Marketing Strategies for Chinese Specialty Agricultural Products under the Internet Environment: Taking Tianshui Qinzhou Big Cherry Industry as an Example

Haiyan CAO

College of Economics, Qinghai University, Xining 810000, China

Abstract Combined with the current situation of marketing of Chinzhou big cherries in Tianshui, we find out the problems in the development of network marketing of Chinzhou big cherries and put forward corresponding countermeasures and suggestions to improve its marketing level and solve the problem of imbalance between supply and demand of Qinzhou big cherries.

Key words Internet, Agricultural products, Marketing strategy, Tianshui cherries

1 Introduction

Nowadays, the Internet has been popularised by millions of families, and it brings incalculable value to the development of the social economy and plays an important role in all walks of life. China’s vast territory with natural geographical advantages and unique climatic characteristics, the formation of a large number of agricultural products with great regional characteristics, most of the characteristics of agricultural products through the development of rapid occupation of the market share of similar products, but there are still a lot of characteristics of agricultural products due to insufficient publicity, sales channels closed and other reasons, resulting in the emergence of seasonal or regional product stagnation events. At this time, agricultural network marketing represents a new starting point for the development of modern agriculture, but also the transformation of agricultural marketing provides a new way. Tianshui City is the second largest city in Gansu Province, between the temperate continental climate and subtropical climate, with an annual average temperature of 11 ℃, warm winters, and cool summers, rapid warming in the spring, and much rain in the autumn. The climate is mild with four distinct seasons, abundant sunshine, and moderate precipitation. Because of its unique natural conditions and unique climatic advantages, Tianshui City has outstanding agricultural characteristics, becoming the best fruit and vegetable production base in northern China and the aerospace breeding base in western China, with high-quality and high-quality agricultural and forestry specialties, and a high degree of industrialization of fruits and vegetables, especially Qinzhou big cherries, which are quite famous. However, due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, farmers and agricultural products’ sales market has suffered a serious blow. With the popularity of the Internet, many farmers, in order to get out of this predicament, try to change the traditional sales model of agricultural products and begin to use the Internet to enter the market, enhance competitiveness and increase farmers’ income. The paper will combine the current situation of marketing of big cherries in Qinzhou, Tianshui, to find out the problems in the development of network marketing of big cherries in Qinzhou, and put forward corresponding countermeasures and suggestions to improve its marketing level, solve the problem of imbalance between supply and demand of big cherries in Qinzhou, so that the cherry growers can increase their income and become rich, and truly realize the value of big cherries in Qinzhou, Tianshui, as a characteristic agricultural product[1].

2 Overview of the Tianshui big cherry industry

Tianshui is located at the junction of Shaanxi, Gansu and Sichuan provinces, is the second largest city in Gansu Province and the core point of the Guanzhong Economic Belt, the environment is very suitable for cherry growth. Tianshui cherry is one of the main special economic crops in Tianshui, and it can make farmers increase their income, reduce the economic pressure in the Tianshui area, help local people get rid of poverty and promote the rural economic development in Tianshui. Qinzhou District has always been an important natural pollution-free cherry fruit production area in both Shaanxi and Tianshui, China, and was named one of the first batch of China’s national "national high-quality sweet cherry production base" key areas. Now, Tianshui Qinzhou’s pollution-free big cherry has also been developed with Gansu Province Tianshui Huaxiu apple and other products have become a household name of high-quality pollution-free brand agricultural products. In 2005, the national agricultural standardization and safety of key supervision of the construction of demonstration areas of pilot projects have been launched in Tianshui, and ultimately in 2008 a one-time success of the Ministry of Science and Technology through the national project acceptance, set up to improve the country’s first national green food green agricultural products pollution-free standardized cultivation demonstration zones. In 2011, the Ministry of Agriculture named Yanpu Village as "667 ha of organic cherry cultivation base", and it was rated as a national green food base. In 2012, by the trademark of the Chinese Horticultural Society officially awarded, Qinzhou District is also known as "China’s top quality sweet cherry planting base". In addition, "Qinzhou cherry" at the same time successfully selected as a national geographical indications certification mark[2].

3 Current situation of marketing and branding of Tianshui cherries

Qinzhou big cherry is a typical representative of Tianshui city’s speciality agricultural products. At the end of the 20thcentury, big cherries were introduced to Tianshui, and have been planted for more than 30 years. After years of development, Qinzhou big cherries have won market recognition for their fine quality and formed their own industrial characteristics as well as brands.

