Core conclusions:An outdoor products company in Ningbo turned exhibition visitors into long-term traffic from independent stations and social media. Orders from Europe increased by 150% a year and became a foundry for four German outdoor brands.
1. Customer background
An outdoor products company in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province mainly specializes in tents, sleeping bags, and outdoor furniture. It has its own factory and a stable supply chain in Ningbo, and its product line covers everything from entry models to mid-to-high-end. In the past ten years, this company's main channel for attracting customers has been offline exhibitions. Canton Fair and Outdoor Products Exhibitions run several times a year to talk about a group of customers. The quality and delivery schedule have always been good at the exhibitions. However, starting from around 2023, the effect of the exhibition will decline year by year: the number of people is less, the customers who come are bargaining more fiercely, the input and output of an exhibition will become less and less cost-effective, and orders will be fewer and fewer each year. What's even more troublesome is that almost all the customers received at the exhibition are one-time, and they leave after the negotiation. They have to spend money again in exchange for the same batch of traffic in the next year. The boss realized that the exhibition could no longer be the main force. The European market must be turned into a channel for attracting customers that could grow on its own and be reached repeatedly.
2. Problem diagnosis: Why does the original path fail?
The core of outdoor products in the European market is "trust" and "scene".
First, when European customers buy tents, sleeping bags, and outdoor furniture, they value design and certification. CE certification, REACH, and fire prevention standards are not clearly mentioned, and supermarkets and brands will not discuss further. However, the certification materials in the hands of the factory are in Chinese and scattered, and are not used during internal customer reviews.
Second, sales of outdoor products rely heavily on scenarios. No matter how clearly a product picture on a white background is taken, it is not as touching as a picture of a life scene with "tents set up in the valley and folding chairs next to it." However, the factory used to only have product drawings on a white background and no scene content, so customers could not imagine the use of the product in their minds.
Third, customers in Germany and France are accustomed to searching in their own language. Having only an English website means that some customers are blocked out, especially those small and medium-sized buyers who are not accustomed to searching in English.
Fourth, the exhibition is a one-time event, and customers disperse after talking; while independent stations and social media are continuous and can be reached repeatedly and searched repeatedly. What the factory lacks is this set of "depositable" assets. The money invested in an exhibition today will return to zero in three months; the money invested in content and independent websites will accumulate year after year.
3. What have we done?
Focusing on the main line of "using content to precipitate trust", four sets of actions were taken:
- The construction of independent stations will be made into multiple languages in English, German and French, with one brand and one station. The page structure will be organized according to "scenarios + products + certification", allowing customers to see the information they care about when they click in.
- Google SEO optimization covers more than 80 keywords such as outdoor furniture manufacturer China, allowing European customers to find factories when searching, turning "encounters" at exhibitions into "inevitable" in search.
- Instagram and Pinterest content marketing continue to publish product scene maps around camping, courtyards, terraces and other scenarios, using pictures to build a brand sense, and allowing customers to visually recognize the company first.
- Localization of CE certification data. Organize certification documents and test reports into versions that European customers can understand and can directly submit to internal review to reduce friction in the procurement process.
4. Execution rhythm
Month 1: Building a skeleton
Completed the structural design of the multilingual independent station and the launch of the first batch of content, and organized the certification data into a standard document package. At the same time, we will open Instagram and Pinterest accounts to determine the visual tone and give the brand a unified look first.
Month 2 to Month 6: Content accumulation period
SEO content is produced on a weekly basis, and social media maintains a rhythm to update scene maps. At this stage, the number of visits to independent stations has steadily increased, and inquiries have begun to appear, but the volume is not large. The key is to insist on updating and pile up content assets layer by layer. Many factories will be anxious at this stage. In fact, the content is compound interest, and the more you go, the more effort will be saved.
Months 7 to 12: Transformation and brand customer breakthroughs
After the monthly average number of visits increased to 5000+, German and French brands and supermarket purchases began to appear in the inquiry structure. For brand customers, we helped the factory prepare OEM plans and sample strategies. Finally, we won 4 German brand customers and became their foundries. The orders changed from scattered small orders to stable annual cooperation.
V. Outcome data
Within 1 year of this case:
- European order growth:150%
- German brand customers:of 4
- Monthly visit to Independence Station:5000+
- Enquiry volume: From monthlyof 8Increase to monthly40+
6. Which factories can this method be replicated to?
It is suitable for consumer goods factories with "products with scene attributes, moderate customer unit prices, and relying on brand trust", such as outdoor products, home furnishings, courtyard furniture, pet products, sports equipment, etc. The judgment criteria are: the product can be photographed in use scenarios, European customers will conduct a long search and comparison before purchasing, and there are certain requirements for certification. This type of product has the most obvious effect on moving customers by relying on content. If the product is purely industrial standard parts and customers only look at parameters and prices, then the focus should be on accurate customer data rather than social media content. Another thing to remind is that if the factory operates multiple categories at the same time, it is recommended to focus on the category that is best at and the easiest to shoot the scene first to do content, so as to avoid scattered content and no category is prominent, and customers cannot remember where you are strong.
7. Common questions
Q: Do you still want to attend the exhibition?
A: It is recommended to retain it, but the positioning needs to change. The exhibition is used to meet and deepen trust with customers who have already communicated online; independent websites and social media are used to find new customers. Walking on two legs is more stable than just relying on exhibitions, and the quality of offline customers is often higher.
Q: Is the cost of multilingual websites very high?
A: In this case, the German and French versions of the pages are gradually expanded after the English content stabilizes, not done all at once. Lay the foundation in English first, verify that there are inquiries and then expand the language. The cost will be more controllable and the stall will not be too big at the beginning.
Q: How long can it take for social media to bring orders when they publish scene maps?
A: Social media itself has a low proportion of direct orders. Its role is to provide trust endorsements for brands and independent stations. In this case, most customers first find independent websites through search, then go to social media to confirm that the company looks like a serious brand, and then make inquiries. It affects customer confidence, not directly brings traffic.
