8Tips for Marketing your product in China !

8Tips for Marketing your product in China ! 

How do you market in the most populous country in the world? China has reach a population of over 1.3 billion, $ 9.6 billion area of ​​square kilometers and more than 20 cities with 1 + million.

Chinese Economy 

The Chinese economy is much more diverse - offering many more opportunities - as Russia and Brazil, but the historical and cultural differences make the entry more difficult. This is a market where the size, diversity of peoples, cultures and business market research is to identify the tastes, opinions and location a must.

1. Make a bet small first

Before committing to big budget dedicated to investing in market research initial. Learn about the competition and customer preferences - how your product or service are the cost and design perspective?

2. There is no one China

Urban or rural, young vs. old, regional differences - a country of 1.3 billion people simply can not be entered using the same approach everywhere. Have a market strategy for China would be naive - of course most important brand strategy should be used globally, but the execution of this will most likely have different actions and triggers in the overall market.

Adopt a strategy by choosing a smaller territory, using research to establish whether this is a good match for your product or service and gain a foothold. Consumers to identify segments of the greatest value to the business. The key is to understand the attitudes so that you can provide functional and emotional hooks to get people to your brand. And keep them there.

3. This is a growth economy

China is well past the "new economy" state - this is the second world economy, the largest exporter in the world, and the largest market for mobile telephony. Although per capita GDP is at a similar level with Ecuador and Jamaica is the world's fastest economy growing.

This is good news for companies seeking to enter the Chinese market, but also suggests that more research needs to go into and understanding of the opinions, tastes and habits before engaging in campaign launch.

4. Underestimate the Chinese consumer

Do not underestimate the behavior and buying habits of Chinese consumers in Fast Moving Consumer Goods brands, especially in urban areas, and in supermarkets. According to Mark uncles similarities of the Australian school of business are remarkable.

China Market
"In some ways, buying habits of Chinese consumers seem very familiar from a structural point of view," says uncles. But there are differences. "Average income consumers in China rely less on cars. They walk, bike or take public transportation when shopping for basic necessities, "Uncle said. "This has implications in terms of what is covered and, given these limitations, buyers must make more trips - if the frequency of purchases is higher."

5. 38% of mobile internet users only

Broadband Internet and personal computers are not as widely used in Western countries, 38% of Internet access via mobile phones in China. This% is even higher in rural areas where 45% of mobile internet users only. This makes mobile search (and later marketing, engagement via the web and mobile applications) are probably the best and most affordable to reach a large portion of the population.

6. Chinese are very keen on internet / mobile users

Playing games on their mobile phones 90%, 40% of people every day, 89% browse the social networking sites like Renren.com, Sina Weibo or Tencent, and Internet access via their mobile phones 27% at least one hour per day.

We conducted an in-depth study of Chinese mobile-only generation that is available in our blog.

This reinforces the previous point that the mobile is often the key to reach large groups of consumers, both for understanding their behavior, but also engaging them, making marketing campaigns - whether this group of consumers is relevant to your product or service, so make sure you have a solid mobile strategy locally.

7. No surveys on sensitive topics

Themes Politics, religion and gender are considered sensitive by most Chinese and should not be implemented. The same rule applies generally to any type of commercial communications, especially television advertising as the main channels are owned and operated by the government.

8. Be aware of national holidays

The board the most, but often overlooked when doing international research is to forget to take into account national holidays. For example, during the Chinese New Year businesses close for about a week and the weeks leading up to this period are also semi-dead. People are less likely to respond to your efforts to market research.

To further complicate things, and each region has its own festivals above national standards. Wikipedia article on Holidays in China is a good resource to work through to find potential impact on your research.

Bonus point: Customizing the key entry

Chinese market and consumers are somewhat reserved towards foreign brands with most product categories are dominated by strong local brands. However, in a culture with strict rules and customs, people like to be individuals, giving them access to personalized products or services can be a key.

Adidas few years ago began offering buyers the opportunity to customize the design of their shoes in some stores - which gave people the opportunity to express themselves, to be an individual, and proved be a very popular offer Adidas helping the overall market growth.

An overview of sensitive topics in China

In writing this post, I came across many sites or stories to write, because they give a better idea of ​​the daily realities of life in Chinese media and what topics are considered sensitive by the authorities in China