WeChat The Super App -
But What's Actually Relevant?
Since you've found this article, you probably have heard of WeChat and how it might help your business. Supposedly it's this super app of China, and possibly the world. It is a game changer and does everything. In this article, we're going to dive a bit deeper into what it does and discuss how relevant it is to marketing your travel and leisure businesses.
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*Note: this article is intended for the small group and stand alone resort properties.
Table of Contents
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What is WeChat?
Launched in 2011, WeChat (better known as Weixin in China) is a multipurpose messaging, social media, payment and app platform. It was established by Tencent, the same company that created QQ. It is ubiquitous across mainland China and is used heavily by Chinese speaking diaspora around the world, especially in Mongolia and Hong Kong.
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Most individual users set up personal accounts which allows them to use basic functions such as:
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Text Messaging/Voice Messaging
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Group Chats
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Broadcast Messaging
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Voice Calls/Video Calls
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Location Sharing
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Photo/Video Sharing
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Moments (similar to a social feed)
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WeChat Pay (linking to a bank account and scanning QR codes to make payment)
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In addition to the typical functions listed above, there are a host of other features that WeChat offers:
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Official Accounts (set up by companies for presence on WeChat)
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Mini Program
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WeChat Channel (allows users to live stream)
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H5
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The truth is with the number of features, functions and customizations, it often results in information overload. There is SO MUCH to digest for the average daily user (hence the reference to super-app), let alone for a non-user who tries to decide which features to use and include for their marketing strategy. Here, we are going to discuss what critical points there are to consider so that DOSM's and marketing managers can make concise decisions.
The four main screens featured on the accounts of personal users are shown below:
WE DELIVER
WORLDWIDE
Friends List
Contacts
Discover Page
Personal Page
For Your Information
For the marketing leaders of small-to-medium-sized businesses who are toying with the idea of dipping their feet into WeChat, this is the TLDR:
FYI #1 WeChat by nature started as a closed platform: like most messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Line or Kakao, interaction between accounts is established through an ID link or phone number. This generally makes open searching less straightforward compared to open platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Weibo and Red Book.
FYI #2 You need an official account: individual users register for personal accounts. Like other messaging apps, the interface on an individual account offers basic functions only, i.e., calling, messaging, picture sharing, etc. However, as a business, the public would expect more from your page. Official Accounts or OA's have more to offer such as a landing page, a call to-action button, and customizable tabs with links to an online shop.
FYI #3 Subscription vs Service accounts: there are two types of Official Accounts, Subscription and Service accounts. Subscriptions are for marketing but sadly they are only available for businesses registered in mainland China. You're looking for a Service Account which is primarily for sales and customer support. Unlike the Subscription Account, the Service Account allows for broadcast messaging which shows up alongside messages from friends.
WeChat Goals For Travel Related Businesses:
i. Presence on the Platform - Being on the platform is like having a website, but within the WeChat ecosystem. Being present on social platforms is important as this increases the change of your business being remembered.
ii. Information - pictures, your story, contact information and your business addresses.
iii. Links - As versatile as the WeChat Official Account might be, it has limitations for presenting content in-depth. In order to encourage bookings, drive sales and leverage resources available on other platforms, having a link to your website easily accessible on your profile is the way to go.
iv.Promotion - Depending on your strategy having a WeChat Official Account set up allows for further promotion, whether it be ads, QR code offline to online, or an H5 Campaign.
INSERT IMAGE HERE: it can be general photo of someone using their laptop, smiling and happy with their business
Services You Actually Need
In order to achieve a minimal presence (at least in the beginning), you'll need the following:
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Account setup and Registration for Official Account: this is crucial for setting up a presence. All corporate entities looking to enter the sphere of WeChat will need to go through this process, there isn't really a way around it.
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Regular Content: this ensures that readers who make it to the account see updates about your business. This also helps prevent any confusion on whether your business is still active or not. The last thing a customer wants to see is an update from years ago. Don't lose your audience that way, keep the content coming!
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Customer Service Responding Time: regardless of whether you are selling a product or a service, the ecommerce ecosystem in China is highly developed and hence the expectation for customer service response time is within hours. An email response within a day or so just isn't up to par in this current climate!
