The Lunar New Year kicked-off on Saturday, heralding a couple of weeks of festivities, travel and gift giving, as Chinese communities welcome in the Year of the Dragon.
“As the most auspicious of the 12 zodiac signs, dragon years are considered to be particularly important in the Lunar calendar. With 2024 shaping up to be a significant year, Australian businesses will need to be adequately equipped to make the most of it,” Asialink Business Chief Executive, Leigh Howard, said.
Finding a cultural fit
Howard pointed out that a harmonious relationship and avoiding conflict is crucial in working successfully with Chinese counterparts.
“In Chinese culture, face could mean more than money,” he explained. “Be careful of making critical or negative comments in public and share it in a more private setting if required.”
With etiquette playing an important role in business dealings in China, business owners are advised to understand the seniority and hierarchy of counterparts in meetings, including the order in which people speak, where they sit and when they leave.
“A way to build personal relationships with Chinese counterpart is to ask about what their name means and the history of the characters behind it,” Howard said. “Also have your own meaningful Chinese name to help you stand out.”
Since COVID, Chinese consumers have been determined to maintain their pre-pandemic lifestyle, despite the economic downturn, achieving this by becoming more selective in product quality and more sophisticated in the channels they use for purchasing products and services. And Australian products appeal to Chinese consumers as they are perceived to be clean, organic, safe, and authentic. Businesses can build on this ‘edge’ by ensuring that their branding or marketing campaigns use cultural elements that are respectful to Chinese culture, history, and people.
How Australian business can capitalise
The release of Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040 confirms the Federal Government’s focus on building trade with that region. China is a major influence on the region, so rather than seeing Southeast Asia as an alternative market, Aussie businesses should leverage that fact and continue to see China as an attractive market, and take advantage of the big spike in Chine consumers’ spending that the Lunar New Year brings.
Use KOLs in your digital and social marketing
Howard explained that incorporating Chinese Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) in marketing campaigns is key to building trust with Chinese consumers and enhancing your brand among them.
“Chinese consumers, particularly among Millennials and Gen Z, exhibit a strong reliance on KOL recommendations, especially when it concerns new products like cosmetics, beauty items, and food, and turn to KOLs for reassurance through their reviews,” he said.
The long-term view
Howard made a number of recommendations to help Aussie businesses build a long-term, profitable relationship with Chinese consumers:
- Understand how business and regulations work in China, and your own value propositions and the IP assets that underpin those values.
- Consider what brand localisation looks like and control the local version of your brand – registering a trademark in English is potentially disadvantageous if the local Chinese version becomes dominant in the market.
- Be proactive in protecting IP rights.
- Build a strong brand story and entrepreneurial profile that add layers and details to the brand.
- Beware that a Unique Selling Proposition developed in the past may no longer work in the post-pandemic era.
- Invest in market research to understand the nuances of customer preferences, needs and behaviour, and localise your offerings and strategy.
