What lessons can we learn from the history of foreign trade dealers?

Intermediary transaction SEO diagnosis Taobao guest Cloud host technology Hall

Wen/Yu Yiyun ho

When many domestic vertical electric companies also immersed in the blood through the "price war" means to break through, the industry is also circulating in the "financing-expansion-refinancing" of the development cycle, the foreign trade in the electric business, but their own way to the stuffy sound of a big fortune.

Recently, the pavilion has been submitted to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) listing applications, to be listed on June 6 in the United States NYSE, the stock code is "LITB." Once the listing is successful, the foreign trade will become the first Chinese companies listed in the United States.

Relative to the Beijing-east, where customers, when the domestic vertical electric business, orchid Pavilion set potential, Dunhuang nets, madeinchina.com, Yi Tang Network, such as foreign trade electric dealers to appear much more low-key. Any business in the blue Sea once found will be quickly dyed red, especially in China, so they do is to make big money business.

Development

It can be said that 2006 to 2010 is the development of foreign trade in the gold five years, in this time node was born like the Orchid Pavilion set potential, Milan network, Easy Tang network, such as a large number of foreign trade dealers. Throughout these years, the development of foreign trade dealers can be roughly divided into four stages.

In the first stage, some young people who had early exposure to e-commerce or the Internet, inspired by Taobao or ebay, began to break through existing domestic business or consumer-to-consumer thinking, and began to try to use platforms such as ebay or Amazon Sell Chinese products directly to individual consumers or overseas retailers.

They use the advantages of platform traffic such as ebay, and the cheap advantages of Chinese goods to obtain orders, through PayPal collection, sourcing from the wholesale market and through EMS,DHL and other international express delivery of goods directly to the hands of overseas customers.

In the second stage, some people saw the profits of early foreign trade, some of the entrepreneurial team or individuals quickly accumulate the original capital, upstream suppliers and downstream express companies gradually build bargaining capacity, on the one hand, along the industrial chain upstream climb to obtain greater profit margins, on the other hand, integration of more and more products.

This time the entrepreneurial team or group from the initial stage of entrepreneurial technology-oriented, gradually transformed into market-oriented, the company's resources to supply chain integration and customer relationship management tilt, gradually become a new type of foreign trade companies. Typical representative such as Milan NET, Dealextreme etc.

The third stage, by the letter of credit transactions, large single shipping as the main characteristics of the traditional foreign trade companies, in their own eyes to see some of the entrepreneurial team through online small foreign trade or retail quickly bigger and stronger, some even created their own brand of these facts, began to invest in the establishment of foreign trade E-commerce Department, Also developed into a new type of foreign trade companies.

Phase IV, as a result of traditional foreign trade companies in foreign trade experience, supply chain integration, industry experience and other aspects of the huge advantages, once the traditional foreign trade companies gradually adapt to the new mode of foreign trade, will inevitably be on the pure foreign trade, the electricity quotient caused great pressure, pure foreign trade manufacturers face a reshuffle Some of the fastest-growing companies will be spared, while others with weaker supply-chain integration will be eliminated.

Profit

In a comprehensive way, the business model of the foreign trade dealer mainly has three kinds: namely make goods, do platform and third party service provider.

The so-called do goods, is to butt goods. Generally speaking, do shippers have two modes: one is relying on ebay, Amazon and other platforms to sell products, the model is similar to the current Taobao, the other is to create their own independent foreign trade website, such as Orchid Pavilion set potential, DX and so on.

This business model of the main source of income is to earn the difference in goods, after deducting logistics, tax, promotion, labor and other costs, ebay and other platforms will also charge sellers a certain amount of sales deduction points.

The independent foreign trade operator in the profit model and those relying on ebay, Amazon is similar: to earn the difference. But the difference is that the independent foreign trader does not need to pay the platform sales deduction point, but in the overseas market promotion marketing expense, will occupy a considerable part of the cost.

For the foreign trade of the goods, one is to do the foreign trade platform, such as the Dunhuang network, Ali's fast-selling and so on, and the other is a third-party service providers, such as Sihai Merchant boat, for suppliers or brands to provide foreign trade marketing solutions.

For Dunhuang nets, fast sales and other foreign trade platform, the source of income is more diversified, such as from each deal order to extract a certain proportion of the Commission, the platform to charge a certain number of advertising fees, ranking, or other value-added services, and so on.

Like Sihai Shangzhou and other third-party service providers, the main profit point is to collect service fees. Some of them are billed as a whole project, and some are paid for by effect (equivalent to a split).

In the development of foreign trade in the golden period, the industry circulated in such a word: can not make money in the foreign trade is bullying.

In fact, in the boom period of foreign trade, almost the whole industry profit, a lot of costs only a few yuan of things, sold to Europe and the United States and other countries in the price can be directly multiplied by six or 10, or even more.

