Good branding in China matters as Chinese consumers love well-known brands. In the west, we can see a swift in consumer behavior. More people are buying second-hand clothes or products from small, local brands. However, most consumers will always go for domestic or global brands that already have strong branding in China.
In the eyes of consumers, these brands are symbols of reliability, quality, and social prestige. For these brands, it means more sales and more success. Therefore, a successful branding strategy is a key marketing move for foreign companies to win Chinese consumers. Fortunately, there are practices that can help you with branding in China. In this blog post we will explain to you why branding is so important in China. And also, we will elaborate on what can you do to become a well-known brand in China.
Why should you work hard on your branding in China?
Chinese consumers are looking for reliability when purchasing online. They are well aware of counterfeit and poor-quality products and this leads them to buy in a smarter way. In China, there is something we like to call queuing phenomenon. If you have the chance to visit China, you might encounter people queuing for hours even just to buy ice cream. Why is that? If a place is busy, it must be good. And the longer the queue is, the longer are people willing to wait.
It works in the same way with brands. Sales lead to more sales and this gets more consumers paying attention to your brand. Having people talking about you is key to success, as long as they generate a positive impact. A well-known brand often represents good quality. As we says, Chinese people are looking for better quality over quantity nowadays. They pay more attention to the health and the environment.
How to build your brand name in the Chinese market?
Now that we’ve explained to you some of the most important reasons why you need to focus on branding in China. Next, we will introduce you to some of the most efficient methods to do so.
By nature, you want Chinese consumers to get to know your brand and your values. And it’s the most important that you should focus your marketing efforts on the digital world. Chinese people are quite active on the internet. That is to say, they have a habit of checking brands on social media or search engines. Especially when they are about to make a decision on buying something costly.
Invest in a good Baidu SEO&SEM strategy
The first thing is to create a website in Chinese. It will have to be hosted in China or Hong Kong. These two details may be taken for granted, but they are extremely important for your SEO ranking.
E-reputation in China is essential
Chinese consumers are rather suspicious and they are not that loyal to brands, changing their purchasing decisions easier. They are easily influenced, especially by their family, friends, or favorite influencers and they rely on recommendations, opinions, and reputations of brands they are interested in, especially global brands.
If they want to buy something, firstly, they check brands online, on their official sources like a Chinese website or Wechat Store, secondly, go to social media platforms, like WeChat, Weibo, Little Red Book, or Douyin, to see how other consumers are rating these products, they don’t trust official sources as much as they trust word-of-mouth marketing.
You can use this to your advantage by being everywhere your audience is looking for information. You can work on your marketing strategy for all the platforms mentioned above, but also take care of good PR of your company online, show your products on Chinese marketplaces like Tmall and JD or if you’re a smaller company, you can just create a store on WeChat.
Follow these brand awareness strategies, you’ll be giving your audience many good reasons to keep your brand top of mind. Remember, your brand is your strongest asset. It not only generates sales, but also keeps customers coming back. Build your brand the right way and your business is set for sustainable growth.
Come talk to us. Deep Digital China will provide a solid strategy on branding in China.