After 2020, the general trend of cross-border e-commerce

1. C2C personal cross-border e-commerce is popular

2. Focus on content marketing such as video/live broadcast

3. The independent station gets more and more intense

4. Focus on niche markets

5. There will be many new platforms with new models

6. Look at the markets in other regions and countries around the world

7. Competitive supply cost/logistics timeliness is fundamental

8. Fan economy is the key to long-term profitability

1) C2C personal cross-border e-commerce is about to become popular

Personal C2C will definitely be popular after cross-border. The threshold is low. In fact, it is very simple. Domestic micro-businesses are actually the most common C2C. At present, cross-border is not fully C2C. The key is the language threshold and the limitations of social software. If one day our WeChat users beat Facebook/line, etc., then the global C2C e-commerce will be very popular, language problems can be completed with software, and another limitation is the issue of trust and logistics timeliness, but I believe that now development of the times so fast, these is not a problem in the near future will swept through the global economy, as well as tariffs between countries, once agreed, the entire global personal cross-border electricity supplier will be extremely strong, as long as a With mobile phone, you can sell your products to various countries around the world!

At present, there are more and more cross-border platforms C2C, and there will be more and more platforms that support individual store opening. This is a trend. The vicious competition between platforms will eventually lead to lower and lower thresholds, because now more and more platforms A lot, the traffic cake is so big, everyone is competing, so whoever can serve the seller to the greatest extent can control the greatest amount of traffic!

Today's cross-border e-commerce platforms adopt C2C and B2B business models. These two business models have their own advantages and disadvantages. So which cross-border e-commerce C2C platform or B2B platform has the greatest advantage?

1. What is C2C platform

C2C is actually a professional term for e-commerce, referring to e-commerce between individuals. Simply put, a consumer uses a computer to sell goods to another consumer through the Internet. For example, consumers can apply for a Taobao store on the Taobao platform, and use the Taobao platform to sell the goods in the Taobao store. This is the C2C model.

2. What is a B2B platform

The B in front of B2B is the abbreviation of BUSINESS, and the B in the back is also the abbreviation of BUSINESS, which refers to the business relationship established by the business. For example, Alibaba is where businesses build partnerships, complement each other and develop together, so that everyone has profits.

3. Which advantage of C2C or B2B is bigger?

First of all, C2C, its main profit model is membership fees, transaction commission fees, advertising fees, ranking bidding fees, etc. The main advantages are low thresholds, low costs, and basically no need to press excess funds. It can be used within 24 hours. In business, one person can manage an online store, and the economic benefits will be greater. For consumers, the price is transparent and you can shop around. Online payment is safer and more convenient. You can place an order directly online and the goods will be delivered directly to your home. Secondly, B2B. This model has the longest history and the most complete development in e-commerce. Low information costs, procurement costs, inventory costs, etc. can quickly bring profit returns. Its main profit model is membership fees and advertising costs. , Bidding ranking fees, value-added service fees, etc.

Through the above comparison, are you all clear about which cross-border e-commerce C2C platform or B2B platform has more advantages? When choosing a cross-border e-commerce platform, entrepreneurs may wish to look at the business model they adopt, and then make a decision based on the actual situation.

2) Focus on content marketing such as video/live broadcast 

The most worth mentioning is Taobao live broadcast  

Taobao was first to open a store to sell products, and then slowly need to check orders/store groups, and then slowly need to burn through train ads to gain a foothold, now? If you don’t have Taobao live broadcast, it is estimated that you can’t play it anymore. Although I am not a domestic e-commerce company, my domestic friends told me that the orders now mainly come from the online celebrity’s delivery function!

In 2019, trying the hottest video content marketing trends will help sellers acquire more new customers and increase revenue. So what are the hot content marketing trends in 2020 next year?

1. Make more video marketing content

Video content is the most important content marketing trend in the past 3 years, and it is one of the best ways to communicate with potential shoppers.

The "State of Inbound 2018" report released by HubSpot shows that in 2019, 48% of marketers plan to include YouTube as one of the content marketing channels. And 46% of marketers intend to list Facebook as a content marketing channel. The proportion of other channels is shown in the figure below:

Therefore, if sellers want to develop their business in 2020, they must make as many marketing videos as possible. For example, regular Facebook live broadcasts, promotional article video highlights, and various instructional videos.

