Hello. It has been a while since I last wrote. (On the blog, I mean. Trust me).
How are you, my dear readers? I hope you are well.
I have just come back from a trip to four places in China: Huangshan, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Wuzhen. Again and again on the way, I caught myself thinking, “Goodness, I had to come all the way to China to learn about sales and marketing!”
So when I got home, I felt I had to write a few lines about it. They are small lessons, taken from how people here sell, and how they make you want to buy.
Table of Contents
1. They See the Need You Don’t Know You Have
On most trips, the person who gets tired first is not me. It is my life-partner (haha). He is the one in charge of taking my photos at every place we visit, and he feels the pressure, of course:)) If I come home with lovely pictures, the trip was a good one. If I don’t, the trip was a failure. I’m sure many travel companions know this feeling. Poor accidental photographers!
But in Shanghai, something changed. He looked like a man whose burden had been lifted. And me? I felt like a happy little princess, with “paparazzi” waiting at every corner (LoL). And the paparazzi were, of course, a group of street photographers. Many travellers call them “Chinese wizards”. They wait at the big photo spots, like the Bund or the Louis Vuitton boat. At first, I only wanted to try it out of curiosity. Who knew the results would be beyond my imagination?
Oh my gosh, the photos were ridiculously good. And one photographer took them all in under five minutes. The price was 15 yuan a photo, about 50,000 VND. You look at the pictures first, choose the ones you love, and pay only for those.
2. Every Product Has a Great Story
I noticed that people in China rarely sell just an object. They sell time, culture and care. When I held a teacup, a piece of silk or a handmade gift, I did not hear a list of dry facts. I heard about the land it came from. I heard the legend behind it, and the patience of the craftspeople who gave their lives to the work. Each product had its own character, its own soul.
By giving a product a story, they turn an ordinary thing into a small work of art, or a memory worth keeping. So when I bought something, it was not only because I needed it. It was because I wanted to own a piece of that story. I wanted to bring a whole experience of the culture home with me.
3. They Show You, Gently, That You Are Getting a Good Deal
The sellers here are masters at shaping how much a product feels worth. They rarely race to cut their prices, which would lower the value of what they sell. Instead, they quietly move your attention. You stop thinking about what you are paying, and start thinking about what you are getting.
There are offers like “buy two, get one free”. There are thoughtful little gifts. Sometimes a seller compares their own quality with the cheaper products on the market. And all of it comes at just the right moment.
When a seller explained how much I would save with a bundle, or how special the free gift was, my guard simply melted away. I walked off with a happy smile. I felt I had made a very clever choice. In truth, the seller had kept their profit just as it was.
4. They Let You Try, With No Pressure at All
One of the nicest things about shopping there is how freely you can try things. Bakeries, tea shops and specialty stalls set out trays of free samples. I could take my time. I picked up a piece of sweet cake, then sipped some fragrant tea. I tried the expensive kind, and then the simple kind. Nobody gave me an unhappy look. Nobody pushed me to buy. The space felt open and generous. The seller’s welcome, and my own experience, came first.
And this ease is the sweetest trap of all. When I could hold things, taste them, use them, I slowly let go of my doubts. I felt a little in their debt for the kindness. I also felt happy with what I had tried. Together, these feelings led me to spend money, and I did it willingly.
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5. They Let You Watch the Making, and Make It an Art
People in China know how to turn the plain work behind the scenes into something lovely to watch. Look at a worker folding paper with quick, steady hands. He measures out Longjing tea and packs it into a box, full and square to the last millimetre. Or look at the cooks who stretch and swing noodles right in front of you, and the craftsmen who make their goods before your eyes. Every movement is smooth and sure. The finishing of a product becomes a small ceremony, done with respect.
When I watched this, my trust in the quality grew stronger. But something else happened too. I felt a strong wish to share it. The packing was so neat and graceful that I took out my phone and filmed it, and then I posted it online. So the brand did not spend a single coin on advertising. Yet it still had the most honest and valuable video there could be, made freely by a customer like me.
Last Thoughts
Before this trip, China was a land of deep culture to me. I thought of old stories and thoughtful films that have lasted through the years. After the trip, it gave me a different kind of curiosity. I want to go back, and watch and learn more about how people do business there.
It reminds me of watching the series Nothing Gold Can Stay. I felt great respect for how sharp those merchants were, and how deeply they understood people. And after watching how business works in the smallest details of the street, I finally understood why this country has come so far, so fast.
Jasmine.
