If you are a company looking to perfect your marketing strategy in China for B2B audiences, you’ll need to create an expert plan that meets the unique needs, values and interests of Chinese business decision-makers.

The vast and lucrative Chinese market is hugely attractive for B2B businesses, but it is also incredibly complex, with significant differences to Western audiences and the added challenges of regionalism, language, different business cultural norms, marketing platforms – with their own administrative processes – and economics to navigate. A Chinese marketing agency will help you to negotiate these complexities successfully in order to smooth your route to market and to gain rapid entry to your B2B target audiences of choice, using a targeted strategy that is likely to include the following:

Research and planning

Fail to plan, plan to fail! Thorough initial research and information-gathering will lead to a stronger marketing strategy in China for B2B marketing and better results. Chinese marketing experts help to fast-track this stage with vital insights, knowledge, case studies and expertise into the complex and interconnecting factors that will influence how quickly you can market successfully to your target Chinese business buyers.

Naming

Some Western brands will go as far as to create a localised name for their brand in China to ensure it is well received. For example, Pepsi-Cola translates into Mandarin as 百事可乐 ‘anything can be happy’.  The choice of Chinese name must tell the story of the brand, sound akin to the Western original, work visually with the characters in Chinese and be available legally. It must also avoid any negative connotations in a culture where superstition still holds weight (as indeed it does in the West – just watch British businesspeople touch the wooden boardroom table in front of them when discussing luck!)

Chinese website optimisation

For your marketing strategy in China in B2B markets to succeed, companies must focus on delivering Chinese websites that are:

1. Created specifically with Chinese B2B target audiences in mind and with appropriate Chinese-language content that offers genuine value
2. Designed and tested for mobile-friendly user journeys, with seamlessly responsive content which operates faultlessly across digital devices
3. Developed with local Chinese landing pages for PPC advertising campaigns
4. Optimised with Chinese onsite SEO
5. Built to operate rapidly, with fast-loading pages and compliant, localised hosting that maximises the user experience and minimises bounce rates.

Local knowledge here is vital. Chinese businesses have different norms and expectations which drive both the way that they do business, and affect the choice of campaign concepts, imagery, language and messaging. Key events in the Chinese business calendar must also be factored in for campaign planning, such as Golden Week in October, Chinese New Year and activity planned accordingly and well in advance.

Content is key

When it comes to Chinese business, in-depth knowledge of Chinese business practices is vital for success. For example, Chinese business people are likely to value characteristics such as courtesy, cooperation, modesty and tradition. The art of ‘small talk’ conversation and pleasantries is also important, as is the avoidance of politics. Seemingly innocuous elements such as numbers can also have greater meaning in Eastern cultures – such as the number 8 which is considered to be extremely lucky. These factors must be built into content that provides genuine value for the Chinese target B2B audience, and which engages them.

Baidu PPC

As China’s largest search engine, a Baidu PPC advertising campaign is a vital way to generate leads from China. However, the administrative processes required to get a Western brand registered on the platform are lengthy, extensive and complex, and can easily take 1 month to navigate. Many Western businesses use a Chinese marketing agency to speed up the process and to reduce the administrative burden on precious in-house marketing resource. We will cover Baidu PPC for B2B marketing in detail in our next blog.

Chinese SEO

In order to optimise content for the target Chinese B2B audience, Baidu SEO can be used to excellent effect as part of a longer-term and sustained marketing approach that links with other digital marketing strategies for the best results, and which supports the content strategy.

Chinese Social Media

Chinese businesspeople will consume content across a range of platforms. For example, Youku and Tudou in China are akin to YouTube and Sina Weibo is similar to both Twitter and Facebook. Most business people in China will also use WeChat to message or exchange details. A Chinese marketing agency can help Western businesses to identify the social communities that their target audiences are likely to be using and create branded channels with bespoke or subtitled Chinese content that resonates with users. Keep an eye on our blog for a deep-dive article into B2B traffic-building and sales growth via Chinese social media, coming soon.

Chinese Online PR

Chinese businesspeople value strong brands and excellent reputations based on consistent delivery, shared values and mutually-beneficial relationships. The right online PR can help to increase your brand’s exposure and reputation and to position it with your target Chinese business audience; delivering these goals and helping to move potential buyers through your sales and marketing funnel towards conversion.

Analytics

To ensure that you are getting the maximum return from your marketing strategy in China for B2B markets, it is vital to track and evidence campaign progress. This allows digital marketing activity to be refined and re-targeted mid-campaign as necessary and for resources to be reallocated towards marketing activities which are delivering the best return. Chinese digital platforms, such as Baidu, do offer Chinese language analytic tools called ‘Baidu Tongji’ which your Chinese expert marketing agency can utilise to produce insightful reports that aid strong decision-making and allow you to optimise your marketing budget for ROI.

A case study in Chinese B2B marketing success

Asendia is a Western B2B business which delivers international delivery services to cross-border e-commerce and logistics companies. Ascendia approached Market Me China in 2016, and we have been proud to operate as their preferred partner for B2B marketing in China ever since. Through our close working relationship with Asendia – one of the world’s leading e-commerce and mail shipping providers and with a presence across 15 countries – our team has successfully optimised their Chinese digital marketing to successfully grow conversions. The ongoing services we deliver for Asendia include Chinese website translation, social media setup and Chinese subtitling for video content, local Chinese landing page for Baidu PPC advertising campaigns, digital PR, onsite SEO and more.

Find out more

The team of Chinese marketing experts at Market Me China work with Western clients to perfect results-driven marketing strategies in China for B2B companies. Whether you are newly expanding your business into China or have an active presence which you are looking to leverage to grow sales, our team can help you to achieve your marketing goals. Contact us for a no obligation chat about your needs and to find out more about how we can help you.

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