"The mountain is not high, there are immortals, there are famous, there are not many guests, precision is successful." "This is the methodology of Gu Qi, general manager of [Jiangsu Golden Doll Animation Industry Co., Ltd.], to develop customers. As a self-made post-90s boss, he develops customers by himself and achieves 140 million sales a year, which can be called textbook-level accurate development.
1. Dare to transform, from downstream products to the expansion of the upstream supply chain
Gu Qi's entrepreneurial journey began about a decade ago, operating on AliExpress and Amazon, selling products such as toys, women's headwear and headbands. At that time, the entrepreneurial environment was relatively relaxed, and he opened four online stores, no deposit or other conditions, just upload product images and start selling.
(Note: Real shot by Jiangsu Golden Doll Animation Industry Co., Ltd.)
In the beginning, he processed dozens of orders a day, packed and shipped them himself, and mostly used postal packet services to save costs. However, as the platform's policies became more and more stringent, he found that he needed to constantly hoard inventory, and faced with the risk of infringement that could lead to the freezing of funds and refunds to buyers, which made him feel stressed.
After careful consideration, Gu Qi decided to transform and expand his business into the upstream supply chain, focusing on plush fabric products. As one of the first entrepreneurs involved in foreign trade in the plush industry of Phnom Penh in Changzhou, he started with small LCL orders, continued to accumulate experience, and was finally able to undertake large 20-foot container orders. In 2017-2018, a partner factory in Southeast Asia failed to deliver on schedule, which provided him with an opportunity to grow his business significantly and the company has since grown significantly.
(Note: Gu Qi, General Manager of Jiangsu Golden Doll Animation Industry Co., Ltd.)
Second, to meet the challenge, from the decline in profits to the transformation of market strategy
In recent years, the export situation of the plush fabric industry has become increasingly severe, especially at the profit level, showing a significant downward trend. Taking Golden Doll Company as an example, although it experienced three years of rapid growth during the epidemic, its growth rate gradually slowed down from the spring of 2023 and failed to meet Gu Qi's expectations. By 2024, the actual order volume will only reach about 70% of previous years. Therefore, in order to promote the development of the business, Gu Qi personally visited Pakistan and Indonesia in February and March this year.
In Gu Qi's view, in order to achieve the long-term development of the enterprise, it is necessary to set its sights on the more lucrative high-end market, of which the European and American markets have become his first choice. He does not advocate head-on competition with large enterprises, but chooses one or two potential products as a breakthrough to open the door to the European and American markets. Instead of casting a wide net, his strategy is to focus on one area, gradually gaining the trust of his customers and taking a place in their hearts. As the products gradually become popular among the people, Gu Qi plans to expand more product lines through these customers and gradually establish a solid position in the European and American markets.
Gu Qi knows that increasing the market share of products in the European and American markets, even a small profit increase, can bring significant revenue growth to the enterprise. Taking the company's current annual output value of 140 million yuan as an example, if the profit can be increased by 5 percentage points under the same capital scale, then the annual benefit will be significantly improved.
(Note: Jiangsu Golden Doll Animation Industry Co., Ltd. factory shooting)
Third, it is important to understand the strategy, to grow, and analyze the market and customers
1. Play face-up, which advanced players do
Discussing the key factors for business growth, Gu Qi emphasized the importance of market analysis and customer insights. "In order to achieve sustainable growth in our business," he elaborates, "we must have a thorough understanding of how our products are performing in various markets around the world." For example, it's crucial to know which distributors in Bangkok your Thai counterparts have partnered with.
For enterprises engaged in foreign trade business, if the business team is still at the primary or intermediate level, then using Alibaba International Station is undoubtedly a wise choice. However, for those high-level players who are looking for a higher level of competitive advantage, the Tengdao Foreign Trade SaaS platform provides a more professional solution.
The platform can provide enterprises with comprehensive and detailed information on customers, suppliers and industry competitors, thus providing an efficient and effective means for advanced players to seize opportunities in the complex international trade environment. ”
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(Source: Tengdao Foreign Trade SaaS Platform)
2. Race against time, and analyze the exhibition customers in a timely manner
When it comes to international exhibitions, Gu Qi is also an active participant. He plans to travel to the plush toy trade shows in Nuremberg and Las Vegas, Germany, where he has potential customers. Gu Qi hopes to connect with these potential customers through face-to-face communication. His goal is not only to get a one-time order, but also to establish a long-term and stable relationship with them.
At the exhibition, Gu Qi only needs to take a photo of the business card he receives from the customer and send it to Tengdao customer service, and they can use Tengdao data to send the relevant information to his mobile phone within a few minutes. In this way, he can quickly understand which companies the client does business with in China, as well as the transaction volume this year, proving that they do have a real buying relationship with the domestic factory, which provides Gu Qi with strong data support and helps them control risks.
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"In my opinion, Tengdao is leading the way in the field of customs data. I have come into contact with some other customs data services, and in comparison, Tengdao has more complete functions and is easier to operate. It also supports mobile phone operation, which means that even if I don't send it to Tengdao customer service, I can check the information on my mobile phone myself, which really provides me with great convenience. Gu Qi said.
