Juste avant la nouvelle année chinoise, j'étais lors d'une réunion de vente de Changhaï où le propriétaire d'une compagnie européenne discutait des projections de ventes de poteau-vacances. L'entretien était tout « nouveau, innovateur, hors de la boîte », mais la promenade était tout au sujet de faire la même vieille chose seulement plus grande et/ou meilleur marché. J'ai été à ce rodéo avant. Certaines des nouvelles initiatives chères de vente installées il y a 6 mois étaient environ au whither et meurent.

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Car vous pourriez avoir déjà noté, nous avons ajouté quelques nouveaux options et chapitres à notre site Web remodelé. Un de ces derniers est le chapitre de questions et réponses.

Quand vous avez une question Chine-connexe à la laquelle vous voudriez être répondu par les visiteurs de notre site Web, envoyez simplement un email et nous le signalerons. Ou, l'autre manière autour, quand vous savez la réponse…

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Many U.S. small businesses are missing the boat when it comes to China

By Geoff Light

In recent years, China’s strong middle class has attracted attention from businesses worldwide. Boston Consulting Group (BCG) estimates that there are 25 to 30 million middle-class households in China. BCG also notes that these households don’t seem to be losing momentum. Since 1999, middle-class households have accounted for a steady 36.6 percent of China’s wealth*. If American companies are poised to reach these consumers, both businesses and the U.S. economy will have a lot to gain.

Large, American corporations – such as Wal-Mart and Starbucks – paved the way for other U.S. companies to sell products in China. Most recently, high-end fashion retailers have set up shops in the country.  American Fashion Designer Marc Jacobs, for example, has almost the same amount of Marc by Marc Jacobs stores in China as he does in the United States.
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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