Unit5MarketResearchofCross-borderE-commerce Introduction AcordingtoWikipedia,marketresearchcanbedefinedas"theprocesof gathering,analyzingandinterpretinginformationaboutamarket,aboutaproductor servicetobeoferedforsaleinthatmarket,andaboutthepast,presentandpotential customersfortheproductorservice;researchintothecharacteristics,spendinghabits, locationandnedsofyourbusines ..stargetmarket,theindustryasawhole,andthe patclrceiosyufc. riuaompttroae" Folowingthislogic,E-commercemarketresearchservestoinformretailersnot onlyabouttheircustomers..nedsandpreferencesbutwhyconsumerswanttopurchase certainproducts.Byobtainingthiskindofknowledge,merchantscanefectivelycreate theproducts,solutionsandmarketingcampaignsthatwilincreasetheirchancesof onlinesuces. Inthisunit,wearegoingtotalkaboutsomebasicprinciplesinselectingproducts andsomerudimentsofmarketresearchforE-commerce.Basedonthat,youshould workoutaproperwayadaptedtoyourself. Contents PartA BasicPrincipleandLogicforProductSelectioninCros-borderE-commerce PartB PracticalMethodsofMarketResearchforCros-borderE-commerce sforCros-borderE-commerce g .TelthebasicrulesofproductselectionforCros-borderE-commerce. .UnderstandsomemethodsformarketresearchofCros-borderE-commerce. .Understandtheindicationofkeyfactorsinstatisticalanalysis. PartC DataAnalysiSupplementaryReadinLearningAims 82 跨境电子商务专业英语 CapabilityAims . Beabletoapplythebasicrulestoselectproducts. . Beabletopresentsomeproductsinviewofone..sownfeatures. . Beabletowriteasalesreportwiththehelpoftheonlinetoolsofstatistical analysis. RelatedMaterials PartA BasicPrincipleandLogicforProductSelection inCross-borderE-commerce Nowadays,whentalkingaboutCross-borderE-commerce,weusuallyrefertoB2C business.Ithasbeenrelativelyeasytolaunchavirtualstoreandstartaglobalbusiness. However,therearemanydecisionstomakeandthefirstofallistochoosewhattosell. Itissaidthatselectionfaroutweighsoperation.Ifyouchoosetherightproductorniche andarewellpreparedbeforethecomingtrend,you mayharvestafatprofitmargin. Whileyoutrytofollowsometrendingproducts,youmaygetasoundordernumber,but notsoreasonablenetearnings.Ifunfortunately,youchooseinappropriaterangeof products,youmayfaceoverstockedinventoryandawasteofmoney.Thereisnosuch thingasanormalroutine when you dotheselection.Youshould notdepend on exclusivelydataanalysis,butmakethedecisionwithcomprehensiveconsiderationbased onafullunderstandingofyourproductandthetargetmarket. SellingonE-commerceplatformsandsucceedingatthisventuremeanstargetingthe bestproductcategoriesandsellingitemsthatwillemptyoutyourinventorybyspeed. Youhavetocarefullychooseyourproductsinordertomakesaleshappen. 1. Basic Principle Thefirstandforemostrulesforselectingproductsshouldalwaysbethesethree: a)beinglawfulin both thecountry ofregistration andtarget marketcountries; b)observingtherulesandregulationsoftheplatform;c)beingeasytopackandship, especiallyforB2Cstores.ForCross-borderbusiness,theshipmentusuallyinvolveslong time,anditisreasonabletochooseproductseasytostoreorcarry,withlongshelftime. However,apartfromthese,therearesomeotherthingstoweigh.Theyareasfollows. 1)Itisbettertochooseproductswithsimpleoperation.Ifyoutargettheordinary people,choosetheproductwhichiseasyandsimpletouse.Otherwise,youriskallthe troublesfromafter-salesservicetorefunding. 2)Fast-movingconsumergoodsshouldbeawisechoice.Afasterturnoverwill Unit5 MarketResearchofCross-borderE-commerce 83 bringaboutahigherprofitandbetterfundutilization.Ifnot,youshouldsethigher profitabilityandchooseproductseasytopromotebyword-of-mouthmarketing. 3)Thesupply-chainmustbeliable.Productsourcingisextremelyimportant,ifyou arenotamanufacturer.Manysellerschosedropshippingmodelintheearlytime,which nowrequires moretechniquestodealwith.Itishighlycommendedto havesolid cooperationwithsomefactories. 4)Thereshouldbeapotentialmarketlargeenough.Eventhoughthereisusually fiercecompetitionforsuchmarkets,theneedofthemisrelativelyhugesothatthereare reasonableprofitsforattendants. 