Cross-border e-commerce customer characteristics and marketing strategies

There are significant differences between the customers of cross-border e-commerce platforms and those in traditional international trade. This difference is not only reflected in the uncertainty of customer sources, but also in the variability of customer identities and the establishment of customer stickiness.

Customer uncertainty

In cross-border e-commerce platforms, buyers and sellers usually have never met, which makes it difficult to judge the customer’s information before the transaction is completed. Although the platform provides multiple identification methods, this uncertainty still exists due to the lack of face-to-face communication.

Modability of customer identity

On the Internet, the identities of buyers and sellers are interchangeable. When trading conditions change, sellers can turn into buyers in an instant. This means that when creating a resource pool, each participant may change roles based on changes in trading conditions.

Building customer stickiness

In traditional international trade, establishing customer stickiness is a complex process, but on cross-border e-commerce platforms, establishing such stickiness becomes more difficult. In order to overcome this problem, it is necessary to consider how to build stickiness with customers based on the cross-border e-commerce platform.

Marketing strategy

Customer segmentation/stratification

Customer segmentation is the basis of precision marketing. Customer segmentation is achieved by clustering customers’ basic information, behavioral tags, and marketing preferences. Customer stratification is based on the customer’s consumption amount, consumption frequency, and consumption time.

Product stratification and selection

Create product tags, match product tags with customer tags through algorithms, and perform personalized screening.

Contact method

Choose the most appropriate contact method according to the different stages of the customer, such as on-site EDM, Skype, WhatsApp, etc.

Promotion Tools

Use various promotional tools such as coupons, samples, and trials to reach different customers based on their promotional preferences.

Time to reach

Choose the right time to reach you, such as the customer’s personalized life cycle, platform rhythm, festivals, etc.

Improve customer satisfaction

Factors that prompt buyers to place orders

• Picture quality: clear and authentic product pictures
• Buyer review: positive review
• Product video description: clearly show product functions or details
• Timely and effective communication: resolve customer questions

Factors that hinder buyers from placing orders

• Need to pay shipping fee
• The return process is troublesome
• Slow logistics speed
• Having difficulty paying

Customer experience optimization

• Visual design information expression conforms to the user’s mental model
• Visual design metaphor design caters to users’ thinking patterns
• Friendly interactive feedback
• Meet users’ visual psychology

Conclusion

Customers on cross-border e-commerce platforms have characteristics such as uncertainty and identity variability. Therefore, in the marketing process, it is necessary to flexibly use strategies such as customer segmentation, product stratification, contact methods, promotional tools, and contact opportunities to improve sales. Customer satisfaction and stickiness. At the same time, optimizing customer shopping interaction experience is also the key to improving customer satisfaction [[7].