BESTEK technological innovation: Innovation and quality are the basic
How did you get the idea of BESTEK? Why did you decide to start with BESTEK?
Before starting a business, being a teacher at Wuhan University at that time was relatively easy and comfortable. It was an enviable job, but it was too monotonous. I have some ideas that I can’t verify and implement. This kind of day-to-day life is not what I want. Later, there was an idea in my heart: I can’t go on like this. I want to realize my dream. Under the drive of this idea, I decided to do something different. When BESTEK was founded in 2007, China did not have the concept of “export e-commerce”. Although they all use B2B platforms such as Alibaba, they are essentially doing traditional foreign trade business.
How difficult was the start and which challenges you had to overcome?
The operating conditions of foreign trade enterprises fluctuate along with the overall environment of the overseas market. The company’s biggest difficulty should be the global financial crisis in 2008. Many old customers and large customers have failed to survive this winter and have closed down. Orders decreased but closed overnight. Correspondingly, the plug, charger products we make have been greatly affected, the order volume has plummeted, and the company has shrunk to one third of the scale. The entire company is facing a very severe test.
In order to cope with changes in the market, I thought of many ways and practiced them one by one, but with little success. In the end, I made a decision that seems extremely correct now, that is to go to the United States in search of new opportunities. Of course, at the time, some people would feel crazy, a small company that was dying, and you, the head of the company, would have to let go of the company’s daily management and extract a small proportion of the funds from the already constrained funds. , Abandoned the family and ran to the United States to find some illusory opportunities.
But it turned out that this step was right. This trip to the United States made me discover e-commerce that many people did not notice. Our successful B2C transformation saved BESTEK.
Who is your target audience?
In recent years, BESTEK has transformed from traditional foreign trade to full-network marketing by opening store directly on global online platforms such as Amazon, eBay, among others, thus diversifying global sales channels through multiple platforms, increasing the penetration rate of the original major markets, selectively cutting into new markets, expanding online retail channels, and becoming one of top brands in the automotive electronics and power supply industry all over the world.
What is the USP of your startup?
BESTEK pays special attention to technological innovation by investing into professional R&D team. BESTEK has applied for more than 400 patents, including 88 invention patents, 89 utility model patents and 231 design patents. The products mainly cover automotive and household electronics. They are almost self-made in-house, so that BESTEK can control the production quality every step of the way. BESTEK makes sure the quality products meet the global certification standards, such as FCC、CE、FDA、UL、CCC. Customers are able to purchase and use their products with an easy mind. Innovation determines how high we can fly. Quality determines how far we can go. “Innovation” and “quality” are the basic guarantees for our products to win market recognition.
Where do you see yourself and your startup BESTEK in five years?
I often say that the purpose of going into the Red Sea is to make the company bigger. The time in the Blue Sea is too short and the risks are too high. When your company is becoming larger, the Blue Ocean can do it, but most of the Blue Ocean will soon disappear, or it will soon become a Blue Ocean. In order to maintain long-term stable development of the enterprise, we must enter into the Red Sea. Find a Blue Ocean road in the Red Sea, or turn Blue Ocean’s products into Red Sea. Power supplies and home appliances are super Red Sea.
In the next 5 years, the company will continue to adhere to the Red Sea strategy. In the company’s marketing structure, two adjustments must be achieved: 1. The B2B business is rising again, which is the same as the B2C business. 2. With the rise of the domestic market, domestic sales should be the same as exports.
What 3 tips would you give to founders?
In my opinion, successful entrepreneurship requires two prerequisites, that is “persistent + change”. Persistence and change may seem contradictory, but they are not. Perseverance is to strengthen your determination to start a business. When you encounter difficulties, setbacks, injustices, accidents, etc., you must be able to withstand huge pressures and continue to clear obstacles to go on; change is self-cultivation Claim. In the era of the Internet, society is changing too fast, and the business field is even more so. This idea that is still popular this year may be eliminated next year. Cultivating the habit of studying and thinking a lot in the usual time and upgrading the knowledge in a timely manner is a prerequisite for keeping up with this era of great changes. Only when the cognition is upgraded will we respond quickly to changes and thus adapt to changes in this era.
More information you will find here
Thank you Peter Xu for the Interview
Statements of the author and the interviewee do not necessarily represent the editors and the publisher opinion again.