Over the past two years, A Diao has been working hard, getting in touch with some products and many channels, but without much successful experience. The current business is indeed a bit difficult to manage.
As for those lecturers who make you feel that business is easy and it's just your methods that are wrong, I can only say that if there are too many people selling shovels while guarding a gold mine in an industry, you need to be cautious.
Be wary of any of their viewpoints, be wary of your wallet, and be wary of your anxiety being amplified.
Having tried many channels, experience does not fit everyone. Some ideas are right or wrong, and it's not easy to verify them just by keeping them in your mind, so let's discuss them simply.
I have come into contact with Alibaba International Station, Made in China, independent stations, 1688, and Global Sources, and I have some new ideas about the entire cross-border B2B landscape.
International Station: The King of Involution#
Is the International Station still the first choice for B2B channels?
Everyone has different answers.
My answer is: for most small and medium-sized enterprises, yes, it cannot be ignored.
As I have observed, most B2B companies in Shenzhen definitely have an International Station. Regardless of whether this International Station store is profitable, just ask if it exists.
So much so that you cannot escape, unless you completely stop doing cross-border B2B.
The core issue with the International Station right now is: traffic is indeed too expensive.
Perhaps this model should have been the case; for things aimed at the enterprise side, have you seen anything cheap? Corporate email, corporate CRM, internal collaboration tools, all are more expensive than personal ones.
As for what we often say:
Customers on the International Station are getting smaller,
Order quantities are decreasing,
The MOQ for custom orders is getting lower.
This is an undeniable reality,
But looking back, can we blame this solely on the International Station?
If it were me two years ago, I would say yes.
After all, you are the one who controls the rules. You arbitrarily modify the rules to please buyers, and under these rules, sellers will continue to spiral downwards. You set a minimum order of 500, I set it at 100. Since it can be marked and there are no penalties, I will mark it randomly.
But this view is somewhat untenable.
Even if it's a pure B-end buyer, if I were a purchaser, what I want is definitely to have a minimum order of just one piece, and even have my logo printed on it. It would be best if you could send me this product for free, and then I would decide whether to place a large order after testing it.
As a seller, you would say this is nonsense, but guess what?
Some sellers say okay, I am willing.
And then they made transactions through the platform.
Do you think the platform is at fault? On one hand, it gains this precious resource of buyers and their recognition; on the other hand, it earns transaction fees and profits. Why not?
Let me give you an example:
You are dating a goddess, and she asks for an 800,000 yuan betrothal gift, and you say no way.
A simp says, I am willing.
Then the matchmaking agency finds a way to get them married.
At this point, who should you blame? You can blame the goddess, blame the simp, blame yourself, blame the guarantee system, blame this low-tolerance environment for life, but blaming the matchmaking agency is somewhat unreasonable.
So if you really want to blame someone, who should be the first to blame? I think everyone has different answers. For me, the one to blame the most is the simp, that is, your peers who keep spiraling down.
So this question is actually a more core issue: the continuous involution of Chinese manufacturing.
The Continuous Involution of Chinese Manufacturing#
Why is there an increasingly lower minimum order quantity?
In 2014, as an entrepreneur, whether by accident or coincidence, you analyzed and found that Product A had a market, and there were not many competitors on the platform. You found a supplier.
You listed it on Alibaba International Station with a minimum order of 500, and then got a few big clients, and you made your fortune.
In 2015, you found that peers were making the same product as you, identical, and the supplier was the same.
You decided to build your own factory so you could control costs and lower prices.
Hard work paid off, and you had your own factory. Now you don’t have to look at the supplier’s face anymore, with a minimum order of 400.
I want to crush those idiots who want to sell this product without their own factory.
In 2016, your original supplier found that you were no longer sourcing from him and that other orders had also decreased.
Your supplier did a simple investigation and found that there was an additional manufacturing peer, which is your factory.
Having lost some orders, he decided to lower the minimum order quantity as well. You can do 400, right?
I opened my factory ten years earlier than you. What kind of storms haven't I seen? You want to compete with me? I can do 200.
