TNS Outlines Six Golden Rules for Doing Business in China

TNS Outlines Six Golden Rules for Doing Business in China

November 28, 2007

3 Do's and 3 Don'ts to Increase the Chances of Success in
China's Complex and Sophisticated Market Place


    SHANGHAI, Nov. 28 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- As many
companies, both national and international, are seeking to
expand their business in China, they are realising the need
to tailor their marketing strategies to take into account
the regional differences that exist in such a diverse
economy.  China is a vast and complex market and it is
critical for a marketer to keep a hand on the pulse of the
consumers all the way.  

    With the expansion of product categories, modernisation
of the market place, the evolution of retail sectors and the
increasing consumer demand for information and choice, the
need for consumer insight and understanding of purchasing
habits is crucial. Consumer market growth is already hugely
accelerated beyond that of the West and is expected to
continue to evolve at this pace -- offering manufacturers
and retailers, both national and multinational, huge
opportunity. 

    TNS urges companies and brands to think about the
following six Do's and Don'ts before doing business or
expanding business in China:

    -- Don't view China as a single market.  There is no
one face of the 
       Chinese consumer -- for most brands China is not one
market, it's at 
       least several, if not dozens.  This fragmentation
will increase and 
       most brands are now looking at China as a continent
rather than a 
       single market.

    -- Don't just focus on Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou
-- these cities 
       alone do not represent the face of the Chinese
consumer.  There are 
       currently 273 cities in China with population of
more than one million 
       (Note 1).  And consumers in these cities are
increasingly attractive to 
       marketers. The complexity of tapping into these
consumers is increased 
       as they are a population on the move -- 20 million
rural consumers are 
       becoming urban each year.

    -- Don't ignore the rise of the female consumer --
nearly 80% of adult 
       women are employed in the workforce.  This is one of
the highest rates 
       of female employment in the world and is much higher
than most Asian 
       countries.  Therefore the traditional
"housewife" marketing target is 
       much less important than in other markets. 

    -- Do your research first -- businesses must be aware
of entrenched local 
       competition, the complex marketplace, the cost of
business and the lack 
       of available information.  When developing marketing
strategies, 
       companies must ensure that they maintain an
acceptable degree of global 
       consistency but also allow for the flexibility to
deal with local 
       market challenges and opportunities.

    -- Do understand the middle classes -- The rapidly
expanding ranks of the 
       middle classes (more than 100 million in China)
provide a growing 
       population with a disposable income and an interest
in western culture 
       and western brands.  With the emergence of the
middle class, the last 
       five years have seen a leapfrogging of the
consumption of discretionary 
       items, making China, for instance, the largest
mobile phone market in 
       the world, and the home of the second largest
internet population.

    -- Do be aware of local competition -- for example
there are more than 
       1,200 brands of shampoo in China.  Market research
plays a key role 
       with helping local clients maintain their
competitiveness now that they 
       are faced with multinational competition.

    Jim Sailor, Managing Director of TNS Greater China
comments: "The issue of balancing global and local
needs is really a key issue for almost any global company
that is operating in China. If a company is not flexible,
and simply views China as just another country, there is a
risk that they will fail."   

    In the past year, TNS has handled the following market
information consultancy projects in China:

    -- Expansion strategies for consumer products moving
into secondary cities 
    -- Understanding banking habits of affluent consumers 
    -- Studying the different roles of car dealerships in
first, second and 
       third tier cities 
    -- National retail behavior monitored through TNS
Worldpanel 


    Note 1: Source from China City Statistical Yearbook
2006

    About TNS in China:
 
    TNS is active in China both through the wholly-managed
business known as TNS China, and through two joint
ventures: CSM Media Research and CTR Market Research. 

    TNS China 

    In business since 1992, TNS is one of the first
international market research agencies to start operations
in China. In recent years, TNS has grown substantially and
established itself as one of the most successful and
reputed market research and consulting agencies in China,
with 150 professional researchers and more than 300
employees in three full service offices in Shanghai,
Beijing and Guangzhou.  TNS China focuses on the Consumer,
Automotive, Healthcare, Finance and Technology sectors.
http://www.tns-global.com.cn/ 

    CSM Media Research 

    Dedicated to TV & radio audience measurement (TAM)
research, CSM Media Research offers reliable and
uninterrupted rating information for China and the Hong
Kong SAR. As the "currency" of the TV, radio
broadcasting & advertising trade, CSM Media Research
operates the world's largest TV and radio audience
measurement panel, covering the 1.2 billion people in China
who have access to TV and/or radio (including the Hong Kong
SAR's 6.5 million TV viewers). http://www.csm.com/

    CTR Market Research 

    CTR Market Research is one of the leading market
research companies in China. Specialist expertise includes
Consumer Panel, Customized Research, Media & Brand
Research, Media Strategy Research and Media Intelligence.
http://www.ctrchina.cn/ 


    For more information, please contact:

     Cindy Liu
     Marketing & Communications Manager
     TNS China
     Tel:     [phone] x156
     Fax:     [phone]
     Email:   [e-mail]
     Website: http://www.tns-global.com