Four common misunderstandings in cross-border e-commerce operations.
◆Misunderstanding 1: Not all products are suitable for cross-border e-commerce
The products exported by cross-border e-commerce will rely on the advantages of “Made in China” to enter the international market. Open up sales, such as standardized electronic products and related accessories, clothing accessories and other low-price products. These products all have a common feature: most of their production bases are located in China, which has more advantages in cost and profit.
However, to do cross-border e-commerce, you need to solve problems such as logistics, distribution, and customs clearance obstacles. In terms of logistics, large, overweight, and fragile products are not suitable for cross-border e-commerce. Because it requires higher logistics costs, it is not cost-effective for many businesses with low profits.
◆Misunderstanding 2: When doing cross-border e-commerce, you don’t know whether to choose B2B or B2C
Currently, B2B and B2C are the two main trade models of domestic cross-border e-commerce. In the B2B model, companies mainly carry out product promotion and marketing through advertising and information release, and transaction and customs clearance processes are conducted offline. In essence, this development model has not broken away from the shadow of traditional trade and has been classified as General trade statistics to Customs.
In the B2C model, companies will directly face foreign consumers and sell personal consumer goods directly to foreign consumers, and deliver goods through air parcels, mail, express delivery, etc. The main body of customs declaration is the postal service Or courier companies, most of which will not be registered by the customs.
Both the above two trade models have their own advantages and disadvantages, so how should newbies in cross-border e-commerce choose? In theory, companies should choose based on the nature of the product itself and the sales situation. , but for novices in cross-border e-commerce, the B2C model is more suitable. When a company has a certain scale abroad, it can obtain greater benefits by adopting the B2B model.
◆Misunderstanding 3: Treating the Internet and e-commerce as the main battlefield for product marketing
This is also a misunderstanding that many novices in cross-border e-commerce easily fall into. Dunhuang.com, Alibaba National Station, etc. are just trading platforms. Merchants can publish product information and advertisements on this platform, or conclude transactions, but merchants cannot focus entirely on this single platform.
In the eyes of foreign consumers, there is no difference between all cross-border e-commerce companies at the beginning. If merchants only place their hopes on online marketing, they will be easily restricted and difficult to form. own competitive advantages, and it is difficult to stand out among many similar products. Therefore, while relying on the Internet to promote products, novices in cross-border e-commerce should also pay attention to the promotion of products offline, and pay attention to the offline transactions and customs clearance processes of products, so as to Promote the long-term development of products and enterprises.
◆Misunderstanding 4: Not all goods are suitable for overseas warehousing
When operating cross-border e-commerce, we often encounter long delivery times and inability to realize the entire logistics information. Logistics problems such as tracking and customs clearance obstacles have led many businesses to set their sights on the construction of overseas warehousing. However, not all commodities are suitable for overseas warehousing. This warehousing method is usually suitable for products with high prices, large volumes, and fragile products. products and products that cannot be shipped through traditional logistics channels.
Moreover, there are also many risks in overseas warehousing. Overseas warehousing often faces the problem of “it is easy to send out but difficult to come back”. If the goods are sent out and want to come back again, they are imported, which requires payment. Relatively high shipping costs and customs duties sometimes exceed the value of the goods themselves. Therefore, if a company is not sure whether the goods can be basically sold abroad or its own economic strength is insufficient, it is best not to consider overseas warehousing.
Whether you are a novice in cross-border e-commerce or a veteran with many years of experience in this field, you should understand that there is a big gap between the theory and practice of cross-border e-commerce, and you may encounter problems during the actual operation. There are many problems and risks, but one thing will never change, which is to always think about problems from the customer’s perspective. And on this basis, by making full use of various cross-border e-commerce platforms, I believe that even novices can quickly carve out their own world in this field.