One thing I learned soon after my first encounter with China is that efficient communication with Chinese companies is very important for the success of your brand. The WeChat app is a crucial element in that communication. After all, Chinese business partners make intensive use of this popular app. With these tips you can get the most out of WeChat.
From the moment I started my collaboration with China, I felt a lot of curiosity, excitement and also some fear. What would there be to experience in that great country of which I knew nothing, of which I could not even decipher the script? It seemed like there was a wall between us. How could I communicate with my Chinese customers and partners?
In China, Whatsapp and other social media platforms common in Europe, are not used.
Fortunately, there is 'WeChat'. An opening in the wall of the unknown. I use it daily.
1. What is WeChat?
WeChat is an all-in-one super app from the Chinese company Tencent. It was released in 2011 and currently has over 1 billion users.
It is Whatsapp, Twitter and Facebook in one, but also a payment app to which you can link your bank account, with which you can take out microloans, request a divorce and so much more. For example, your health code, vaccination certificate and corona test results are also in WeChat.
WeChat contains a million mini apps from organizations, government, media and companies. You can use them without having to download their own separate app. These integrated functions greatly increase the user-friendliness
2. Why do I use WeChat?
Business contacts are made via WeChat and not via email:
When meeting with business contacts, WeChat QR codes are scanned. From then on you are connected.
I do all communication with Chinese partners and customers through this app. We do group calls, leave messages, forward documents. Occasionally I send an email with important information, because it is more familiar to us Europeans and offers more legal certainty in Europe.
WeChat also has a good translation feature:
When I communicate with Chinese people who don't speak English, I use the handy translation function. It gives us the opportunity to start exchanging information so that both parties get an initial picture. I follow a number of organizations and companies through their WeChat account. This gives me access to information that organizations share through their account, I receive promotions from companies, I get inspired by influencers,…
In short, the Chinese super app helps me enormously to understand and maintain my contacts and to feel connected to Chinese society. Everything is possible in one handy app.