Developing Business Intelligence in China

In order to achieve the IBS Group’s ambitious growth goals in China, the company developed a comprehensive strategy that included the digitization of sales activities. Digital marketing channels should be opened up and market data exchanged more effectively with local sales partners. CERTAINCE developed the project plan.

In order to use the right marketing content and channels for Chinese customers, CERTAINCE conducted structured interviews with sales staff and partners. Based on these interviews, the key selling points for the local version of the website were identified. Instead of IBS company news, digital marketing should focus on the interests of local decision-makers. To ensure high availability and short loading times in China, the website was set up on Chinese cloud servers. CERTAINCE helped IBS obtain the necessary permits from the Chinese Ministry of Information and Technology. As the MIIT blocks many Western social media sites, relevant integrations have been replaced with Chinese counterparts such as WeChat and Youku.

The integrations have been tested in China to ensure the website loads smoothly. Due to the often slower internet connection in China, CERTAINCE also optimized the image sizes, minimized code, and used better caching mechanisms. The website was then embedded in WeChat, the main communication tool between IBS salespeople and customers. Customers can now access the website through the app, ask questions and schedule meetings. Since the first point of contact for new customers is a service employee, the companies defined a clear process for handing over qualified inquiries from service to the sales employees or sales partners.

To increase market transparency for IBS and its business partners, CERTAINCE combined IBS’ CRM, marketing and web analysis tools with those of sales partners. Finally, CERTAINCE organized training for the local teams to manage the new tools and integrations themselves.

The project added hundreds of customers and thousands of data points to the IBS CRM. IBS and its channel partners are now using this data to make smarter sales and marketing decisions.