Over the past few weeks, we have used this blog to share some great statistics and information regarding Chinese tourists. By now you should be pretty excited by the huge potential the China travel market holds for your business. This post is where we get down to the really important part – how do you take advantage of this lucrative and growing market? How to enter the China travel market? Read on for information on some of key points that should be included in your overseas strategy.

1. Know your target market – China travel market

The information we’ve been sharing over the past few weeks isn’t just for whetting your appetite. It allows you to understand and picture the market you are looking to enter. Knowing the China travel market is vital when it comes to planning your overseas strategy. Important information, such as who your main competitors will be, plays a large role in shaping your plans for marketing to Chinese tourists.

2. Know your customers – Chinese tourists

Knowing that a lot of Chinese tourists like to travel to our neck of the woods isn’t enough. You need to know exactly what they want, how to appeal to them, who they talk to, where they hang out, and why they do business with their favourite companies. A deep understanding of your target market (in this case Chinese tourists) forms the basis of a strong marketing plan which will allow you to enter their lives and connect with them in a meaningful, and therefore profitable, way.

3. Know where to go – Chinese online platforms

Looking to Google, Facebook and Twitter for ways to build relationships with your target market won’t get you very far. Chinese consumers use Baidu to search, Ctrip and eLong to book hotel rooms, and Weibo and WeChat are where they hang out. You may be trying to get them to come on holiday to the UK, but figuratively speaking you still need to go to them first. Be in the right places in order to see the right results.

4. Know the laws and regulations – Chinese internet laws

Two things are very bad for business – realising that there is a law stopping you from doing what you need to do, and breaking a law that you didn’t know existed. Both can have huge ramifications for your company. China has very different attitudes to privacy and the distribution of information. It is important that you understand these laws, and how to comply with them. This could be something as simple as making sure that the Great Firewall of China doesn’t block your website, or it could be something much bigger that you need to be prepared for.

Get the right people on board

Working with people who know what they are doing gets you access to specialist knowledge and allows you to avoid the pitfalls of entering a market in a different culture. Market Me China provides the perfect link between you and your target market, creating a seamless transition between your Western company and the Chinese language marketing that is output in your image to an eager market of Chinese tourists. Contact us today to start putting your plans into action.

(Image source: “Hotels Laptop Shows Motels Hotel And Room Vacancies” | www.freedigitalphotos.net)