3.1 State of marketingThe big cherries produced in Qinzhou District are highly favored by foreign consumers for their bright color, rich flavor, excellent taste, uncontaminated nature and high nutritional value. It is mainly sold to many key large and medium-sized cities in China including Lanzhou City, Xining City, Yinchuan City, Chengdu City, Chongqing and other autonomous cities and neighboring areas. In recent years, with the popularity of the Internet, WeChat, Kuaishou(Quick Worker),TikTok(Douyin) and a variety of new rural self-media and to help farmers and technology to enrich the rapid development of the project, the traditional direct sales of agricultural products to the farmers of the trade model has also arisen, giving rise to a series of huge and far-reaching significance of the new changes. Tianshui area cherry professional market sales of all kinds of fresh fruit value-added and therefore the development of an unprecedented huge space, emerged in the city of Tianshui, Gansu Province, Qinzhou District and Yuquan Town, Yupu Village fruit e-commerce co-operative typical representative of a large number of fruit e-commerce demonstration villages, e-commerce ways to buy and sell agricultural products, the overall size of the market share has become larger. By the end of 2022, Tianshui City had a big cherry planting area of about 5 666.67 ha with an annual output of 32 000 t and an output value of 670 million yuan. According to the survey of the main sales market, the average daily trading volume of more than 50 t in the cherry trading market in Yanpu Village, Yuquan Town, Qinzhou District, the highest daily sales of more than 120 t, has sold more than 2 500 t; Zuojiachang Melon and Fruit Wholesale Market in the average daily volume of more than 60 t of sales of more than 2 400 t; Taijing Town, Sishipu Village Wholesale Market daily trading volume of an average of about more than 40 t, with a cumulative total of more than 1 200 t of sales; the re-street in Qinzhou District, the Maijie District of the average daily volume of sales of more than 30 t in the street of imitation of the cumulative volume of sales of more than 150 t[3].

3.2 Brand statusIndustry to develop, the brand shows the way. With the cherry planting area expanding, gradually improving its reputation, Qinzhou District was given the title of "China’s high-quality cherry production base", China’s green food development centre will be Luoyugou base of production of big cherries was evaluated as "A grade green food", "Qinzhou big cherry" was also evaluated as a geographical indication certificate trademark, and is considered "China’s top ten delicious cherry", the same year was selected into the "sweet" agricultural products catalog. Up to now, it has registered the trademarks of "Jing Xiantang", "Lian Dai", "Hao Guoxian", "Mie Gui", "Hao Guolin", “Tianzhi Ganquan", "Qinzhou Cherry" and other brands. Among them, "Tianzhi Ganquan" cherry trademark was awarded as "2018 China’s top ten brands" by China Fruit Circulation Association and the Fourth China Fruit Brand Conference, and was elected as "China’s cherry industry role model" by China Cherry Business Conference. One hundred brands". "Qinzhou cherry" brand also stands out among the 300 fruit regional public brand in the country, with the advantage of the first cherry regional brand network voting, by the relevant experts for a comprehensive evaluation, selected as "2022 annual market welcome fruit regional public brand 100 "[4].

4 Problems in marketing of Tianshui cherry industry

Qinzhou big cherries are representative of agricultural products in the Internet environment, in order to take root and grow big cherry industry in Tianshui city , the goveronment issued a series of documents to promote the development of the industry. In order to drive the development of Qinzhou big cherries in a new pattern, with the advantage of e-commerce, expanding the popularity and influence of cherries, the government has made every effort to strengthen the production technology training of big cherries and the promotion and application of new technologies. It has achieved the growth of annual output value from less than one million to more than 600 million yuan annually.

4.1 Limitations of cherry product attributesCompared with other agricultural products, Tianshui cherries have a significant feature that the storage time is particularly short, the market time is usually only 40 d, and cherries are also prone to rotting . Because of these characteristics, it makes Tianshui cherries have unavoidable and huge challenges in the process of freshness, quality, storage and logistics distribution; at the same time, compared with traditional industrial products, Tianshui cherries are affected by their own characteristics, and they cannot form a standard industrial chain, which makes Tianshui City’s fresh brand and fresh e-commerce subject to serious constraints[5].

