Imediatamente antes do ano novo chinês, eu era em uma reunião de vendas de Shanghai onde o proprietário de uma companhia européia discutisse projeções das vendas de borne-feriado. A conversa era toda “nova, inovativo, fora da caixa”, mas a caminhada era toda sobre fazer a mesma coisa velha somente mais grande e/ou mais barata. Eu fui a este rodeo antes. Algumas das iniciativas novas caras do marketing postas no lugar 6 meses há estavam aproximadamente ao whither e morrem.

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Porque você pôde ter observado já, nós adicionamos alguns opções e capítulos novos a nosso Web site redesigned. Um destes é o capítulo da pergunta e da resposta.

When you have a China-related question which you would like to be answered by the visitors of our Web site, simply send an email and we will post it. Or, the other way around, when you know the answer to…

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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