2. Produce a series of marketing content

Amazon is the most well-known retailer in North America. Consumers pay an annual fee to enjoy Amazon Prime services, including free delivery of orders and watching streaming media content.

In the Amazon streaming service, viewers can find a large number of original shows, such as "The Man in the High Castle" and "Red Oak". These shows are extremely entertaining, even addictive, and can help Amazon retain Prime members.

Although creating a streaming video service may be beyond your business capabilities, you can create original content and publish it regularly to attract and interact with potential customers.

In 2020, marketers can create a series of podcasts, videos, and even books, and push them regularly to cultivate a group of stable fans for your marketing content and business.

3) Shopify stand-alone station gets more and more intense, the future trend is

What is the brand power of shopify?

1. What is brand marketing and where is the value of brand marketing? Brand marketing is an effective tool to convey the company’s unique benefits and values to consumers through various channels.

Through effective brand marketing, the core values of the enterprise are instilled into the inner subconscious mind of consumers. So that consumers have interest in the product and desire to buy.

2. Why companies do brand marketing? It starts with our own daily life. Why do we purchase products with brand awareness when we purchase daily necessities or clothes.

After all, brand clothes can show their self-confidence and also reflect their own economic strength. And making friends for various business occasions can improve your own temperament.

There is a saying that "one-third of talents, seven-points depend on dressing", brand clothes are different in fabric or texture, and the feeling of wearing may be different. The value of brand clothes in their own wear can be described as vividly reflected.

3. For example, when you buy hoods, stoves, air conditioners and other major facilities for home decoration, why should you choose products with brand value, because brand products give everyone the benefits of quality trust, including pre-sales, in-sales, And a satisfactory after-sales service guarantee system. The brand's products make us feel more at ease.

I believe that everyone has seen the power of the brand. This is where the value of the brand lies. Even we ourselves have such ideological values. People are equal. What about the psychology of consumers? As life progresses, the pursuit of a branded life is also our common yearning and goal.

4. Brand marketing is the rationale for companies to convey the spiritual value of their products through frequent brand promotion. Just like some foreign brand cars, is it true that what you buy is the function of a brand car? No, but the spirit of the brand car you bought Values, as well as the sense of glory brought to oneself and the symbolic manifestation of one's own economic strength.

Independent station to create your brand is your core competitiveness! Even if your domain name is your core competitiveness, others will recommend it and share it if they find it useful after buying it!

Summary: Brand is your core competitiveness!

How cross-border e-commerce companies use shopify to do long-term business

Some comparative advantages of stand-alone stations and platforms, why choose Shopify stand-alone stations, and why is it a long-term plan? How to build brand belief?

Why are more and more people choosing independent stations now? The reasons I have introduced many times:

1. There is less and less platform traffic, and more and more platforms

2. There are more and more platform rules, which restrict many sellers (such as deposit/high commission system/fine closed shop/various evaluation indicators)

3. Cross-border megatrend, popular multi-platform operation, not to mention independent station distribution

4. After digging the river, you don't need to carry water for a long time to drink!

Many advantages of independent stations:

1. Doing long-term business, the inevitable way to make long-term plans, I have heard of a lot of what platforms do and then don't do it, because of the platform, etc.! But I have been in the industry for so long and I have never heard of anyone who has done a good brand and then not done it!

2. The independent station does not have specific requirements for logistics timeliness, as long as you deliver the goods in the past, but no buyer will like to receive the goods later!

3. Real-time payment, there is no return cycle of the platform, and no deposit, which is convenient for us to purchase without investment of drop sipping!

4. In the early stage of traffic acquisition, there will be natural traffic in the later stage, and it is uninterrupted traffic, and it is getting bigger and bigger, and there is no platform that restricts you!

5. The fee is very low. The basic monthly fee is 29$, and then 2% commission, which should be the lowest on the entire network. Amazon has a monthly fee of 39.9$!

6. There is no category restriction, no product quantity restriction, it can be said that it can be put on the shelves casually, and it can be edged!

