Nowadays, our way of consuming is more and more revealing of our identity. Indeed, we do not consume only by need (get dressed, get food…). Every purchase is more considered because it reflects our identity. Consuming today is aking to a form of “social skills”. It is a way to express one’s personality, whether unique or shared by most of society.
Development of E-commerce in China
Customers are therefore more and more demanding. We no longer choose a brand only for its product, but also for its image of it and the image it will send back from us. One of the factors that carry more and more weight is the store experience. With the development of e-commerce, it is very easy to find any product at the lowest price. Especially in China, where e-commerce is extremely developed and used by thousands every day. So why would they keep going to a brick-and-mortar store?
Several answers are possible: to try the product, to benefit from the expertise of the salesman, to be able to make sure of the quality of the product, etc. However, the most common reason is the simple pleasure of window shopping and enjoying the in-store experience. The competition against e-commerce is so fierce that brands have no choice but to use ingenuity to continue to attract and entertain their customers. From this principle emerged three new marketing streams: experiential marketing, emotional marketing, and sensory marketing.
Attract Chinese customers to your store
They all highlight the customer experience. Because the product is no longer the only factor in the purchase decision, it is accompanied by services, sellers, the place of sale, the sign, and other customers. Brands must no longer offer products, but experiences. We must offer them a good time and a great memory that the customer would not have had when ordering the same product online. Since the Chinese are crazy about Taobao, you have to understand this concept before settling on the Chinese market. Because overall, the Chinese have a very fast lifestyle, especially in big cities like Shanghai and Beijing. They work a lot and do not have the time to go shopping.
In addition, products ordered online in China are delivered very quickly. Ordering on Tmall or Taobao is therefore very practical and time-saving, in addition to being economical! That’s why to attract the Chinese to your store, you will have to put all the chances on your side to offer them an unforgettable experience. They also like to share their opinion on social networks, including WeChat. If your store has charmed them, they would not hesitate to publish photos and their opinion in their “moments” (the equivalent of the Facebook wall). This would give your brand visibility and credibility because the Chinese grant a lot of importance to the opinion of their relatives.
We will now see ways to appeal to Chinese consumers in your store:
- Offer an experience through staging: the decoration must be neat and original, the store must tell a story (one of the brands, its product…) and there must be action, an interaction between the customer and the store.
- Create customer’s emotional attachment to the brand: this will be able to develop through advertising and the relationship of the brand to his community (on social networks for example). For example, it is easy to create emotions among customers, who will then favor the act of purchasing, during major events that have sentimental value. For example, Chinese New Year, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, etc.
- Touch the consumer with affectivity: you have to integrate the consumer’s senses into his buying experience to generate emotions and well-being that will give him a memorable memory of your store and which will also push him to buy. The 5 senses can be used to maximize the desired effects on the consumer. Sight is the most used in marketing because it is also the most stimulated sense by the environment. But all the senses can be interesting to highlight. Hearing for a musical atmosphere linked with the ambiance of your shop, the sense of smell to relax, intrigue or make your customers crave your product (for example, coffee sprays in a specialized shop), the taste for making some products more original (cosmetics for example) and finally the touch to contribute to the pleasure of store experience (material used for products, furniture, etc).
It is advisable to use several of these tips to give your customers the desire to enter your shop and offer them a unique experience. In addition, the Chinese are particularly used to this type of marketing. In big cities, entertainment is everywhere, from metro stations to big malls. However, to make them want to come back to your store, you should not abuse these techniques. Everything must be carefully controlled not to annoy the customer, especially for sensory marketing. Too much sense activation could ruin the customer’s buying experience. For example too loud music, too aggressive lights, scents too pronounced, etc.
If you still need help getting started in the Chinese market, contact Gentlemen Marketing Agency to give your brand visibility through quality digital marketing. Let our Shanghai-based specialists take care of it for you! More information is on our website.
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