stephen's blog

I don’t think selling on Alibaba is worth the effort.

It might be worth doing it 10 years ago.

But not now…👇

I generally don’t suggest selling products on Alibaba right now…

The platform is saturated.

Unless you are willing to compete with tons of similar businesses.

Or you have enough budget to promote your products on Alibaba.

I will go with these two channels:

1. LinkedIn - Find and attract my buyers directly.
2. Company website - Use PPC or SEO.

Why?

Don't make this business mistake when designing a B2B website.

We all want our B2B websites to be beautiful and sexy.

The truth is "beautiful and sexy" is the last concern..why?👇

Before you design a B2B website, you should always ask yourself two questions:

1. How to make potential customers find our website online?
2. After potential customers visit the website, how to make them want to contact us?

If you have the answers to the two questions…

You will build a b2b website that can help you sell.

Are you using Google Analytics as your primary web analytics tool?

If you are serious about Baidu SEO, you must try this!👇

Use Baidu Tongji (Baidu Analytics) as a primary analytics data source for Baidu SEO and PPC.

Regarding product features, Baidu Tongji is less powerful than Google Analytics.

But what we need is data accuracy. 

Since Google is blocked in China, the traffic data is less accurate than Baidu Analytics.

It doesn’t mean you can’t use GA to analyze your China website traffic.

An SEO/PPC mistake avoid at all costs in Greater China.

The approach differs in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and Mainland China.

Here are the reasons…👇

Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan use Google and Traditional Chinese. 

Mainland China uses Baidu and Simplified Chinese. 

Regarding vocabulary, each place has specific usages in a specific industry. 

So...understanding the subtle difference in Greater China among… 

1. Internet environment
2. Industry jargons
3. Language version

Surprisingly, some businesses don't know their stage when entering the international[] market.

Want to know which stage your business is in? Here they are…👇

Stage 1: Market Research
Stage 2: Test Market
Stage 3: Build up a small team, usually a small sales team
Stage 4: Expand the team to an entire operation team

Each stage has a different business goal.

Each stage will need a different resource allocation and plan.

The truth about the potential clients from B2B digital campaigns.

Yes, your b2b digital marketing efforts is to find potential clients.

But you, including myself, often forget one thing…

Just like offline potential clients, 95% of these online potential clients are not ready to buy.

Instead of hard-selling solutions, you need to nurture them.

Next time, when you start B2B digital marketing campaigns, don’t forget those 95% not-ready-buy potential clients.

Put them in your CRM and nature them all the time.

That is how B2B marketing works…

The biggest B2B website mistake that can cost a company money.

I have seen many B2B companies, including mine, making this mistake. 

Curious to know more. Here is the one…👇

There is one place on the website you should check and test regularly -

"Website contact form"

Many B2B companies forget to check their contact form...

Or don't realize it's not working until a potential customer calls.

Imagine how many potential opportunities they have missed.

So… don't be lazy

How can B2B companies use trade shows to boost digital marketing?

It is simple.

Just do this one thing…👇

When you attend a trade show, encourage booth visitors to follow your LinkedIn company page, WeChat company account, or subscribe company newsletter, etc.

It is easier to encourage people offline to sign up for things online.

Because you can see them or talk to them in person.

It is expensive to attend trade shows.

Don’t miss this excellent opportunity to increase online followers or subscribers. 

The truth about influencer marketing for B2B products.

Influencer marketing is not worth the effort for most B2B companies.

Why?…👇

B2B customers are very solution-driven and industry-specific. 

They usually can do their research. 

They don’t need influencers to recommend things.

They want proof that this solution can help them, like case studies or whitepapers.

That explains why content-based marketing works better in B2B marketing, e.g., content marketing, SEO, and PPC.

What are your thoughts on B2B influencer marketing?


You can use Baidu PPC even without a business license or ICP in China. 

Most people don't know this.

Here are two options and pros/cons…👇

Option 1:

Find a third-party company in China to file an ICP for your China website.

Pro: You can fully customize your website to fit marketing needs.
Con: Your website belongs to another company. 

Option 2: 

Use the Baidu landing page service, Jimuyu, to build a Baidu PPC landing page.