Selling to Chinese Consumers

Overview

This course is designed to help learners sell their products, goods and services to Chinese consumers. To achieve this goal, the course will use evidence-based research in psychology, economics, legal studies and marketing to help learners understand the historical, economic and legal contexts of doing business in China and the behavioral characteristics of Chinese consumers. The course will cover topics in Chinese and global marketing, Chinese consumers, institutional and cultural influence on consumer motivation and behaviors in Chinese markets, and brand management in China.

Syllabus

The Chinese Consumption Market

China is a big consumption market. It is a distinctive consumption market because of its unique contextual and cultural factors. Why do Chinese consumers spend big money on luxury brands? What roles do historical, contextual and cultural factors play in influencing Chinese consumption habits? The current module seeks to answer these questions.

Digital Marketing and Relationship Management

The Internet has created plenty of business opportunities in China. The current module highlights how you can manage relationship with Chinese consumers in the digital era.

Materialism and Conspicuous Consumption

Chinese consumers are found to be more materialistic in a cross-national survey conducted by the I.C.E lab at CUHK. Unlike Western consumers, the rising levels of materialism for Chinese consumers are not driven by low self-esteem. This lecture explains how lay elitism and social mobility affect Chinese consumption characteristics such as materialism, conspicuous consumption and acceptance of culturally mixed products.

Self-Brand Connection, and How to Build a Strong Brand in China

Consumers are becoming increasingly likely to see products from traditional and modern cultures at the same time, and products from different cultures in the same space. Experiencing two or more cultures simultaneously can elicit different responses from consumers. Recognizing the increasing importance of branding in China, this module highlights how you can successfully project the personalities and values that your brand represents without eliciting negative sentiments in your target consumer population.