This blog is the first place you will be able to read our latest white paper written by Matthew Harrison, Director of B2B International China.
Marketing and Selling to Chinese Businesses
By Matthew Harrison, Director of B2B International China
About This Paper
This paper is based on 100 in-depth interviews with business owners and senior purchasers throughout Beijing and Shanghai. Companies of all sizes were interviewed, from those turning over US$1.5m through to multinational companies. Companies were divided into quotas to ensure a cross-section of different types of manufacturing and service companies.
About B2B International China
B2B International’s Asian office provides marketing research, marketing strategy consultancy and marketing training courses to Western and Asian companies alike. The company specialises in obtaining information direct from Asian markets and converting this data into intelligence and advice. The team is based principally in Beijing but specialises in obtaining and analysing information across the whole Asia Pacific region.
We provide a range of services designed to:
• Help Western companies with a presence in Asia expand and strengthen that presence
• Help Western companies without a presence in Asia establish a presence there
• Assist Asian companies establish a presence in Western markets
• Provide training and consultations on marketing techniques and strategies to Western and Asian companies alike
Introduction
The question of how to market and sell to companies based in China is one that is debated endlessly by foreign companies seeking to profit from the huge potential of the country. Views expressed by businesspeople claiming to know the secret of success in China vary wildly, from those (generally newcomers) who say that marketing and selling in China is ‘just like home’ through to those (usually those with at least a couple of years’ experience in China) who exaggerate the unique nature of Chinese business and Chinese people to such an extent that selling in China sounds like an impossibility. The reality is that these two positions are both equally crass and incorrect – there is no reason why a Western company with a flexible, patient and ‘listening’ approach to marketing and sales should not succeed in the Chinese market.
This paper is based on a survey of Chinese business opinion in the two key cities of Beijing and Shanghai. Our aim is to dispel some of the myths propagated about Chinese business, and explore the reasons behind both successful and unsuccessful marketing and sales approaches in China. We do not seek to provide definitive ‘one size fits all’ answers to companies looking to establish or increase their presence in China; rather to put forward some general guidelines for companies from outside China to bear in mind.
Chinese Attitudes Towards Marketing and Sales
It is worth mentioning straight away that the principle of ‘marketing’ in business-to-business markets is less widely recognised in China than in more mature markets. Commonly, marketing is viewed as a service department for the sales department, its role sometimes seen as little more than taking care of the company logo and brochures. In short, marketing is defined by many in Chinese businesses as consisting of only the ‘promotion’ element of the 4 Ps. ‘Product’ is the job of engineers, ‘price’ the job of salesforces and ‘place’ the job of senior management. At worst, marketing departments are derided as ‘Spending departments’, their apparently superficial output seen as a poor substitute for the relationships that are so important in a Chinese business environment.
Figure 1 – The 4 Ps Of Marketing
In contrast to some Western markets, the salesperson and more broadly the principle of selling are widely respected in China. Two issues perhaps lie at the core of this fact – firstly the entrepreneurial spirit of the Chinese people, and secondly the importance placed on relationships in business decision making. A good salesman must almost by definition be adept at forging not only relationships, but also friendships with potential customers. This makes a good salesman respected almost by definition, and also implies a long sales process, with all of the on-the-ground presence, learning and patience that this involves.
Part 2 will be published on Wednesday 20th June.
This entry was posted
on Monday, June 18th, 2007 at 10:28 am and is filed under Articles, Industrial Research, International Market Research, Market Assesment, Market Research, Market Research China, Pricing Strategy, Qualitative Research, White Papers.
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