In 2018, you found that there were many sellers competing with you for Product A on the platform.
Not only from Shenzhen but also from Fujian, not only from Dongguan factory suppliers but also from Yiwu suppliers, and even unknown small workshops.
The products can’t be said to be identical, but they can be said to be basically the same, or the pictures look indistinguishable.
You invested some in R&D, but ended up losing everything; the designs you created sold worse than the old models.
But without orders, the factory still needs to pay workers...
Time flies.
Forget it, I’ll do a minimum order of 100...
Forget it, 50 is fine, earning less is still earning.
Forget it, since peers on the platform are marking 20, we’ll mark 20 too.
Forget it, I’ll send one piece; what if they come back for more?
Forget it, I’ll buy a few labeling machines, hire a worker, it won’t cost much.
Forget it, maybe I should just close the factory; running it means losing money, less loss equals profit.
Then you will find that on the platform, Product A can now be customized with a minimum order of one piece, which is so-called small batch quick order.
Next, you will find that they also require you to ship within 72 hours.
What about the future? 48 hours, 24 hours, must have stock? Also need overseas warehouses? Fast forward to just a refund?
You sigh: it was so much easier to do business on the International Station in 2014. These idiots on the International Station don’t know what they are changing; after all the changes, my factory is about to go under. It’s really hard to do business in this era.
You see, behind this process, more people are flooding into manufacturing to lower product costs.
And the manufacturing industry has not undergone industrial upgrades, leading to involution, which reflects on the platform as increasingly lower minimum order quantities.
Recently, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen mentioned our overcapacity issue during her visit to China. This problem indeed exists; we have produced too many products, to the point where we are competing against ourselves.
During the May Day holiday, we actually adjusted our time off to just one day. Not taking a holiday is to produce these products that cannot be digested domestically. Will this lead to our products having insufficient profits? Will insufficient profits for companies lead to cheaper labor?
These questions are worth pondering.
I’ll quote two paragraphs for your reference.
“Certain characteristics of the Chinese economy are increasingly causing negative spillover effects for the U.S. and the world. I am particularly concerned about the long-standing macroeconomic imbalances in China, namely weak household consumption and excessive corporate investment, which are exacerbated by the government’s massive support for specific industrial sectors.”
Excerpt from U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's remarks at a press conference in Beijing, China.
“Chinese companies, supported by government-guided cheap loans, have produced a massive amount of goods that the domestic market struggles to absorb, and now they are seeking overseas buyers for these surplus goods. The flood of Chinese exports has overwhelmed foreign competitors in certain industries, and some countries have already taken measures to protect their domestic manufacturers from the influx of low-priced products.”
Excerpt from The Wall Street Journal Chinese website.
Regarding this issue, some people might say that survival of the fittest is the way to go. Our products are of the same quality as foreign ones, but cheaper, so they deserve to go bankrupt. This is our competitiveness.
Then I have to ask: at what cost?
I felt more deeply about this issue when I attended a cross-border exhibition in Hong Kong recently. I went to the audio and video hall, and half of it was selling TWS products. The product homogeneity was too severe. If I were a buyer, I would only do two things:
- Find the cheapest one among these.
But is there really an end to price wars?
- Look for something different and innovative among these.
But can thin profits really support R&D for companies?
Here’s a comment from a foreign netizen:
I disassemble most things I get from China. There is a lot of engineering innovation, but the innovation isn't aimed at the user of the device. The innovation is in ways to make a functional device with fewer manufacturing steps, cheaper.
However, one day those engineering minds will divert their attention from making devices cheaper and more efficient towards making the same devices perform better and have more features. At that point, the consumer will see the innovation.
So, the points we often complain about regarding the International Station:
Customers are getting smaller,
Order quantities are decreasing,
The MOQ for custom orders is getting lower.
I have a bold idea: is there a possibility that we cannot blame the International Station entirely? We sellers also have a responsibility.
Two years later, I am shocked by my inference.