7. Design your own style, including home page and landing page design! It's all up to you. To make a good-looking store will make people more willing to pay! It's like the decoration of a physical store!

8. All kinds of plug-ins, all kinds of promotions can be set anytime, anywhere, to meet your various marketing models, the volume is still boutique!

9. Promotional methods are ever-changing and unlimited, you just go to Pinterest every day to post and add your independent station link is a kind of promotion! And it's free promotion!

(Cross-border exchange and learning WeChat: 18717743442)

10. Dropshipping zero-warehouse management, no need to suppress goods, no capital suppression, global one drop shipping!

4) Focus on niche markets 

Why look for a niche market

There are too many categories now, there is no room

         ★ The current categories mainly include some hot-selling categories: for example, 3C electronic products, maternal and child products, clothing products, jewelry accessories, household products, etc.! Basically, everyone has done a lot of these categories, and the market is relatively more competitive. As a result, everyone's products are very limited. In other words, it is very common, and when you find it, there are a lot of them!

         ★ So even if you do keyword ranking, even if you do paid advertising, it is difficult to have front row views, or the chance of being selected is too small, because your product is similar to others, so he has no reason to be sure To choose you. But what I want to say is that even for very common traditional categories, you can find niche market products.

          ★ This is actually one of the ways we can get more traffic at present, which can actually be counted in the topic of product selection. It's because there are so many products under so many categories, so many products have been made too many, so there is no profit margin, because everyone is doing it, the platform traffic is so large, and more and more sellers are assigned The possibility is becoming less and less.

Characteristics of a niche market

1. The demand is limited, but there is a certain degree of rigidity

2. The demand is large, but the profit is low

3. Specialization is the most basic core, to be the strongest

4. Have control over it or monopoly position: technology monopoly/resource monopoly/preemptive strike

5) There will be many new platforms with new models 

Why can Pinduoduo be done? Because it is a new model, through the group-joining model, the price is lowered and customers are unanimously recognized. Although some people say that the product is not good, it is really cheap. To a large extent, it has captured some customers who are looking for bargains!

Pinduoduo model-social + e-commerce model

Fight a lot as a pioneer of a new electric provider, committed to social entertainment elements into the electricity business operations, through "social + electricity supplier" model, so that more users to share the benefits with fun, enjoy the new shared shopping experience .

As a major e-commerce country, China has always been in the leading position on e-commerce platforms. If the new model is used in cross-border e-commerce, it will also have good results!

Currently several major e-commerce operating modes:

1. M2C

2. C2C

3. B2C

4. Sale

5. Social, shopping guide

Hidden mode: XX system

M2C representatives: Tmall International, Ocean Terminal

Although the sizes of the two companies are different, they are essentially merchants entering the platform, and the transactions are carried out by the merchants and consumers themselves. The platform solves payment and information communication.

advantage:

The model is light and the investment is low. Although there is no profit model, due to the special timeliness of the cross-border itself, the cash flow turnover period is very long, and a lot of cash can be deposited on hand. It does not matter how to make money. Trading volume does not matter whether you make money or not. JD.com has lost money for 10 years, but it is still on the market. It is a layman who thinks that e-commerce makes money by selling goods. The most important thing in the platform model is to maximize the nature of the Internet and reduce all intermediate links. This is the essence of e-commerce.

Disadvantages:

1. No profit point;

2. Unable to control the quality of goods;

3. The after-sales service is poor. After all, cross-border disputes are different from domestic ones. Once there is a problem, it is very troublesome to return and exchange goods.

There is one thing that must be done to build a platform, and that is to solve the supply chain. Although the essence of e-commerce is to solve the supply chain, the platform has to do more. Local e-commerce companies are so powerful. Because there are so many express logistics companies to solve the supply chain, no cross-border company is mature enough, so Tmall and Yang Terminal will build their own warehouses and build logistics. Yang Terminal even has its own transshipment company to solve the supply. The problem with the chain. Indeed, the platform is to solve the supply chain.

Recommendation: Put the threshold of the platform model here. If there are still people who want to take the route of the platform, it is a bit late, unless your operation team is as good as Tmall, and your supply chain solution has several major express operation capabilities. Otherwise, it's better not to touch it.

