“WeChat Globalization Challenge”
Marketing Orientation & Marketing Plan
Submitted By:
Lu Ni
November, 2023. London, England.
Index
WeChat – “App for everything” in China .......................................................................... 3
What did WeChat do outside of China for marketing? ................................................... 4
Why WeChat is not popular in Western markets？ ......................................................... 6
1.
Political Environment: privacy and regulatory issues ..................................................... 6
2.
Failure to understand the real needs of overseas users ................................................. 6
3.
Rivals: Fierce Competition.................................................................................................... 8
How to make it better？ ....................................................................................................... 9
1.
Pay attention to the Localization ......................................................................................... 9
2.
Simplicity out of complexity – Learn to simply ............................................................... 10
3.
Focus on one overseas market, and build Ecosystem .................................................. 10
4.
Build a new image of Chinese products ........................................................................... 11
References:...........................................................................................................................12
WeChat – “App for everything” in China
Over the last 10 years, Tencent’s flagship social platform has become the everything-app
for us in China. WeChat is a Chinese instant messaging, social media, and mobile
payment app developed by Tencent. First released in 2011, it became the world's largest
standalone mobile app in 2018 with over 1 billion monthly active users. WeChat has been
described as an "app for everything" and a super-app because of its wide range of
functions.
On WeChat, we communicate with our friends by text or by hold-to-talk voice messaging,
broadcast (one-to-many) messaging, video conferencing, video games, mobile payment,
sharing of photographs and videos and location sharing.
It is a combination of WhatsApp, Instagram, Apple Pay, Amazon, and wealth platform. We
can do everything on WeChat, WeChat has become an essential part of daily life for our
Chinese citizens, offering a wide array of services and functionalities that go far beyond
basic messaging. It's a comprehensive platform that has significantly impacted the way
people in China communicate, transact, and access various services.
What did WeChat do outside of China for marketing?
Looking back at the history of WeChat's development, it is also a history of
internationalisation efforts:
When WeChat was officially launched in January 2011, it only had a Simplified Chinese
interface, and the English version was launched in October of that year; in April 2012,
WeChat (Original Name: WeiXin) launched version 4.0, and it was officially renamed
WeChat; by the end of 2016, WeChat supports 22 languages in more than 100 countries.
In the early expansion phase, WeChat adopted a two-step promotion strategy, capturing
markets in neighbouring regions first, and then grabbing the European and American
markets with other competitors. The focus of WeChat's overseas expansion was firstly on
Southeast and South Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and India.
In conjunction with the product and promotion strategy, the execution level means vigorous
promotion and publicity:
(1) Leveraging mainstream social media: WeChat has opened Facebook pages in
several countries and regions.
(2) Setting up overseas offices: Offices were set up in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast
Asia, and the United States, where they were responsible for local WeChat user
development and research, as well as building company client relationships and
expanding co-operation.
(3) Endorser promotion: Celebrities and stars are invited to endorse the products, and
Bollywood stars were invited to organise large-scale branding activities when
promoting in India. In addition, we also invited international football superstar Lionel
Messi and others as global advertising spokespersons in 2012, shot global TV
commercials, and promoted promotional videos in 15 countries.
(4) Advertising: WeChat has adopted the methods of placing advertisements on mobile
phones, looking for partners in local areas, and promoting hard advertisements
offline to accelerate the pace of expansion and penetrate the global market.
Various actions are also confirming Tencent's ambition for WeChat to go overseas. To
maximise the attraction of new users, Tencent has spared no expense in splashing 2 billion.
Tencent's 2013 annual report can be seen on the group's WeChat overseas degree of
importance, the financial report shows, by the international market to invest a lot of money
to promote WeChat, Tencent's sales and marketing expenditure that year compared with
the previous year nearly doubled.
The effect of advertising was immediately apparent. According to data from July 2013,
WeChat, which has been on the market for less than two years, has more than 70 million
registered users overseas. According to media reports, at that time, WeChat once became
one of the most popular social apps on the App Store and Google Play platforms in several
countries and regions, including China's Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, Thailand,
Malaysia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Mexico and other regions and
countries.