Take the Orchid Pavilion set, the first category is the wedding dress and dress. 2009 years or so, Orchid Pavilion set potential to find domestic wedding and foreign wedding dress in the price difference is very large, in foreign countries, buy a general wedding dress at least 1000 U.S. dollars, and the domestic wedding price relative to foreign countries is much cheaper, so at the beginning of 2009, the Orchid Pavilion set in their own platform to start selling wedding dress, The price is probably between 100 and 400 dollars. Soon, the wedding in the Orchid Pavilion set potential platform on the launch, it was the foreign consumers of the hot.

In addition to making wedding dresses, making advanced imitation products is also a high profit trading. Take a high imitation of Gucci handbag, its domestic production cost of about 200 yuan, but through the use of foreign trade of the platform to sell abroad, the price can be comparable with the original price. The profit is self-evident.

But then, due to the rapid expansion of the entrants, foreign trade dealers gradually bid farewell to the "on the ground to pick up money" era. But even so, it is still an area worth digging for, compared with many domestic dealers. #p # subtitle #e#

Subtraction

Many consumers have had such a dilemma: why many goods from the factory to buy the price of a few times the difference, which most of the profit by the intermediary channel to earn. In the same vein, the most fundamental reason for the high profits of foreign trade companies is that they shorten the chain of goods from the factory to the hands of consumers.

In principle, traditional foreign trade through the "factory-exporter-importer-wholesaler-retailer-consumer" six links, transnational business-to-business is through the "factory-wholesaler-retailer-consumer" four links, the Orchid Pavilion is represented by the transnational consumers only need "factory-consumer" two links.

As a bridge between the factories and consumers of foreign trade, the middle of the bypass foreign importers and foreign wholesalers, the two of the two largest share of profits, can no doubt maximize profits.

In addition, the support of the entire foreign trade in the industry profit is also a very important reason, namely, China as the world's dominant position in the factory. Although neighboring countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia are eating away at China's cost advantages, it is undeniable that China is still the center of manufacturing in the world. Chinese products are cost-effective and enjoy comparative advantage in the international market.

Steps

How to successfully build a foreign trade power, there are five aspects can not be ignored, specifically as follows:

1. Create a professional, normative and compliant website. Do not underestimate this, because the site is consumers understand a company's first façade, if this first impression did not play well, it is likely to affect consumption again visit the site.

2. Select the product that conforms to the "long tail type purchase" mode. Generally speaking, only the long tail of things, users will think of your Web site, because such goods are difficult to compare, so the profit space is considerable. such as wedding dresses, automotive supplies, household items and so on.

3. Choose the mainstream and localized payment method. Each country has its own specific payment methods and payment habits, as if China has Alipay, the Netherlands has ideal, Brazil has Boleto, Singapore has enets, almost every country has its own most popular payment method, as the foreign trade business, not to save the across, This is a risky thing in itself because it challenges the payment habits of consumers in different countries.

4. Take the road of brand management. In China, any business in the blue Sea once found will be quickly dyed red, foreign trade is no exception. "Made in China" as the label of products, most difficult to pay the brand premium, is bound to imitation, shanzhai foreign brands as a way out, although many foreign trade imitation brand goods can make the company a short period of time to earn huge profits, but the issue of copyright is always unavoidable. This also makes many foreign trade electric dealers after making money to start to seek the transformation road.

Along with the whole foreign trade electricity market increasingly standardized, the brand-free competition will soon end, so the brand of foreign trade will be a road, the chaotic market pattern or will end.

5. Be familiar with as many marketing promotion means as possible.

①googleadwords: The advantage of this method is high conversion rate, more accurate than SEO, easier to control. What needs attention is to dig words and control costs.

②seo: The advantage of this method is that the matching degree of specific words is high and the conversion rate is high.

③googleshopping: The conversion rate and trust degree of this method are very high.

④EDM: The overall effect is good, it is worth doing.

⑤yahooanswer: The flow is big, the brand effect is good.

⑥ a variety of Third-party platforms: such as ebay, Dunhuang, Ali, there are a lot of such a platform of fierce traffic.

⑦ Advertising Alliance: The effect has good and bad, unstable.

⑧facebook&twitter effect general, burning money fast, suitable for brand and maintenance customers

⑨ other forums, blogs, SNS and other marketing tools.

On the future development trend of foreign trade, the Dunhuang Network CEO Wang that: "The current trend of foreign trade is the large number of buyers will be rapidly reduced, replaced by the expansion of small micro-groups overseas, orders to the online migration, and small change frequently." The traditional, offline mode of foreign trade sooner or later will appear difficult, for domestic foreign trade enterprises, the road of the electric business is a choice. ”

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