Digital b2b export: the ally is called Alibaba

Alibaba: the world’s largest b2b marketplace

And that’s not all. The Alibaba.com e-commerce platformhas more than 40 million buyers in over 200 countries and generates around 300,000 product enquiries every day. In addition to bringing SMEs and companies of all sizes into contact with new customers around the world, it also provides a whole range of tools and innovative internationalisation strategies for b2b business in the digital world.

5 good reasons to open a store on Alibaba.com

Promoting your company on Alibaba’s marketplace is particularly advantageous for the possibility of easily connecting with potential customers worldwide (take note: buyers’ interest in Made in Italy is constantly increasing on the platform) but above all for the offer of complete logistics solutions. Alibaba.com is not limited to simply selling products: in fact, it offers numerous additional services such as market analysis, insights into industry trends and advice on optimising sales strategies. Here are 5 reasons to open your store on Alibaba if you are a b2b company:

1. 1) E-commerce and b2b networking
   Alibaba.com is a marketplace, yes, but it is also a networking platform: an e-commerce where companies can interact with other sellers and buyers and build long-term partnerships, which is a key advantage for the b2b sector, where business relationships and trust are crucial.

2. 2) Cost reduction
   Compared to traditional marketing and distribution models, Alibaba can help companies to significantly reduce costs: there is no need to invest in physical premises or a large sales force, and it also provides the tools necessary to effectively manage transactions, reducing the time and resources to be spent on business operations.

3. 3) Flexibility and customised marketing strategies
   Whether setting competitive prices or creating special offers, on Alibaba every company can use the most effective marketing strategy for its business goals, as the platform adapts to different business models and market strategies.

4. 4) A secure marketplace
   Alibaba is known for its strict security policies and reliability, a key aspect in B2B, where transactions are often of high value. The platform offers various tools and services to ensure secure transactions, including seller and buyer verification.

5. 5) Advanced marketing tools
   Alibaba.com provides a range of marketing tools to promote companies’ products: bespoke advertising campaigns , data analysis – the platform provides detailed data on user behaviour, allowing companies to optimise their marketing strategy according to market trends – and product showcases, i.e. the ability to highlight specific products to give them greater visibility within the platform.

Best practices for selling on Alibaba.com

As you can imagine, to start selling abroad using the Alibaba platform it is not enough to open a store on the b2b marketplace, upload products and hope that buyers and customers from all over the world flock to your online shop. There are best practices to follow if you want to maximise your company’s internationalisation strategy.

Detailed product sheets

The first step in opening a store on Alibaba.com is to set up the company profile with company and product information, and then proceed to uploading items.

Foreach article, it is essential to create a complete and detailed product sheet and, in order for the product pages to rank well in the search engine, to accompany keyword research in orderto create optimised product listings.

Keyword optimisation and advertising campaigns

As in all digital marketing platforms, there is also the possibility of promoting oneself through advertising campaigns on Alibaba .In order to reach potential customers faster, it is necessary to design an advertising campaign, with the aim of positioning oneself among the first for searches that contain keywords relating to our products. Alibaba provides the KWA tool, which allows better positioning in search results by showing KWA ads first for both internal and external platform traffic.

Reputation and customer service

On the platform, buyers are the first contact between the company and possible customers, so one has to work onbuilding and maintaining a solid reputation. How? First and foremost by providing requests withcomplete answers to all information, from product details to the services offered by the company.

The case study: the Alibaba store of F.lli Rossetto

At Palazzina Creativa we took on the roleof digital export manager (Palazzina Creativa is Alibaba.com Expert and Associate Partner) and opened the Alibaba store of F.lli Rossetto – a historic Italian company that produces semi-finished products in polyurethane for furniture. If you want a concrete example of a strategy that integrates b2b marketing best practices with marketplace specifications, you can find it here.

The result of the work done for F.lli Rossetto on Alibaba.com is a mini-site, an online store to reach international buyers. But Alibaba is much more than just an e-commerce: it is a complete ecosystem that supports and promotes b2b trade globally. If you think it ‘s time toleverage digital channels for your internationalisation strategy (spoiler: it probably is 🤭) and open a store on Alibaba…we are here. In fact, here we are!