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7 Resources to Help Grow Your Business in Asia

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By: Paul Hesselschwerdt

Global Partners Inc. has just completed a 5-part series on Doing Business in Asia.   Our intent was to help grow your business in Asia through timely and thoughtful pieces to help guide companies on the importance of understanding different cultural dynamics of key Asian countries. 

Along the way, we came across others who are writing thoughtfully on this topic.  They were a help to us so we wanted to share these resources.  They might be of help to you.  Just click on the titles to view the articles and blogs that helped us.

1. Harvard Business Review:  What the West Doesn’t Get about China
2. Venture Japan:  Direct Sales in Japan
3. Global China Blog:  30 Guidelines for Doing Business in China
4. Foreign Entrepreneurs in China: 10 Reasons Why Your Chinese Employee is Leaving You
5. Technomics Asia:  Wealth through Health – A Path for Business Success in China
6. Gordian Business:  Seize the Opportunity of Turbulence
7. Strategic Accounts Management Association:  How can SAMs Overcome the Challenges of Helping their Customers Grow in China?

We’ve also published a Free ebook around this series called Growing Your Business in Asia: A Guide to Effective Selling, Marketing, Branding and Leadership.

Adapting to the culture of different countries is key to success in growing your business in Asia.  Are these resources helpful to you?  Any stand out?   Let us know and, if you know of any other resources, please send along a comment.   We’d like to learn from you.

Four Areas Where Western Countries Need To Adapt Their Selling And Marketing Approaches In Order To Succeed In China And Taiwan

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By: Paul Hesselschwerdt

None of us need to be reminded of the pace of growth in China, actually China and greater Taiwan as it is sometimes called, particularly in technology segments. For example, production of semiconductors has shifted so significantly to Asia, particularly China and Taiwan, that these two counties now account for nearly half of all world-wide production.

In discussions with sales and marketing people working for one of the top 5 semiconductor companies, it is interesting to note the differences in how they think about meeting their customer needs vs. how their counterparts in the US and Europe do.

In western countries, for example account managers often focus on creating value for their customers by helping to impact the top line of their customers through products that enhance the performance of the end customer product. Using technology to improve the performance of the latest iPhone or LED television ultimately creates innovations which drive higher prices and margins for manufacturers.

In discussions with account managers in China and Taiwan we hear a different story. There, customer value creation focuses significantly on the manufacturing process. This is not surprising, given that many new product designs are done in the west, where customers are looking for innovative designs; whereas the manufacture of those innovative designs is often done in China, Taiwan, Korea or Singapore.

Here are 4 areas where western countries need to adapt their selling and marketing approaches in order to succeed in China and Taiwan:

1. PRODUCT POSITIONING: Sales and marketing people and their managers working in China and Taiwan need to remember that creating value for customers there means focusing more on reducing manufacturing costs and improving overall supply chain costs and efficiencies. This has implications for product positioning, value selling and competitive positioning, all of which should be adapted for the local markets;

2. COMPETITIVE DIFFERENTIATION: Pressure on supplier’s prices, which is a challenge in most markets, is especially difficult in China and Taiwan. Nevertheless, suppliers can create competitive differentiation in areas that enable them to compete on factors other than price. These include positioning total supply chain costs (vs. simply part price), providing local support in engineering, design and supply chain and promoting their company’s global capabilities;

3. SALES GOALS AND STRATEGIES: Most importantly, western managers need to accept the significant differences of doing business in China and adapt accordingly. This will have implications for managing distribution channels, establishing sales goals and strategies, pricing and even sales compensation plans.

4. NO LONGER JUST EXPORT ECONOMIES: Western companies need to recognize that China and Taiwan are no longer simply manufacture for export economies. A recent report in the Harvard Business Review pointed out that “the combined flow of shipping containers between Asia and North America and Asia and Europe is already less than the flow among Asian countries, with much of the latter consisting of goods imported to China.”  In other words, the Asian economies, led by China have established their own regional trading bloc.

The good news is that profitable growth is available for companies that recognize the new opportunities in China and Taiwan and adapt their sales and marketing strategies to reflect the unique elements of doing business there.

How are you planning to capture it?

image credit: gp314