By Shaun Rein
This commentary is based on an article published on Forbes

In CMR’s latest thought leader position for Forbes, we show that e-commerce is actually booming in China, driven by changing demographic demands, especially from Chinese youth.  It is critical that companies begin to look at how to use the internet to drive sales.

1) Not only should companies utilize the internet for marketing purposes, but they should look at it as a critical sales channel to Chinese youth who are increasingly turning to the internet to buy not just cheap items like books and DVDs but more complex and expensive products like electronics, luxury items, and clothes.

2) Credit cards in circulation will grow 5-fold to 250 million by 2013.  The financial institutions that become the winners will be the ones that focus on customer service and develop strong loyalty programs.
Read the rest of “In China, Online Shopping Soars” or post a comment

By David Hunter

Over the last 10 years, on-line purchasing by the general consumer has become commonplace. This trend will continue to grow at double-digit rates for the foreseeable future. Most of the products are high-quality brand names that are recognized by the public. This buying process saves money, transaction time, and allows buyers to return products for a variety of reasons at the supplier’s expense. This is all part of the doing business in America.

Although this works adequately for the general consumer, common sense mandates that it is not a process that would be recommended for manufacturing companies looking to outsource products or processes. Yet, many SMEs fall victim to the allure of on-line sourcing only to find out it costs them money, time
Read the rest of “Internet Sourcing: Easy To Do, Hard To Control” or post a comment

As most of you have noticed by now, we started 2008 with a complete redesigned website. Of course we were wondering what you, our readers, thought about it. In our previous poll you could give your opinion and now we want to present you the results. Most of you said: “Excellent job”. Thank you very much for this compliment!

If you had the opinion that some work is still needed, don’t worry. We are still improving the site, and adding new chapters, such as China Sourcing Reports and Books on China. Be sure to check out these pages as well!

We are always interested in getting to know our readers a bit better, so today we have added a new poll about how often you go to China. You can find it in the left column of our website. We are looking forward to receiving your answers.

Sam Flemming’s first experience with China is with a sino-American software company, where he trains Chinese employees for a life in the United States. A few years later Flemming, totally at ease in public relations and corporate communication, starts his own company: Internet Research for American companies. His source of inspiration? The unprecedented publicity that companies and their products enjoy on Internet forums and blogs. “This is a big thing. It’s not just thousands of messages, it’s tens of millions. Written by real people, sharing real experiences about real brands, products and services.” Together with his Chinese co-founder and a team of what he prefers to call ‘Internet Word of Mouth Analysts’, Flemming now runs CIC, a company specialized in providing research and consulting based on consumer talk on BBSs and blogs. We’re eager to ask for his experiences.

“Of course, being a pioneer is always a challenge. There are no manuals, no models, nothing about this industry. We can only rely on our experience and knowledge. The government here in Shanghai is always very supportive though towards new initiatives, towards anyone who creates new jobs. We’ve had nothing but good experiences. And there’s also a great advantage in pioneering: the fact that we’re developing by every step we take, means that we are Read the rest of “American Dream in China” or post a comment

Doing business is all about communicating. And China happens to play by its own rules in this. An authority on this subject is Marc van der Chijs. In 1999 he moved to China for Daimler Chrysler and now, eight years later, he owns two successful internet companies and is managing partner of China Bay. The secret to his success? Building relations: “Don’t send your sales manager to China with the mission to ‘come back next week with a contract’. For sure he will be back with a contract, but one which won’t be of much use.” Read the rest of “Tai Chi communication” or post a comment