China Sales Dog Blog

SpaceX: Not a China topic but too cool to not post.

Watch this 60-Minutes segement. Gotta respect this guy.

 

READ FIRST before positioning YOUR consumer product in China

Here is another excellent article by Tom Doctoroff greater China CEO of J. Walter Thompson regarding the deep seated emotional drivers behind Chinese consumer buying behaviors. A good reference for planning how to position your consumer product or service in China. Even provides insights that may be of use to B2B marketers as well. See Wall Street Journal article "What the Chinese Want".

"The trouble with the world is not that people know too little, but that they know so many things that ain't so." Mark Twain

Enjoy and learn,

Chris

Hidden obstacles to you biz success in China

A successful international consultant we know was recently talking to a board member for a Los Angeles area industrial products manufacturer. The board member expressed concern about the rate of the company's sales growth in China. Specifically, he felt they may need professional advice, possibly support, to put their China business on a faster track. China sales being our company's forte, the consultant suggested to the board member that "China Sage Consultants" might be able to help.

The board member directed their international sales manager to contact us and he did. I met him in CA and listened intently to his story about their business in China. He said "We have our guy in Hong Kong who supports our few Chinese distributors as

Old habits die hard - control, control, control

Seems the Chinese government wants foreigners out of the internal financial information loop. The apparent fear is that foreign institutions such as the U.S. SEC might gain access to sensitive financial information, maybe irregularities, associated with Chinese company audits conducted by the Big Four accounting firms. Such information could hurt the credibility of Chinese companies seeking to raise funding on Wall Street. In other words, it's best to keep the cap on bad information and paint a prettier picture. Good strategy but unfortunately Wall Street is niether that hungry nor that dumb, at least I hope this to be true. Investors won't bite on a Chinese company if its financial reports are good but suspect due to lack of transparency. See article in Chicago Tribune highlighting new requirement for that the Big Four firms in China kick out the expatriates and transition over to Chinese senior partners.

So much happening, it's hard to keep up with the news!

Have a good day,

Chris

Makings of a great "soft power" - does China have what it takes?

Here is an interesting and I believe accurate perspective on the Chinese government's campaign to increase its global "soft power" with the apparent hope of supporting its increasing superpower status. The very idea that China has a campaign to do so is a bit of an oxymoron given that most free-thinkers believe "soft power" arises out of ones very nature and is not acquired through effective "advertising".

Read Joseph Nye's (professor at Harvard and author of "The Future of Power", PublicAffairs, 2011) take as published in the Wall Street Journal. Remember, the more you understand China and the Chinese, the more effectively will you be able to conduct business here.

Enjoy,

Chris