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What You Don't Really Need
From the marketers perspective, figuring out what you don't need is probably just as important as figuring out what you do need. As we discussed earlier in this article, WeChat has many functions, but that doesn't mean you sign up for what sounds half-decent. Some are obvious, some less so. Now, let's look at a few items that small-to-medium-sized hotels and tourist operators don't need:
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WeChat Ads
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WeChat Payment/Online Platform Booking System
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A Mini Program
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WeChat Ads
Many companies have taken advantage of WeChat's capabilities to advertise their companies' offerings on the platform. It's an avenue for brands to grow followers and drive traffic to their website or campaign. The most common placement is on Moments which can target specific users based on age, gender, locations, interests, phone network, etc.
Why we generally don't recommend it
Unless your company or brand is well known in mainland China, you don't necessarily want or need to have the extra expenses for advertising. Most stand alone hotels (even regional chains with 3-5 properties) will find it difficult to cough up a minimum of $6,000-$8,000 to commence a campaign with little actionable ROI. What makes sense for an internationally recognized brand is not the same for a single boutique hotel. Secondly, an ad placement on Moments is often a very fleeting encounter for the users and will require subsequent follow up touchpoints for brand building.
WeChat Payment/Online Platform Booking System
In China, even the smallest of street vendors offer WeChat pay. It can be tempting to think that this is a must for all tourism businesses. But the first thing we ask operators to do is to highlight the exact point of sale transaction where they would like to offer the option. The two general responses we get are:
i. onsite transactions at hotel including f&b outlets, spa, recreational spaces and gift shops
ii. direct room booking on hotel websites
For the onsite transactions it's always nice to have more options. From the customers' perspective, of course, the more the merrier. But remember that by this point, they're already abroad so WeChat Pay isn't going to do much on the marketing front. Sure, this would be a nicely added convenience, and if the payment transaction agent offers a convenient setup then it could be considered.
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Direct room booking can be a bit more complicated. Many clients of ours have asked for the booking platform to be set up directly on the WeChat Official Account (or a Mini Program, we will get to that later), which we understand would be more financially advantageous for the hotels than going through online travel agents such as C-Trip, Fliggy, Qunar. But the reality is that 70%+ of online hotel bookings in China come through the major OTA's. The number one driving factor is price, which the OTA's can offer a more attractive one due to their wholesale leverage. The second reason is that these OTA's are just household name in China. There really isn't a hotel brand that comes near the brand recognition that these OTA's command. This is even more challenging if you are a small boutique brand. Aside from the booking preferences of Chinese consumers, there are costs and administrative hurdles to consider. Setting up a direct room booking channel in China would entail collecting funds in RMB and to do so, the company would need a bank account in China as well as a Chinese legal entity. Are all these worth the hassle considering the potential volume at stake?
A Mini Program
Many brands especially consumer goods companies have set up WeChat Mini Programs. This can be valuable as a Mini Program operates similar to mobile app, except that it is hosted on WeChat and does not require the user to download it. It is a great piece of software that enhances marketing and facilitates e-commerce transactions, as many online stores operate though this platform.
For business in the tourism sector however, you need to understand what you want to accomplish before setting up a Mini Program. If, for example, you are operating a sea kayaking business, where you offer rentals, lessons and tours, it might make sense to create a Mini Program to share more in-depth information such as instructional material, safety information, route guides, basic to kayaking, etc. This can be great for those who have signed up abroad and for those who are on-site looking for further information. A hotel operator might have the intention of creating a Mini Program to share room types, F&B options, onsite amenities, services and pertinent information similar to that of a website. BUT, if you intend to enhance marketing to increase traffic and offer a direct booking channel (which would make sense for a website), then we would advise to reconsider this objective. Like an app, a Mini Program has a minimum cost to development, which can be substantial for small businesses and there is no guarantee that you will get the commensurate traffic numbers to justify the ROI. The truth is that most stand alone and small chain companies don't need them. Unless you're a multinational hotel chain with multiple brands, you don't really need a designated mini program.
Summary - Keep It Simple
We're not the first ones to say this, but the statement holds true: the more straightforward you keep it, the easier it is for your to understand your strategy.
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1. The main point of being on WeChat is to have a presence, to justify your brand legitimacy to the Chinese audience, as they search for your property on an OTA.
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2. As mentioned above, 70%+ of all hotel bookings are done through travel platforms (including C-Trip, Fliggy, Qunar). Remember, the win here is to have your property selected over your immediate competitors and WeChat helps with that. Direct to website bookings may be the ultimate goal (read: EVERY OTHER hotel is striving for this), but the resources to make it work are rarely justified. This is where you need to get creative.
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3. WeChat may be the most well known platform, but it is FAR from being the ONLY solution. Check out our other articles to learn more.