The myth of cheap, easy wins in China.
I recently had an interesting discussion with a friend who is an expert in China ecommerce operations.
Too many brands start with finding an ecommerce partner (a TP) and… then much later (if at all) kluge together a “branding” effort to remedy sputtering sales results. As a “brand marketer” I get frustrated with this approach.
In the discussion with my friend I was reminded that TPs - much like brand agencies - are also caught in a race to the bottom. There is always somebody cheaper in China. There is always an agency out there with a ‘low bid,’ that makes the whole effort look “easy.”
Building a brand and attaining sales momentum in China isn’t easy... and isn’t cheap. But the myth of cheap, easy wins prevails. Internationals’ still see China as cheap and when they see a ‘low bid,’ that is what sets the market. The 'low bid' is not seen as the low bid - instead, the other bids are seen as overly high.
So, they pick the low bid, everyone goes through the motions… and, at some point there is disappointment.
When brands believe that they can win ‘on the cheap’ they tend to move forward with low commitment levels. Lowest quality strategies/suppliers + low commitments = low performance!
