Master WeChat for B2B Marketing in China

Discover how a single app can manage your sales funnel from marketing to closing deals.

WeChat, the popular Chinese messaging and social media app, has become an essential tool for businesses looking to reach customers in China.

However, its potential for B2B marketing is overlooked.

With over a billion monthly active users and a suite of powerful features, WeChat is a valuable platform for UK businesses targeting other businesses in China.

In this guide, we’ll explore the strategies and tactics that can help you master WeChat for B2B marketing in China.

From creating an effective WeChat account to leveraging its advanced marketing tools, we will provide you with the insights you need to succeed on this platform.

Whether you are an established business or a startup looking to enter the Chinese market, mastering WeChat can give you a competitive advantage and help you achieve your B2B marketing goals.

Table of Contents

The Full Funnel App

While many people are aware of WeChat’s effectiveness as a tool for marketing to consumers, its potential for B2B marketing is overlooked.

Businesses targeting other businesses in China can actually build the entire buyer journey from awareness to conversion using the tools available on the app.

With a comprehensive WeChat strategy, B2B businesses can attract and convert customers at every stage of the buyer’s journey, leveraging the platform’s advanced marketing tools. Rather than simply boosting brand awareness, WeChat can be a valuable part of a B2B business’s sales process, allowing them to convert followers into buyers within the app.

An general overview of how to create a full marketing funnel within WeChat is as follows:

Build brand awareness: Start by creating a WeChat account for your business and optimizing it for searchability. This includes adding keywords, descriptions, and images that accurately represent your brand and its values. You can also use WeChat advertising to target potential customers and increase your visibility.

Generate leads: Use WeChat’s various features to engage with potential customers and generate leads. For example, you can create a WeChat group or account to share industry news, insights, and other valuable content. You can also use WeChat’s advanced targeting tools to reach specific buyer personas and offer them exclusive promotions, discounts, or deals.

Nurture leads: Once you have generated leads, it’s important to nurture them by providing them with relevant and valuable content at every stage of the buyer’s journey. This can include sending personalized messages, offering customized product demos or consultations, and providing ongoing support and education.

Convert leads into customers: Use WeChat’s convenient payment features to make it easy for customers to purchase your products or services directly within the app. You can also integrate your WeChat account with your website or other marketing channels to provide a seamless user experience.

Retain customers: Finally, use WeChat to retain customers by offering them ongoing support, education, and special promotions. This can help build brand loyalty and increase customer lifetime value over time.

By following these steps, B2B businesses can create a full marketing funnel within WeChat that allows them to attract, engage, and convert potential customers into loyal buyers.

Let’s break the steps down:

Choose The Right WeChat Account For Your Company

Choosing the right WeChat account for a B2B business in China is an important step in creating an effective WeChat marketing strategy. Here are some factors to consider when selecting the type of WeChat account to use:

There are three types of account to choose from:

There are three main types of WeChat accounts for businesses: subscription accounts, service accounts, and enterprise accounts.

Subscription accounts are ideal for businesses that want to publish regular content, such as news or updates.

Service accounts are better suited for businesses that need to provide more interactive experiences, such as customer service or e-commerce.

Enterprise accounts are designed for larger organizations and offer advanced features such as employee management and development tools.

Should we verify our account?

Verification Status: Verified WeChat accounts have a higher level of credibility and trust among Chinese users. However, the verification process can be complex and time-consuming. For B2B businesses looking to establish a strong presence on WeChat, a verified account may be worth the effort.

Specialist Industry Accounts

WeChat has several specialized features for the healthcare and finance industries, including:

Healthcare Industry: WeChat has a “WeDoctor” mini program that allows users to book medical appointments, consult with doctors, and order prescriptions online. This feature is particularly useful for healthcare providers looking to offer telemedicine services to patients in China.

Finance Industry: WeChat offers a range of finance-related features, including a digital wallet that allows users to make payments, transfer funds, and manage their finances within the app. Additionally, WeChat offers a “WeChat Pay Score” that evaluates users’ creditworthiness based on their behavior on the platform. This feature can be useful for financial institutions looking to assess the creditworthiness of potential customers.

