owned channel, owned channel, owned channel!
In recent years, every time marketing growth is mentioned,owned channelThe word will be a steady guest. With the rise of the domestic owned channel 3.0 era and the overseas owned channel boom, current owned-channel operations have already extended from what they were and whether to do them to a new stage of how to do them.
Whether to do it is basic knowledge, and how to do it is personal practice. This requires combining resources and actual scenarios for operational management in all aspects from customer acquisition, undertaking, transformation to after-sales. It is also a large project that requires a team or external professional forces to complete.
From domestic to overseas, from What to How, there are countless new ideas and new contents hidden in the proposition of owned channel.
1. From domestic to overseas, the ultimate advantage allows us to seize the opportunity
forowned-channel operationsThis matter is most profound for us. Each of us is an operator of owned-channel operations in our personal WeChat social circle, and we are also various owned-channel users who are added as friends to groups and marketed. Maybe you don’t understand the concept of owned channel, but you must have added a WeChat friend of a certain merchant, entered a certain discount/membership/store group, or seen an advertisement in the circle of friends.
Natural soil makes owned channels an innate genetic advantage for us to break through global expansion, and it also allows us toOverseas publicly owned audienceHave a clear understanding:
Owned channels are users directly owned by brands or merchants that can be reached repeatedly at low cost or even free. The owned audience pool is a breeding ground for interactions and relationships between brands and users. Corresponding to this is the public traffic pool, that is, the user assets do not belong to the brand's own field - public domain traffic.
Public domain traffic is also divided into two scenarios: online and offline. Online generally refers to platform stores (Such as Amazon/RTS store), and offline stores (such as brand stores in shopping malls). There is no public domain and no owned channel. Whether online or offline, the public domain is an enterprise.Drain customer acquisitionthe basis of.
When classifying owned channels, we can find that the owned channel scenario also has touch points with different connection capabilities: strong, medium and weak. Independent APPs belong to owned channels, but their connection capabilities are slightly weaker; DTC independent stations also belong to owned channels, but they cannot connect to customers online in real time; social owned channels have strong connection capabilities and canreal time onlineandReachable in real time, can promote transactions in social micro-stores (such as domestic WeChat mini-programs and overseas WhatsApp micro-stores), and even help divert traffic from the first two.
On the other hand, from the cognitive perspective of publicly owned channels, there are slight differences at home and abroad. The development of domestic e-commerce started with platforms, represented by Taobao and JD.com, and then due to the rise of the entire WeChat connection capability and ecology, it has developed to the current WeChat mini program, which is equivalent to a deep understanding of DTC. However, overseas, the development of brand independent websites is deeply rooted, which led many people to believe that independent websites = DTC. However, with the trend of users becoming more online and socialized,WhatsAppowned channel、Messengerowned channelIt is obviously a DTC carrier with stronger connection capabilities.
This is one of the reasons why countless cross-border and overseas companies have begun to build social owned channels.
2.Features and advantages of WhatsApp marketing
WhatsApp has a unique advantage as an owned channel. We have explained this problem many times:
Why I advise you: Do cross-border owned-channel marketing, don’t use WhatsApp easily!
It’s time to make this clear: Why use WhatsApp for overseas owned-channel marketing
To sum up:
First: WhatsApp has a huge user base and broad coverage.
According to data from Statista at the beginning of the year, WhatsApp’s global monthly active users have reached 2 billion. In addition, WhatsApp covers 180 countries and regions around the world and is a commonly used IM in 58 countries. This means that WhatsApp connects people and people in the global market, and also connects people and businesses, laying the foundation for business services.
Second: As far as the official functions of WhatsApp are concerned, it can be said that it is the chosen one for reaching strangers.
- A WhatsApp account is a mobile phone number. With one of the two, you can accurately target customers and establish contact with them;
- WhatsApp can send messages to strangers and add friends. The first message can be sent directly, which is very advantageous for sending letters;
- The WhatsApp account is the link. In other words, a session can be initiated directly through a link, without the need to enter account IDs one by one, saving a lot of tedious work. In merchant traffic and customer consultation, it provides the shortest communication path and the best experience for both parties.
PS: SocialEpoch’s free tool diversion treasure is implemented based on the link to add friends.WhatsApp friend codeandJoin the group live code function，Multiple accounts or groups can be combined into one link, you can contact customer service to get it for free.