You know I have no intention of defending the International Station; it’s just my analysis that led to this inference.
Of course, even if I see things a bit clearer now,
I have no intention of apologizing for my previous comments about the International Station.
Because this platform indeed has a knack for disgusting sellers.
And those unscrupulous account managers, I will always condemn them.
Speaking of the two tracks of the International Station, one for customization and one for ready stock,
Overall, ready stock is easier to grasp because there are existing successful experiences to replicate.
Old-fashioned successful experiences can be learned from Amazon,
New-fashioned successful experiences can be learned from Shein, Temu.
According to Alibaba people, this matter is relatively “graspable.”
Recently released semi-managed products, using labels like Alibaba Guaranteed, show the internal importance placed on this.
The last product with the Alibaba label was Alibaba Select, which was even more heavyweight.
Is Semi-Management the Future?#
This does not depend on the sellers but on how this change feels to the buyers.
In the three-party game, the platform values buyer experience the most, followed by its own profits, and the least concern is seller experience.
As a buyer, of course, this change is good for me; I can clearly see the price and delivery time, and if it doesn’t arrive, there’s real compensation.
Just like JD and Pinduoduo, a big reason for choosing JD is the guarantee of timeliness and easy after-sales, while the reason for choosing Pinduoduo is that I accept your ultra-low price and relatively slow speed.
The current rules of the semi-managed International Station are mainly stuck on delivery time and logistics, and in the future, they can only be further shortened to give buyers an ultimate experience.
Therefore, for those who can do RTS, this is indeed the future.
What about customization?
No one can do customization or bulk orders well; I haven’t seen any successful experiences worldwide, so I think Alibaba people are also exploring.
Bulk and customization are essentially opaque; otherwise, why are traders still alive in 2024? It can be foreseen that even in 3034, there will still be traders.
Bulk and customization, at this point, need to return to the basics. To do RTS and semi-management, you need customer service. But for customization and bulk, you need sales.
Your product may not be better than others, but I really like the way you communicate; you understand my needs and fears, which allows you to become a sales champion and sell the product.
Currently, the “graspable” aspect of customization seems to be Jinpin Chengqi, which solves some trust issues.
I personally believe Jinpin Chengqi is worth exploring, simply because of the certification aspect.
Regarding Traffic#
As for how much traffic there is and how to allocate it, you have to play by the rules of the International Station.
After all, traffic is in their hands. If you can get cheap traffic yourself, then don’t play with them; it’s that simple. If you can’t, then you have no choice.
They are annoying you, but they have what you need, and you have to cooperate; that’s your weakness, not mine, and not the International Station’s.
P4P, top display, and various package plans, my evaluation is that they are all very expensive.
A 50 yuan bread and a 500 yuan bread won’t be less expensive just because the 50 yuan one is the lowest tier. But if you have no choice, you can only choose a level you can accept and then get the corresponding traffic.
It’s that simple.
You say, how to do it without money?
It’s 2024, promise me, on Alibaba International Station, if you have no money, stay aside.
How to operate Alibaba with insufficient budget?
It’s 2024, promise me, if you have no budget on Alibaba, it’s better to pick up scraps.
Reality is that simple.
The business model is that plain.
Alibaba International Station is like this; we sellers just need to pay money, while those responsible for collecting money at Alibaba consider much more.
As for the newly released business assistant, it’s just a tool disguised as AI trying to boost stock prices. It’s useful, but overall not worth it.
Otherwise, when asked about the hot topic of AI, what actions has the International Station taken?
If the spokesperson doesn’t have this, they can’t speak; that’s about the extent of its functionality.
Regarding other AIs, I use them every day, both foreign and domestic.
The most commonly used foreign ones are ChatGPT and Prexility AI,
While domestically, Tencent Yuanbao is widely used, just in a mini-program.
My evaluation is that AI is a handy tool that is constantly evolving. I believe a very correct statement is: AI may not replace human jobs, but those who understand AI will replace those who do not understand AI in their positions.
