Marketing in China: What Foreign Brands Should Know
InfluChina
Chinese influencer agency dedicated to promoting hospitality businesses on Red Book through influencers.
It is not necessary to go into detail about the fact that China has become the most attractive world market, mainly thanks to the significant initiatives and innovations of large companies. That is why knowing marketing in China is of great importance for foreign companies.
China has become the most attractive world market, mainly thanks to the significant initiatives and innovations of large companies.
Brands must develop an adapted strategy for marketing in China if they want to establish a solid business in the country. To achieve this, it is necessary to have a complete understanding of consumer habits and profiles, as well as an understanding of local marketing tools.
Throughout the article we will talk about it; What are the keys to marketing in China for foreign companies that are interested in penetrating this profitable market, but not before exposing where the importance of marketing lies in China.
First of all, if you are interested in knowing and implementing marketing strategies in China that are suitable, do not hesitate to contact InfluChina, a Chinese marketing agency that is dedicated to promoting the presence of foreign companies in the Chinese market.
Importance of marketing in China
Marketing in China has established itself as one of the most attractive options for companies around the world, since its importance has been growing exponentially over recent years until it has become the most important market with the best predictions on the planet.
More and more high-prestige international brands have been entering marketing in China as a result of the present and future views of their growth, and falling behind can be a big disadvantage before the competition.
More and more high-prestige international brands have been entering marketing in China
Due to its exciting technological development, China is a massive market for all industries, since it has turned the Chinese into the most digitized consumers in the world. For this reason, marketing in China is crucial for any company that tries to expand into the Asian market.
Furthermore, we must take into account that in China there are more than 1.4 billion people, of which 70% have access to the internet. On the other hand, in 2024, China generated twice as much money in sales as the United States, being 77% of total sales made through the internet.
Finally, it is worth noting that, regarding online buyers in China, they are constantly increasing, going from just over 500 million in 2017 to almost 900 million in 2024, according to data from ICEX.
Keys to marketing in China for foreign companies
Now that we have put ourselves in context and understand how great the importance of marketing is in China, we can move on to see what are, for foreign brands, the main keys to making an introduction into this market effectively.
One of the first steps to succeed in marketing in China is to localize the brand presence to Chinese standards. This means that companies should adapt to this culture, to its target audience, and to the needs and preferences, which are different from Western ones.
Companies have to adapt to this new and different culture, their target audience, needs and preferences.
On the one hand, it is important that your website is available to be translated into Mandarin since, if it is not, it could be a significant barrier for consumers.
Finally and most importantly,, the brand name also requires to be adapted to ease the perception of the Chinese audience. When choosing a Chinese name for your brand, you must take into account phonetic sounds and pronunciation, doing an exhaustive analysis of the characters that resemble Western phonetic pronunciation.
Lastly, the logo can be of great importance too, Since the importance of color in marketing in China is something to take into account, especially because preferences and associations are different from what we are used to in the West.
Marketing in China, in addition to being difficult, is also characterized by being changeable. That is why you have to be constantly updated on trends, as it evolves at unimaginable speeds.
On the other hand, you cannot enter without first study your market in China. This means that you have to do an analysis of the sector, the competition, positioning in the niche you want to enter, what entry strategy you want to use and what is working for the competition.
You have to do an analysis of the sector, the competition, positioning, entry strategy, etc...
This is not an easy task, so you can use the help of a specialized agency in this, as is the case of InfluChina, a company that will help you create an effective entry strategy, advise you and be your manager throughout the entire path to marketing in China.
A good way to take advantage of the Chinese market is adapt your website. That is why it is necessary to develop a website that meets the demands and preferences linguistic and aesthetic characteristics of Chinese consumers. The following points are the most key to keep in mind to optimize your website for China.
The chinese social networks have undoubtedly established themselves as the most used and most effective marketing strategy in China by all companies, since they constitute the central axis of consumer lives of the great Asian country.
Chinese social media have undoubtedly established themselves as the most used and most effective marketing strategy in China.
Recommended by LinkedIn
According to a survey conducted by McKinsey of almost 6,000 Chinese Internet users, the 95% of residents of large Chinese cities have at least one account on a social network, which reaffirms the importance of these for your marketing strategy in China.
Basically, if you are not present on Chinese social networks, you are completely invisible to consumers, and if they don't see you, it is impossible for you to reach them in other, more traditional ways.
Among the most important Chinese social networks to start establishing that presence we find WeChat, to generate loyalty, Xiaohongshu so that consumers talk about your brand, Douyin to viralize content and increase reach and Kuaishou to reach the growing audience in low-level cities.
If you are not present on Chinese social networks, you are completely invisible to consumers
The Chinese influencers have an increasing capacity to impact consumers purchasing decisions, a fact that companies are taking advantage of to increase sales of their products and services.
Chinese influencers have an increasing capacity to impact consumer purchasing decisions
These influencers are considered authentic and reliable, and they tend to be specialized in some areas, so collaborating with them to promote your products or services can be a great idea.
Furthermore, Chinese consumers are highly dependent on word of mouth when purchasing products (an example of this is the social network of Xiaohongshu), so they are greatly influenced by the recommendations of the people they follow on social networks.
Thanks to the influence of the Chinese market around the world, e-commerce in China has become one of the most profitable industries in the country, both for small and large companies.
To better understand the current data of Chinese e-commerce, it is important to know that the Paycomet report indicates that 77% of China's total sales are made through the Internet, surpassing the 44% of South Korea, which is second in the world.
77% of China's total sales are made through the Internet
Without a doubt, it is increasingly essential for companies that intend to do marketing in China to be present online, through electronic commerce.
Taking advantage of the great forum user groups on Chinese social networks is another useful strategy for marketing in China. In China, forums are still considered relevant, sites where people who share similar interests gather to discuss their favorite topics.
Taking advantage of the large user groups of Chinese social media forums is another useful strategy for marketing in China.
Forums can be a source of valuable information about target customers for foreign brands that want to market in China, as well as a place to implement their content strategy to increase brand awareness and create a digital presence.
Finally, it is important to highlight some of the Chinese networks and platforms focused on B2B.
With more than 100 million monthly active users, Baidu Zhihu offers relevant information on a variety of topics, in addition to the fact that many KOLs (key opinion leaders) are quite participatory in the platform discussions.
Similar to what it would be on LinkedIn, it is necessary to interact with people who respond or react to entries once they have been published. The only difference is that users expect faster reactions. The better the content and engagement you provide, the more authority you can build.
With over 100 million monthly active users, Baidu Zhihu offers relevant information on a variety of topics
With an average of more than 50 million monthly active users, Baidu Tieba offers users the possibility of creating their own forums on any topic, as long as the Chinese Restrictions. Baidu Tieba is fascinating for two main reasons:
Contact a marketing agency in China
As we have seen throughout the article, it is not at all an easy task to do marketing in China, since there are many things that must be taken into account, in addition to the brutality of knowledge that must be acquired before starting.
Thus, if you are interested in establishing a marketing strategy in China, do not hesitate to contact InfluChina, a marketing agency in China that promotes the presence of foreign companies in the attractive Chinese market through its vast knowledge of both Asian and Western markets.
If you are interested in establishing a marketing strategy in China, do not hesitate to contact InfluChina