Sounds obvious I know. But it’s true and is so the world over. Just as you and I enjoy a hamburger in the middle of Tokyo the majority of the Chinese whom frequent the city of Melbourne, Sydney and other Australian cities do the same. Just as the food is localized, so to are the social networks, banks and other related life products.It’s all about familiarity. Whether it is people, logos, taste or even smells. We as humans tend to do what we know. This creates enormous consideration when marketing a product or business to the Chinese tourist; which if executed properly has the potential to separate you from your competitors and reap many rewards.
So how can a business like yours address this?
Firstly let’s break it down into 2 key categories worth exploring:
1. STORE FRONT – is it at all China-tized? Do you have any signage in Chinese characters? Do you offer Union pay or other leading Chinese merchant facilities? Does your staff speak any mandarins to welcome the visitors? All this can have a immediate impact on you business. It creates a sense of ‘home’ to the tourist and very subtly invites them in to do business with you. 2. SOCIAL NETWORKS – ignore Facebook and Twitter! As most of you know the two global powerhouses in Facebook and twitter blocked by Chinese ‘red tape’. This only means they’re all doing it somewhere else. Most of it is happening on the very large (200m+ users) Weibo; which translates to micro blog. Have you considered featuring a sticker in your shop window and inviting the customers to follow you on Weibo?
By simply localizing small aspects of your business you can immediately open your door wider for more customers. By all reports the Chinese in bound growth has risen 30% year on year of recent times; they’re willing to spend and they are keen shoppers. Consider how many of your customers are Chinese and how much of you communication supports this.
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