Brands’ approach to COVID-19 in China has been special, and companies have had to adapt. But every crisis makes the companies that survive it stronger. China got a big advantage, as it was almost 3 months ahead of the rest of the world in its journey to recover from Kovid-19.
As its economy begins to open up, companies showing resilience at the height of the crisis share an essential characteristic: they have made digital a central point for every point of contact in their activity.
Thus they have acquired this ability:
- Communicate effectively with your employees and customers;
- Rapidly deploy products and services;
- Create and collaborate on ideas and solutions;
- Mobilizing parts of their supply chain and, most importantly, reacting to data.
The power of digital technology in marketing in an era like this doesn’t lie in delivering new videos on YouTube or using Instagram.
It is about maintaining a strong relationship between the customer and the business and using the knowledge gained through engagement to deliver the products and services people need.
Here are three lessons from the Marketing Recovery Cookbook of Some of the Top Performing Brands in China. So stay tuned for the rest of the article:
- Keep customers out of sight, but not out of reach ,
- Make Shopping a Social Event That Brings Value ,
- Make logistics a key element of the customer experience,
What they demonstrated during the pandemic should prompt marketers around the world to rethink what brands can do and what marketing can be.
Ironically, shopping may be social when we are isolated, but social commerce is on the rise in China.
Keep customers out of sight, but not out of reach
Implementing measures to protect the health and well-being of customers has been a top priority for leading brands.
At the peak of the pandemic, that meant closed stores, limited service and frequent social distancing label messages. Luckily, for resistant brands, the reminder to stay home didn’t mean stay away.
Application-based communication has been a central part of the marketing strategy of many large Chinese companies, aiming to be accessible and connected wherever you are.
For example, Yum China has invested heavily in its digital strategy since 2015 and has grown its digital membership to 230 million.
The company provides services such as:
- pre-ordering and ordering at the table;
- online queue;
- Distribution and payment, electronic gifts and media.
Its centralized platform has enabled it to launch new products and services with relative speed, economy and flexibility.
From personalized menus to home cooking kits, corporate catering services and contactless solutions, communication with millions of people has been made easy by centralizing customer databases.
Healthcare companies also saw an increase in sales during this period as the Chinese consumed more of supplements and other drugs. Health has become essential for households in large Chinese cities.
Make Shopping a Social Event That Brings Value
Ironically, shopping may be social when we are isolated, but social commerce is on the rise in China.
This concept is in slight resonance with that proposed by Groupon, i.e. offering wholesale sales through social networks. But when Groupon looks at value through the lens of products and services, the real value in China is in the network.
Pinduoduo (PDD) is one of the leading social trading companies in China. Created in 2015, it is valued at $50 billion and is owned by Tencent, the owner of WeChat, which is used by a billion people.
PDD doesn’t only sell the usual suspects cosmetics and TVs. But in response to the economic impact of COVID-19, PDD is partnering with farmers in rural areas to sell their produce.
Source: Statista
In Yunnan Province, PDD is engaged in 100 agricultural projects. It will train 5,000 rural talents to specialize in e-commerce and create 100 brands of agricultural products.
As recession and unemployment force people to reevaluate their spending, we can see that social commerce grows.
PDD is most popular in China among low-income people who live in tier II and III cities.
In the West, e-commerce is primarily targeted at the middle and upper classes, with Kantar calculating that the average income of a buyer at Amazon is about $84,449.
Make logistics a key element of the customer experience
From January 26 to March 10, 2020, more than 200,000 business owners are said to have opened accounts on Alibaba’s food delivery service, Ele.me.
Ten of the most popular online fresh food delivery programs on its platform received more than three times as much revenue from the outbreak, according to data from Alipay.
Reflecting the demand for delivery services, Meituan-Dianping e-commerce platform reported that nearly 30% of the restaurants surveyed have started delivery services in response to the pandemic. In addition, nearly half of the restaurants surveyed say they get more than 70% of their income from distribution.
The induction of distribution capacity through third-party logistics partners has helped many companies reduce some of the revenue losses.
For businesses, this means providing one-click pickup, delivery and courier services. This also means that last mile delivery positions higher in the overall customer experience hierarchy.
For its part, Starbucks, in collaboration with Alibaba, has been exploring self-service kiosks in supermarkets since 2018.
Coffee orders are placed through an app. Coffee is made in an in-store kitchen, and shoppers can pick up their coffee at an unmanned station in 15 minutes. This type of contactless delivery is likely to become more common in the future.
in conclusion
COVID-19 has forced the digitization of the Chinese economy and is currently showing us how to revive consumption. Digital marketing seems to be solving the biggest issues behind the virus, social distancing, containment and logistics issues.