Hoi An craft villages’ approach to digital spaces

Hoi An currently has over 50 traditional crafts that contribute to the outstanding values of the Hoi An ancient town in the world.

Several Hoianian artisans have recently pioneered making unique handicrafts of clay, bamboo, driftwood, nipa palm leaves, and recycled materials.

A majority of handicrafts in Hoi An are for on-site export, mainly serving tourism. The city is making every effort to look for solutions to their output problems.

Digital marketing helps traditional craft villages bring products to the world, reach targets and markets more accurately, and increase sales through e-commerce while saving time and costs.

However, according to the World Bank and JICA, 78% of traditional Vietnamese craft villagers do not know how to apply digital marketing. The authorities in Quang Nam and Hoi An have also given this issue a lot of thought.

Digital transformation in traditional craft villages is a big picture with 9 different puzzle pieces divided into 3 main categories, including customer experience, operating process, and business model.

Handicrafts have greater significance as they are frequently connected to interesting historical tales. In order to connect with customers worldwide, Hoi An should capitalise on this edge and use it in conjunction with digital marketing.

In the process of digital marketing, Hoi An needs to have its own brand story with local traditional elements and innovations to convince customers.

In addition, craft villagers should have multiple sales channels to diversify sources of customer access and optimise resources through central management of sales channels.

TikTok is a useful platform for e-commerce. It's said that Vietnam is currently seeing a new e-commerce trend. Simultaneously, Tiktok Vietnam has launched a webcast of the OCOP (One Commune, One Product) market every Saturday morning with the goal of introducing and promoting common OCOP products on the internet.

Meanwhile, Tiktok now makes it easier for customers to find the products that suit their demands. Traditional craft communities should have a plan in place to handle this expansive creative space with effectiveness.