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Entering The Chinese Market | 7 Things Chinese Consumers Want

China can be a fertile hunting ground when it comes to gaining more sales, but as a Western company how can yoube sure that you are offering the right thing before entering the Chinese market? For every company like Starbucksthat has taken China by storm, there are many others like Mattel with 'Barbie' who have crashed and burned.

Do you want to achieve popularity with Chinese consumers? How do you think strategically before diving in, in orderto understand who you're marketing and selling to? What are their expectations from a foreign brand, product, orservice like yours?

China's online landscape is also very different to that of the West, and many can be caught out due to languagedifferences, and lack of knowledge about the habits of online consumers in China. Are they the same as Westerners?Do they use the same shopping sites? What are their expectations from online shopping?

Let's look at the 7 things that Chinese consumers demand, and get your questions answered...

We know that Chinese consumers are interested in foreign brands, and that not selling in China hurts your business,but what do they expect?

1. A Website In Chinese.

You need to have a Chinese version of your website, as most Chinese people don't speak much or any English (orother languages). You'll need to be sure that a native Mandarin speaker at least looks things over after it's finished,because otherwise you risk your company's message being confused, and the text looking odd which won't help youget sales.

Before you make the commitment of making a new site however, it will be wise to test the water.

Why not add a couple of Chinese language pages to your main website explaining what your products are or do first,and if you find that these are getting traffic then this will tell you that it may be worth taking the plunge and making aChinese language website.

2. Proof That You're Legitimate.

Things for online consumers in China are tough, as unfortunately there are a lot of fake goods and cheats around justwaiting to scam people out of their hard-earnerd cash. This breeds a culture of mistrust where consumers areconcerned. Although Chinese customers want to buy foreign goods, they are worried that they're going to be takenadvantage of.

Help them to learn more about your business.

Can you include shots of your office or stores on your site? How about staff pictures and introductions, or even avideo walking them through who you and what you do (translated with subtitles of course)? Could you include aspecial certificate in Chinese with your product saying that it is 'made in the USA, Australia, etc?'This level of attention to detail will seldom be found with many Chinese companies, therefore by making this effortyou immediately stand out from the crowd and can win the trust of your potential consumers.

3. Seeing Your Company's Triumphs.

Large or small, if your business has ever been in the news, or supplied someone or somewhere famous, you need tobe sharing this with the Chinese.

In China fame will be rewarded with more respect, and in this case it would translate to more sales thanks to yourcompany being considered more reputable. As a foreign company you benefit from the cachet of being 'high quality,'and 'cool' in China. But this only goes so far.

If you can prove that your company has been popular in your country, or around the world, then this elevates you toanother level in Chinese minds. Examples would be:

Including a video where your product or service appeared in the news.

Offering a testimonial from a famous person or people who have used your product or service.

Displaying pictures of your offerings in use somewhere famous.

Examples of famous stores selling your goods.

4. Great Quality Images & Information.

Regardless of whether you're offering products or services, give Chinese consumers plenty of chances to see andlearn about what they're buying. On a website you'd include thorough, sharp pictures from all angles and plenty ofinformation in Mandarin, but you could just as easily create a Chinese language brochure where your offerings aredelved into in detail supported by copious amounts of images.

This again helps to build trust, as you need to understand that Chinese people are more inclined to trust when theycan see things, rather than just taking your word for it.

5. 'Local' Customer Support.

If you're serious about entering the Chinese market then you will need to offer your customers the platform tocommunicate with you should they have any issues, concerns, or questions.

At the minimum you could offer an email address where you answer emails, in Chinese, within 24 hours; but evenbetter would be to consider taking on a Mandarin speaker to speak with customers by phone, on skype, or using localplatforms such as QQ.

Many local vendors would offer a 100% money-back guarantee, so this is something to consider if you're looking tostay credible.

A great idea would also be offering a way for Chinese customers to share their reviews as well. As consumers theChinese are quite talkative, happily sharing and reading reviews of products and services. Any business can benefitfrom reviews, both positive and negative. The former helps sell for you, and the latter helps you to learn. Why notkeep your finger on the pulse of your Chinese clients too?

6. Evidence Of Happy Chinese Customers.

This comes in under the bracket of trust, reviews, and evidence, but why not go further and have a dedicated portalor area where the Chinese can leave their pictures or thoughts - you will probably have a Chinese language websiteby now after all!

If people can visit and see testimonials and images in their language praising your product or service then you will notonly be getting sales in China, but also be building a loyal following of customers who are going to help grow yourbusiness in the years to come.

7. Super Fast Delivery.

Despite the country's vast size, online consumers in China benefit from surprisingly fast delivery times. 24 to 48 hoursis quite normal, and in some cases in big cities you can receive your order on the same day!

If you're sending products from your country then delivery is probably going to take several days at least, and thatcan't be avoided, however if you're able to arrange stock and distribution within China, then you will be wise to offerthe super fast delivery of many of the local big players, such as JD.com.

What you need to avoid however, is late or tardy delivery, as this is fairly uncommon when shopping from reputableshopping websites in China.

"Wait, What Happened With Barbie?"

Mattell spent millions of dollars entering the Chinese market with their flagship doll, the world famous 'Barbie' in 2009.Seems sensible, you may think, as Barbie is a household name that has been much loved by generations of Westernwomen.Surely the multitude of Chinese girls would also like Barbie's chic, sexy image, and be entranced by how cool she isworldwide.

But they failed to do their homework in advance.

Culturally Chinese girls prefer 'cute' to 'sexy,' and so by going to market advertising Barbie in a cosmopolitan andsexy way Mattell alienated the very audience they were trying to captivate. Fast forward two years later in 2011, andtheir flagship store in Shanghai was closed and millions were wasted.

Takeaways

By doing your homewaork in advance and testing the water with the Chinese you are unlikely to get your fingersburned in the same way as Mattell did.

Once you have identified the market and need for your products or services in China, then you can take the plunge,but being careful to offer the elements above that they will expect.

If you're ready to conquer China, but you need help putting together your Chinese language website, or advice whenit comes to marketing to the Chinese, Oxygen 2.0 Inbound marketing, branding and web design agency canassist you!Click below to contact us, and we'll walk you though how you can start on your journey to benefiting from China'smarket now!