Looking at the entire official ecosystem, commercial functions are also making rapid progress, and enterprises and merchants are making great progress.WhatsApp MarketingIt’s becoming more and more convenient. From a single Personal plan of the Messenger APP, to a business version of the Business APP that serves small and medium-sized sellers, to the WhatsApp Business API (we refer to it as WABA) that integrates bulk messaging, hyperlinks, and chatbots, the WhatsApp ecosystem has built a strong, medium, and weak owned channel connection system of varying degrees, and has also radiated the needs of enterprises of different sizes, large, medium, and small.
Not to mention the innate advantages of 2 billion monthly active users, Meta’s official strategic plan for WhatsApp’s social monetization, and users’ online social habits.
On the other hand, talking aboutowned-channel operationsThe essence of it is always inseparable from the phrase "Low cost and unlimited access”, real-time connection and real-time accessibility have become the essence and advantages, and WhatsApp-like social IM tools complement owned-channel operations with online socialization and digitalization.
Three.Cross-border marketing, old problems and new opportunities coexist
from the wholeoverseas marketingJudging from the current situation of growth, each has its own difficulties:
B2Bcross-border sales merchant：
The first thing to bear the brunt is naturallycustomer acquisition inquiry. Whether it is the peaking of traffic caused by the disappearance of Internet dividends or the rising tide of public domain advertising, the customer acquisition cost of enterprises has been rising. In addition,Enterprise data storage、Fly single and run singleetc. problems still exist.
B2C platform merchants：
With Amazon sellers as the main representatives, "the success of the platform and the failure of the platform" are its typical characteristics. On the one hand, due to the tightening of regulatory policies on the entire platform, merchants are faced with many new requirements and rules for business operations. The wave of account suspension fines in May 21 is still frightening; on the other hand, platform merchants are basically unable to obtain first-hand customer data, let aloneowned channel precipitationImprove customer loyalty and LTV.
Of course, there are also many merchants who think outside the circle. For example, they use customer service logistics and other methods to establish social connections with customers. They have achieved the prototype of owned channel precipitation, but they lack stamina in the model and management of the entire owned-channel operations; there are also merchants that have turned to the DTC independent station model. Although they are both B2C, the platform and independent stations are far apart in the entire operating model, and the transformation journey is also not easy.
DTC independent website merchant：
Similar to the previous two,Drainage customer acquisition costAt a high level, the ROI (input-output ratio) is getting lower and lower. At the same time, there are a large number of customer losses, inbound customers who have not completed transactions are lost in vain, and traffic transfer retention has become a common problem; customers who have completed transactions lack social connections, customer loyalty and LTV value are not fully utilized, and repurchase and social fission need to be developed.
It may be a bit exaggerated to say that "overseas owned channels are like boxes, anything can be put inside", but SocialEpoch found in its practical cooperation with customers that when combined with overseas owned channels, companies canmarketing and growthMost of the problems in the sector can be solved, and we have also sorted out theOverseas owned-channel marketingof three major types.
Type 1: Social retail B2C/B2B
This type is in line with the vast majority of companies’owned-channel operationsneeds. Regardless of online or offline brands, companies need to use owned channels to establish social connections with customers, continuously interact with super users/VIP customers, enhance customer stickiness and loyalty, and develop customers' lifetime value (LTV).
Type 2: Social Distribution S2b2c
S2b2c was hailed as "the first breakthrough innovative business model in the intelligent business era" by Professor Zeng Ming, former Chief of Staff of Alibaba. In recent years, S2b2c has gradually begun to show its potential. Domestic Yunji/Jiajia Traditional Chinese Medicine/Tubatu, overseas Meesho/DealShare/GlowRoad, cross-border Azambe, etc. have all used this decentralized social distribution model to achieve success.
The great value of this model is to find a large number of KOC small business owners, and empower them to sell goods easily through the supply chain and SaaS tools, thus bringing exponential growth to the enterprise. On overseas social media platforms, there are also hundreds of millions of KOC micro-bloggers lurking. Cross-border companies can tap and empower micro-bloggers to create an Ant-like distribution growth system for enterprises.
Type 3: New retail online and offline integration
Offline cannot match the all-encompassing reach online, and online cannot match the immersive experience offline. Whether domestic or overseas, new retail stores can combine online + offline full-link and omni-channel marketing to upgrade the store's operating value: upgrade physical stores to physical stores + online malls to expand the store's radiation range; upgrade shopping guides to shopping guides + online distributors, empower shopping guides to serve more customers and tap more orders; upgrade all offline customers to online owned channel members to expand customers' lifetime value and social value.
three differentOverseas owned-channel marketingModel also determines different business operation methods and opportunities.