Other Specialized Features: WeChat also offers other specialized features for businesses in various industries, such as e-commerce tools for retail businesses, location-based services for travel and hospitality businesses, and messaging and collaboration tools for enterprise businesses.

By leveraging these specialized features, businesses in the healthcare and finance industries can create customized WeChat accounts that cater to their unique needs and target audience. This can help increase engagement, drive conversions, and grow their business in China.

Key Features of WeChat B2B Marketing Account

WeChat Official Accounts offer a wide range of features that businesses can use to promote their brand and engage with customers in China. Here are some of the top features available:

1. File Transfer

WeChat is a popular app for sending messages, documents, address books, excel sheets, videos, and images between individuals and businesses.

2. Network Analysis

WeChat provides detailed information about how users interact with your official account, including feedback that can help businesses improve their products and services.

3. Template Messages

With an official account, businesses can set up templated messages to be sent as important service notifications. For example, these notifications could be about a completed purchase or update in the number of membership points.

4. Group Messages

Official accounts also allow for targeted group messages based on gender and region. Personalized messages can be sent based on user segments to avoid disturbing customers with irrelevant communication.

5. Auto-Reply

WeChat lets businesses send an auto-response when a user follows the account or sends a message or keyword. The welcome message can be customized to introduce the official account, display important keywords, or promote recent activities.

6. Trackable QR Code and Tagging

WeChat allows for tags to be added to QR codes, helping businesses segment users according to different scenarios. For example, if a user scans a QR code generated with an “online event” tag to follow the account, the user profile will be added with an “online event” tag.

7. Custom Menu

Official accounts support up to three menu categories in the menu bar and up to five sub-menus under each category. Each menu item can be linked to a message, website, or application.

8. Translation Tool

WeChat has an in-app translation tool that businesses can rely on for day-to-day needs, helping to avoid poor translations that could harm a brand’s image.

9. WeChat Work for Enterprise

WeChat also has a separate app called “WeChat Work” that is designed for enterprise users. It allows the sales team to connect with customers one-on-one and can be integrated with third-party social CRMs and automation tools.

With these features, B2B businesses can leverage WeChat’s marketing tools to engage with potential customers and grow their business in China.

How to Boost Your Credibility and Build Thought Leadership on WeChat

Writing great articles is key to building credibility and thought leadership among your followers on WeChat. With up to four articles per month, you can engage your audience and establish a connection with them. To make your articles interesting, consider using short blocks of text, images, and short videos.

Educational articles or announcements about new updates/releases can be effective content types. To increase views, offer free resources to your followers in exchange for reposting your articles on their moments. Reposting activities can help grow followers and bring in leads.

Cross-promotion with other WeChat accounts is another strategy to consider. Make sure your content is fully localized and valuable for your Chinese audience. Simply translating global content may not be enough to engage users.

Remember that WeChat articles appear in the same window as messages from friends, so it’s essential to create content that stands out and grabs attention. By leveraging these tips, you can establish yourself as a thought leader and build a loyal following on WeChat.

Share High Quality Content Consistently

The frequency of publishing content on WeChat depends on your WeChat Account type. For a WeChat Service account, there’s a restriction of only posting 4 times per month with 2 articles in each post. The Subscription account lets you push content daily with up to 6 articles per post.

New accounts should start posting once a week with 1-2 articles per post. They can increase frequency to 2-3 times once you find performance trends to identify the content type that is the most engaging.

Since the goal of your B2B marketing efforts is not solely to create awareness but also to support sales, you should create downloadable resources such as white papers and case studies to generate leads.

You can place these resources under a customized tab ‘Resources Center’ in your WeChat account navigation menu so that your followers can access it easily. To collect leads, you can drive them to your Chinese website or get them to fill forms available on WeChat marketplace. Make sure to localize your content for the Chinese audience to get the best results.

Boosting Business Growth Through Focused Networking on WeChat

For B2B companies, the quality of each follower usually outweighs the sheer number of followers. The objective is to attract the right business prospects, collaborative partners, and industry influencers by cultivating a specific audience on WeChat.

A potent strategy for expanding your business-focused audience involves the use of QR codes. B2B companies can capitalise on this trend by incorporating these codes into their websites and tangible marketing materials. Potential business contacts can then use these codes to connect on WeChat.

