Archive for the ‘Market Research China’ Category
Tuesday, May 6th, 2008
Forget the traditional Oxbridge boat race, here’s the Manchester-Salford equivalent!
B2B International is donating money to the North West’s Two Cities Boat Race on 10th May, an annual event at Salford Quays where thousands watch university rowing teams from Manchester and Salford fight with sculls.
Nick Hague, director at the Bramhall-based business-to-business market research agency, says:
This race presses many buttons for us. Both universities are valued clients so it’s an opportunity to support them. Also, money from the donation is given to SPARKS, a fantastic charity that supports medical research for children. What’s more, the Chinese Dragon Boat Race, which takes place alongside the main Regatta event, is of great interest to us as B2B has an office in Beijing and does a lot of work throughout China.
Dragon Boat Racing has established itself as the UK’s favourite mass participation water sport (allegedly) so B2B is planning to enter a team next year…once 17 staff have practiced their team-building and rowing techniques!
Posted in
Market Research China, B2B News, Articles |
Comments:
None Yet »
Friday, May 2nd, 2008
In this, his first Thursday Night Insight blog post, Jason Zhang, Deputy General Manager of B2B International’s Beijing office, takes a look at stereotypes and preconceptions, and reiterates the importance local knowledge plays in understanding people’s opinions and perceptions. Presently working out of the B2B International UK head office, Jason knows first-hand that, in spite of some common ground, there is still plenty to talk about when the East meets the West…
Before coming to Manchester for a two month placement in our Stockport office, I went to see my uncle in my home town near Beijing to say goodbye. My uncle, who is nearly 70 years old, has worked his whole life as welder for a local pharmaceuticals manufacturer, and has never travelled outside of China. In spite of this, he does know the name of Prime Minister Gordon Brown and he knows Manchester to be the hub of England’s textile industry. However, he also asked me “Are there still a lot of people in London who suffer because of the heavy smog?” It surprised me that my uncle still thought London to be a heavily polluted city as I know that this has not been a real problem for some years now.
To be honest, I myself also have some preconceptions about the UK. Two Saturdays ago, I went to watch Stockport County play MK Dons at football. I was expecting to experience some sort of hooliganism but there were none there! I am not a football fan, but just thinking about English football makes the concept of hooligans spring to mind.
Let me tell you another funny story about myself. Some years ago, when studying for my Masters degree at the University of Hull, I did some shopping in the supermarket ASDA. At the cash point, the staff asked me “Cash back?” I was so excited to hear that, as in our country the supermarkets have some kind of lucky draw to reward their customers by giving them cash or vouchers. So I answered, “Oh great, how much can I have?” When I saw everybody in the queue laughing at me, I finally came to realise that there was something wrong with my understanding of the expression “Cash back”.
It is fair to say that everybody has got his or her own perceptions and opinions about the outside world. However, the most successful companies out there are those which are very good at continually listening to their customers and understanding their perceptions. In turn, these companies then inform their target audience with certain information via specific vehicles.
Let us look at the example of Carrefour, one of the most successful foreign supermarkets in China. The French operator opened 19 stores alone in 2007 across mainland China, with the total number of stores now standing at 109.
Some years ago, I supervised some customer satisfaction face-to-face study projects for Carrefour in Beijing. There I leaned that this French operator was the first supermarket in China to introduce live seafood displays of fish, crabs, prawns, etc in their stores. They understood through listening to local customers that Chinese people like live fish as they are fresh. Previously, the only place to buy live fish was in the open market. Now you can see, in all the Carrefour supermarkets in China, big glass tanks full of water where live fish and other water creatures are swimming around.
So, perhaps you should ask yourself - How good is your company at listening to customers and translating this into marketing campaign actions?
Posted in
Thursday Night Insight, Jason Zhang, Market Research China, International Market Research, Customer Satisfaction, Market Research |
Comments:
None Yet »
Friday, April 18th, 2008
In her first Thursday Night Insight post, Marketing Manager Caroline Harrison reflects on how cultural differences hold the key to the success or failure of products or services across the globe.
After years of study and years of employment in the fields of marketing and market research, I would like to think that by now I understand the value of market research. After all, day-in day-out, I see clients discover things about their business, or their clients, or the markets in which they operate, which they had never known before; sometimes they already had an inkling and, naturally, sometimes market research proves that they were right all along. But equally often, the research we conduct for them throws up surprises.
Around this time last year I was struck by a bolt of lightening (metaphorically speaking, of course). In a flash I saw the true consequences of not carrying out market research before entering a new market.
