The 136th Canton Fair. (Photo/CFP)
In the broad picture of Chinese enterprises striving to "go global," online platforms have become an important "magic weapon" for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to explore the international market. Nowadays, SMEs are not bound by the traditional offline business model and have turned to cross-border e-commerce as a new form of foreign trade. In the current session of the Canton Import and Export Fair, a number of business leaders at their respective booths have incarnated as "live streaming online celebrities," coming into the limelight with multi-language promotional efforts to introduce Chinese products to the world. The popularity of live streaming among SMEs is a sign that Chinese commodities have entered the "live streaming era."
With the growing popularity of online transactions, SMEs are actively engaging in cross-border e-commerce, making full use of this emerging mode of business expansion. The cross-border e-commerce service platform created by the Canton Fair has greatly expanded marketing channels for them. Enterprises utilize the platform's big data analysis and precision marketing functions to gain an in-depth understanding of market demand and customer preferences, so as to launch products and services in a targeted manner. Enterprises use this data and these functions to accurately position their own products, thus obtaining stronger market competitiveness.
Livestreaming commerce is a new windfall of the current e-commerce. The selling speeches of online celebrities in the live broadcasting room can effectively pull the sales of goods. Therefore, this model has also been copied to the Canton Fair. A number of enterprises synchronized to open "live online," constituting a bright landscape during the current Canton Fair.
The Canton Fair has a large number of domestic and foreign exhibitors, and the homogenization competition is fierce. Chinese enterprises skillfully use live streaming as a tool to showcase the charm of Chinese products and brands. During the live broadcast, well-trained shopping guides dubbed "little brother" and "little sister" took turns showing the characteristics, usage, and unique advantages of the products in an energetic and creative way, allowing buyers to understand the products more intuitively.
Some enterprises also invited professionals to carry out in-depth explanations and demonstrations of the product, greatly enhancing the credibility and attractiveness of the product. What's more, the bosses of enterprises personally took the field and interacted with foreign netizens using their self-taught English or French, introducing Chinese commodities to them with enthusiasm.
The Q&A, lucky draw, and other interaction during the live broadcast have further narrowed the distance between sellers and buyers, significantly increasing buyers' enthusiasm and willingness to buy. Obviously, the emerging form of live broadcast has built a bridge and bond between enterprises and buyers and injected strong kinetic energy for enterprises to go overseas.
One of the biggest challenges faced by "live streaming commerce" is the language. In order to better communicate with foreign netizens and open up overseas markets, many business owners have taught themselves foreign languages, including Arabic, Urdu, and other languages, in addition to the most popular English. They show their language abilities in the live broadcast and enthusiastically introduce their products in foreign languages to overseas netizens. Some bosses are often engaged in livestreaming for five or six hours continuously, sweating from exhaustion, but still do not let up, just to let more foreign netizens actually feel the unique charm of Chinese goods. Such persistence and efforts reflect their dedication and enthusiasm in promoting Chinese goods and also highlight their determination and confidence in bringing Chinese goods to global market.
Through the long-time live display, foreign netizens have more opportunities to gain a deeper understanding of the characteristics and advantages of Chinese commodities, thus further enhancing the influence and attractiveness of Chinese commodities in the international market. In addition, business owners also actively collect knowledge about different countries, gaining an in-depth understanding of the economy, culture and customs of the countries where their customers are. They try to adapt to the actual needs and preferences of the foreign audience, improve the form of live broadcasting and increase the attractiveness of Chinese products to foreign netizens in the process of going out.
Undoubtedly, for private enterprises in the "going out" journey, every step is full of thorns and bumps. Therefore, they cherish the opportunity of Canton Fair and try to establish cooperation with more businessmen through the internationalized platform of the "Online Canton Fair." At this year's Canton Fair, the pictures of Chinese enterprises going all out and striving for progress have become the most touching scenery.
Going out to find a broader market is the necessary way for enterprises to grow. At present, the Belt and Road economic and trade cooperation continues to deepen, bringing unprecedented opportunities for Chinese enterprises to go global. Currently, the exploration journey of cross-border live-streaming commerce of Chinese enterprises highlights their hard work and ambition. Although this exploration is only in its initial stage and inevitably faces many difficulties, hopefully it will move toward a brighter future.
The article is contributed to GDToday by the School of Journalism and Communication, Jinan University.
Author | Zhang Yuxuan, Xu Huiying, Lin Haoyi
Editor | Yuan Zixiang, Liu Xiaodi, James, Shen He