By homing in on the appropriate business demographic and effectively leveraging the power of QR codes, B2B companies can draw in followers who are more likely to interact with their brand.

This facilitates enhanced brand recognition and also opens up the possibility of transforming these connections into profitable business relationships or valuable partners.

Using WeChat Groups to Build Community and Drive Private Traffic

Building a private WeChat group is a common practice for both B2B and B2C companies to build a community and enhance brand loyalty. By creating a space for your customers or followers to connect with each other and your brand, you can foster engagement and establish deeper relationships.

To keep group members engaged, weekly discussions can be initiated by the group administrator based on the latest trends in the industry. For example, a fashion brand could create a WeChat group for customers to discuss the latest trends in fashion and share styling tips. A B2B company could create a group for professionals in the industry to share insights and network with each other.

WeChat groups can also be used to share exclusive know-how of your business or conduct live streaming events. For example, a cooking school could create a group for its students to share recipes and cooking tips. The school could also use the group to host live cooking classes via WeChat’s live streaming feature.

In addition to building community, WeChat groups offer an effective way to drive private traffic for your business. Private traffic refers to the audience that you can reach directly through WeChat instead of relying on third-party platforms like search engines or paid ads. By growing your private traffic, you can connect one-on-one with potential and existing customers.

Managing a WeChat group requires close attention to ensure that the quality of communication is high and members get value out of it. However, when done effectively, WeChat groups can be a powerful tool for building community and driving engagement with your brand.

Nurturing Leads with WeChat Private Traffic

WeChat private traffic is a cost-effective way to nurture leads and should be a part of every B2B marketing strategy. According to a recent survey, WeChat private traffic has an average conversion rate of 5-15%, compared to email marketing’s average of 1-3%.

To grow your WeChat group, start by adding members the same way you grow your WeChat account followers. Begin with your existing followers on WeChat and customers who have attended your webinars or offline events. Offer incentives such as networking opportunities, valuable resources, or unique insights to keep them connected to the group. Daily interaction also helps keep the group active and the community engaged.

As your WeChat group grows, you’ll need to moderate content, prevent spam, and remove inadequate content. You can do this through a dedicated staff member or through WeChat Work, which allows multiple staff members to manage your account. WeCom also offers automation tools to help you send automated messages to the group and reduce the time spent by staff members on maintaining the group.

WeChat private traffic has been proven successful for many B2B businesses. For example, a tech company used WeChat groups to connect with industry professionals and share insights about their products. They saw an increase in engagement and conversions, with over 50% of their leads coming from private traffic.

Overall, WeChat private traffic offers an effective way to nurture leads and build deeper relationships with your customers. By providing value and engaging with your audience, you can establish trust and credibility that can ultimately lead to conversions.

Leveraging WeChat Mini Programs to Engage Customers

WeChat Mini Programs are lightweight apps that can be developed within WeChat and offer a powerful way to showcase your products and services in a creative and interactive way. According to recent statistics, WeChat Mini Programs have over 500 million monthly active users, making them a valuable tool for businesses looking to engage with customers.

One way to use WeChat Mini Programs is to add your business card. By creating an interactive business card that includes your contact information, key products or services, and links to your website or social media channels, you can make a strong impression on potential customers.

You can also use WeChat Mini Programs to promote events registration or share case studies. For example, a marketing agency could create a Mini Program to showcase their past campaigns and success stories. A retailer could use a Mini Program to promote their upcoming sales and allow customers to register for exclusive discounts.

Livestreaming is another popular feature of WeChat Mini Programs. You can use livestreams to mix up your content formats and engage with customers in real-time. For example, a beauty brand could host a livestream to showcase their new product line and answer questions from viewers.

Customers can also participate in promotional activities and chat in real-time with your business through WeChat mini-sites. For example, a hotel could create a Mini Program that allows guests to book rooms, order room service, and chat with hotel staff about their stay.

Overall, WeChat Mini Programs offer a powerful way to engage with customers and showcase your products or services in an interactive way. By leveraging this feature, you can stand out from the competition and build deeper connections with your audience.

Are you ready to start using WeChat for your B2B Marketing In China?

If your organisation is interested in taking advantage of the incredible power of WeChat B2B Marketing in China, get in touch and find out how we can help you get started faster.