消費者想要買國內，但不充分地被說服關於質量

由威廉J。 McEwen

產品安全是消費者心神不安一個廣泛宣傳題目在美國和在別處，当一些最近惹人註目的回憶介入玩具中国制造。 但產品質量和自由從瑕疵不是對中國的考慮關於它的出口。 質量也是一次重大發行為中國公司尋求銷售對越來越精明的國內消費者。

今天中國消費者典型地有他們可以選擇的各種各樣的品牌，他們是否尋找一個微波爐或移動電話。 并且，當它來到工業品時，有競爭的品牌-外國和國內。 結果，產品可用性不是確定的忽略的因素什麼中國消費者將買。

產品質量，真正和被察覺，是對所有消費者的關鍵的考慮，不管他們是否是生存在北京或波士頓。 對保存它的諾言的公司的承諾的信心是，因為Gallup的研究顯示了，根底基礎為忍受，有益， 「參與的」顧客關係。 如果公司違反它的諾言，買家不會繼續買。

Gallup民意測驗在中國包括直接地與這些問題講話的問題，并且服務強調挑戰和面對中國公司尋求在家賣他們的物品的機會。

二個Gallup問題地址潛在的買家』慾望和特選，問消費者什麼他們理想地希望做。 And here the answer is quite clear: Chinese consumers would prefer to buy Chinese-made products. And this preference became even more pronounced between 2004 and 2006. (As an important caveat, these data were collected before the high-profile food and product recalls in 2007)

Chinese consumers would love to support Chinese brands … all other things being equal. But that’s not always the case. A desire to support local brands and local industries is only one part of the consumer’s buying equation and, as any number of Detroit automakers might attest, this desire doesn’t always translate into a buyer’s actual behavior. Chinese companies must also consider the Chinese consumer’s perception of product quality and performance reliability.

Addressing the Quality Imperative

Gallup’s China survey includes a question that taps into prospective buyers’ quality perceptions, images that are critically relevant in a competitive world that offers attractive and available alternatives. Importantly, and certainly good news for Chinese companies, there was a noteworthy decline between 2004 and 2006 in the degree to which the Chinese rate the quality of their country’s manufactured products as “poor” or “only fair.”

However, China’s domestically produced goods are not yet acclaimed as “excellent,” and about one in four Chinese consumers remains at least somewhat skeptical about the quality of what their country’s manufacturers produce. The percentage who feel China’s product quality is high (excellent (7%) or very good (21%)) is about equal to the percentage who feel it is low (poor (3%) or only fair (24%)). Of concern, looking at the vital and attractive urban consumer market, a third (34%) of these prospective buyers rate Chinese-made products as low in quality and only 1 in 20 (5%) deems them to be “excellent.”

The quality of products made in some other countries, while far less familiar to Chinese consumers, is about as likely to be seen as “excellent/very good” and, worthy of note, much less likely to be rated as “fair/poor.” Thus, they represent competitive options with relatively little negative product-quality-image baggage to overcome.

Of course, it’s important to remember that domestic Chinese manufacturers typically enjoy a key economic, cost-of-production advantage over foreign companies. This pricing advantage has real relevance to Chinese buyers who may be increasingly hard-pressed to match their dreams with their incomes. In addition, far fewer consumers now have major doubts as to the quality of made-in-China durables. But it’s also clear that Chinese companies cannot simply rely on the Chinese consumer’s desire to support local industries. In the increasingly competitive marketing environment that now exists in China, Chinese manufacturers must continue to elevate their game. This has implications for manufacturing quality control, as well as for customer service, consumer communications, and brand marketing.

Survey Methods

Results are based on face-to-face interviews with more than 3,500 adults per year in China, aged 18 and older, conducted in 2004 and 2006. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±2 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
 

Dr. William J. McEwen is Global Practice Leader, Brand Management for Gallup. Gallup is a renowned global management consulting firm with over 40 offices around the world including offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Guangzhou.