ZWC, IDG back China social CRM service provider

IDG Capital led both tranches, with participation from ZWC Partners.

The rise of Wshoto is tied to the increased emphasis Chinese retailers are placing on private domain traffic. This traffic is highly valued because it can lead to a deeper and more sustained two-way communication between brand and customer. When interaction takes place in the public domain, it is often one-way and one-off.

WeChat is the most popular and powerful tool for establishing private domain traffic in China. Jing Zhu, a partner at Wshoto, explained at a recent Tencent Digital Ecosystem Summit how the company works with clients of different sizes.

Community stores, for example, use WeChat Enterprise - known as WeCom in overseas markets - to organize neighbourhood WeChat groups. They accept pre-orders through these channels and makes bulk purchases accordingly. Small retailers also replace physical coupons with e-coupons to get more information on usage.

Zhu offered pharmacies as a case study. Wshoto helps them use WeChat to provide free consulting services to users and thereby establish long-term relationships. It also assists in follow-up communications regarding periodic drug purchases.

Founded in 2015, Wshoto has worked with more than 150,000 enterprise customers and now has a team of over 1,000. The company claims its advice is drawn from practical experience using WeChat Enterprise. It also develops strategies with large enterprises and looks to apply them to smaller businesses.

"Wshoto helps enterprises serve customers throughout the entire lifecycle, accumulating high-quality user data which can be used in marketing. In this way, enterprises achieve higher customer conversion rates and lower customer acquisition costs,“ said Zhu.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Consumer
• Technology
• Early-stage
• China
• IDG capital
• ZWC Partners