Putting the Smile back on Service in China

January 14th, 2012 Posted in China Trends
Jan, 14 2012
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My expectations in terms of service have probably been recalibrated in the years since I first moved to China. I’ve been disappointed many times. No doubt it will be a long road towards improving overall service quality, but generally the efforts to promote better awareness of service standards are to be commended – particularly during the Beijing Olympics and Shanghai EXPO. I often wonder what types of expectations Chinese consumers truly have towards service, and two recent experiences got me thinking more about the service culture in China. Read the rest of this entry »

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China’s Marketers can help themselves by helping their consumers to ‘beat the system’

January 8th, 2012 Posted in BTL Promotions, China Trends, Digital
Jan, 08 2012
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Everyone loves a bargain and none more so than the Chinese. I’ll often hear my neighbours comparing the price of their freshly bought vegetables from the nearby wet  market as they make small talk in the elevator, and at work the conversation among colleagues often turns to how to get the best price for something. This all adds up to a well ingrained ’system beating’ mentality, with regards to getting the best price.

I read a great post about ‘System Beaters’, on Joel Rubinson’s market research blog. The post highlights how deals are increasingly guiding our path to purchase, especially in the advent of social media in its various facets, and I feel that this observation is particularly meaningful here in China. Read the rest of this entry »

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