No doubt, any Western company that wishes to enter the Chinese consumer market needs to take the ordinary Chinese consumer into confidence. In light of earlier experience of some Chinese mothers with certain foreign baby food marketers, consumers of food products in China have now become all the more cautious about Western marketers. The enormous economic and demographic growth China has witnessed over the past two decades have made China the favorite market of consumer goods produced across the world (Kynge, 2007). Unquestionably, building up trust with the Chinese customers is the greatest challenge confronting companies that want to sell to the Chinese consumers. Promotion strategies that focus on the middle class Chinese buyers and relying on the existing distribution network would be a better option for companies to efficiently reach out to the customers. Advertisements that use the endorsement of Chinese baby nutrition specialists and physicians would be valuable in winning the trust of Chinese mothers.
Currently, there is truly a mismatch between the number of children born every year in China and the slow growth of baby food market. On the other hand, a Western company that wishes to integrate its values with that of the Chinese society can see it as a big opportunity. Even as the baby food market is gradually evolving in China, most of the parents are yet unaware of scientifically feeding their babies. For instance, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that babies be fed food supplements along with breast milk from the sixth month onwards (The baby food market in China: a valuable industry, 2015). The quality conscious Chinese mothers often feed babies from the sixth month onwards homemade supplements along with powdered milk. Thus, the Chinese children are accustomed to taking supplements and artificial foods at an earlier age when compared with other children. This shows a huge untapped Chinese market ready to accept baby foods. Therefore, Western companies can easily promote baby food products to Chinese mothers through conveniently appealing the Chinese mothers through their mantra of “made with care to meet the home made quality especially for the Chinese mothers.”
The truth that many Chinese car brands continue to suffer setbacks in the local market due to quality issues, and Chinese customers who perceive foreign brands as superior in quality is good news for promoting vehicles of General Motors in China (Young, 2013). Given the fact that GM vehicles are already popular in China, in the long run, collaborating with the Chinese manufacturers through appropriate joint-venture policies would prove to be more sustainable and economical considering the huge customer base in China. Demand of cars is ever increasing in China as it continues to be the biggest automobile market since the year 2009 (Savadove, 2014). The increasing automobile market also continues to put additional burden on the environment through boosting carbon emission. This compels the Chinese government to impose restrictions in buying new cars. Therefore, GM can try innovative engine designs that restrict environmental pollution.
Promoting wine in China has become all the more exciting and enterprising with the attitude of Chinese significantly changing about eating and drinking, thanks to the influence of Western culture. Unlike the olden days in which the Chinese thought that eating was more of a life function and did not mix drinking with eating, today the Chinese consumers see pairing eating and wine-drinking as a good idea to socialize (Jenkins, 2014). This is attributed to the increase in wine consumption in China in the recent past. Though promoting Western wine through prominent hotels is a good idea, the companies must take into account the fragrance and taste preference of the Chinese consumers in different regions across the country. For instance, Chinese prefer white wine to red and wine prepared from rice.
References
Jenkins, L. (2014). China’s drinking habits no longer about ‘Ganbei.’ The drinks business. Retrieved from http://www.thedrinksbusiness.com/2015/06/ chinas-drinking-habits-no-longer-about-ganbei/
Kynge, J. (2007). “China shakes the world: A Titan's Rise and Troubled Future--and the Challege for America.” New York: Marine books
Savadove, B (2014). China's Booming Car Market Is Terrific News For Western Automakers. Businessinsider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/ china- car-market-up-14-percent-20-million-sales-2014-1?IR=T
The baby food market in China: a valuable industry. (2015). Daxue Consulting. Retrieved from http://daxueconsulting.com/baby-food-market-in-china/
Young, A. (2013), GM, Ford, VW Dominate China's Auto Industry: Why Can't Chinese Companies Like SAIC, Dongfeng, Geely, And GAC Make Cars That People Want To Buy? International Business Times. http://www.ibtimes.com/gm-ford-vw- dominate-chinas-auto-industry-why-cant-chinese-companies-saic-dongfeng-1130893
