Once you have determined that you want to internalize your cross-border brand, you can invest overwhelming resources to gain the cognitive advantage of consumers and seize their minds, thereby building your brand and gaining a competitive advantage. Therefore, the main thing you should do is to visualize the brand’s value and spread it efficiently.
For cross-border e-commerce, the strategies that can be adopted include the following.
(1) Visual marketing. This content has been explained in the brand identification part, that is, building a brand identification system.
(2) Store marketing. E-commerce platform store marketing, social media marketing and search engine marketing are collectively referred to as the “three axes” of cross-border e-commerce marketing. Stores are the foundation. Although social media and search engines both have product libraries, e-commerce platform stores are still the most convenient product and brand management tool and are still the first choice for cross-border e-commerce corporate brands to “go overseas.”
(3) Social media marketing. Commonly used social media for cross-border e-commerce include: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, etc., through which fans are attracted and ultimately converted into output value or brand value.
(4) Search engine marketing. Although the advertising share of search engines such as Google is being eroded by social media, it is still the most important off-site traffic diversion method for cross-border e-commerce. Considering the high skills required for search engine marketing, it is recommended that companies start search engine marketing on the basis of a good store and social media homepage, which can also have a higher cost-effectiveness.
(5) Live broadcast marketing. Many people think that livestreaming marketing belongs to the category of public marketing, but in fact, livestreaming operations are “private domain traffic.” Livestreaming marketing is a new form of cross-border e-commerce marketing outside of the “three axes” and will also become the norm in the e-commerce field. In particular, in recent years, livestreaming marketing combined with influencers has developed rapidly. Current livestreaming marketing is mainly focused on monetization. When it becomes the new norm, it may focus more on brand communication.
(6) EDM (Email Direct Marketing). Email marketing is the oldest and most widely used marketing method in the cross-border e-commerce field. Because email can transmit rich text at low cost, it is more suitable for conveying brand value. However, it should be noted that this is a kind of permission marketing. It can only be implemented with the user’s permission, otherwise it will damage the brand image.
(7) Exhibition marketing. Exhibition marketing is the main marketing method of traditional foreign trade. When traffic is exhausted and the cost of drainage is high, offline exhibitions are still valuable, especially for building brands. Some famous exhibitions such as the Canton Fair (full name China Import and Export Fair) are also a kind of brand endorsement.