Client: Hi, Eastant!

Eastant: Hi, Client! How can I help you?

Client: Our headquarter in Italy would like us to launch an email marketing campaign to promote our new product. Do you think it could work in China?

Eastant: I’ll be honest with you, emails aren’t really popular in China. 

E-mail Marketing in China

In Western countries, email marketing is one of the main tools through which brands maintain relationships with their partners, clients and customers, keeping them updated with their latest corporate news, product launches and discounts on their services. However, as it is often the case in China, totally different marketing rules apply here.

In fact, generally speaking, in China, the Deliverability Rate, that is the percentage of emails that reach the recipient, is particularly low. Consequently, also the Open Rate and Click-Through Rate, which are the main indicators that marketers usually take into consideration in order to measure the success of an email marketing campaign, will be extremely low.

This occurs due to the fact that China has very strict antispam rules and regulations. If your content doesn’t comply with these rules, it is most likely that your emails will end up in your recipient’s spam folder. In the worst case, you may even get fined or have your domain permanently banned in China.

At Eastant, we always recommend that brands go local when it comes to the digital tools to use in their marketing strategies.

Client: So, what would you suggest using for our upcoming marketing campaign?

WeChat

WeChat is the number one all-inclusive app in China, used not only for personal but also for business communication. Initially conceived as a messaging app, over the years WeChat has developed its own ecosystem where users can do a variety of things, including booking tickets, ordering food, settling bills, and… read the latest news from brands!

In recent years, China has developed a specialized communication channel called “private traffic”. The traffic is “private” because brands can fully control the channel where they can communicate with their customers anytime. The most common way in which “private traffic” takes form is within group chats. 

Group chats in China are much more effective than email marketing, as they create a multi-dimensional communication channel in which not only brands can communicate with their customers anytime, but also customers can ask for advice from the brand or from the other customers in the community. There’s no doubt that such a customer-centered and personalized approach can bring much more engagement from customers!

(Read more in our previous article)

Client: This would be interesting to try! 

Eastant: Besides private traffic, the WeChat official account is already the way most companies have adapted email marketing in China.

According to Tencent 2022 First Quarter Results, WeChat has reached over 1.2 billion monthly active users, of which more than 360 million users read content posted on brands’ Official Accounts every day. Brands definitely shouldn’t miss the opportunity to tap into this huge audience! 

In fact, through WeChat Official Accounts brands can send messages directly to their followers in the form of notifications, exactly as if they were sending newsletters to their contact database. You can be very creative with the content and design of your posts on WeChat, using customized layouts that reflect your branding and using interactive functions to make your messages more appealing and engaging.

Client: Great! Now, I know exactly how we should proceed with the marketing campaign for the launch of our new product. Let’s meet and discuss further.

Eastant: Can’t wait to know your idea!

At Eastant we provide international brands with a customized marketing strategy for their success in the China market. If you would like to know more about our digital marketing services, feel free to schedule a call with us at: info@eastant.it. 

Read the original article：https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/MJFcioHVVabO8TfgMrw3sg