However, this bloom didn't last long, and the turnaround was soon to come. The initial
growth in users has been lost one after another for various reasons, and although WeChat's
monthly users have exceeded one billion, overseas users are less than a fraction of those
at home. In contrast to its absolute leading position at home, WeChat's promotion abroad
has not been so smooth.
Why WeChat is not popular in Western markets？
1. Political Environment: privacy and regulatory issues
The international market has a strong distrust of information products from China. As an
Internet service product, even though WeChat is not involved in content production, it is
also highly politically sensitive and faces strict layers of scrutiny from various countries. In
addition, countries have strict constraints on Internet companies in terms of privacy.
WeChat has to handle users' personal information very carefully before it can finally reach
consumers, a process that is often accompanied by the castration of features or content.
2. Failure to understand the real needs of overseas users
WeChat's foreign market development has taken overseas Chinese and international
students as its entry point, hoping to gradually expand its influence through this market and
thus gain a foothold in the US market. Macy's adverts for WeChat can be seen in many
places in the US, and WeChat also integrates the content of several social networking sites
such as Facebook and Twitter. However, although a series of initiatives did bring some
incremental growth in the short term, they still failed to break through the Chinese circle,
and the users have always been the Chinese community.
In China, WeChat has established a complete and mature service ecosystem, but overseas
WeChat has not been able to establish the same ecosystem. On the one hand, WeChat
doesn't understand overseas users and is not suited to the water, and on the other hand,
it is more focused on the domestic market, and overseas services can't match the
convenience of the domestic market.
From the point of view of the expansion of India, in early 2012, Tencent set up a team of
more than ten employees in India to carry out a large-scale marketing campaign. When it
first entered the Indian market, it invited popular Indian celebrities to play the lead roles in
advertisements. During the advert period, the company gained around 25 million users,
and for 45 consecutive days, WeChat was the top-ranked app in the Google Play shop.
While it did bring in a decent number of downloads at first, unlike FMCG, the ability of a
social product to retain users for a long time ultimately depends on the experience of using
the product itself, as the complex process of adding friends puts up many obstacles to
interaction, and Tencent's unfamiliarity with the Indian hardware market has also caused
WeChat to lose a large number of users. The initial launch of WeChat took up as much as
one-fifth of a person's mobile phone memory with a capacity of 40M, which was very out of
place for Indian users at the time and resulted in the loss of many users.
In the United States, the user's habit of using mobile phones is a new dimension of
understanding. In 2014, WeChat tried to promote it vigorously in the United States, but with
little success. At that time, Tencent incentivised U.S. users to pass their Google accounts
with WeChat, and users who invited every five Google friends to register for WeChat would
receive a shopping card worth $25 from Restaurant.com, a food ordering network.
However, the person in charge at the time bluntly said that “the United States is the most
difficult market for mobile instant messaging applications like WeChat to enter. The same
kind of application in the United States is very fragmented, the penetration rate is generally
low, there is almost no one dominant situation, whether it is WhatsApp or Tango, Viber, Kik,
etc., they are small and refined applications, maintaining a single product form, unlike
WeChat to take the All-in-One route.”
3. Rivals: Fierce Competition
Outside of China, especially in developed markets, the instant messaging software market
is relatively well established, with products such as WhatsApp, Line, and Kakao Talk.
WhatsApp, Line, Kakao Talk, and others are relatively well established in the instant
messaging market.
Micro Trust’s successful advantage: the integration of instant messaging and social
features, is not a significant differentiator compared to these products.
WhatsApp's lack of operational reach of over 90% of iPhone users in many countries in
Latin America and Europe, coupled with Facebook's resources, will make it more difficult
for other products, including WeChat, to enter these markets.
Line's mass customisation of sticker emoticons and Kakao Talk's games are unique
positioning points and have attracted a large number of users, which are difficult for
WeChat to surpass.
