Business in China is booming; is your business in China?

China is the world's greatest untapped market opportunity and Chinese businesses have money to spend. Given the current economic climate in North America, if your business doesn't have a presence in China -- the world's third-largest economy, and still growing faster than any other nation -- you may be missing out on one of the greatest growth opportunities of our time.

Economists say China is well-positioned to ride out the global economic downslide. Imports are on the rise and home and auto sales are up, indicating that consumers are more willing to spend.

Chinese businesses are actively looking for Western partners and new suppliers, but you need to know how to reach them. North American companies stand to make billions of dollars in China, but many are put off by generic "how to do business in China" resources that focus primarily on the importance of building "deep personal relationships" with prospective business partners.

As important as they are, the reality is that personal relationships take a back seat to the quality of your product, strength of your brand and your industry experience. "Of course doing business in China is different than New York", says Ben Tse, chief operating officer of The China List, a North American business that is the leader in comprehensive sales and marketing lists of Chinese businesses for Western marketers.

"However, our recent survey of Chinese executives shows that in these and other fundamental ways, doing business in China is similar to business in the U.S. If you can't get in front of the right people, you'll never have a chance to build a relationship" says Tse. "It's sales and marketing 101."

In addition to a quality product, a strong brand and relevant experience, your company should consider these 3 things to reach the right Chinese executives:

* The ability to research and target businesses in China that may be good prospects for your service or product.

* A Chinese version of your Web site. Nearly half of Chinese businesses surveyed by The China List said Web sites were their preferred method of learning about potential vendors.

* E-mail marketing appropriate for Chinese companies and executives. 44 percent of survey respondents said e-mail was the best way to initially contact Chinese businesses.

Quality data on Chinese businesses is difficult to find. Almost all business market lists in China or the U.S. are offered by third-party middlemen and the accuracy of these lists is often between 20 to 40 percent, or lower. The China List, however, boasts that it has an accuracy rate of 80 percent across all records and close to 100 percent deliverability on e-mails.

"With over 10 million businesses in our database, The China List is the largest single source of Chinese business market data for Western businesses," says Tse. "Along with our ability to target business prospects, we also provide China market research, analysis and consulting services that help make that information actionable, and turn this knowledge into a true competitive advantage."

Despite the economic climate in North America, there is significant opportunity and money to be made working with Chinese companies. And it can be easy when you have the right partners.


Find out if now is the time to explore a China strategy for your business. Visit The China List online at www.thechinalist.com. Copyright ©, ARAnet, Inc.