Temu: word-of-mouth marketing

The Chinese platform Temu is the target of much controversy. It is under investigation by European authorities. At the same time, European consumers highly acclaim it. Beyond the price argument, I develop a different analysis in this article to explain its success: customer satisfaction.

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Temu is the subject of numerous investigations and bans in several countries. Its commercial practices and the quality of its products are at the center of debate. The European Commission has launched an investigation into Temu. Criticisms mainly concern product quality, compliance with standards, and counterfeiting. But certain marketing practices deemed addictive are also under fire. Despite this, the platform continues to grow to the point of overwhelming the processing capacities of postal and customs operators. Why is it so successful?

Priority to customer satisfaction

What I find fascinating is that, despite the controversy surrounding Temu, customers continue to flock to the site. You might think customers would turn away from Temu because of questions about product quality, but that is not true. A recent survey helps to explain this behavior. 95% of customers declared themselves satisfied. Better still, customers pointed to product diversity and value for money as the driving forces behind their satisfaction.

The results also showed that customers have different opinions of the products’ quality. Indeed, the research showed that certain products purchased in Temu were of better quality for many consumers than those in traditional stores.

What does this tell us?

• Firstly, there is a “cognitive dissonance” between what the authorities think and what customers feel. Customers do not share the bureaucratic perspective of the authorities.
• Secondly, Temu’s strength is customer satisfaction. Because it is customer satisfaction that triggers all the benefits I will be talking about in the next paragraph.

Temu is the 2nd most cited e-commerce platform in consumer discussions, behind Amazon.

Word-of-mouth and loyalty: Temu’s 2 strengths

Temu’s strength lies in its marketing strategy based on customer satisfaction. It is this strategy that enables 2 positive effects to be triggered:

• positive word-of-mouth
• customer loyalty

Scientific literature has sufficiently documented that word-of-mouth and loyalty are by-products of customer satisfaction. The Temu case proves just that.

On the one hand, customers are so loyal that they order several times a year. I remember an edifying report on Temu customers showing a virtual shopping addiction on the platform.

On the other hand, customers talk positively about Temu among themselves. This is positive word-of-mouth. Research has shown that Temu is the 2nd most cited e-commerce platform in consumer discussions, behind Amazon. You can imagine the millions Temu saves in advertising thanks to this.

Conclusion

Temu’s detractors quickly put forward the price argument alone to explain the platform’s success. But you must look beyond appearances and closer at Temu’s customers to understand that there is more to it than meets the eye. Customers can relate to Temu’s value proposition: “Shop like a billionaire.” Not only are prices low, but quality is also high. As a result, customer satisfaction is at an all-time high, leading to a positive spiral of customer loyalty and positive word-of-mouth.