WhatsApp, for example, the United States send and receive SMS costs more expensive,
WhatsApp well see the business opportunities, even if the product charges to download,
only four SMS cost price. At the same time, the U.S. mobile phone signal coverage is poor,
WhatsApp such as texting a single and streamlined function will not be affected, but the
bad network situation is difficult to apply WeChat such integration of social, payment and
information access and other large and full-service form of the product.
In addition to the lack of localisation overseas, many expats using WeChat at home don't
enjoy the same conveniences as Chinese users, a comparison that creates a psychological
gap that makes it easier for expats to switch to other products. As the domestic payment
ecosystem is being built and improved, the payment experience for overseas users has not
improved at the same time, a dilemma beyond WeChat's reach.
How to make it better？
1. Pay attention to the Localization
WeChat was initially developed with a strong focus on the Chinese market, with features,
content, and user interfaces in Chinese. This limited its accessibility and appeal to users in
non-Chinese-speaking regions. Expanding to global markets would have required
significant localization efforts, including language support, cultural adaptation, and
customization to cater to the preferences and needs of diverse user bases.
Social media and communication preferences, as well as user behaviour, can vary
significantly from one region to another. What works for users in China might not
necessarily resonate with users in Western countries, making it challenging for WeChat to
adapt its features and user experience to match the local cultural nuances and expectations.
For example, in Indonesia, LINE discovered that the local alumni circle has strong social
cohesion, so it launched an alumni circle application service. In Muslim countries, LINE has
launched Ramadan-themed stickers. This kind of cultural insight is worth learning to
WeChat.
2. Simplicity out of complexity – Learn to simply
WeChat’s features have greatly exceeded the concept of social networking. Only the
feature of adding friends, there are more than five different ways: adding through QQ
friends, sweeping, shaking, radar to add friends, adding friends through nearby people...,
WeChat can play a lot of tricks. Chinese users like this kind of product with a lot of features,
and it is also to cater for the habits of Chinese users that WeChat has gradually grown from
a simple chatting tool to the giant it is today.
However, when WeChat entered the European and American markets, it didn't change the
product much. On the contrary, WhatsApp only focuses on communication, all the functions
are related to communication; the same Skype did so many years did not get out of the
circle of chatting; Facebook has not changed the nature of its social networking site. It can
be said that WeChat's "All in One" product may be popular among some Chinese, but it is
not in line with the habits of European and American users. If the overseas version of
WeChat launches its communication, friend circle and public platform functions
independently, and then integrates them after accumulating users, the effect may be
different.
3. Focus on one overseas market, and build Ecosystem
Due to geographical differences, each market has its own uniqueness, and it is necessary
to focus on one market to test and understand it completely, such as expanding into the
United States first, to understand its cultural background and user habits, and then spread
its experience to other countries. For example, expanding into the US first to gain a deeper
understanding of its cultural background and user habits, and then building an ecosystem
based on this one market before spreading its experience to other countries.
WeChat offers a wide range of integrated services, including e-commerce, payment
services, and third-party app integration, which were tailored for the Chinese market. These
services may not be as relevant or usable in Western markets, where different payment
systems and e-commerce platforms are already established.
Invest in branding efforts in Western countries to compete with established platforms. The
lack of brand recognition and awareness made it less attractive to new users, who tend to
stick with what they know.
4. Build a new image of Chinese products
It is important to build audience trust in Chinese Internet products. Western users are wary
of the privacy issues of Chinese Internet products, which is also a challenge in overseas
promotion. One of the important links. Protecting user privacy and handling the relationship
with government regulation are issues that must be faced.
References:
1. Enricko Lukman.(2013, July 2) This Could Get Messi: WeChat Hires World’s Best
Footballer as TV Ad Star. https://www.techinasia.com/wechat-lionel-messi-ad
2. Video: A global ad WeChat's global advert of Lionel Messi
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV17s411f7C8/
3. Peng Hui 彭慧. (2021, Feb 2). Ten years of WeChat overseas: from high profile to silence
微信在海外的十年：从高调到沉寂，https://www.huxiu.com/article/407872.html
4. CNBC International. (2021. June) What is a super app, and why haven't they gone
global? | CNBC Explains. h"ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLANTiDd8Ok
Market Orienta2on: Task One
Intelligence Genera-on
1. In our organisa-on, we meet with customers at least once a
year to find out what products or services they will need in the
future.
