Compete with Chinese consumers

 China is hot right now. With Europe and North America easing under the continuing pressure of the global financial crisis and Japan in such a predicament, China remains the only major economy with significant medium-term growth prospects. With a middle class now larger than the population of the United States, all with disposable income, China is a desirable market for your goods to trade.

Unfortunately, it is no secret that the Chinese market offers significant opportunities. China's potential has attracted many companies from all over the world. All the major western brands are there, with seemingly endless resources and best practices from overseas. Many companies from neighboring Asia are thriving, often with the advantage of proximity, a better understanding of Chinese culture, and a large ethnic Chinese population. And in China, many local businesses have good market share, sometimes with government-imposed profits and a relatively strong understanding of China. And everyone is fighting for a piece of cake. The average Shanghai consumer is now exposed to three times as much advertising as his British counterpart. In short, China is one of the most competitive markets in the world today, if not the most competitive.

Customer Experience Insights

Competition makes not only the Chinese market very difficult, but also the consumers themselves. The rules are constantly being reinvented. Nowhere in world history has the speed and scale that China is experiencing today. Take for example the rate of urbanization, which has doubled to more than 50% in the last 20 years. And with urbanization in this one generation, China is undergoing massive modernization, internationalization, consumption, internetization (I'm not sure if these sentences are really words but you get the meaning) and only one generation of children. All of these structural changes are redefining the consumer market at the same rate. The brand loyalty rules that apply in other markets are clearly not enforced in China because consumers are far less indiscriminate than in other countries. With all the changing competition, demographic and lifestyle conditions, trends and ground rules that have existed for five years are often no longer applied today.

So how does a company start? It's not easy, but it's best to invest time following relevant topics on social media in China. Social media is the buzzword in almost every market, but nowhere is it as commonplace as it is in China. With government control over television and newspapers, Chinese consumers trust traditional information media less than social media.

Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter have been blocked in China, but a number of home networks have filled the void and have been very successful. Sina Weibo (a Twitter-Facebook hybrid) is the most popular microblog in China. It was launched in August 2009 and now has more than 350 million consumers, almost all of whom are high-income middle-class urban dwellers who make up China's consumer spending. Sina Weibo's influence in China is astounding, shaping public opinion and even forcing the government to change policies. This is also important for foreign companies selling to consumers. 55% of internet users say they contribute to calls for foreign brands on Weibo.

Weibo provides a very insightful way to see what Chinese consumers think about brands, products and industries so companies can better understand what they like and what they don't like. It also helps to assess how attitudes are changing. If a red flag appears, it will most likely appear first on Weibo.