Which Email Marketing Software is Best for Foreign Trade? - Email Marketing Considerations for Foreign Trade Companies
Brand globalization has become a trending topic, enticing everyone with immense potential profits. However, for companies, conducting thorough research and developing a solid plan before jumping on the bandwagon is the best strategy to avoid becoming collateral damage.
For marketing service providers, opportunities come with business transformation and upgrades. Embracing change early is essential to reap the benefits.
--Webpower
Due to special factors, global offline consumption has been suppressed, leading to a boom in online shopping and a rapid growth in cross-border e-commerce performance. According to the "2021 H1 China Cross-Border E-Commerce Market Data Report," the scale of China's cross-border e-commerce market reached 6.05 trillion yuan in the first half of 2021, with the market size expected to reach 14.6 trillion yuan for the entire year. In contrast, the cross-border e-commerce import and export volume was 1.69 trillion yuan in the just-concluded year of 2020. Moreover, in the first half of 2021, the import and export structure of China's cross-border e-commerce showed: Exports accounted for 77.5%, roughly three times the amount of imports. All signs indicate that China's cross-border e-commerce export industry is experiencing a wave of development benefits. So, which email marketing software is best for foreign trade??
Correspondingly, there has been a surge in overseas marketing demands from cross-border enterprises. All signs indicate that navigating an unfamiliar overseas marketing environment and truly "going global and taking firm root" is a pressing issue that both cross-border businesses and marketing service providers need to address. From Webpower's unique perspective, this article will unveil the opportunities and challenges faced by cross-border enterprises and marketing service providers, as well as which email marketing software is best for foreign trade.
When brands go global, email marketing is indispensable.
When a brand goes global, establishing a presence in local markets and expanding into overseas marketing is imperative. However, for small and medium-sized brands, the cost of overseas marketing and customer acquisition is not necessarily lower than in domestic markets. The effectiveness of the marketing spend, the ability to consistently acquire customers, and the potential to drive sales become major concerns for many brands looking to expand internationally. Webpower Jimmy, General Manager of the Digital Marketing Division iDigitalForce, believes that in cross-border marketing, it is crucial to avoid aiming too high without a realistic approach. One must align with the local consumer environment and start from the basics. In this regard, the role of email marketing software for foreign trade should not be underestimated. This is determined by both the usage habits of overseas consumers and the inherent characteristics of email marketing.
1. Usage Habits in Overseas Markets
Email may not be the primary communication tool in China, but it is used much more frequently abroad. Data shows that in everyday life in the United States, 58% of adults check their email as the first thing they do each morning. On average, each working professional checks their email 30 times during a workday. At the same time, according to research by Statista, 49% of people prefer to receive promotional emails that meet their needs. Due to the better usage habits and higher frequency of email use abroad, email marketing has significant development opportunities.
In the United States alone, Over 90% of companies are using email marketing software for foreign trade. Including well-known companies like Amazon.
You can see, email marketing software for foreign trade has become the norm, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a basic marketing operation for brands going global. Under the stimulation of enormous demand, opportunities also arise for cross-border marketing service providers. Adapting to the foreign email marketing environment and regulations, effectively planning cross-border strategies, understanding which email marketing software is best for foreign trade, and providing excellent services to companies going global have become the new challenges facing domestic marketing service providers.
2. Low Cost, High Return
Email marketing is widely used abroad due to local environmental and cultural reasons, but fundamentally, it’s driven by factors of cost and return on investment. The famous lawyer incident marks the beginning of email marketing: a lawyer couple's strategy of sending bulk spam emails, although inappropriate, demonstrated the immense potential of email marketing by earning $100,000 with just a $20 expenditure.In fact, according to the DMA report, every $1 spent on email marketing generates an average return of $32.
Such enormous profitability is a double-edged sword. While it benefits cross-border brands and promotes the improvement of email marketing service ecosystems, it also raises concerns about permission-based email marketing and data security. Starting in 2018, the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect. This regulation is a significant step towards enhancing personal data security and protection, often referred to as "the strictest data protection regulation in history" and "the strongest regulation of the big data era." GDPR is globally applicable, providing greater rights to data subjects, which means more accountability for data controllers and stricter penalties for violations.
Hence, Under the premise of compliance, conducting cross-border email marketing and selecting the best email marketing software for foreign trade are essential considerations that cross-border brands and marketing service providers must adhere to.