A Word About 1688#
With the advancement of AI, language communication and descriptions are no longer an issue.
Many savvy foreigners are inquiring about prices on 1688; this is not an isolated case.
Including 1688 itself has realized this and launched a special section for cross-border trade.
I have handled some very niche industries and have also received foreign trade orders on 1688.
So this is a very promising channel, but it’s not suitable for all companies.
It requires an operator for 1688 and a cash flow to brush orders for data.
Moreover, there are more domestic trade orders, which are not suitable for pure foreign trade companies to open.
Made in China: A Relatively Cheap Customer Acquisition Channel#
Operations Do Not Equal Sellers#
I have to say that people have biases.
Some are unaware, and some are self-hypnotized.
For example, after I argued above, I found that even if the International Station is at fault, do we sellers have no faults at all? (Formulas make it quick.)
This is a question that is hard to ask from my mouth, as I have always been known as a critic of the International Station. Just like in an argument, the more firmly you believe in your point, the longer you can argue.
But I thought about it and let it go because of different perspectives. I used to consider more from the perspective of operations. I might have been a good operator, but I wasn’t a good seller, a good boss, or a good investor.
Two years ago, I thought operations equated to sellers, and operational benefits equated to seller benefits.
But in reality, this was just my one-sided wish as an operator.
Operational benefits are operational benefits, and seller benefits are owner benefits.
Operators who can consider the owner’s interests are rare.
Operators who can consider the interests of the operators are even rarer.
As an operator, I work hard for the owner, but the owner may not even trust me.
Furthermore, in the three-party game of buyers, platforms, and sellers,
Operators are essentially useless and cannot influence anything.
I used to think sellers equated to operators.
No, without operators, nothing happens.
(The above argument only applies to cross-border B2B operations, excluding B2C.)
For example, as a seller, if your company’s products have no technical content and no competitive advantage, what would you think as a seller? Should we just dissolve the company? But let’s give it a try; what if it works?
But as an operator, you can only think, damn, how can I promote this product on the International Station when others are marking a minimum order of 1 piece, and the boss insists on marking it below 100 pieces as a loss? If I can’t mark it, how can I operate? The International Station is really garbage.
An operator is a worker; the only place to vent frustration is towards the platform.
After all, if you vent it towards the boss, you’ll be unemployed; you understand what I mean.
So when your identity shifts from operator to seller (boss), you can indeed blame the platform, and then the platform will comfort you and promise you some things.
As a seller, you have some influence on the platform. After all, operators can certainly mark a minimum order of 100 pieces, but ultimately how much to mark is still decided by you, the seller (boss).
So I don’t criticize the International Station anymore because sellers (bosses) vote with their feet.
No matter how much operators complain, it doesn’t compare to the ugly financial reports.
I remember when I worked as an operator in a listed company, the boss looked at the financial report with a dark face and said,
The International Station invested over 2 million last year; I really suspect the last operator was in cahoots with Alibaba to scam my money.
But in reality, the operator worked hard for a year and ended up with such an evaluation.
So you see, I haven’t criticized it in the past two years. Have more bosses renewed their contracts with the International Station?
What I hear more is that in the past two years, there were four or five International Stations, and now only one is left.
Bias Affects Decision-Making#
Returning to the previous topic, when I was an operator, bias didn’t have such a big impact. If I was unhappy, I would complain, and when I realized it was wrong, I would post an article.
But as a seller, I found that bias is very deadly.
Many bosses like to say, you will never earn money beyond your cognition.
The growth of this cognition also includes eliminating biases.
There’s a boss whose company has always focused on the European and American markets. After the pandemic, the European and American markets were not doing well.
Their profits also dropped significantly, so they turned to the African market, which they had always looked down upon.
They found that there was still potential, although the profits were low, but the volume was large.
Thus, they reaped profits from this market.
You see, if your cognition has always been that the African market has no profits,
Then you won’t earn profits from this market.
This statement has been said too many times by successful and pseudo-successful people, and hearing it is nauseating.
