Salesforce Withdraws from China! How Can Local Digital Marketers Offer Top-notch Alternatives?

The news that the world's largest SaaS giant, Salesforce, announced its "withdrawal from China" on September 6, 2022, is likely well-known by now. Many industry peers are eager to seize the opportunity to become the strongest alternative.

Considering that some of you might not be familiar with Salesforce, here's a brief overview of the situation:

Salesforce is an American technology company and a leader in SaaS systems. Its market value once surpassed that of Oracle, making it the second-largest software company in the world... In short, it's incredibly impressive.

Additionally, it was the first company to launch a "CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system" and holds a significant authoritative position in the digital marketing field, having once led the digital transformation of American enterprises.

This company entered the Chinese market in 2003, but its development has not been smooth over the past 20 years. Industry analysis points to three main reasons:

• Salesforce's standardized system has not been well accepted by Chinese local enterprises. On the contrary, local companies prefer customized systems.

• The Salesforce system, based on Western marketing logic, has always struggled to align and integrate well with the local social and marketing environment in China.

• Salesforce served Chinese local enterprises using overseas data centers. Due to uncontrollable factors, domestic data regulation, particularly cross-border data regulation, has become increasingly stringent in recent years, making it more challenging for Salesforce to acquire customers.

Hence, Salesforce's exit from China is a big plus for local SaaS vendors. Along with the marketing automation service providers we do 2B marketing also ushered in the opportunity.

To be fair, while Salesforce may have struggled to adapt to the Chinese market, it won't be easy to capture the market share it has left behind.

As industry analysts have pointed out, the demand for CRM and other marketing automation SaaS systems in China is highly polarized. Small companies lack the budget for such systems, while large companies prefer customized solutions and generally have higher technical requirements.

Moreover, there aren't a vast number of large companies in China with the scale and demand for such systems. As a result, while this market segment may appear to be a potential blue ocean, it is actually very challenging to scale up. Not to mention, within marketing automation systems, there are further distinctions such as B2C and B2B segments...

So, as a B2B marketing automation SaaS service provider, how can we quickly capture the market and reap the benefits?

Webpower believes the following points are key:

1► B2B Marketing Automation Service Chain Needs Upgrading

During its long-term service to B2B clients, Webpower discovered a surprising fact: on one hand, many B2B enterprises do not realize the importance of marketing automation and treat it as merely a simple software or tool;

on the other hand, among B2B enterprises that have already implemented marketing automation, the utilization rate of the tool's features is less than 30%!

Take a B2B client we've previously worked with as an example. After equipping their marketing automation system, they only used it as an email and SMS mass-sending system and a sales data storage system. They did not leverage the actual value of the system, and as a result, their growth plateaued.

This reflects two issues:

• There is a one-sided perception of marketing automation among enterprises.

• There are issues with the service provided by the product vendors.

Webpower believes: Marketing automation ≠ tool

As mentioned earlier, many B2B enterprises still perceive marketing automation at the level of "software" or "system."

In reality, the concept of marketing automation, as promoted by influential marketing companies in the industry, includes not only the tools themselves but also a comprehensive suite of services for effective usage.

For example, Webpower not only sells its self-developed tools and assists enterprises in setting up and using them but also provides support with operational strategies.

Because marketing automation tools are versatile and unique to each user; they are not like smartphones where you simply learn the buttons to use them. There are a thousand different ways to use marketing automation tools for a thousand different people.

And Webpower goes further by combining the unique circumstances of each enterprise, not only instructing them on how to use the tools but also training them on which strategic elements to utilize. They even help customize unique features, personalized marketing strategies, and plans.

This requires that marketing automation service providers not only complete the sales but also offer extensive "after-sales service," helping enterprises maximize the value of the system rather than stopping at just "selling the tool."

Therefore, Webpower suggests that, on one hand, B2B enterprises should start by changing their narrow perception of "marketing automation" — it is not merely a tool in the narrow sense;

on the other hand, service providers should upgrade their business operations by establishing more specialized service departments beyond sales to help enterprises effectively utilize marketing automation as a powerful tool. ``

2► B2B Marketing Should Also Implement "Lifecycle Operations"

In recent years, B2C marketing has shifted from a model focused on acquiring new customers and generating traffic to one centered on leveraging the existing customer base. This shift has given rise to concepts like "private domain operations" and "SCRM operations."

And B2B enterprises should place even greater emphasis on the value of existing customers, specifically in terms of "customer relationship management" and "lead nurturing."

However, many B2B enterprises still face issues in customer maintenance. Simply put, they are using approaches that date back to 10 years ago, which customers have become immune to. Additionally, the services and solutions provided are often highly homogenized, leading to longer decision-making cycles for customers.

Hence, We might as well do 2B customer maintenance with the same thinking that 2C companies do with private domain traffic:

• Contact Phase: Strong endorsements + classic case studies + core showcases + rich content marketing to gain goodwill;

• Incubation Phase: Continuous precise outreach + personalized services targeting pain points + showcasing expertise in specialized fields to gain trust;

• Post-Conversion: Professional solutions + ongoing after-sales service + continuous precise outreach + strategic touch points to enhance satisfaction and foster loyalty.

The underlying logic of this entire process is actually "user lifecycle operations" — whether B2B or B2C, when it comes to consumption, while there are differences in order value and decision-making timelines, the fundamental psychology of consumption remains unchanged.

Therefore, lifecycle operations that span the entire user journey hold great promise and can significantly reduce lead attrition rates.

For instance, one of the B2B enterprises serviced by Webpower managed to reduce lead attrition rates by 25% by reshaping their customer acquisition and nurturing pathways through a marketing automation system!

Due to the saturation of the B2C market, even the flourishing retail industry is now advocating for a B2C integrated model. As a result, marketing competition in the B2B sector will only become more intense in the future. Enterprises should proactively plan and prepare to navigate this increasingly competitive landscape.

As for B2B marketing service providers, changes in the international landscape will cause more and more overseas providers to lose their competitive edge in the domestic market. While local providers may welcome these opportunities, they must not overlook the need to strengthen themselves. The future competition will not be an overly optimistic blue ocean; when the tide comes in, only those with truly robust capabilities will stand out and lead.

About Webpower

Webpower was founded in 1999 in the Netherlands and entered the Chinese market in 2006. Currently, it operates through 11 branches worldwide. As an omnichannel intelligent membership marketing service provider, Webpower has spent over a decade deeply rooted in China's market, consistently addressing the multifaceted marketing needs of enterprises by delivering innovative, cutting-edge, and effective marketing products and services.

In 2018, Webpower launched the "Smart Marketing" system, designed to create a complete marketing lifecycle for enterprises. This encompasses omnichannel data integration, marketing automation, multidimensional data analysis, as well as scenario-based applications and custom development.

Webpower now provides professional marketing services to 10 major industries, including retail, IT, tourism, aviation, exhibitions, and finance. Some of the globally renowned companies they have worked with include: Starbucks, SONY, Walmart, GIVENCHY, Rémy Martin, Lenovo, Disney, China Eastern Airlines, DBS Bank, and Pacific Insurance. ``

Embracing the concept of "Smart Marketing," Webpower's goal is to: Leverage technology to drive marketing, enabling enterprises to deeply explore customer value, and help them create a "Smart Marketing" blueprint that extends the unlimited potential of digital marketing. We are Webpower
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