What Are Western Marketers Learning from Their Chinese Peers?
The Vast Differences Between Western and Chinese Marketing Markets
| Region | China | West |
|---|---|---|
| Channel Granularity | Highly concentrated on platforms of giants like BAT | Fragmented across multiple channels |
| User Data Intelligence | Comes from a single closed-loop data source, where one company can control all aspects of personal data | Comes from dispersed data sources, with data on daily life held by different companies |
| Market Focus | Mobile, with 90% of purchases during Double Eleven coming from mobile | A wide variety of channels: TV, email, magazines, radio, billboards, newspapers, websites, etc. |
| Pace | Fast, optimizing revenue | Slower, optimizing profit |
How Western Marketers Can Learn from Their Chinese Peers
- Build good relationships with major companies like BAT
- Prioritize mobile
- Embrace all-in KOL-driven viral marketing on social networks
- Focus on content marketing rather than simple promotions and collaborations
- Manage multiple channels in the West while navigating large companies' multi-platforms in China
- Balance "thoughtful planning" with "plans not keeping up with changes"