Fourth, focus on continuity, maintain a set of old customers, and return orders for a long time
"No matter what business you do, integrity is crucial. Gu Qi said, "I will never allow our company's goods to be off." When loading, if there are any defective items in the 800 pieces of fabric in a tall container, I will not hesitate to reject them to ensure that every item is of the highest standard. He is well aware that adulteration may bring small profits in the short run, but in the long run, it will lose valuable credibility. As the saying goes, "the gold and silver cups are not as good as their own reputation", he has won the admiration of Southeast Asian customers by virtue of this persistence, and they are attracted by his integrity and have come to seek cooperation.
1. Focus on large customers and pursue high profits
Gu Qi's success is not achieved overnight, his foreign trade export business starts from scratch, and every customer is the result of his personal development and maintenance. Today, his performance has reached a staggering figure of 140 million. In the process, he gradually eliminated those small customers because their needs and ideas did not match his. As the business expanded, he focused more on the larger and more profitable customers who purchased millions of dollars a year, which he carefully screened and nurtured and was an important part of his business success.
2. Maintain old customers and promote long-term cooperation
Gu Qi's customer base is stable and loyal, and most of them are large customers with an annual purchase volume of more than one million US dollars. One of his biggest clients brings him more than $2 million in business a year. This customer was his initial partner and has now grown into a huge distributor. Communication between them is mainly through WhatsApp, without the need for phone calls, video calls, or frequent email exchanges, but this concise way of communicating is built on a deep foundation of trust. Whenever there is a new order, they will simply confirm the price and then place the order directly.
3. Solve problems in a timely manner and provide emotional value
Gu Qi understands that timely response to customers is the key to maintaining relationships. When a customer encounters a problem, he patiently explains the situation, relieves the customer's anxiety as much as possible, and promises to solve the problem as soon as possible. He knows that respecting the feelings of his customers is the key to maintaining a long-term relationship. He believes that doing business is not just about trading goods, it's about providing sentimental value.
Fifth, more focused, refined development of high-quality key customers
When it comes to developing large clients, Gu Qi has his own methodology.
"At this stage, we have about 10 large active customers in our customer pool. Although we may lose 1 customer per year, we will also successfully introduce 1-2 new large customers to ensure the stability of the number of customers. We usually focus on those large customers and don't waste time on those small ones.
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1. The benefits of developing large accounts
Small customers, while relatively easy to develop in the early stages, often have small order numbers and limited growth potential. In addition, small customers tend to be less resilient to risk and are more susceptible to market volatility. However, if an enterprise can find and successfully tap several large customers in the market, it will undoubtedly bring more stable and considerable growth to the foreign trade business of the enterprise.
"Explicit interests"
1. The orders of large customers are relatively stable and the quantity is considerable;
2. Large customers are relatively loyal and will not replace suppliers casually;
3. The reputation of large customers is generally good, and the safety factor of cooperation is higher.
There are also some "hidden interests"
1. Through cooperation with key customers, we can effectively improve the visibility of the enterprise itself;
2. More importantly, you can endorse large customers and develop other customers in the market, which will greatly reduce the resistance you will encounter when developing customers.
2. An idea to develop large customers
First of all, we must be clear that there is no shortage of suppliers for large customers. Therefore, a better place to start is to become their alternative supplier Plan B than to directly ask them for an order.
We have taken a proactive approach to developing key accounts. Using a SaaS platform like Tengdao Foreign Trade, we are able to obtain accurate information about potential customers and peers. This information includes import and export records, customer email addresses and phone numbers, etc., which allows us to target customers more accurately. Our business team proactively connects with these potential customers through multiple channels such as phone, email, social media, etc. ”
(Source: Tengdao Foreign Trade SaaS Platform)
I usually say something like this: I'm a factory in China, and I'm in the same industry as the Suzhou supplier you're currently working with. My goal is not to initiate price competition or grab business, but to give you more choice and value.
We also produce the products you are currently purchasing, and there is one product in our product line that has a significant advantage in terms of price/performance ratio. I would like to propose that a sample of this product be sent to you so that you can personally evaluate its quality and potential. Your considerations may include conducting a small-scale trial order, such as an order for a small container, to verify the quality of our products and the response to the market.
I must emphasize that the price we promise to offer you will be the most competitive. When it comes to quality, you don't need to worry because our export business is huge, which in itself is the best proof of the reliability of our products. Gu Qi said when talking about competing for peer customers, he expects healthy competition and win-win with customers!
6. Talk about the future and improve human efficiency with the help of digital tools
When talking about the company's development plan and expectations, Gu Qi's goal is to further improve the entire industrial chain. "If I can successfully expand and improve our own dyeing and finishing business segment, we expect the company's annual output value to easily reach 660 million yuan. Gu Qi is full of expectations for this, and plans to greatly improve the work efficiency of the team and gather more accurate key customers by using advanced digital tools such as Tengdao Foreign Trade Pass. At the same time, he expects that in the process, he can summarize a set of unique methodologies that are in line with the characteristics of the industry. And hope to share these experiences with friends in the industry, and jointly promote the progress of the entire industry.
(Note: General Manager of Jiangsu Golden Doll Animation Industry Co., Ltd.)