4.2 Insufficient network promotion and poor industrial organizationAs Tianshui’s big cherries have local characteristics, resulting in the formation of the current Tianshui cherry brand in expanding the brand effect there are some huge market problems. The biggest main reason is the network publicity and promotion is not enough. Up to now, all the promotion materials about Tianshui’s big cherries that can be viewed directly from the official website of all the relevant companys are lack of the information of website publicity and consultation of big cherry companys in Tianshui. And now many foreign traders often to sell Tianshui big cherry shop name to the field to carry out publicity and sales promotion activities, so that some consumers can not be recognized authentic Tianshui big cherries, thus leading to the Tianshui big cherry shop’s overall brand image has been seriously damaged again and again. And the current cherry products only contain fresh fruit, the industry chain in the seedling production, fruit processing, logistics and packaging, potting, technology output, cherry culture development, agricultural supply and marketing and other aspects of the technological development are lagging behind, there is no formation of the external market sales price of the uniformity of the cherry price is vulnerable to intermediary interference, the fruit growers to resist the market risk of the ability to be low[6].

4.3 Lagging marketing and brand buildingBecause of its unique characteristics, Tianshui cherries have won many times in all kinds of selections in the country, and their popularity has been greatly improved, especially the middle and late-ripening cherries and bagged cherries have taken advantage in the market. But by the domestic cherry marketing news lagging behind the direct impact of factors, Tianshui cherry industry, the actual level of sales overall was in the low level of the state. Its high-quality fruit into the chain supermarkets, the high-end market accounted for a very small proportion of sales are still sitting and waiting for merchants to open the main door, a single channel, making the fruit of the market value is low, excellent fruit price market advantage can not be fully released. Although the government departments held all kinds of promotional exhibitions, the creation of the "sweet taste" "Qinzhou cherry" and other agricultural brands, geographical indications product certification, the visibility of the local cherries still have been enhanced, and lead the enterprise to create a series of brands such as "Tianzhi Ganquan", "Longyou Red", "Good Fruit Pro",etc.However, compared with other cherry-producing areas, in terms of brand creation, the scope of influence of the local brand is still in a disadvantageous position, the development of the cherry industry to promote the effect. The development of the cherry industry to promote the effect is also not obvious, so brand building and marketing is still an important issue in the development of Tianshui cherry industry[7].

5 Marketing measures of Tianshui cherry industry in the Internet environment

In order to achieve the improvement and upgrading of marketing of cherry industry in the background of Internet, the Internet idea must be highly valued and fully applied to promote the transformation and upgrading of cherry industry.

5.1 Lengthening the period of cherry products on the market to seize market shareNow that there are many similar products on the market, entering the market in a staggered season with the same type of product can bring greater economic benefits. For example, China imports nearly 400 million USD of cherry products from Chile every year, mainly because the Chilean cherry ripening area is located in the northern hemisphere winter, and although there is no price advantage, sales have been large in the absence of similar substitutes during winter. Thus, it seems that the development of staggered seasonal products is an excellent option if one wants to have a larger market share and not compete head-on with the same period products[8].

5.2 Extending the industrial chain and diversify innovative productsIn order to enhance the competitiveness of the products, to avoid similarities with the processed products on the market, we should dig deeper into the connotation of the products, and innovate more diversified deep-processed products, we should make the industrial chain more detailed and deeper, dig the depth of the products, and enhance the grade of the products, and form a special characteristic of the sky water cherry industry, and we should innovate the processed cherry products on the basis of the existing processed products, so as to make the cherry processed products more diversified; we also need to update the product packaging, increase the attractiveness of the product, expand the consumer’s desire to buy, and promote the growth of the income of fruit farmers while improving production. In addition to extending the industrial chain and creating more processed products, it can also change the external state of cherry products by innovating the form of fruit expression, such as the cherry products that will be shaped to attract more attention of consumers by using their curiosity and hunting psychology, and it can create great economic benefits when there are new items appearing[9].

5.3 Brand marketing and development of regional branding strategiesWhen customers have the idea of buying, the brand can resonate with them, awaken their emotions and thoughts, and occupy a certain position in the consumer’s mind, prompting more purchasing behavior. Through long-term influence, the brand can establish a strong bond of trust with consumers, so that consumers have a reason to buy the product, consumers can recognize the product, and become a point of reference for consumers to buy the product. Products in the market are mixed, good and bad are difficult to distinguish, with the brand, it can avoid the failure of high-quality agricultural products market transactions, and the current Chinese agricultural trading market, buyers and sellers of trading information is not asymmetric, it is difficult for consumers to obtain their own favorable information about the product, easy to be misled by the market, resulting in the phenomenon of the bad money driving out the good, resulting in the agricultural products are squeezed out of the market. This phenomenon can be avoided by adopting the brand marketing strategy of agricultural products, and the brand can tell consumers which products are good and which products are bad, and pass the information to consumers so that consumers can feel free to buy safe, reliable and high-quality agricultural products[10].