3. Precise Customer Maintenance
In addition to driving direct sales growth, email marketing plays a critical role in customer relationship management for many companies overseas. Those familiar with Amazon know that when you register as an Amazon user, you not only regularly receive its promotional emails but also get retention emails when you are about to abandon shopping on the site.
In reality, email marketing is far more sophisticated than simple bulk emails; it involves one-on-one precise targeting based on user insights and a personalized marketing approach. This user lifecycle-based operational strategy aligns perfectly with personalized user needs, giving email marketing a significant advantage in maintaining relationships with existing customers.
This is also one of the important reasons why email marketing, although old, has not been replaced overseas.
Focus on Independent Websites Integrating the DTC Model with Private Domain Marketing
This year, although it presents significant opportunities for cross-border enterprises, the large-scale account suspensions by Amazon in the first half of the year have served as a wake-up call for cautious companies. Facing increasingly stringent platform regulations, independent websites have become the preferred choice for businesses going global. Independent sites are not a new concept overseas, and they are often associated with the DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) model, which allows brands to bypass all intermediaries and directly interact with consumers, establishing a business concept based on user relationship management. From the perspective of domestic marketing strategies, this aligns perfectly with the current hot trend of "private domain traffic operations." Anticipating these trends and helping cross-border enterprises expand their overseas private domains is also one of the added services provided by domestic marketing firms.
1. Overseas private domain marketing cannot simply replicate domestic strategies.
In domestic e-commerce, private domain traffic initially relied heavily on direct traffic diversion from traditional e-commerce platforms. However, this approach is clearly inadvisable or unprofitable overseas. Many overseas e-commerce platforms, such as Amazon, have control over consumer information. Sellers within these platforms have no access to user information since Amazon handles the shipping from its own warehouses. As a seller, you are only responsible for submitting orders via the backend, leaving you disconnected from customers. Even if you send messages to customers within the platform, they often choose not to respond.
Many savvy individuals consider including package inserts in shipments, similar to what is done domestically, but unfortunately, this practice is not tolerated by foreign e-commerce websites. A recent uproar in which major sellers on e-commerce platforms had their stores shut down was largely due to sellers placing review cards in packages, which Amazon deemed as manipulating reviews. Therefore, on traditional overseas e-commerce platforms, you cannot directly reach users, let alone drive traffic to build your private domain traffic system. This is one reason independent websites have gained popularity. Hence, cross-border enterprises must not simply copy domestic private domain operation models when expanding abroad. So, which email marketing software is best for foreign trade?
2. How to do overseas private domain marketing
Independent websites, as brand-owned platforms, inherently serve as private domain traffic pools. According to Webpower, driving traffic to these sites in line with local marketing trends can be achieved through three specific strategies: collaborating with major KOLs, leveraging social media platforms for traffic, and optimizing SEO. These are similar to private domain traffic strategies used domestically; only the partners and platforms differ.
Trends in Global Marketing Development: Quality Content and Enhanced Brand Power
Currently, cross-border expansion is in an explosive phase, often referred to as a "blue ocean." However, in the future, as competition among global enterprises intensifies, competition among marketing service providers will also become increasingly fierce. It must be said that...Changes in the marketing environment are closely related to the iterations of the internet and media. The increasing usage of short video platforms like TikTok overseas signals the end of the era dominated by Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. This shift brings about an upgrade in content marketing methods and an increased demand for quality content from users. Only high-quality content marketing can capture and retain users' attention.
At the same time, building brand strength is crucial for brands looking to go global. After all, no one wants to spend extra time and money on an unknown brand. This is both a challenge for companies going global and an opportunity for marketing service providers.
In the future, marketing service providers that align with the overseas marketing landscape and possess core competencies in content marketing and brand building will stand out from the competition.
Conclusion: Brand globalization has become a trending topic, enticing everyone with immense potential profits. However, for companies, conducting thorough research and developing a solid plan before jumping on the bandwagon is the best strategy to avoid becoming collateral damage. As for which email marketing software is best for foreign trade, that's also an important consideration. For marketing service providers, opportunities come with the cost of business transformation and upgrades. Embracing change early is essential to reap the benefits.
To learn more about which email marketing software is best for foreign trade and related topics, please continue to follow Webpower!
