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邻里老字号中药店 四年转型走创意营销也走出海外

Neighbourhood traditional Chinese medicine shop transforms through creative marketing and has also expanded overseas in four years.
联合早报 / 2024年8月18日

Despite the limited resources of neighbourhood businesses, the local traditional Chinese medicine shop, Heng Foh Tong Medical Hall, does not adhere to conventional practices. In recent years, this old shop has transformed through technology, now exporting products abroad and employing creative marketing strategies to attract younger customers.

Heng Foh Tong Medical Hall has been operating in the Bukit Batok neighbourhood since 1957. In an interview with Lianhe Zaobao, Vice President Mr Lee Chin Siong (55 years old) stated that to keep up with the times, they began utilising technology four and a half years ago. This includes enhancing their website’s functionality with digital tools and providing pages in both Chinese and English to broaden their reach.

He pointed out that for neighbourhood businesses, e-commerce has changed the entire business model and can expand the market, allowing products to be sold even overseas.

Mr Lee Chin Siong candidly admitted that the digitalisation process was not smooth; it was initially very difficult and did not attract customer interest. Later, they observed that today’s customers prefer customised products, so they developed in that direction.

“We provide personalised confinement packages for customers, tailoring the medicine according to individual circumstances. For instance, we find out whether each mother is breastfeeding, her age, and whether she can accept the taste of traditional Chinese medicine, even adjusting the sweetness according to their preferences.”

Improving social media marketing strategies to attract new customers through collaboration with students.

Mr Lee Chin Siong also revealed that the medical hall is continuously enhancing its marketing strategies across various social media platforms. ‘We are collaborating with students from the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), using their creative ideas to sell herbal tea and attract new customer groups.'”

He pointed out that in addition to helping local businesses understand what kind of marketing methods are attractive to the new generation of customers, these students also gained a deeper understanding of traditional Chinese medicine and learned about health care methods through this collaborative process.

Read more: https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/singapore/story20240818-4506422

PDF file – Zaobao: Traditional Chinese Medicine Shop Transforms Through Creative Marketing