I was living in Beijing at the time, working in the B2B International China office. Many things strike you as different in China, but I was fascinated to find that the whiter your skin, the more beautiful a woman is considered to be over there (dark skin is apparently associated with peasants who have to toil in the fields all day). This was great news for me since finally there was no pressure to frazzle myself on a sunbed or waste hours applying fake tan.
Not that I could fake it had I wanted to, and that’s my point in all this. Because here’s the thing; beauty products in China all contain whitening agents rather than the bronzing agents so many equivalent products in the UK contain nowadays.
Although I found this to be an interesting observation, more than that I couldn’t help but think how crucial local knowledge and cultural understanding are when looking to enter a new market.
Imagine some executive of a beauty products company sitting in his or her cosy office back in the UK. With the nation’s top-selling moisturiser (featuring tanning agent for that natural sunkissed glow, of course!) reaching saturation point in the local market, it looks like it’s time to launch the product abroad… So where would be good? What about China? After all, with 200 million 15-34 year old women at your disposal, just imagine the clamour for this hugely popular product… And just imagine the profits that would come rolling in…!
Of course, I now know that the reality would be somewhat different. Without investigating the market in advance, this ambitious executive would have one of the costliest and most momentous product launch failures of all time on his or her hands.
Posted in
Caroline Harrison, Thursday Night Insight, Market Research China, Market Assesment |
Comments:
None Yet »
Thursday, April 3rd, 2008
Part 3 - Language
In the final extract of our three-part series on effective communication with businesses in China, we tackle the crucial issue of language.
The official language of China is Mandarin Chinese (also known as Putonghua). Although there are many, many dialects across China (including the popular Cantonese, which is spoken in Hong Kong and surrounding areas), Mandarin is taught and used in schools and universities.
There are two types of written Chinese characters: simplified and traditional. In general, simplified Chinese should be employed for communication with a mainland Chinese audience.
Since there are tens of thousands of Chinese characters whose written form gives little indication of pronunciation, a phonetic spelling system using the Latin alphabet (called pinyin) is increasingly used nowadays to help Chinese children and foreigners alike to improve their spoken language skills. Pinyin is helpful to Westerners since it translates Chinese characters into a recognisable form and also indicates which of the four ‘tones’ of Mandarin should be used. You should note that pinyin is generally not used as a form of written communication.
One exception to this rule is that in major mainland Chinese cities you can often find street names and subway signs shown in pinyin as well as in Chinese characters. English speakers will also be relieved to know that translations into English are increasingly common, especially in tourist areas. This is likely to become even more prevalent in the run up to the Beijing Olympics. Similarly, the frequency and standard of English spoken in hotels and taxis, etc. will only increase in the future.
As with any foreign language, it will help considerably if you are willing and able to speak Mandarin, even if it’s a case of just learning a few basic phrases. In addition to helping you when you encounter people who simply don’t speak a word of English, there is no doubt that people will appreciate that you have made an effort and it will go some way to breaking the ice for those business negotiations.
Further useful information on conducting business in China can be found in B2B International’s white papers:
Posted in
Market Research China, Articles |
Comments:
None Yet »
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008
Part 2 - Face-to-face
In the second of our three-part guide to communicating with Chinese businesses, we look at the ways in which you communicate better once you actually get to that all-important meeting.
In exactly the same way that many Chinese are impressed by a professional-looking corporate website, PowerPoint presentations are used by forward-looking Chinese companies. The same is expected of Western companies, and the more effort that has gone into producing an impressive presentation, the more credibility your organisation will garner. Given the difficulties of language barriers, PowerPoint presentations provide an excellent opportunity to summarise your company through clear, succinct bullet points and by using a whole manner of graphs, pie charts and other diagrams.
Interpreters and translators will likely be crucial to conducting business successfully in China. Since any interpreter or translator may effectively become your negation partner, you should always brief them fully in advance. It may be advisable to take your own interpreter rather than rely on one provided by the company you are visiting. If you can’t get a recommendation through a business contact, the China-Britain Business Council is one organisation that can arrange interpreters for you.
Always make sure you speak clearly and in ‘manageable’ sentences. Repeat crucial information to ensure that this is communicated properly. Write down any large numbers to avoid mistranslation and misunderstandings. Make sure you have explained any key industry terminology to your interpreter in advance of the meeting. Avoid the use of jargon and jokes, as these may get lost in translation and risk causing confusion or offence. Finally, although you may not understand everything that’s being said in the meeting, observe the body language of your clients to get a feel for how things are progressing and to understand who might be the more important players and decision makers in the room.
Further useful information on conducting business in China can be found in B2B International’s white papers:
Posted in
Market Research China, Articles |
Comments:
None Yet »
|
