The challenges that B2B marketers face when target the Chinese market are becoming increasingly nuanced. To be effective in your strategies, you need to:
Understand how and when Chinese customers interact with your brand
Determine the answers you can provide to their constantly evolving questions
Know what Chinese want and how you can give it to them
That being said, there is a lot to learn from the user-centric approach to attracting Chinese customers that B2C marketing is already championing as they can track cart abandonment, upsells, latest products, referrals, allowing them to understand exactly where in a journey their customer was won or lost.
How to build effective customer journey maps for B2B marketers in China
A customer journey map is a detailed, visual story of the way a Chinese customer has interacted with your brand. A journey map can look something like this: Chinese customer A saw a paid ad for your product on Baidu, they clicked the link directly to your website, looked at the advertised product, clicked through a few more product pages, visited the contact us page, but then logged off.
Collecting this information can help you understand which parts of your flywheel are effective and which are not. In the above example, you can determine that the directed ads and product pages are successful, but perhaps the contact page isn’t set up to convert, or maybe your product pages should be better optimized.
For B2B marketers, it’s important to create multiple customer journey maps in China that explore not only buyer behaviors, but users as well. Understanding how Chinese customers use your resources, alongside your targeted sales funnels, will help you answer pain points and build long-lasting customer relationships.
Lead Chinese customer journeys to sign-ups
Customer journey paths are rarely linear and not every journey leads to a sale in China. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t offer a customer valuable insights or give them an opportunity to ask questions.
Leading your customer journey to sign-ups, such as a newsletter subscription or a product walkthrough, keeps them in your flywheel. This tactic allows you to leverage technology to support your sales process. It also gives you an opportunity to gather emails for remarketing and customize your end goals.
Ask yourself questions like:
Are customers who participate in a product webinar more or less likely to purchase?
Are customers in your newsletter ecosystem really converting?
If not, why?
Answering these questions will not only improve your user journeys in China but help you discover ways to better service your customers in the long-run.
Nurture journeys based on Chinese audience segments and behaviors
Most sales don’t happen during a customer’s first interaction with a brand, so it’s important to find ways to connect throughout their journey. You can create Chinese audience segments and automated lead nurturing campaigns directly in your B2B marketing platforms.
If you segment users by their tech stack, you can identify which technology your lead is using, and your automated customer journey workflow could send them content that is pertinent to their software. It’s all about staying relevant.
Consider the way you approach abandonment journeys
Abandoned cart emails allow B2C marketers to engage with customers who have left products in a cart without completing their transaction. In a B2B setting, customers may be looking for more than just a product. In any scenario, checking in with a customer who showed real interest in buying from you is always a good idea.
If, for example, someone ghosts you after receiving a quote or demo, an abandonment email is a great way to follow up and win the sale. To personalize this system even further, try a range of calls-to-action when sending out abandonment emails. Examples include:
Free consultation/trial
Personalized video
Find a dealer
Corporate or bulk discount options
Quiz
Assessment
‘How to’ guide
Video course
Join our webinar to learn more
These messages offer added value to incoming customers, as well as giving you an opportunity to leverage the distinct B2B side of your business.
Upsell, resell, keep Chinese audiences in the funnel
In B2B marketing, you often rely on client retention to keep the business healthy. This is different from the B2C market, which tends to engage new customers more frequently. Because of this, B2B marketing starts further down the sales funnel than B2C, as your customer is likely already familiar with your brand and services.
That’s exactly where the prospect lies in B2B marketing. Selling to an existing customer is always easier (and cheaper) than converting a new one. You have an established relationship, a level of trust, and insights into their unique needs.
One thing you can do is to stay on top of your mailing lists and keep your leads informed of any new services and improved processes that you may be offering. Chances are, they’ll be grateful for the update.
Whatever you do, make sure to start soft and keep engagement at the top of your mind. Even if you don’t get the upsell right away, continuing to nurture your customer relationships will help improve your chances of selling in the future.
Remember: For B2B marketers market in China, test, improve, and scale up
Find the areas where your tactics could be improved and start testing in the Chinese market. It’s a good idea to create an always-on journey that is automated and optimized for your funnels. The B2B market remains unique and overall, listening to Chinese customers and finding ways to improve the services will improve customer retention across the board.