Digital Marketing in China, Why and How
1. Do you want to sell to China?
1.4 Billion consumers with the fastest growing disposable income in the world. This is the biggest market!
*Data Comparison between China, US, EU and UK in terms of Disposable Personal Income, Personal Spending and Consumer Spending
2. Why do you need to sell to China digitally?
Alibaba generates RMB 498.2 Billion (US$ 74.1 billion) in GMV during the 2020 11.11 Global Shopping Festival. Over 470 participating brands surpassed RMB 100 million in sales during the 11-day campaign.
*Data Source: Alibaba Group
80% of China youngsters (228 million born after 1980, and 174 million born after 1990), shop online through e-commerce apps like Taobao, JD.com, RED, and Ctrip.
*Date source: The 6th China National Population Census; Xinhua News
China has 847 Million smartphone users, with daily average usage time of 6.2 hours.
*Data Source: QuestionMobile
China nationwide 5G network will be fully operational within three to five years. 5G data transmission speed is 100 times faster than the current 4G speed. With this 5G backbone, IOT (internet of things) is the new norm! This implies that information will be available at the speed of thought anywhere at all times. All advertisers can have a push ride on this 5G bandwagon to all consumers.
*1. Tmall Sales in 2020; 2. China Expenditure on 5G
You getting excited now?
But don’t be too optimistic just yet.
3. Problems to solve before entering China market : the checklist
1) Company Registration & Bank Account Opening
You need to register a legal entity with specific scope of business, and most importantly, getting a bank account to receive your proceeds!
Click here to see types of companies you can register.
The time you will need for completion of these registrations might be one to two months.
*Left: China Business License; Right: Bank Account Opening Approval Certificate
2) Business License Application
In China, license is specific to each business. There is no one licence for all businesses. If you want to sell food, you will need food distribution license, which will be further sub-categorized as “license to distribute frozen food” or “license to distribute packaged food”;
If you have a cosmetics brand registered in Europe, and to sell them in China, you will need the license to sell cosmetics in China;
If you are doing import & export business, then you will need to obtain import & export business licenses;
There are many other types of business licenses, which you need to obtain separately besides your declaration of business category on Business Registration Certificate.
3) Language
Chinese is one the most difficult languages to master because it is completely different from Germanic Language systems especially in Pronunciation and Writing.
Make sure you have some local friends and business partners who can speak fluent Chinese & English to assist in daily business communications and operations.
4) What Product to Sell
You have a range of products and services, but which one to sell first? Each market has its own unique customer base and product preference. For example, coffee might be a normal drink in western culture, while in China it is usually treated as a fashion drink or “drink with taste”, where most Chinese prefer coffee with milk and sugar, though youngsters that have oversea experience is ok with Espresso, but that only contributes to a small market share of the coffee market in China. Then pushing Espresso as a punch product instead of promoting Latte, might not be a good proposition. Market research is critical before entering the market with your product for the locals.
5) Cultural Difference
Gay or Lesbian content is widely accepted in western cultures, yet in China it is an awkward topic among most people born before 1980, and is not allowed to be publicly promoted, which means Keywords or Tags in digital marketing such as “#Gay”, “#Lesbian” is blocked by most social media.
Besides, Chinese way of doing business is rather “Subtle”, basically you need to GUESS what they mean instead of taking it on face value. Chinese will not say things they like or dislike directly, because in Chinese culture, it is the best to maintain a harmonious relationship and never bluntly expressing one’s own interest, which might make the other party “lose face”.
That’s why you need to pay great attention to the Chinese “Yes” in business. “Yes” can mean “I got it” to express the customer’s acknowledgement of what you have just said; it can also mean “No”! This is really confusing, isn’t it?
Sometimes, the customer just says “Yes” to show politeness, this “Yes” does not necessarily mean “Yes I agree with you 100%”. Which is very weird, right? Under this situation, if you send a proposal to your customer, you need to see whether the Chinese customer will mention something else after he says “yes”, or even days after your meeting, better check with the customer again about that “Yes”. Sometimes, if there is no reaction, you can be rest assured the “Yes” actually is a polite “No”!
6) Online Presence of Business
With more and more people shopping online these days, having a proper online business presence is very important, some restaurants which you have never noticed before at the street corner, is having a long queue. Their customer’s curiosity is aroused by marketing campaign on Facebook and Instagram. Some customers drove 2 hours from another city just to wet their taste bud.
This online presence is even more important for Generation Z (those born between 1996 to 2010) in China, which shop 80% of the products and services online through platforms like Taobao, Weibo, RED and other online platforms. And there is more than one cases that through live streaming on these digital platforms, some bloggers with millions of followers at their age below 25 made sales in millions within 10 minutes, with great demand from their followers. Products sold are ranging from cosmetics, clothes to restaurants.
In order to build a website in China and sell products online through Taobao or Wechat, you will need to go back to Point 1, “register a company and business in China” and hire local developers since digital marketing platforms like Instagram and Facebook is not allowed in China. Big headache, isn’t it?
It seems there are so many daunting tasks to do before entering China market.
What if you are able to lay back and just think about the next product design while enjoying enhanced brand awareness of your product in China?
What if you are able to receive proceeds from the sales generated in China without going through the daunting task of setting up a company in China?
What if your marketing budget is no longer an “expenditure that always increases without promise of sales”, but now it is a calculated investment with tangible and achievable return?
What if you do not need to worry about any of the above, and simply lying on the beach and enjoy the increasing profit in your business account?
4. Koh’s Development is here to help!
With a team of experts, consist of data analysts, marketing specialists, legal advisors, translation experts and business developments specialists, and most importantly, the existing technology infrastructure, without you coming to China, we can jump start your business in just ONE WEEK to get the potential of achieving ROI more than 20% annually!
You only need to send us some paperwork ONLINE.
Koh’s Development is your China business partner in the Digital New Era!
We have the following services for your digital marketing in China
While we are not “jack of all trades”, not all products and services are suitable to go online through digital marketing, if your business and product is in the following categories, we are here to help:
Traveling and Hospitality Industry
Quality Leisure Experience: i.e. yacht trip, yoga retreat, scuba diving, skiing package etc;
Health Products & Self-improvement Service Providers.
Gadgets: i.e. muscle trainer, face massage roller, and high-tech toothbrush;
Food: i.e. energy drinks, organic snacks, and low cholesterol oil;
Services: i.e. fitness training courses, psychology consulting, and oversea studying program.
Artistic Product & Experience.
Designer product, concert tickets, boutique clothing brand, jewellery show ticket etc.
We embrace a simple principle of making people “Happier, Healthier and Relax” with the product and services we promote.
You can profit from China in the future by offering the right product and customized services to the new generation with us!
