How the Internet Plus Is Transforming Agricultural Product Marketing Models
“"Internet Plus" is driving the transformation of agricultural production and sales methods.” On August 20, at the first “Internet Plus Agricultural Products” Promotion and Development Summit Forum, attendees reached this consensus.
“Internet Plus agricultural products is a new thing that requires new learning. Set rules first, make a good start, walk steadily. In agriculture, you cannot indulge in empty talk, you cannot bluff; you must be practical and solid.” said Liu Zhiren, vice chairman of the National Organic Agriculture Industry Alliance, at the meeting.
A philosophy: gaining user trust
In today's era, between producers and consumers, will the brokers, wholesalers and retailers that serve as the traditional intermediate marketing links be replaced by a platform called the Internet?
It cannot be denied that “Internet Plus” has become a buzzword in every industry. Through the Internet, point-to-point connections are realized directly, and the distance between producers and consumers has been greatly shortened. So, in agriculture, how can agricultural product marketing gain consumers' trust?
“At present there are two channels of trust: one is trust among acquaintances, that is, I trust you, so I trust your products; the other is trust among strangers, that is, you do a good job and let me know.” said Zhao Yayu, CEO of Youcai.com.
How can the Internet achieve consumers' “stranger trust” in agricultural products? “Factors affecting product quality, such as the environment, variety, planting and breeding methods, logistics and storage of agricultural products, are all displayed through the Internet. In addition, the self-promotion method of text introduction + pictures + video is used to show oneself to strangers.” Zhao Yayu said.
In addition, consumer trust can also be built through third-party certification. Such as professional evaluation of the natural environment, soil, planting and products, and organic, green and pollution-free certification. Zhao Yayu said, “Consumers' reviews and ratings of the agricultural products and services they purchase are also a channel for other consumers to obtain product information.”
By using the Internet to open themselves up, producers should also take the initiative to understand consumers themselves and achieve direct communication with consumers. “For example, farm operators can set up an online community, in which they release real-time information and answer consumers' questions.” Zhao Yayu said.
Lou Xiangpeng, chairman of Fulai Brand Agriculture Consulting Agency, also believes that agricultural product marketing should return to its essence and be user-centered. “Branding is the only way for agricultural products to achieve the "thrilling leap". But the biggest mistake is to value regional public brands and neglect user brands.”
A model: laying out agricultural materials e-commerce
Whether it is Rural Taobao or JD Agricultural Materials, in recent years they have all been doing one thing, and that is laying out agricultural materials e-commerce. Just after Double Eleven in 2014, Rural Taobao went online. On August 11, 2015, JD Agricultural Materials opened.
“Optimize traditional shopping channels and better protect consumers' rights and interests; eliminate all intermediate links and pass profits directly to farmers.” said Wang Tao, head of the procurement and sales business department of JD Agricultural Materials e-commerce. In their view, for rural consumers, agricultural materials e-commerce can be summed up in one word: save.
“Fake, scattered and counterfeit” agricultural materials have always been a worry for rural consumers. “JD Agricultural Materials has strict six major quality control measures. Strictly review manufacturers' qualifications, strictly control purchasing channels, conduct random inspections from time to time, independently develop a quality control system, impose severe punishment mechanisms, and ensure worry-free returns and exchanges.” Wang Tao said.
Rural Taobao and JD Agricultural Materials are both laying out county- and village-level service centers in county-level cities across the country. In these stores, large and small, agricultural material sample display areas are set up, and rural promoters serve farming households.
“Agricultural materials e-commerce has innovated the circulation system and promoted the ordering of agricultural materials industry projects.” Liu Zhiren commented, “The concept is very good, but more pilot projects and more summaries are needed. Moreover, pilot projects should be diversified.”
At present, JD Agricultural Materials has explored the Suqian pilot model and the Henan pilot model in Jiangsu Province and Henan Province. Jiangmai 919, produced by Suqian Zhongjiang Seed Industry Company, was the first seed product launched on the JD Agricultural Materials channel.
All seeds sold by JD are under a self-operated model, and the entire process can be guaranteed through JD's supply chain system so that farmers buy genuine and affordable seeds. Seeds sold by JD are combined with JD Finance, and farmers buying seeds can also enjoy financial services such as installment payments and JD Baitiao.
In addition, JD, together with Suqian Zhongjiang Seed Industry, joined hands with Wudeli Flour Processing Plant to use wheat of the Jiangmai 919 variety as a preferred raw material for flour processing, solving the problem of selling farmers' grain.
A technology: anti-counterfeiting traceability platform
In the “Internet Plus” era, people only need to scan the product barcode with a mobile phone to learn information such as its selling price and the stores where it is sold. At the same time, people hope that through this easy scan, they can prevent counterfeiting and trace the source, so that they can eat with confidence and use with peace of mind.
One code per batch means that the globally unique serial number of the two-dimensional image code printed in the same printing version is the same, allowing logistics traceability queries for the same batch. One code per label, on the other hand, means that each product has a unique globally unique serial number for its two-dimensional image code and electronic label, allowing logistics traceability queries for individual items based on the serial number.
Zhang Peng, head of Beijing Zhongyi Huanke Ecological Technology Development Co., Ltd., explained: “In addition to maintaining its own anti-counterfeiting characteristics, one code per label means that because the label on each product package is different, the scan record of each product can be accurately recorded and queried. When a user buys a new product, based on the scan record of that product, the authenticity of the product can be preliminarily determined.”
“Among the commonly used anti-counterfeiting technologies at present, the first generation is laser anti-counterfeiting, which can only make one code per batch; the second generation is electronic code anti-counterfeiting, that is, scratch-card style coating, which can only make one code per label, and the printing cost and process are relatively high. Both methods are easily copied in bulk.” Zhang Peng said.
“The third generation is anti-counterfeiting codes. Two-dimensional image code anti-counterfeiting has advantages such as a novel and unique method, ultra-high information storage capacity, customized ultra-strong error correction, and high security that cannot be copied.” Zhang Peng said, “There is also electronic label anti-counterfeiting, which cannot be copied and provides full anti-counterfeiting, but the price is relatively high.”
The full-process traceability system includes links such as code attachment, traceability information recording, production warehousing, logistics, sales network, supermarkets and query verification. Through the big data cloud platform, it realizes “Internet + anti-counterfeiting + traceability + marketing + data”. Consumers can learn more abundant information about products and enterprises online and purchase products online, while enterprises can both prevent counterfeiting and crack down on fakes and customize reports according to demand, expanding value-added services.