2. In our organisa-on, we do a lot of in-house market research.
Average Score: 2
1 2 3 4 5 6
I disagree strongly
1
2
3
4
I disagree strongly
7
I agree strongly
5 6
7
I agree strongly
3. We rapidly detect changes in our customers’ product
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
preference
I disagree strongly
I agree strongly
4. We survey end users at least once a year to assess the quality
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
of our products and services.
I disagree strongly
I agree strongly
5
5. We are quick to detect fundamental shiGs in our industry
1 2 3 4
6 7
(e.g., compe--on, technology, regula-on).
I disagree strongly
I agree strongly
6. We periodically review the likely effect of the changes in our
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
business environment (e.g., regula-on) on customers
I disagree strongly
I agree strongly
Average Score: 2.6
Intelligence Dissemina5on
7. We have interdepartmental mee-ngs at least once a quarter to 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
discuss market trends and developments.
I disagree strongly
I agree strongly
5
8. Marke-ng personnel in our organisa-on spend -me discussing 1 2 3 4
6 7
customers’ future needs with other func%onal departments.
I disagree strongly
I agree strongly
9. When something important happens to a major customer or
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
market, the whole of the organisa-on knows about it in a short
I disagree strongly
I agree strongly
period.
10. Data on customer sa-sfac-on are disseminated at all levels in
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
this business unit on a regular basis.
I disagree strongly
I agree strongly
11. When one department finds out something important about
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
compe-tors, it is quick to alert other departments.
I disagree strongly
I agree strongly
Average Score: 4
Intelligence Responsiveness
12. It only takes us a short -me to decide how to respond to our
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
compe-tors’ price changes.
I disagree strongly
I agree strongly
13. We hardly ever ignore changes in our customers’ product or
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
service needs.
I disagree strongly
I agree strongly
14. We periodically review our product development efforts to
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
ensure that they are in line with what customers want.
I disagree strongly
I agree strongly
15. Several departments get together periodically to plan a
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
response to changes taking place in our business environment.
I disagree strongly
I agree strongly
16. If a major compe-tor were to launch an intensive campaign
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
targeted at our customers, we would implement a response
I disagree strongly
I agree strongly
immediately.
17. The ac-vi-es of the different departments in the organisa-on 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
are well co-ordinated.
I disagree strongly
I agree strongly
18. Customer complaints never fall on deaf ears here.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I disagree strongly
I agree strongly
19. If we came up with a great marke-ng plan, we probably
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
would be able to implement it in a -mely fashion.
I disagree strongly
I agree strongly
20. When we find that customers would like us to modify a
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
service the departments involved make concerted efforts to do so. I disagree strongly I agree strongly
21. Overall, we are oriented to the market.
1
2 3 4
5 6
I disagree strongly
7
I agree strongly
Marke2ng Planning: Task Two
Evalua&ng Our Marke&ng Planning Process
Company: Tencent-WeChat (International)
Completed By: Lu Ni
The Part of Marke-ng Planning on which we are focusing:
How did WeChat, an app for everything in China, expands overseas users.