5)Thereshouldbefewdominantbuyers.Itishardforthestartupstoenterthe fieldifthereexistseveralmajorbuyers. Inshort,youshouldkeepclosetoyourproductsandthe marketandreactto changesimmediately. 2. Self-Analysis Itisextremelyimportanttoknowyourselfbeforelaunchingyourcategories.Think aboutthesethreeaspects. First,thinkaboutthesupplysourceandask whetheryouhaveanyadvantage geographically.Forexample,in China,thereareindustrialclusters withregional features,suchassmallconsumergoodsindustryinYiwu,weddingdressindustryin Suzhou.Theseregionalindustrialclustersusuallycoverahugerangeofproductsand offercompetitiveprices,withcompletesupplychains. Second,thinkaboutthefeatureofyourownteam.WillyouemphasizeR&Dorfull rangeofproducts? Willyoujustfocusasmallgroupofproductsandtargetaniche market? Third,evaluateyourasset,especiallycash.Allocatecashassetsrationally.Unless youhaveamassivebudget,youcan..tbethenextBestBuyorAmazon.Youhavetoniche downtorunaprofitableE-commercestore. 3. Positioning and Strategy Basedself-analysis,storescoulddecidetheirfocusandthebusinessstrategy.Asa seller,you havetothinkaboutyourfocusandthetarget market.Itisespecially importantfortheCross-borderE-commercesellertoknowthetargetmarket,which influencestheproductsalot.Forexample,the mostneededsizesofgarmentsvary accordingdifferentregions.Besides,youalsoneedtodecidetherightE-commerce platform. 84 跨境电子商务专业英语 New Words and Terms 1.rudiment n.(某一领域)的基本原理/知识 2.niche n.商机;市场定位 3.profitmargin 利润率 4.overstock v.积压 5.inventory n.库存 6.comprehensive adj.全面的;详尽的 7.venture n.(有风险的)商业活动;投机活动 8.observe v.遵守 9.consumergoods 消费品 10.utilization n.利用;使用 11.nichedown 细分;缩小 12.garment n.服装 Notes 1.trendingproduct:热销产品,电商有时喜欢称之为爆款。 2.word-of-mouthmarketing:口碑营销,指企业努力使消费者通过其亲朋好友之间的交 流将自己的产品信息、品牌传播开来。这种营销方式的特点是成功率高、可信度强。 3.dropshipping:“代发货”,是外贸术语,是供应链管理中的一种方法。零售商不需要商 品库存,而是把客户订单和装运细节发送给批发商,批发商将货物直接发送给最终客 户,而零售商赚取批发和零售价格之间的差价。 4.BestBuy:百思买,是全球规模最大的家用电器和电子产品的零售、分销及服务集团。 2011年2月,百思买宣布关闭在中国的全部9家门店,将在华业务交予五星电器打理。 Exercises Task1:Writeareporttolistthepotentialresourcesthatcanbeleveraged,suchasthe nearbyworkshops,factories,agriculturalproducts. Task2:PickupamongtheseresourcestheonesadaptedtoCross-borderE-commerce. (Youcanfulfillthesetaskswiththehelpofthistable) commodity category volumeforeachunit easytopack(ornot) shelftime 1. 2. 3. 4. Unit5 MarketResearchofCross-borderE-commerce 85 PartB PracticalMethodsofMarketResearchfor Cross-borderE-commerce OnefeatureofE-commercemarketresearchistheapplicationofbigdata.Sellers areabletotakeadvantageofvarioustoolsprovidedbytheirplatformstotracktraffic andgetaccesstodifferentratings.Inthissection wearegoingtotalkaboutsome practicalwaystoacquirevaluableinformation. 1. Take Information from Buyer..s Interface 1.1 KnowabouttheTrendingProductsthroughPromotingActivitiesof thePlatforms Picture5-1isabouttheflashdealsin AliExpress.Thesellersattendingsuch promotionsneedtomeetsomecriteria.TheproductssoldinFlashDealsusuallyarethe trendingproductsintheircategory.Andyoucanuseitforfree. picture5-1 1.2 UsetheRelatedKeyWordsOfferedbytheSearchEngine Whenyouputthekeywordsinthesearchengine,itusuallyoffersmorespecific long-tailkey words,andtheselong-tailkey wordsusuallyconveytherealneedof potentialcustomers.Wheneveracustomerusesahighlyspecificsearchphrase,they tendtobelookingforexactlywhattheyareactuallygoingtobuy.Invirtuallyevery case,suchveryspecificsearchesarefarmorelikelytoconverttosalesthangeneral genericsearchesthattendtobegearedmoretowardsthetypeofresearchthatconsumers typicallydopriortomakingabuyingdecision. picture5- 2 1.3 CheckReviewsandFindthePainPointsofCustomers TheB2Cplatformsinvitecustomerstowritereviewsabouttheproduct.Check thesereviewsanditishighlyposibletofindoutsomepainpoints,whichoferyouthe opportunitytoimproveyourproductsanddevelopyourownregisteredbrands. picture5- 3 1.4 TakeAdvantageofToolsOferedbyPlatforms Theplatformsusualyofervarioustoolsforselerstogetholdoftheinformation, forexample,thebestselerlist.Readthebestsoldproductsandtrytofindsome opportunities. 