How Far Can Creative Marketing Take Agricultural Product E-commerce?
Recently, at the agricultural product e-commerce training camp held by Southern Rural Daily, Wang Yi, founder of the “Baogu Baoyang” corn series products, said that “Baogu Baoyang” means “guaranteed nutrition for you.” “6 ears of corn + appropriate packaging + logistics” sold online at an exorbitant unit price of 520 yuan, 1,000 yuan, or even 2,000 yuan per box, with 2,000 boxes presold in 15 days.
Hu Haiqing, the direct operator of “Chu Orange,” also admitted that “Chu Orange” was initially led to market by Benlai Life Network, first going on sale on November 5, 2012, at a price of 108-138 yuan for 5 kg, selling 1,500 boxes within 24 hours. Last year, it sold nearly 1,500 tonnes on Benlai Life Network within 50 days. In 2014, the “Double Eleven” presale amount for Chu Orange already exceeded total sales in 2013.
There are also examples such as “Liu Peach,” “Pan Apple,” and various “sky-high-priced” rice and other agricultural products, all of which have used various creative marketing tactics or news gimmicks to become hot sellers in the market and on the internet.
Competitiveness Lies in Product Quality Most consumers interviewed by reporters admitted that for agricultural products sold through e-commerce, if they are to fetch a good price, besides doing marketing creativity well, the key is still that the product must have good quality.
According to a China News Service report, ordinary Tianshui apples have an average unit price of less than 2 yuan per jin. After being given the grand name “Pan Apple,” they are sold at 118 yuan for a box of 12, which works out to nearly 10 yuan each, and sales are ordinary.
Many industry experts affirm the “celebrity effect” of such products, but they also say that the “celebrity effect” may prompt people to try something new out of curiosity, but the key is still the quality of the product.
Wuchang Kuihua Sunshine Rice Industry Co., Ltd. focuses on “organic rice,” which can sell for 15 yuan to 50 yuan per jin and sells well in the market.
General Manager Guan Yuxiu told the reporter of Grain and Oils Market News: “As long as there is a selling point and consumers are willing to pay, it shows that the product marketing is successful. The value of the product itself is one aspect; whether customers will keep paying over the long term also depends on how much added value the enterprise and product can give consumers. But in the long run, consumers will still consider the issue of cost-effectiveness, so the price cannot be too outrageous unless you have a convincing reason. That reason is undoubtedly the product's quality, consumption experience, and so on.” “The high-price hot sales of Chu Orange over the past 3 years, besides good marketing, ultimately still come down to the quality of Chu Orange as the dominant factor.” Hu Haiqing told the reporter of Grain and Oils Market News. What to Do After Hot Sales If creative marketing is operated properly, agricultural products on e-commerce usually achieve hot sales, and sales volume may even exceed expectations. But what to do after hot sales? Wang Yi said that from the moment “Baogu Baoyang” was founded, it customized a long-term development plan. “We first sell tender corn; when the corn gets old, we sell cornmeal, then corn oil, then corn liquor, and so on. This ensures the product's activity and sustainability.” Guan Yuxiu believes that gimmicks are only for attracting attention. Whether good or bad, as long as they increase attention, they count as successful.
“After agricultural products achieve hot sales in the initial stage, blindly pursuing a high-price policy is not a long-term solution. Enterprises should, according to their own circumstances, formulate marketing strategies in advance, such as differentiated sales to people at different consumption levels according to different categories and different positioning.” Industry insiders pointed out.
Reporters learned that from the price of 108-138 yuan for 5 jin of Chu Orange in the previous two years, this “inspirational orange” had long been playing the “differentiation” card. Chu Orange's official website shows that according to different consumer demand quantities, current Chu Orange includes the “Ideal Edition” and the “Passionate Edition,” priced at 86 yuan and 76 yuan for 2.5 kg respectively, while the “Private Custom Edition” is 1,720 yuan per 20 boxes, with various other editions and prices as well.
Is E-commerce Perhaps a Lifeline? Before the emergence of e-commerce and WeChat commerce, high-priced agricultural product brands were not common. Now, with the prevalence of e-commerce and WeChat commerce, through one or several marketing plans, many agricultural product e-commerce sellers indeed sell at high prices. However, whether e-commerce is the greatest lifesaver for high-priced agricultural product sales remains unknown.
An industry insider who declined to be named told reporters: “In my view, this kind of high-price marketing does more harm than good to enterprises. Among them, there are no shortage of many WeChat commerce sellers who only want to make some inferior products, make a quick buck, and leave, staying away from e-commerce and WeChat. Why is it getting harder and harder for WeChat commerce and e-commerce sales to close deals now? Perhaps too many consumers have been cheated.” “Do not see e-commerce as so mysterious and magical. E-commerce is nothing but a large supermarket on the internet without regional restrictions. But similarly, it also increases the difficulty for consumers to choose. After products are made comprehensive, everyone will begin to choose to make them refined.” Guan Yuxiu said, “The e-commerce boom is only temporary, and people's consumption will become more and more rational. At present, some sales platforms are suffering from criticism over fake goods. However, e-commerce can indeed reduce the cost of agricultural product sales; this is its undoubted advantage,” Guan Yuxiu emphasized again.
According to the article “Industry 4.0 Only Needs Ten Years to Eliminate Taobao” published on the official WeChat account of “China E-commerce Industry”: In the sense of consumption, “Industry 4.0” can, according to consumer demand, integrate raw material procurement, design and production, and online delivery, and directly deliver to consumers after completion. This sales model reduces costs by 40% compared with sales through certain intermediary online platforms.
“E-commerce can very well resolve the contradiction between China's agriculture's ‘small farmers and large markets’ and realize the connection between agricultural production and market demand. Choosing the correct operating model is the lifeline for the survival and development of agricultural product e-commerce enterprises. To do a good job in agricultural product e-commerce, enterprises must pay attention to adapting to the characteristics of agricultural products, accurately positioning target groups, providing efficient logistics delivery, forming deep industrial chain cooperation, and striving for local government policy support, among other aspects.” Chen Wei, director of the Software and Integrated Circuit Promotion Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, once publicly stated.