But this statement is indeed true; remember to eliminate biases.
Why do I want to mention the topic of bias?
Because Made in China is an underestimated B2B customer acquisition platform.
In recent years, I have visited more foreign trade companies.
The foreign trade companies I visited have widely spread customer acquisition platforms.
The bosses are very smart; they focus on one area while neglecting another. If both areas are dim, then there’s really no way; they will close the shop and retire.
During my time working with Made in China, it was not as I imagined.
What I imagined, or what is commonly said, is:
Mechanical-related categories perform well on Made in China, while other categories do not.
Now, what if I tell you that the apparel category has good inquiries on Made in China? What would your reaction be?
The first reaction: No way, that’s impossible. Isn’t Made in China only about mechanical categories having traffic?
The second reaction: Really? I’m in apparel; I’ll go open a store on Made in China right now.
In reality, I don’t know how the apparel category performs on Made in China.
I’m saying this just to remind you:
Don’t fall into preconceived biases.
Elementary school textbooks tell us:
To know the taste of a pear, it’s best to taste it yourself.
I have handled several products.
Some indeed did not perform well on Made in China and have already been terminated.
But some products have a higher production ratio on Made in China than on Alibaba.
And it’s not what you think is high unit price or large machinery,
It’s just consumer goods and general custom products.
Of course, now that business is hard to do, more people want to know,
Have my peers done it, and how effective is it?
This is equivalent to peers helping you do the first round of screening.
So I would suggest you find an insider to chat with, see how your industry is doing,
And see if there are any successful cases.
Because Made in China doesn’t require much operational technique.
The rules are simple and not too annoying for sellers.
I chatted with people from Made in China and said, your products are still too honest.
According to Alibaba’s methods, this product should be sold like this, how can this product not have priority renewal rights? This product is too cheap to be released for sellers to bid.
So what I mean is,
While Made in China is not yet too annoying for sellers,
I suggest you consider it as a potential B2B customer acquisition platform.
I know a relatively reliable manager from Made in China.
If you’re interested, you can add me on WeChat to learn about your industry’s situation on Made in China.
Just mention A Diao.
Independent Station: Not Many Can Do It Well#
I am also working on an independent station, especially a B2B independent station.
I have tried SAAS solutions, WordPress solutions, and service provider solutions.
I can say that not many can do this well.
Technology, strategy, and patience are all essential.
I can’t even say that I’m doing it well; the time isn’t long enough.
After I finish this project, I will share more technical details with everyone:
For now, I think the core points worth paying attention to are:
- The website itself, whether the access speed is fast enough and whether it has an SEO-friendly structure.
- The issue of external links, how to obtain suitable no-follow and do-follow external links.
- The seller’s own issues, what is your core competitiveness? What can you bring to customers?
- The recognition of website content by AI and some doubts about how we can use AI to create content.
You can consider these questions; in fact, technical issues are easy to solve.
As we often say, making a website is simple; the problem is how to drive traffic.
Regarding Google Ads, based on my experience in several companies, the price per inquiry has not been higher than that of Alibaba International.
So as I said before, if you have no money to operate on the International Station, the answer is simply not to do it.
Exhibitions: Hard to Evaluate#
I recently attended the Global Sources exhibition in Hong Kong.
I found that Global Sources is quite powerful; such a large exhibition,
After communicating with the boss, I discovered that they even acquired the IFA exhibition in Berlin, which is more powerful than I thought.
Then Global’s strategy seems to be to buy exhibition space and offer online platforms.
There have always been different opinions on whether exhibitions are effective.
I think this is very normal. From my experience, passive participation and active participation have quite different effects. If you are a startup seller with not much budget,
If you participate in the exhibition thinking you must bring back a few clients, then you are actively participating.
If you are a salesperson who doesn’t care, and participating in the exhibition means just waiting for a few square meters of booth to receive visitors,
Then you are passively participating. Booths can be large or small, and when you are in a small corner booth, it’s normal if it doesn’t work.
So this thing depends on the company’s strategy.
