Solving difficulties for local specialties on e-commerce platforms

(Baothanhhoa.vn) - In the current era of strong technological development, many businesses and manufacturers are increasingly taking advantage of digital platforms and e-commerce platforms to bring traditional products and hometown specialties to a wider range of domestic and foreign markets.

Le Xuan Chien, owner of the Tiktok channel "Bep Que Choa" livestreams selling Thanh Hoa specialties on e-commerce platforms.

However, as more and more brands and products appear on the e-commerce market and consumers’ online shopping habits increase, e-commerce is becoming a “difficult game” for many producers in Thanh Hoa. The journey to “getting on the market” of OCOP products, agricultural products, and local specialty foods is constantly facing difficulties in competing with other brands and products.

With most Thanh Hoa specialties being fresh, perishable or having special preservation characteristics, maintaining product quality during transportation is the top challenge. Ms. Luyen Thi Quyen, owner of Quyen Nem production facility - Thanh Hoa specialty shared: "Nem chua must be refrigerated and used within 2-3 days. But when transferred to delivery units, no one can guarantee this condition. Once, a customer in Ho Chi Minh City ordered nem, but when receiving the goods, they found them sour due to late delivery and not being cold enough, they rated 1 star, affecting the reputation of the stall."

Similarly, Le Xuan Chien, owner of the tiktok channel “Bép Que Choa” with thousands of followers, specializing in selling Thanh Hoa’s specialty fish sauces, also has a headache in finding ways to transport goods to consumers. He said, “Usually, fish sauces are stored in large glass bottles that are very fragile. The transportation process goes through many intermediaries, so it is impossible to avoid collisions. Although, when packing goods for customers, I was very careful to wrap them in plastic, multi-layered foam paper and asked the shipping party to be careful, it was still inevitable that the products would be broken when they reached customers. Each time like that, it was another time to lose credibility with customers, even if I compensated for the goods, the next time they ordered, they would be more or less hesitant.”

Not only is it a story of fresh products, even dried specialties such as rice vermicelli, sweet soup or cakes also encounter problems during transportation. Products that are not securely packaged are likely to break, dent, or tear during the multi-stage transit process. Meanwhile, most of the subjects are small, retail and rural production facilities, so they are not familiar with e-commerce packaging standards, leading to a high rate of returns and negative reviews.

An equally big barrier is the traditional sales habit that has been “deeply rooted” in many production facility owners, especially those in rural areas. For them, sales are still mainly through acquaintances, local agents or retail at the market.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Que, owner of Ba Lang fish sauce production facility, shared: “My family has been making fish sauce for three generations, so we have long-standing relationships with our customers. We know each other and sell. Nowadays, social networks are developing, so people ask why we don’t sell more on them to earn more income, but I am a person from the countryside, I don’t know how to use social networks and I am used to the traditional way of selling, so I give up.”

A “vital” but little-noticed issue is branding. Thanh Hoa specialties when put on the market often have only simple names, sketchy descriptions, and no visual identity. Meanwhile, competition on e-commerce platforms between brands and entities is increasingly fierce and consumers are increasingly demanding, requiring clear origin, quality, and image.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh in Ham Rong ward said: “I used to look for Thanh Hoa vermicelli and rice cake on tiktok shop or facebook but I searched for a long time but could not find any sales page that I really trust. Most of the sellers only post pictures and content about the selling price but I also do not know if the product is the same as the picture, when I send a message to ask, it takes a long time to get a reply.”

The problem of trust with online customers has never been easy. On the tiktok shop e-commerce platform, which has been very "hot" recently, local specialty producers in Thanh Hoa often encounter many difficulties due to the algorithms and features of the platform. For example, livestream is the "main weapon" on tiktok shop, but for agricultural producers, cooperatives or local specialty establishments, this is a strange and difficult form to implement. Besides, tiktok is a platform for short videos. To attract buyers, videos need to have attractive stories, eye-catching images, effects, background music... this requires content creation skills that traditional sellers do not have.

“On TikTok, there are a series of content creators or KOLs, KOCs who specialize in livestreaming specialties from all over the place. They import goods from different regions and then resell them with professional livestreaming skills and strong advertising. Therefore, local establishments find it difficult to compete in terms of communication, technology, and order response speed. Some traders even buy specialty products and sell them on TikTok shops with more eye-catching images than the owners themselves,” said Mr. Thach Van Manh, a communications staff of Cu Nham Fish Sauce Company Limited.

In the context of consumers increasingly getting used to online shopping, e-commerce has become an irreversible trend. Director of Cu Nham Fish Sauce Company Limited Thach Van Hieu said: “In addition to support from the State and e-commerce platforms, the most important thing is the initiative from the producers themselves. In order to compete, survive and develop sustainably on the e-commerce platform, each business household, cooperative and small enterprise needs to equip itself with new thinking and new ways of doing things, suitable for the digital business environment”.

First of all, the subjects need to shift from a pure production mindset to a market mindset. Products not only need to be delicious and clean, but also beautiful, eye-catching, easy to recognize and easy to access. Second, it is necessary to learn and get familiar with basic digital skills: store management, answering orders, creating short video content, livestreaming, connecting with customers... In addition, it is necessary to determine that e-commerce is not a "seasonal" but a long-term sales channel. Therefore, it is necessary to persevere, continuously test new approaches, listen to customer feedback to adjust products, prices and appropriate communication methods. Only when the production subjects change their mindset, proactively learn and boldly try, can Thanh Hoa specialties promote their value in the digital space.

Article and photos: Phuong Do

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/go-kho-cho-dac-san-dia-phuong-tren-san-thuong-mai-dien-tu-256871.htm