The secret to success

Few people think that large, bulky, and difficult-to-transport bed frames can be exported to the US market through cross-border e-commerce channels. But that is the true story of a business in Binh Duong .

The products of this bed frame manufacturing company have been sold internationally for many years. In 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, due to social distancing, foreign partners could not come to Vietnam to see the goods, the company could not export goods in the traditional way, so it considered opening a new sales channel on the Amazon e-commerce platform. At that time, cross-border e-commerce became a lifeline to help many businesses escape the situation of too much inventory.

Although I have had quite a bit of experience in traditional export business, with cross-border e-commerce channels, it is not easy to "win right away".

After about a year of struggling through the sea of ​​information on the Internet, not knowing which direction to take, the business sought advice from a consultant.

With expert advice, the company has researched how to pack bed frames into neat boxes for easy transportation.

However, due to the long shipping journey from Vietnam to the US, there are still products that are damaged or defective, affecting the reputation of Vietnamese brands. Some products are not suitable for American consumers (the bed frame is designed for Vietnamese people with an average weight of 60-70kg, while many Americans weigh more than 100kg.

While working and gaining experience, the business gradually optimizes the customer experience: Add more notes about weight for users; Give away additional tool kits for customers to disassemble the product at home; Add more videos for disassembly and assembly instructions; Pack the goods more neatly and securely to minimize errors during transportation...

Besides the Amazon e-commerce platform, the company also opened many parallel operating channels such as creating its own website and participating in other sales channels to take advantage of a warehouse in the US.

After 3 years of doing business on Amazon, the business in Binh Duong has reaped the rewards: Revenue increased from 2 million USD in 2020 to 8 million USD in 2021 and 15 million USD in 2022 (not to mention 5 million USD from other channels); Becoming a favorite brand selling bed frames on Amazon, starting to establish a brand position in the US market.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, Training Director of Anneco Group. Photo: Khac Tiep.

The above story was recently shared by Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, Training Director of Anneco Group, at a cross-border e-commerce training workshop with the theme "Opportunities for Vietnam's wood, handicraft and textile industry" co-organized by the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy under the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Hanoi.

The enterprise in Binh Duong is a case study that Anneco supports in the context that no Vietnamese enterprise has been able to export bulky items such as bed frames through cross-border e-commerce platforms, while American customers have a fairly high demand for furniture.

Notes to avoid failure

Having supported many Chinese businesses in bringing goods to the US, Mr. Tuan is always concerned about how to support the export of Vietnamese goods to the land of the free.

The above mentioned Binh Duong enterprise is a successful example. However, exporting Vietnamese goods through cross-border e-commerce platforms is not easy.

There are many barriers that businesses have to face. For example, paperwork and procedures in international import and export. When exporting goods to the US, Europe, Japan, etc., very demanding markets, they will require you to meet many types of paperwork. Not all Vietnamese businesses have those types of paperwork available.

Or barriers in human and financial resources. Many businesses do not have enough staff to specialize in exporting through e-commerce channels; they have not found a source of money to invest in this new business channel.

Some mistakes that led to failure were shared by Mr. Tuan from his own lessons: “Not researching the market carefully was a painful experience for me. Seeing a beautiful model boat, I was confident that this product could sell well on the e-commerce platform. Seeing a beautiful wooden hanger, I thought that combining this hanger with the boat would be great. But in reality, people who like to buy boats do not like to buy the base and those who buy the base do not want to buy the boat. So I failed. My own experience is that the product you like may not be liked by everyone else; do not skip the step of researching the market you intend to sell to.”

Although it is difficult, Mr. Tuan still recommends that Vietnamese businesses should approach e-commerce channels to bring Vietnamese products to the world.

“I also sold flycams on cross-border e-commerce platforms. When I saw customers’ feedback, I took care of them enthusiastically and answered any questions I had. The next order unexpectedly included 30-40 flycams. At first, I thought it was just retail, but unexpectedly there were wholesale orders worth tens of thousands of dollars,” Mr. Tuan cited opportunities that brought in unexpectedly large revenue.

Ms. Pham Ngoc Anh, Senior Account Manager of Amazon Global Selling Vietnam. Photo: Khac Tiep.

As a bridge to bring Vietnamese businesses' products to the world, Ms. Pham Ngoc Anh, Senior Account Manager of Amazon Global Selling Vietnam, noted the importance of building and protecting brands in cross-border e-commerce.

According to Amazon's survey, 59% of buyers choose familiar brands when looking to buy new products; 80% of buyers discover new brands on e-commerce platforms; The growth rate of branded sellers is 1.5 times higher than that of non-branded sellers.

Ms. Ngoc Anh recommends some things to do to build an international brand: Register a trademark in the country where you plan to sell; Apply for a patent on design and technology; Ensure product quality and pricing strategy are consistent with the brand image; Advertise both direct and indirect channels through many forms...

Among the things to avoid, the first thing to avoid is using inventory for testing in the process of building a brand overseas. Next is selling hot domestic products without editing in the international market; using sensitive words as brand names...

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