86 跨境电子商务专业英语 Unit5 MarketResearchofCross-borderE-commerce 87 1.4.1 ResearchAmazonBestSellers Thebest-sellingproductsineachcategorygiveyouinsightsintowhatpeopleare willingtobuy. Fromhere,youcanpredictproductsthatarelikelytoappealtoyourtargetmarket forgoodconversionrates.Takealookand makealistofafew productsthatare exciting. 1.4.2 Amazon Most-Wished-for OneofthelessknownaboutE-commercemarketresearchtoolsisAmazon..sMost- Wished-forlist.This websitefeature aggregates users.. wishlist data and shows interestedpartiespreciselywhatpeoplewantthemost,atagiventime. Throughthistool,retailerscanviewthetop100itemsinaplethoraofcategories, andthendrilldownevenfurtherbycheckingoutthedatacompiledfromsubcategories. picture5-4 2. Uncover Trending Products through Social Media Socialmediaalso providevaluableinformation.From FacebooktoInstagram, YouTubetoTikTok,youcandrillonthemandgetamyriadofsalesoptions. ResearchHashtags Ifyouhaveaninterestinaparticularindustry,youcansearchforpostsonitusing hashtags. Step1:UseHashtagsforlikesToGetTrendingHashtags Hashtags-for-likescuratespopularhashtagsin differentcategories.Whiletheir specialtyisInstagram,youcanusethehashtagscuratedtosearchonothersocialmedia sites. picture5- 5 picture5- 6 Step2:SearchforpostsonInstagramUsingYourHashtags GoonInstagramandsearchforpostswiththosehashtags.UsingInstagramfor productinspiration.Takenoteofinterestingideasandanythingelsethatyoulike.Also, kepalistofthosehashtags,theywilberelevantforInstagrammarketinglater. Step3:UncoverTrendingPostsonFacebokUsingtheHashtags Facebookhasbilionsofactiveusers.You.. lgetnotjustnicheideashere,butalso insightsintowhatyouraudienceiswilingtobuy. Tostart,typeakeywordinthesearcharea.Youcanuseoneofthosehashtagsyou gotinsteponeoranideathatyouareconsidering. Youcouldfiltertheresults.EnsurethatyoucheckoutgroupsandFacebookpages forideasintowhatpeopleareinterestedin. BonusTip-Postswithalotofengagement-likesandcomments-aresignsthat peopleareinterestedinthatproduct.Youcanalsocheckoutthosewithfewer engagementsforinterestingideasthatyoucouldmodifylateron. 88 跨境电子商务专业英语 Unit5 MarketResearchofCross-borderE-commerce 89 3. With the Help of Third-party Tools. Therearealotofthird-partytoolsprovided.Youcanusesomeforfreebutshould payforothers.Forexample,youcanuseGoogleAdWordsKeywordTooltoidentifythe keywordsyour audienceis using to research products,services,solutions,and informationrelatedtothisnichemarket.Itisfreeanditofferslotsofusefuldatarelated tothesekeywords,suchaslocalandglobalsearchvolume,levelofcompetition,average costperclick (CPC)andmore. Anotherexampleis WatchCount.WatchCountshowsthe most populareBay products.UsingWatchCountisveryeasy.Yourkeywordcouldbeyourproductidea. picture5-7 YoucouldalsoseekassistancefromothertoolssuchasGoogleTrends,GoogleKeyword Planner,etc.Whenyoustartdoingsuchjob,youmayfindthattherearealotofthem. New Words and Terms 1.criteria criterion的复数形式,(评判或做决定的)标准,准则 2.specific adj.明确的;具体的 3.generic adj.一般的;通用的 4.predict v.预言;预告;预报 5.aggregate v.合计为 6.plethora aplethoraofsth:大量的某事物 续表 90 跨境电子商务专业英语 7.drilldown drilldown/drilldownonsth:向下钻取(指利用计算机获得更详细的资料) 8.myriad n.无数;大量 9.hashtag (又写为hashtag)社交媒体中使用的标签(关键词的一种),该标签无等级,又称 “散列标签” 10.like 在网络媒体中,like/likes表示“点赞” 11.curate v.管理;筛选;整理 12.filter v.过滤;筛选 Notes 1.Longtailkeywords:长尾关键词由3~4个关键字短语组成。 2.Instagram:一款运行在移动端上的社交应用。 3.Facebook:一个社会化网络站点,译为“脸谱网”或“脸书网”,于2004年2月4日上线, 总部位于美国加利福尼亚州门洛帕克,是世界排名领先的照片分享站点。 4.CPC:即点击付费(CostPerClick,CPC,也称PayPerClick,PPC),是一种网络广告的 收费计算形式,广泛用在搜寻引擎、广告网络以及网站或博客等平台。 Exercises Task3:BasedonthetasksinPartA,trytoselecttheproductsthatcouldbepopularor appropriateforCross-borderE-commerce.Writeareportaboutthat. Task4:Readthefollowingproductdescriptionandreviews,and writeareportto improvetheproductordevelopanewversion.