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Introduction
The Chinese B2B customer journey is shaped by a unique blend of digital behaviors, cultural expectations, and enterprise buying protocols. For overseas brands, especially SaaS platforms and service providers, understanding each phase of this journey is key to reducing acquisition friction and unlocking long-term client value. This article unpacks the journey step-by-step and reveals how to align your offering with what decision-makers actually need.
1. Awareness: Being Found in China’s B2B Landscape
1.1 Presence Across Chinese Search and Social
Unlike Western B2B markets dominated by Google and LinkedIn, Chinese buyers start their journey on Baidu, Sogou, and WeChat. Creating a Baidu-optimized website, maintaining a verified WeChat Official Account, and producing Mandarin-language blogs helps position your brand at the beginning of the journey.
1.2 Industry-Specific Discovery Channels
In many Chinese industries, niche forums, procurement platforms, or local government tech parks play a major role in vendor discovery. Being featured in trade associations or vertical digital expos builds immediate trust and recognition.
2. Interest: Educating Prospects with Relevant Content
2.1 Solution-Centric Content Strategy
Chinese B2B buyers prefer content that directly addresses their pain points. Create Mandarin-language resources that go beyond brand promotion—such as workflow breakdowns, solution comparisons, or interactive calculators.
2.2 Video and Live Demos Matter
Short video walkthroughs, livestream Q&As, and feature highlight reels shared via WeChat Channels or Bilibili help prospects see your product in action. This content often gets forwarded internally among decision-making teams.
3. Consideration: Building Confidence to Move Forward
3.1 Local Customer Success Stories
Featuring client success stories from within China or Asia Pacific carries more weight than global case studies. Testimonials and mini case videos in Mandarin signal your relevance and credibility in the local context.
3.2 Transparent Trial or PoC Processes
B2B buyers expect clear timelines, deliverables, and support for trials. SaaS platforms should offer localized proof-of-concept packages and fast deployment support using familiar tools like WeCom or DingTalk.
4. Decision: Frictionless Purchase Experiences
4.1 Procurement Integration and Compliance
Offer tax-compliant invoices (fapiao), local contracting formats, and integration with Chinese procurement systems. These small adaptations reduce legal delays and show that you are a committed long-term partner.
4.2 Dual-Language Support Channels
During the closing stage, buyers often have technical, legal, and IT questions. Providing Mandarin-speaking pre-sales engineers or solution consultants is often the tipping point for converting large accounts.
5. Retention: Beyond the Initial Contract
5.1 Onboarding That Matches Local Workflows
Chinese B2B users may operate on different internal systems and approval hierarchies. Offering onboarding sessions tailored to local workflows—such as permissions management or API integrations—leads to stronger adoption.
5.2 Advocacy Enablement
Enable satisfied Chinese clients to act as brand ambassadors. Provide ready-made slide decks, co-marketing templates, or reward programs to encourage referrals within their local industry network.
Case Study: Nordic SaaS Startup Expands Across Tier-2 Cities
A Nordic SaaS startup targeting inventory management for SMEs struggled with long sales cycles in China. After conducting a detailed customer journey analysis, they revamped their onboarding, created WeChat-based explainer videos, and launched a Baidu paid ad campaign targeting tier-2 cities like Chengdu and Qingdao. This strategy led to a 70% increase in qualified inbound leads and shortened sales cycles from 9 months to 5 months.
PLTFRM is an international brand consulting agency that works with companies such as Red, TikTok, Tmall, Baidu, and other well-known Chinese internet e-commerce platforms. We have been working with Chile Cherries for many years, reaching Chinese consumers in depth through different platforms and realizing that Chile Cherries’ exports in China account for 97% of the total exports in Asia. Contact us, and we will help you find the best China e-commerce platform for you. Search PLTFRM for a free consultation!
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