C2C representatives: global shopping, foreign dock scanning app, street honey, and various live broadcast apps

It is undisputable that Yangquan Dock is the first to make a cargo sweeping app, and all the ones that come later copied it. Several apps even copied the same interface. Of course, at the beginning of plagiarism, later on, they began to develop their own direction. For example, Jie Mi and Hai Mi are taking the route of non-standardized products.

advantage:

Relative to merchants, the number of buyers is geometrically large. Before you can find a suitable merchant, the buyer model is the most suitable platform. The problem of Sku is easy to solve, and the buyer himself will also introduce customers from his circle to the platform to help the platform marketing. If you do it early, it will be easier to seize the hill. Early Taobao is the best example. If you start a business at the beginning, you will definitely not be able to do it. Only with a small C can you slowly transition to the business. Large cash flow deposits.

Disadvantages:

1. High management costs and huge after-sales customer complaints;

2. Too many fakes;

3. If the background function is not done well, it is easy to lose buyers;

4. The timeliness of logistics cannot be controlled;

5. The homogeneity competition is too fierce, and the products are too much repeated

6. The interface display of pure apps is limited, which will cause a lot of redundant information. Whether it can effectively prevent the display of good product information is a question that needs to be considered;

7. No profit model.

B2C representatives: JD.com, SF Express, various traditional industries transforming into cross-border companies

More and more giants are beginning to participate in the ranks of cross-border e-commerce. The competition can be described as fierce. B2C is not something ordinary little guys can do. Funds, teams, sources of supply, and logistics are not enough. I strongly advise all cross-border e-commerce entrepreneurs who want to do this model. Think carefully. If you are a traditional import trade, you should be careful. The operation of e-commerce and traditional enterprises are not the same thing. The above 4 things are The cross-border B2C field is indispensable. If you are an e-commerce practitioner, unfortunately, if one of the above 4 is missing, you still cannot succeed. Cross-border and domestic e-commerce are different. There are too many problems to be solved. Not only do you have to do a good job in local e-commerce operations, you also have to solve logistics and warehousing, procurement of goods, and the need for a huge benign cash flow. These are not ordinary people. Possessed.

advantage:

1. The purchase price is low, so it is easy to attract consumers at a cheap price, because the essence of cross-border overseas shopping is "I want cheap and good products", and cheap is a very important characteristic.

2. The product quality is easy to control, the after-sales difficulty is not high, and the customer complaint rate is not high.

3. Due to the unified logistics, it is relatively easier to control the timeliness and reach the consumers in the shortest time.

4. Due to sufficient financial support, the product line can be expanded horizontally, making it easier to enrich the product line.

Disadvantages:

1. Very expensive.

2. The profit is meager. Although there is a spread of goods, due to high personnel costs, logistics costs, and high funds on the payment, it is actually very powerful to be able to make a balance. In the initial stage, it is basically relying on burning money to grab the market.

3. The model is too heavy and the threshold is too high, so it may be the model of cross-border e-commerce in the future stage, rather than what is suitable for now. It can only be done by mature e-commerce companies. Entrepreneurs should never touch B2C.

Representatives of the sale: Vipshop, Koala Haitao

Koala is an e-commerce project of NetEase department. Boss Ding finally aimed at an opportunity to enter the field of e-commerce. After observing their e-commerce model, he found that the whole entry point is still very good. Although NetEase is not a traditional e-commerce company, it has huge cash (games to make money), huge user flow, and the background of a listed company in NetEase, regardless of the advantages of domestic customs clearance and logistics, or overseas procurement of goods, in addition to Outside of Tmall, JD.com, and Vipshop, the most powerful company. It's absolutely no problem to be in the first echelon. There is a little difference between Vipshop and Koala's online shopping. Koala adopts a self-operated model, while Vipshop is the supplier's suppression of goods.

advantage:

1. The nature of the sale itself is in line with the characteristics of overseas shopping. The source of the purchase of overseas shopping itself is usually uncertain, which just fits the essence of the sale, and the sale ends.

