Despite the economic softening caused by the global pandemic, experts estimate that Chinese B2B trade will continue to grow 30% annually to 350 billion by 2024. By embracing digitalisation, companies in China are seeing significant growth, while also increasing digital competition.

So how to find success for B2B companies in China? 

We put together below tips and paid advertising strategies based on our experience and results for global enterprises in China. We describe a B2B client’s journey, from identifying opportunities, lead generation to customer retention and recovery.

Localized Chinese website

Before all advertising starts, you should prepare a localized Chinese website. Not just because the Chinese government requires it, but a well-structured website delivering clear messages will be the first step for you to write a successful story. Generally, SEM is best for finding new quality prospects, while WeChat is best for customer retention. Cooperating with B2B e-commerce platforms like 1688 (by Alibaba) is also an option. Besides SEM, WeChat and eCommerce platforms, there’s no reason to ignore platforms like Toutiao and Douyin (developed by ByteDance), in order to produce conversions.

More than 90% of B2B clients search the internet to look for suppliers or service in their research process. Newcomers should start off by investing in SEM. In China, Baidu is the dominant search engine with a 90% market share. 360, Bing, Sogou, Shenma are also worth considering to cover potential customers.

Social Media advertising

Lots of B2B companies also employ social media advertising in China. WeChat now has over 1 billion active users in China, which can be an excellent way to keep close contact with your prospective clients and establish a reputation by publishing WeChat posts with quality content on your official account – it works similarly to an email newsletter.

In addition, you can advertise on WeChat, either within a WeChat article or in the news feed (moment ads), by selecting your target audience based on location, interests, behaviour, customer list, retargeting and more. The Toutiao news app ads serve a similar objective as WeChat, providing even more quality leads than WeChat due to its core artificial intelligence technology. The app offers multiple and precise targeting options for niche B2B market, finding tremendous amounts of valuable customers for our current B2B clients.

Online events

Finally, for the B2B industry, holding events like webinars or virtual expos is also an effective means of lead generation. By promoting webinar campaigns in different channels, companies can target and educate the right audiences about their core benefits and advantages.

Marketing in the dynamic and hyper-competitive China B2B market can be challenging but also rewarding. MGWW can help you overcome the complexities, leveraging online advertising for you with the assistance of our professional and local team.