Ques-ons About Your Marke-ng
1
2
3
4
5
Completely
Completely
False
True
1. We produce a wri_en Marke-ng Plan
1
2
3
4
5
2. Our Marke-ng Plan is produced annually
1
2
3
4
5
3. Marke-ng Planning ac-vity is part of the
formal planning system in the company
1
2
3
4
5
4. Our Marke-ng Plan starts with wri_en objec-ves
1
2
3
4
5
5. Our Marke-ng Planning involves an audit of the
company’s strengths and weaknesses
1
2
3
4
5
6. Our Marke-ng Planning involves an audit of the
opportuni-es and threats we face in the environment
1
2
3
4
5
7. Our Marke-ng Plan covers 3 to 5 years, not just
the next 12 months
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
8. Our Marke-ng Plan includes the plan for all
elements of marke-ng i.e. Products, Prices,
Distribu-on and Communica-ons; opera-ons
and sourcing; and personnel and financial
requirements
Completely
False
9. Our Marke-ng Plan includes far more than
just sales targets and cost budgets
Completely
True
1
2
3
4
5
10. Our Marke-ng Plan includes financial es-mates
(revenue, cost, and profits) of the outcomes of
our strategies
1
2
3
4
5
11. Our Marke-ng Plan is presented to top management
1
2
3
4
5
12. Our Marke-ng Plan involves substan-al inputs from
other func-onal departments – finance, produc-on,
personnel, etc
1
2
3
4
5
13. Our Marke-ng Planning involves all senior managers
in our marke-ng/sales organisa-on
1
2
3
4
5
14. Our Marke-ng Planning uses experience and
knowledge from our marke-ng/sales organisa-on
1
2
3
4
5
15. We give Marke-ng Planning adequate -me & resources
1
2
3
4
5
16. Good management performance in Marke-ng Planning
earns the same rewards as good opera-onal
performance
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
17. Marke-ng Planning is certainly not seen by
managers as a meaningless ritual.
18. In our Marke-ng planning managers are rarely
uncomfortable or ineffec-ve in thinking and planning
about the long-term future
19. It would be unusual for our Marke-ng Planning to
become just a struggle for resources - budget,
headcount,
and so on
4
1
2
3
5
20. Managers are commi_ed to Marke-ng Planning and
could not be said to just “go through the mo-ons”
1
2
3
4
5
21. Our Marke-ng Planning details responsibili-es and
the -ming of ac-ons to be taken
1
2
3
4
5
22. Our Marke-ng plan is the basis of the alloca-on of
resources through-out the period it covers
1
2
3
4
5
Completely
False
23. Our Marke-ng Plan provides the basis for evalua-on
and control
24. Our Marke-ng Plan could never be said to just sit on
the shelf unloved and unread – because it is constantly
in use
25. Our Marke-ng Plan is seen as one of the most valuable
documents we have in the company
Completely
True
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
MARKETING PLANNING PROFILE
Wri0en plan
1
2
Annual plan
1
2
Formal
1
2
ObjecLves
1
2
Internal audit
1
External audit
4
5
4
5
4
5
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
Long –term
1
2
3
4
5
Integrated plans
1
2
3
4
5
More than budget
1
2
3
4
5
Financial plans
1
2
2
3
4
5
Top management
1
3
4
5
Departments
1
2
3
4
5
Senior management
1
2
3
4
5
ParLcipaLon
1
2
3
4
5
Resourcing planning
1
2
3
4
Planning rewarded
1
1
Planning recalcitrance
3
3
3
5
FORMALISATION OF
MARKETING PLANNING IN
THE COMPANY
FULLNESS OF MARKETING
PLANNING
MANAGEMENT
INVOLVEMENT IN
MARKETING PLANNING
MARKETING PLANNING
THOROUGHNESS
5
2
3
4
2
3
4
5
Fear of uncertainty
1
2
3
4
5
PoliLcal interests
1
2
3
4
5
Planning avoidance
1
2
3
4
5
ResponsibiliLes
1
2
4
5
Resources
1
2
3
3
4
5
Control
1
2
3
4
5
Used
1
3
4
5
Useful
1
2
2
3
4
5
BEHAVIOURAL PLANNING
PROBLEMS
USE OF THE MARKETING
PLAN
Conclusions/ImplicaLons/AcLons
Conclusion: Lack of audit of the marke>ng plan; lack of user involvement; lack of
understanding of local policies.
Implica&on: The programme needs to involve more relevant departments, including users
and the company, and there is a need to strengthen the understanding of policies in
overseas markets.
Ac&ons: Understanding the actual needs of users in target markets; improving
communica>on mechanisms; in-depth understanding of local market policies.