Four.Opportunity 1: DTC brand independent station, owned-channel operations improve ROI
As mentioned above, the public domain platform is the basis for enterprises to attract customer acquisition. If you want to improve ROI, you can think from the perspective of cost reduction or increase output. In this regard, SocialEpoch's owned-channel operations mode is:Costs need to be reduced and output increased。
- How to reduce costs: Add all customers to the social owned channel to avoid secondary traffic costs.
- How to improve output: Develop customers' lifetime value and social value, promote customer repurchase and referral, and increase unit price per customer.
Let’s use this picture to see how SocialEpoch’s independent station overseas owned channel solution is implemented: All SEO/SEM/social media customers are attracted to the website. It is assumed that one inbound customer has made a transaction and 99 customers have not made a transaction. For customers who have completed transactions, logistics notifications and other forms can be used to establish social contact with customers; for inbound customers who have not completed transactions, you can use SocialEpoch’s free tool Fendiubao (WhatsApp friends/joining group code) to set up on-site customer service. Combined with the above-mentioned feature of WhatsApp that can send messages to strangers, guide customers to add customer service WhatsApp friends and establish social connections.
The significance of setting WhatsApp as on-site customer service: to establish social connections with customers and ensurereal time onlineandReachable in real time, compared with traditional in-site customer service who have to log in to the customer service backend to receive messages, it is much more convenient, and the customer experience has also skyrocketed.
Combined with such a path, almost all accurate customers who come in can achieve social connections and enter the company's owned audience pool, avoiding the high cost of secondary traffic.
So, another question arises, what to do with the company’s past historical data? These arePrecise customers, extremely high value, secondary marketing is a must. SocialEpoch's solution to this problem is to combine WABA (WhatsApp Business API) + WA SCRM to establish contact, and also introduce customers to the owned audience pool to avoid secondary traffic drainage costs.
All customers entering the owned audience pool is just the beginning of a wonderful experience. Next, companies can combine the golden partners of WA SCRM owned-channel operations and owned-channel marketing to manage and activate customers, revitalize the owned audience pool, promote conversion, repurchase and distribution recommendations, and increase customer unit price.
This set of owned-channel operations model realizes the value of cost reduction and efficiency improvement for independent DTC merchants from the two perspectives of accumulating the owned audience pool to avoid the high cost of secondary traffic and promoting customer conversion and repurchase to increase customer unit price, that is, promoting ROI improvement.
It is worth noting that in the entire field of overseas advertising and social media traffic, Facebook (monthly active users 2.91 billion) and TikTok (monthly active users 1 billion) are public scenarios that must be paid attention to and invested in. Based on these two social media giants, each company can establish a marketing customer acquisition system from the social media public domain to WhatsAppowned channels.
5.Opportunity 2: S2b2c - a historic opportunity for social e-commerce
The epoch-making significance of S2b2c is to make full use of the social value of countless KOC small B (physical store owners, Internet celebrities, group owners, mothers, etc.) to create an ant army-style distribution growth system for enterprises, bringing exponential growth. For cross-border enterprises, they can also find countless small Bs for social distribution.
We have analyzed in previous content that overseas WA and FB have several times the user base of WeChat, and naturally can also breed KOC small b groups several times that of WeChat. In 2020, the number of people working in the domestic WeChat ecosystem will reach 130 million. By analogy with overseas companies, we can naturally tap at least 500 million KOC small b groups, and this data is still growing. At present, what cross-border enterprises need is to find and empower them, build S2b2c business models, and promote the exponential growth of their operations.
From the perspective of small B, their social distribution and digital awareness are also awakening. With the empowerment of supply chain and SaaS tools, they can also achieve the goal of easily earning commissions by forwarding with one click.
From the perspective of the entire domestic cross-border industry, combined with Professor Zeng Ming's business model derivation in "Smart Business", we can find that the entire cross-border business model is transforming from B2B (cross-border sales) → B2C (independent station, Amazon) → S2b2c (the C2B model is difficult to achieve in a short period of time, and this transition stage will be replaced by the S2b2c model). From the incremental era of traffic dividends to the stock era of traffic bottlenecks, refined social owned-channel operations S2b2c is also the way for enterprises to crack the marketing growth. For the entire cross-border supply chain, it is also a solution to China's brake on shifting overseas.