2. If you have money, you can get very low discounts and have enough profit margins.

3. The special sale itself is prone to increase the user's return rate, and there are new products every day. Freshness is the core of Internet marketing.

4. Due to the special timeliness of cross-border overseas shopping, basically cross-border cash is collected first and then purchased. Special sales will maximize the use of cash flow. This is one of the core values of the cross-border sales model. .

Disadvantages:

1. Like B2C, no matter how much money you have, it is still far from enough to face the world. Therefore, an open platform is something that both sales fairs and B2C will do. The first stage of self-operating will only last for a short period of time. The improvement of the supply chain is for the access of service providers in the future.

2. The entry barrier is low, anyone can try, and the competition is fierce.

3. Small players are easily squeezed to death by giants.

4. The logistics cost is not low.

5. You need to have a strong corporate background or overseas supply background, otherwise you can't play.

Social, shopping guide representatives: Xiaohongshu, Xiaotaojiang, what is worth buying, etc.

I personally prefer small and beautiful companies, especially app startups. The essence of small and beautiful is market segmentation. But I believe that every entrepreneur is ambitious. Otherwise, why bother to start a business? Even if there is no ambition, investors also have ambitions, and the whip will spur you to make you bigger. The advantage of shopping guides is the word-of-mouth effect of continuing to socialize, and the fan effect strengthens the brand, and it is easy to obtain their own loyal fans from the crowd.

advantage:

1. The team is small, the model is light, and the investment is not much.

2. There is brand effect, high user loyalty, and authority.

3. Good at hyping some products and creating explosive styles.

Disadvantages:

1. Because the model is very light, it is extremely dependent on external suppliers, and the supply chain needs to be outsourced. It is not easy to control the amount and timeliness.

2. Even if you find a suitable supplier and an outsourcing company in the supply chain, it is very weak in replication, the replication of the business model is not strong, and the scale is not easy to explode quickly.

3. No one in Chinese investors will wait for you to be small and beautiful, and they all hope that you can reach the pinnacle of life overnight.

4. The entry barrier is not high, and it is not easy to form barriers unless it is done early.

Suggestion: Small and beautiful, but you have to endure loneliness, and most of these apps may eventually move closer to c2c.

problem:

1. It is basically impossible to return and exchange goods within 7 days. Many websites claim that goods can be returned and exchanged within 7 days, including Tmall International, which requires merchants to provide return and exchange services. Koala, JD.com, and Vipshop all say that they have similar services, but they are basically The above is unrealistic, because you have paid the tax, do you still expect the country to spit out the tax after returning the goods? Therefore, so far, all e-commerce platforms, whether they are on sale, have been returned by consumers, and the platforms have bought them themselves. Then send it out, digest it internally, and re-sell it is unrealistic. C2C platforms may resell privately, but other platforms are basically impossible. So the question arises. One day, if a group of people is offended, they must do this kind of non-stop return of goods. In fact, it is a very lethal thing.

2. You may not survive without self-employment. Recently, Jumei Youpin began to give up supply from suppliers and directly ask for overseas purchases. why? It's because no matter how you review the supplier's qualifications, as long as it is a channel business there will always be problems. But the top brands and manufacturers, once you adopt the mode of suppressing goods, even if they are willing to do it with you, they will definitely not give you too much product quota, because everyone likes cash. This may be the reality of cross-border e-commerce. I think this change is a good thing, because it means that no one can eat alone, which gives other entrepreneurs more opportunities.

Advice for entrepreneurs

If you are an entrepreneur who wants to enter cross-border e-commerce, then you have to think about a few questions:

1. What are your advantages?

2. How much money do you have?

3. What do you want to develop into?

Cross-border e-commerce has a very long supply chain, and there is enough space for you to dig deeper. I don’t think it is necessary to learn the traditional domestic e-commerce model. B2C and platforms are always moving. There are many places in the entire industry chain to start businesses. There is no need to come up and eat to be fat in one bite, do what you have an advantage, and slowly climb up. Diaosi counterattack surpasses Taobao, JD, Vipshop, it is basically impossible at present. Small and beautiful, it might not be a very good direction.

6) Look at new platforms in other regions and countries around the world

For details, please see the article