This article is for those who are new joiners to the Chinese Market. You’ll have some good advice, so if you take care of that you can start with success, instead of struggle. Before anything, you should know that the Chinese market has specific features.

Entering to the Chinese market can be risky mainly because usually there is a lack of deep knowledge about the Asian/Chinese market unique features. But you can overcome this obstacle, if you are following the steps and have a good plan for expanding your business to China.

1. Trademark Protection

It is very important to start your business in China by going through all the trademark processes. If you’re not starting with a trademark, you cannot prevent others from start using your trademark without permission. There are brands that found out their trademark was registered by their supplier in China and other third parties…
Trademarks are a really important part of your business, especially if you operate internationally.

If you have a lot of competition, trademarks will protect and provide the right advantages you need.
On the other hand, if you don’t do your research properly and understand what similarities to avoid with other brands/companies, you can find yourself in trouble very quickly.

Be aware of these before starting the trademark in China:

• Do your research before starting the process. You can’t trademark elements that are confusingly similar to the ones already on the market
• Your trademarks need to be very specific and unique. Be descriptive and think about the specifics of your business!
• If you operate in international markets, apply for trademarks in those countries.
• Don’t file a trademark application without expert support. It can get complicated!
• Use your trademarks consistently. This applies to social media platforms and products.

Good to know, that foreign brands should register their trademark in Chinese characters as well to avoid infringement by rogue businesses. Example of a trademark rights fight:

“New Balance, the American sports footwear brand, fought against rogue manufacturers and sellers for over two decades before finally winning its trademark rights in China in 2017. It received the highest payout in damages for a foreign company in China.”

source

How can you protect your brand in Mainland China?

Here are some points to have an eligible mark for registration in China.

1. The mark must be legal;
2. The mark must be distinctive;
3. The mark cannot refer to the nature or model of good or service;
4. The mark must be available for registration.

Steps of registration are:

• Filling the application
• Choosing the product and service subclasses
• Registering the trademark in Chinese characters.

These are the key aspects of registering your mark in China, but you don’t have to start all this alone. You can find many companies who have the right people and resources to help you establish your brand in China. If you don’t know where to start it, get in touch with us, we have helped many companies with trademarks in China.

2. Building the brand

Building your Brand in China means also to start proving your existence. The main aspect is if you can or cannot bring difference. Don’t forget that the customers always choose what can give them more value and what is meaningful for them.
This perspective should be yours from the start of the business expansion to China. Neglecting this can cause bad consequences for your brand in the long term.

Some tips to be unique:

• Know your audience so you can target them with the right type of content
• Always have relevant creatives
• Have trust and reputation key roles in your business model
• Have a customer loyalty strengthening strategy

China alone has 56 ethnic groups, that shows the great volume of cultures Asia gives home to. Due to the high volume of social and cultural norms, businesses can struggle to understand and serve their customers without any experience in local markets.

The marketing strategies implemented in the western world don’t necessarily work in Asian markets, because consumers value different things.
In China, marketers need to focus on groups of consumers and not individuals. Peer loyalty is where the secret hides because individually they don’t tend to be brand loyal.

3. Discover the partner

Starting or expanding your business in China is a challenge. If you are alone it makes it much harder. It is always recommended to find the right partner who can help you with the launch. Otherwise you may get stuck in some details: trademark, translating issues, different Chinese customer culture, different marketing and social channels etc.

Businesses around the globe are attracted to leverage the high volume of consumers in China to increase profits, but without the right support and consultation, the process tends to lead to business failure or financial loss.
It’s crucial to have the market research carried out by local experts to find the ideal segments and consumers. Also it’s important to have the right implementer partners if you would like to have efficient campaigns and marketing efforts.

In a result-driven business environment of China, buyers are less motivated to check websites, social media, or other press releases to discover your business reputation, etc.

Here are 3 ways to increase your engagement rate with local retailer/ distributors:

• Provide a clear proof of sales history: your sales data or projection helps your future partners figure out if they fit your business or not, so telling the truth will build your credibility, try to avoid just saying your product sold out so quickly without evidence.
• Showing your brand credibility: tell your partners which media talks about your products, which event you were invited, and the trade shows you were in.
• Display where your product selling: partners need to know where your product is selling now, explaining the details of each channel will help you find the right retailers/ distributors.

Build a buyer-like pitch in the right language, distributing it to the right channels will help you get more inquiries.