From the post-50s to the post-00s, Alibaba International Station merchants collectively face the foreign trade peak season in March

In March, domestic foreign trade enterprises ushered in the first foreign trade peak season of the year, and the March New Trade Festival of Alibaba International Station was officially launched. From the post-50s to the post-00s, foreign trade merchants on Alibaba International Station showed their talents , using digital methods to grab orders and race against time.

"100 million!" This is the "small goal" that Zhao Yunqi, a post-90s merchant on Alibaba International Station, set for himself during the New Trade Festival in March this year . Currently, the new energy products of Hefei Shengwei Technology Company, which he leads , are exported to Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Picture: Zhao Yunqi, the boss of Hefei Shengwei Technology, set a goal of "fighting for 40 days and making 100 million yuan"

In order to seize this peak season, Zhao Yunqi held a mobilization meeting for all members early in the year to ensure that every member could keep up with the pace. "We originally had two days off a week, but we temporarily changed it to one day off a week during the New Trade Festival in March. We used to hold 1-2 review meetings a month, but now we have one every week." Behind the strict requirements, the rewards are equally generous. In addition to the commissions, salesmen can also get new energy vehicles and public travel as rewards for big orders.

"Many projects that were previously suspended have been restarted this year, and many orders have been placed since the beginning of the year." Cheng Zhen, a post-80s merchant at Alibaba International Station and general manager of Foshan Xinma Electronic Technology, is very optimistic about the prospects. Foshan Xinma mainly produces barcode scanners for commercial and industrial use. The global machinery industry is recovering, and the demand for barcode scanners continues to increase.

It is worth mentioning that Cheng Zhen’s foreign trade merchants in Guangzhou and Foshan hold a PK competition every March on Alibaba International Station. Companies of equal strength form teams of two to compete in terms of the number of new customers, customer inquiry growth, and transaction growth. During the peak season of foreign trade, everyone competes with each other to move forward. This year is Cheng Zhen’s fifth time to participate in the competition.

In Cheng Zhen's opinion, the form and atmosphere of this group PK are very good. Because in the end, no matter whether the PK wins or loses, the participating foreign trade companies will gain something. The losing companies will go to the winning companies to learn where they are lacking and learn from each other.

Figure: Foshan Xinma Electronics' previously suspended projects have been restarted this year, with orders pouring in

"I have set a revenue target of 10 million this year," said Li Jiale, a post-00s merchant on Alibaba International Station and general manager of Henan Bosheng Import and Export. He is also a junior student majoring in international economics and trade at Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University in Zhengzhou. When he first entered cross-border e-commerce in his sophomore year, Li Jiale chose to join the Alibaba International Station platform as a trader, which saved him the financial pressure of stocking up compared to other platforms.

In terms of product categories, Li Jiale chose water sports products that are easy to use. Starting from the first order of $96 in 2022, the annual revenue last year exceeded 4.8 million yuan, and it has three stable overseas major customers. It is worth mentioning that Li Jiale not only started his own business, but also provided foreign trade practice opportunities for other students in the same school.

"This year, in order to get our salesmen back to work early, we doubled their wages from the 8th to the 15th day of the first lunar month. In the foreign trade industry, employees rarely come back to work until the 15th day of the first lunar month." Xu Jingqian, a 60s merchant at Alibaba International Station and general manager of Shanghai OPEC Machinery Equipment Co., Ltd., believes that starting work early will allow everyone to better prepare for the peak season of the New Trade Festival in March. During the Chinese New Year, cross-border stores also launched 145 new product combinations.

Figure: Shenzhen Zoetis Technology's overseas new media team is broadcasting live across borders

"In preparation for the New Trade Festival in March, we have recently formed a cross-border new media operation team, and will recruit 20-30 people at the beginning of the year . " Luo Chang, general manager of Shenzhen Zoetis Technology, who was born in the 1970s, believes that cross-border e-commerce and domestic new media operation talents cannot be used interchangeably because the new media usage habits at home and abroad are very different.

Luo Chang's cross-border new media team has invested heavily in cross-border e-commerce live broadcasting. He believes that real-time reception by real people in cross-border e-commerce gives customers a better experience. Data shows that real-person reception by cross-border live broadcasting can increase the conversion rate of potential customers by nearly 10%.

"Most customers will place their main orders for the whole year in March and April. If we fail to do well in the peak season in March, the whole year will be affected." Jin Feiyan, a merchant born in the 1970s and general manager of Hangzhou Lampada Sporting Goods Co., Ltd., an Alibaba International Station merchant, believes that March is the most important month of the year. "Our new cycling clothing models were developed, designed and produced in February, and the short videos for online promotion were also completed."

"March is a key month for us. Our salesmen are working hard to get orders and make steady progress." Zhang Fucai, a post-50s merchant at Alibaba International Station and general manager of Shanghai Sixiu Composite Fabric Co., Ltd., said that this year is his seventh consecutive year to participate in Alibaba International Station's New Trade Festival in March.

Although he is an old foreign trader, Zhang Fucai has a very positive attitude towards cross-border e-commerce. He said that he believes that digital foreign trade is the trend of the future. In order to cater to the trend, in 2017, Zhang Fucai, who was already 65 years old, began to frequently participate in various study tours organized by Alibaba International Station. "I saw the growth of other companies, got inspired, and began to pay attention to Alibaba International Station." Zhang Fucai and his cross-border e-commerce operation team tried various digital promotion tools. "With the help of digital promotion tools, we can accurately find the target group and expand new customers."

Alibaba International Station

March is the peak season for foreign trade