Its economy is second only to the US, and forecast to grow 4.8% in 2022. Its massive consumer market holds enormous potential appeal and interest to foreign brands, for good reason. It is, by far, the world’s largest e-commerce market, reaching ~$1.7 trillion in online transaction value in 2020.

However, technological, cultural, and regulatory hurdles have caused many foreign brands to put China in the "too hard" basket: a strong marketing strategy in China needs to account for all three. China has one of the most advanced digital ecosystems in the world, which includes apps and services unrecognisable in the west, and a sophisticated and hyper-competitive domestic marketing sector. 

Marketers need to also account for cultural and language barriers, in their campaign messaging, along with, sometimes, the product or service offering itself. A successful marketing strategy must also take into consideration China’s regulatory landscape, which restricts how you use Chinese consumer data, what you advertise, and the language you use to describe your product.

You know you have a product, service, or brand that has value. So, how can you make sure it finds resonance with Chinese consumers? 

Be prepared to adapt your marketing content as well as your overall strategy – your China marketing strategy must be more considered than simply a Chinese-language version of your domestic campaign. 

The main challenge to entering the China market is getting closer to where your targeted consumer is online. Tailoring your marketing strategy and digital presence to China is a critical first step and allows you to analyse your performance to refine your strategy further.

How is marketing different in China?

China’s marketing landscape was bound to evolve differently than in the West. 

One of the fundamental cornerstones of its evolution was the leapfrogging of China’s population online via mobile. The Western marketing from evolution from radio, to television, to PC and then mobile did not occur within China.

The steep adoption of online services from 2000, when only 1.8% of the population was online, to 34% internet penetration a decade later, happened largely via mobile phones. As a result, China marketing has developed with a far greater focus on mobile-first content.

Another distinctive feature of China’s marketing culture stems from traditional differences in the Chinese consumer’s decision-making journey.

Historically, they have been slower to trust retailers, according to McKinsey, because of “a legacy of fragmented trade, the lack of an established credit system, and an absence of appeal mechanisms when goods and services failed to meet expectations.” 

As a result, Chinese consumers tend to do far more research ahead of making a purchase and access a variety of sources during that research. Chinese consumers rely, to a far greater degree than their Western counterparts, on recommendations and reviews.

A number of trends within China marketing reflect this driving concern for recommendations, not least of which is the dominance of the ‘KOL’, or ‘key opinion leader’ as a vehicle for marketers. 

Chinese retail evaluation is also far more developed than the standard scoring or comments sections you may be familiar with from Western ecommerce sites. In China, product reviews can be rich sources of content, including images and detailed descriptions of the product.

There is also a far greater focus in China marketing on speed and responsivity, which has sprung up from hyper-competitive domestic growth. Growth in revenue, as opposed to concern for profit, is important to investors in growing economies. 

Because of this, the emphasis for marketers has been on getting it done, rather than getting it perfect. Speed is also a critical factor in how responsive consumers expect brands to be online. Social commerce is a mainstay in China marketing campaigns.

Chinese mega app ‘WeChat’ lets brands post content and interact with customers one-to-one, to field questions and take feedback. China’s ‘on demand’ culture has driven brands to me much faster in how they respond to these interactions.

However, of all the challenges to China marketing, the ‘Great Firewall’ continues to be one of the main hurdles for foreign brands.

International web giants such as Google, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter are completely blocked. The absence of these services has wider implications for the performance of your digital presence which require you to completely rethink your digital China strategy. 

Your English (or international website) will use things such as Google Analytics tracking, Facebook pixel for remarketing, embedded YouTube videos and more. All of these elements mean that your website is most likely not going to be accessible behind China’s Great Firewall. Or if it’s not completely blocked, it will at least significantly impact your website loading speed. 

China’s firewall has led to a digital Galapagos, with major services and apps that may be unrecognizable to Western netizens. A familiarity with this alternative digital ecosystem, and some of its unique features, is critical to your China marketing strategy.

China’s marketing mix

China parallel digital ecosystem features Baidu, instead of Google, and Youku instead of YouTube, and a host of other platforms that are virtually unknown in the West (an exception to this is TikTok, which continues to be a popular app despite being banned in the US for a period of time).

Many of the ‘top ten’ Chinese platforms, identified in a recent report by QuestMobile, will be completely unfamiliar to Western marketers.

Top ten’ China internet platforms

Monthly active users, June 2021

Baidu is a particularly important channel for marketers, being the largest search engine by market share, and the default search engine for most of China. Baidu analytics allows marketers to track many of the same website activity as google analytics, and can be used to help optimise the site as well as garner consumer insight.

Digital marketing in China

So, what do you need to consider when creating a great China digital marketing campaign? A China-optimised website is a critical first step into the Chinese market. Your China website will need to:

• Load (quickly) within China. A China website is a cornerstone for building brand recognition and authority and cultivating trust with consumers. It also supports offline activity, like trade shows and networking events, and establishes a foundation for your paid media campaigns. However, it’s a first step many organisations get wrong. Sinorbis research into 2,000 companies showed that 94% of Western websites are not visible in China.

• Be optimised for Chinese search engines. Sinorbis found 84% weren’t optimised for Chinese search engines. Chinese search engines favour different SEO strategy and activity. Taking these differences into account is critical to building a websites SEO performance.

• Be mobile responsive. A website that is mobile responsive should have text, navigation and call to action buttons that are large enough to read and use without zooming in, so you can navigate the site with your fingers on a touch screen.

• Host content specifically developed for your Chinese consumer. A Chinese translation of your current content may not gel with your targeted consumers. In developing Chinese website content, you should take into account cultural differences, netizen languages (which differ across different platforms), as well as local marketing regulation restricting your use of data and the language you use.

• Consider its integration with an official WeChat account. Social apps are an essential consideration for any China marketing campaign, and the king of all social apps is WeChat.

For more, our detailed guide takes you through the process of building a China website step by step.