Marketing in China
Marketing and markets are increasing becoming international and company’s mangers around the world have failed to acknowledge this fact. For companies to attain sustainable growth they should focus on global markets beyond just being within the local market because they will be outdone by global players. This means that the organizations and the managers of theses organizations should understand the diversity and complexity involved in international marketing (Dicken, 2007).
The managers should have the skills, knowledge and aptitudes necessary for them to be competent in international business (Economist, 2006).This means that managers should go beyond the focus on figures and facts in the economy of country but to get the insists of valuable marketing in that country such as marketing strategies, promotion, branding , marketing communication , positioning , market segmentation , market access, channels of distribution , consumer behavior culture and market positioning among others.
The global market place consists of a population of over 6.6 million people and by 2050 it is projected that the number will reach ten million people according to the reports by the United Nations. There is also an increase of global wealth which acts as a symbol of increase of demand, commercial dynamism and increasing affluence. These aspects have mainly been noted in nations across central and Eastern Europe and even in Asia which new economies are emerging.By looking at China, the country’s economy has made huge strides especially after the1979 market reforms by Deng Xiaoping.
This improved economy in the country has made the people of China to have better improved living making the country to be at the 1/7 the levels of all the leaders in the world. the country also has a high population of and it is predicted that the population will raise from the current 1.2 billion people to 1.5 billion. A company looking at investing in china will be profitable because of the high demand for goods and services as well as the high consumer power to the countries improved economy. However thesis is not a guarantee. An organization has to go beyond d examining the economic figures and statistics to incorporate insights on how to market to this new region. This is the only way which the international organization will remain successful and gain competitive advantage.
The company venturing into the country has to consider the content of the legal system of china and interpret it effectively. The company has to consider the laws of the host country as well as those of the home country. The host country provides directives to the foreign investing companies which could affect the company’s marketing strategies. For example they may be restricted to advertise on media or only specific creative appeals will be accepted.The international economic market is also important to marketers they should understand the various aspects which affect the company’s marketing strategy.
This is in terms of the trading infrastructure around the world made by trade agreements and world institutions in the fostering of international trade. The firms have to be aware of the economic policies in China and the level they are required to compete with other firms in the country. China is among the emerging economies around the world others being India, Russia, and Brazil. High demand is in China for goods such as cellular phones and automobiles among other products which are essential in any growth of market . economic reforms from government directives have made china to have lower restrictions for foreign investors and there has also been an increases of privatization of monopolies which were owned by the states.
The government of China provides restrictions of investing for example Microsoft was offered specific restrictions which affected its marketing strategies after opening an office in Beijing Microsoft initial plan was to use operations in Taiwan to supply the company’s version of windows using the local Mandarin language. Chinas government gave directives to Microsoft to define the standards of coding for fonts of Chinese characters and the operating system to be designed only China. Refusal to do so would mean Microsoft being banned from the country.
This failure of Microsoft was because of the failure to examine the cultural and historical aspect valued in the country by the marketers. Eventually Bill Gates agreed on the requirements of Chinas government by examining the 500 years in history of China. The marketing management team was sacked.High complexity is involved in marketing planning in international arena. This is because the globe is largely diverse with more different cultures, impersonal communications and the use of different languages. This may resulted into the development of native attitude and inconsistent information. Cultural difference might lead to great problems in marketing strategies of a company.
Language difference for example can have significant impact to a product and will determine the advertising campaign to be used and the name of the brand. Cocalo in china experinced greatle pro;blem s at its initial stages because the name sounded like Kooke Koula which means a mouthful of candle wax in Chinese local language. The marketers of Coca-Cola in China therefore had to change the branded name in its pronunciation to become Kee Kau Keele to mean happiness and joyful taste in the local language.MacDonald’s has managed to succeed greatly in China and is planning to opening new stores in various parts of the country.
However at its initial stages it experience problem. This is because on the Image of Ronald McDonald on the brand which symbolized the masked of death according to the locals. This means that for international companies to effectively operate in a country they marketing manager need to understand the difference in the region beyond looking at the facts of the countries economy in order to prevent any cultural gap (Wilson, and Gilligan, 2003). Branding is also crucial to avoid misinterpretation especially as was for the case of Macdonald’s.Western brands in china have flourished greatly. One good example is struck which ha ventured into providing tea to various stores based in China.
The main question to this success of Starbuck is on how the company has managed to balance a foreign brand by making it very relevant to the local user s in China. The main answer to this question is proper research on Chin people and the marketers of Starbuck s discovered that the Chinese people like tea. MacDonald has also known this trick and has made efforts in localizing its products by offering chili garlic McNugget to it customers which have been developed in the local sauce other localized products by McDonald’s are the Beijing Duck, Pizza Hu and spicy and Hot Chicken Kebabs.(Rob, 2010)
.Considering the strategies in marketing is very important for business venturing into international markets, the managers have to go beyond the data information of a country to looking at the aspects associated with the selling of the product and the general success of the company. social factors in a marketing planning are very crucial which will determine how the brand will be branded and how to differentiate the market among many other aspects (Hofstede, 2003).
Reference
Rob, (2010) What Chinese tea at Starbucks means for Western brands in China. Retrieved from
http://www.semanticargument.com/2010/04/26/what-chinese-tea-at-starbucks-means-for-western-brands-in-china/
On March 3, 2011
Dicken, P. (2007) Global shift-mapping the changing contours of the world economy, Sage.
Economist, The (2006) The new titans”:a survey of the world economy
Hofstede, G. (2003) Culture’s consequences: comparing values, behaviours, institutions and organisations across nations international differences in work-related values,
Kotabe, M.and Helsen, K. (2008) Global marketing management, Wiley and Sons.
Wilson, R. and Gilligan, C. (2003) Strategic marketing management: planning implementation and control, Butterworth-Heinemann.
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