For details, please view previous sharings:
6. Opportunity 3: Physical retail global expansion - far more exciting than online
We have also mentioned before that offline cannot match the all-encompassing reach of online, and online cannot match the immersive experience offline. In the entire cross-border industry, the social new retail model that combines online and offline has also become a new opportunity for more and more Chinese companies to sweep overseas.
In recent years, under the influence of the black swan event of the epidemic, many real economies (such as catering, retail, entertainment, services, etc.) have been slightly weak. Many customers have complained to us that business is getting harder and harder to grow. On the other hand, from "4-Star", "Amazo Go" to various pop-up stores, a new retail trend that combines online and offline has also been launched overseas.
Compared with traditional storesThe service scope is limited by geographical location, store customers come and leave immediately, no contact information is left, customers are lost for flying orders, and online and offline marketing activities are not unified, etc., SocialEpoch social new retail solution is also empowering stores and shopping guides to go digital and online, exploring and reconstructing retail growth logic.
Here, let us use two scenarios to explain the actual combat methods of cross-border new retail brands.
Scenario 1: Empower store shopping guides to connect with customers online in real time
Using Fenliubao, overseas companies can create a traffic diversion format similar to the domestic WeChat code scanning method when entering a store, divert customers to different WhatsApp accounts or groups, and retain the social contact information of all customers entering the store.Save customer assets, Precipitate the online owned audience pool of the store and realize the digitization of offline users. Secondly, combined with WaChat (WhatsAppowned channelDigital basic tools, similar to domestic WeCom) and the design of shopping guide owned channel roles (such as shopping guide assistants, topic experts, personal partners), realize an owned channel operating model for online users. Thus, based on the preservation of store digital assets, the service scope of store shopping guides can be expanded, work efficiency can be improved, and customers' transactions and repurchases can be promoted.
Of course, this kind of contact and transaction are also multi-touch points. Stores, WeChat stores, independent websites, and even other online B2C platforms can be used as transaction scenarios.
Scene 2: Thousands of stores, one store and one mall
Transform traditional stores into new retail digital stores. Each store employee is equipped with exclusive social contact information for distribution, and an exclusive community for the store is established.
This enables one store, one mall + thousands of stores and thousands of groups: each store can perform location LBS matching and establish an exclusive online micro store based on store information. Different stores can display different community QR codes, different products, and issue different coupons.
By connecting online and offline through digital methods, retaining customer data and transforming all store employees into online distributors, the scope of store service will be expanded from the original two or three kilometers to dozens of nearby kilometers, fully expanding the service efficiency and scope of a single store.
Such online digital stores can also use the S2b2c model distributed by clerks to implement free-time promotions, out-of-season promotions, regular inventory clearance, etc., to increase the operating value of new retail stores.
In the new retail scenario,The digitization of offline users and the owned channelization of online users have become the core of expanding the value of new retail stores and empowering store shopping guides.Combined with the SocialEpochowned-channel marketing full-link solution, enterprises can deeply explore the value of WhatsAppowned channel, form a marketing system of brand owned channel + public domain ecology, and improve operating ROI. From traffic to touch point conversion, reconstruct the logic of retail growth.
7.Why many companies’ overseas owned-channel operations are so ineffective
Returning to the question that everyone is most concerned about: Why are many companies’ overseas owned-channel operations struggling to achieve results? Why are some companies so effective?
SocialEpoch found,owned-channel operations——The key lies in operation. Because there is no category that is not suitable for owned channels, this can be seen from our previous classification of owned-channel operations. With the support of the system, what enterprises need is customized owned-channel operations methods and teams that combine with their own business.
At the level of overseas owned-channel operations methodology, SocialEpoch has created a SocialEpoch Academy that integrates multiple services such as product practice, owned channel methodology, and owned channel accompaniment. However, in actual customer owned channel business scenarios, there is still a lack of a large number of overseas owned-channel operations talents or teams to perform practical operations.From top to bottom, a strong overseas owned-channel operations organization or team is the breaking point for many companies to do well in overseas owned-channel operations.
This also means that building a teamOverseas owned-channel operationsThat's half the battle. This is an opportunity for all cross-border companies and all agent operating companies.
