Are you interested in doing business in China? Or do you want to know Chinese business etiquette? If such questions are popping up in your mind, then it’s time to know everything about china and china market. Over the past few years, China has become famous for its business world and economy. At present, China’s population is over 1 billion and is still increasing. This large population ranks China as the world’s largest and most populous country. Of course, as the population grows, various companies have entered, and China is no exception. In fact, the country has the largest business headquarters and business opportunities. This alone can promote domestic and international business ideas and exchanges. So China is not only one of the best tourist attractions in the world but also an attractive place for many business opportunities.
From mining, manufacturing to construction, China’s industry is booming. The $900 trillion “New Silk Road”, China’s new “Belt and Road” (BRI), aims to reopen trade corridors between China and Europe and the United States. The current trade war with the United States seems to have little impact on the Chinese economy.
Therefore, doing business in China is a good opportunity for any businessmen. Here, we have come up with these tips for doing business in china that will lay the groundwork for a better understanding of China’s business environment.
Tips for doing business in China
- Adapting to local Chinese culture is essential – China is very different from other markets. Decisions on how to be successful in China are found within understanding these differences. These Chinese do not consider themselves essentially as ethnic people, but see themselves as a culture. Successful product sales in China reflect the importance of group awareness – you don’t necessarily sell to an individual – you sell to a “group.” Decisions are made according to what the group will think, not necessarily what the individual will think, so products must meet a general acceptance standard before they can be easily bought. Things stand out everywhere and it’s a riot of color, so don’t try the minimalist approach. Knowing local conditions are incredibly important – what you sell in other countries doesn’t necessarily sell in China.
- Boots on the floor – There will usually be a team sent to the market for several months or even years, preparing the market or product entry. The money spent in the early stages exchanges with some western individuals who want to see an immediate return on every penny invested. Knowing your Chinese “enemy,” just as you know yourself, requires close study and careful consideration. If resources do not allow you to spend a lot of time in China, you should be prepared to buy this knowledge by employing Chinese experts on your team or securing the services of a recognized consultant or entrepreneur in the market.
An example would be Starbucks, he entered the Chinese market in 1999 with a determination – that they were there for the long game and that they were determined to be successful. According to CEO Howard Shultz, “We had to educate and teach many Chinese about what coffee was – the coffee ritual, what was a latte and in the early years, we didn’t make money.” Starbucks learned the rules of the Chinese market and played them right. It is one of the foreign companies in China that has successfully added value. It’s a meeting where they relax, take selfies and post on their respective social media platforms. By making the decision to come and stay, regardless of the consequences, Starbucks played the Chinese game – putting the ever-important boots on the floor.
- Position yourself on the right space – There is a perception of cascading value in China about whether a product is good or not. This cascade of values determines which product to buy and is tied to the financial ability to purchase a certain level of value.
- Well-known brand – product entirely manufactured and imported abroad
- Product and product imported worldwide
- The well-known foreign brand made in China
- Entirely foreign product made in China
- Well-known China brand made in China
- Unknown Chinese brand made in China
- Foreign trademark copy made in China
- Low-cost ‘can-as-well-be-unbranded’ Chinese product
Credibility, selling price, desirability, and quality all fall down in this cascade of values. There have been so many examples of problems in the Chinese market for fake, dangerous or poorly manufactured products that the Chinese consumer is very cautious about the decision they will make to buy a product and will generally point to the maximum cascading value they can afford.
Make an array of all competing products in the market for your product according to their price and their position in the value cascade. Then add what your product fits into. Ask yourself, given the position in the matrix; is it likely that my product will be sold?
- You better have a good story – In China, the history of your product is especially important. There is a huge emphasis on knowing everything possible about the product. While in western countries the tendency is to go minimalist and subtle, in China it is just the opposite.
A good place to understand the level of history you need to develop is product sales pages on sites like TaoBao, TMall and Jing Dong. Certificates usually don’t mean much and can usually be arranged by some clever set foot with the local government if they are trying to promote products or companies in the area. But for the Chinese consumer, that means a lot – its evidence that is used to assert that the decision.
Conclusion
China, for example, is a country with a more ceremonious culture and trying to do business in the country without specific preparation can be a real pitfall. Therefore, conducting business in China requires a lot of studies, research and professional updating and for companies, inevitable strategic planning. This is exactly why we made a series of must-see tips for doing business in China.