The idea of commissioning market research in China is daunting to most Western companies. It’s a country of over 1.3 billion people with 200 dialects and 57 ethnic groups. To compound the problem, China is not homogeneous. The larger cities contain educated, Internet-savvy people who earn incomes comparable to U.S. citizens. On the other end of the spectrum, there are people living in villages who survive on $400 a year. If you ask a survey question to both groups, you are likely to get vastly different answers.

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Getting started with market research in China

By Benny Huang

The idea of commissioning market research in China is daunting to most Western companies. It’s a country of over 1.3 billion people with 200 dialects and 57 ethnic groups. To compound the problem, China is not homogeneous. The larger cities contain educated, Internet-savvy people who earn incomes comparable to U.S. citizens. On the other end of the spectrum, there are people living in villages who survive on $400 a year. If you ask a survey question to both groups, you are likely to get vastly different answers.

The first task is to pick your market segment. If you only want information about consumers in tier-one cities such as Shanghai or Beijing, then your task becomes easier. All forms of data collection are available when researching in top-tier cities, whether it’s online surveys or face-to-face interviews. The task becomes more difficult if you want to learn about the rural population. Read the rest of “Develop your social capital” or post a comment