Many companies say they want to hire businesspeople with development capabilities.
In reality, very few can achieve results through online development.
It’s no longer the era of sending development emails,
Moreover, there are not a few salespeople who can’t even send clear development emails.
My suggestion is that if you want to actively develop without relying on platforms,
Then your chances of success in offline development might be a bit higher.
So I would suggest that when participating in exhibitions, try to get a few more days for visas. After all, the most expensive cost is the airfare. After the exhibition, you can do some local cold visits or market research.
At this point, aside from exhibitions, running exhibitions and going abroad for cold visits, there are no better methods.
This is the traditional foreign trade approach, which may not seem efficient, but still has a place in customer acquisition.
Some Things I Want to Tell Everyone#
The above are some insights I have on the current mainstream customer acquisition channels for B2B enterprises.
The independent station is the channel I spend the most time on,
But ironically, because there’s too much content, I have said the least about it.
As an operator, I want to tell everyone,
Don’t treat any platform as your final destination.
Your core competitiveness is your ability to think,
Think about how to acquire customers in a certain industry through certain means.
As a seller, I want to tell everyone,
Don’t mythologize or rely on any platform.
Maybe Alibaba helped you make money, and you trust Alibaba completely. After losing money on a question, you go back,
Maybe you previously invested in an independent station without results, and from then on, you never invest again.
Maybe you think Made in China is not suitable for your industry, but who told you this idea?
Maybe your peers all say exhibitions are ineffective, or you just went to visit and cold-called?
Of course, the most important thing is,
Hire a good accountant to calculate the platform’s return on investment.
If there’s only one platform, then my evaluation is that you might be close to retirement.
Even Apple, as strong as it is, does not rely on just one customer acquisition platform.
Regarding WeChat Official Accounts and Groups#
Occasionally logging into the official account backend, I noticed there are new followers, and my mood is complex.
On one hand, thinking it’s 2024, and there are still people following me, I’m so happy.
On the other hand, thinking that not producing new content is unfair to these old and new followers.
I’m really sorry; I’ve been busy dealing with life.
Maintaining emotional stability is already great.
I still thank all the friends who follow me.
For various reasons, I chose the official account as my main battlefield in previous years, but now it’s no longer the case. I still prefer a more free and open space.
The official account is subject to regulation, and once published, it cannot be modified at will. Additionally, it cannot be easily searched by search engines. Aside from relying on WeChat, a national-level application, other functionalities are quite painful to use.
Moreover, a few days ago, I either transferred or disbanded all my WeChat groups. One reason is that WeChat’s group management is terrible, leading to many unpleasant experiences. The other reason is that in the current and future tightening of the domestic speech environment, I feel that WeChat groups are a bit too heavy. I chose the lighter Discord, of course, unless you use a VPN, otherwise, you can’t use it.
Some say that not using WeChat groups and using Discord will eventually lead to dead groups. I don’t care about that; there are even fewer people using Knowledge Planet. As long as there’s valuable content inside, there will always be someone who has the opportunity to see it, whether they check it once a week or once a year.
I predict that in the future, if at any time you want to find a quieter Discord cross-border exchange group, this will be an option. As an ordinary operator, I can do very little to help you; being able to influence your thoughts a little is already a success. Lower your expectations; I can do very little, only you can help yourself.
Someone once said: If you say flowers are beautiful, someone will say, “There are also ugly flowers.” Anticipating such complaints, I can only write, “There are both beautiful flowers and ugly flowers. This is already a cliché. Words that everyone agrees on cannot be called expression. Expression requires courage.”
(I usually find this attributed to Japanese writer Koji Suzuki on the Chinese internet, but I couldn’t find any source, so I’m skeptical and won’t attribute it.)
I will do what I think is right. So I no longer have any WeChat groups; don’t be deceived, and there’s no need to look for them. There are too many content creators in the market doing WeChat groups; I won’t do it.
My blog and Discord group links are on diao.page. This navigation page gathers many of my commonly used tools, and I hope it’s useful to you.