They all use Global Sources' e-commerce sites to promote their products.

It took 6 months for Zhonggongmei to promote a new product and develop a new customer. Now, through online promotion, it has expanded the customer contact surface. On average, it can receive 5 real orders per month, and the effective inquiries in 6 months have reached more than 2,500.

Shanghai Xieda International Trading Co., Ltd. explores some successful ways of using the Internet to communicate in practice. One is to use search engines to collect information. You can browse the company's website, and get to know each other by collecting newspaper news, advertisements, financial reports, recruitment information, and inquiring through the journal materials of industry associations, or through the statistical reports of the competent authorities. The second is to provide sufficient information when communicating with customers through E-mail: product catalogues, quotations and company profiles. The third is to add two modules of mailing list and customer message on your own corporate website. Useful information can be obtained directly from customers and suppliers.

Standard Group, after establishing a global sales network, still spends huge amounts of advertisements on internationally renowned media such as Global Sources. Chen Shan, deputy general manager of the import and export company, believes that this has three advantages. One is to shape the brand image and increase the confidence of the distribution network. The second is to directly transfer inquiries from all over the country to local sellers to support them to obtain more business opportunities. Third, through the inquiry of end customers in various places, manufacturers can more directly understand the latest trends in the local market.

China's rapid growth in exports is a miracle that has captured the world's attention. This miracle, once created by low prices, has been proved by the practice of 6 companies including Guangzhou Light Express, and will continue because of the new marketing strategy of China's export to keep pace with the world.

Keeping pace with the world trend and walking on the world stage, these Chinese trendsetters in the international market are rewriting the history of "Made in China" marketing.