Cashing in on the Chinese Cash Cow and how Realtors can win Business ‘made in China’

Growing Chinese interest in investing overseas was a top global business trend in 2013. According to Jones Lang LaSalle, the U.S. real estate market attracted $3.1 billion of capital from Chinese investors last year – an increase of more than 900% from just $264 million invested the year before. 

The headline figure could exceed the $10 billion mark this year, although the reported numbers by themselves are a small fraction of the true number.

This phenomenal growth has been driven by two key drivers: First, the Chinese government is now actively encouraging outbound investment thanks to a new ‘go global’ policy introduced by them last year.  Second, diminishing yields on domestic real estate investments are making international ones seem more attractive.

Chinese investment hotspots at this time include New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Memphis, San Diego, and Detroit – where investors have been busy snapping up vast swathes of distressed industrial real estate. 

But it’s not just Chinese institutions that are investing: as all those cherished only children reach maturity, their parents want them to have the best education that money can buy.  And since the United States remains home to the best Universities in the world, it therefore comes as no surprise that Chinese parents are looking to acquire property in which their offspring can live whilst studying.

So, the opportunities are clear.  But how can you start reaching out to this colossal growing market? Given the significant cultural and linguistical differences, this is no easy task. But, hey, we all now know that there’s no such thing as easy money anymore, right?

Well, due to the global architecture of the internet, creating a Chinese language section of your website is probably a good place to start.  For this, it is best to engage in the services of a native since automation tools like Google translate usually do more harm than good.

Next, you should ensure that any inbound inquiries are dealt with in the prospect’s native language.  Whilst hiring a Mandarin or Cantonese speaker ‘in house’ is an option, it also poses a risk: once trained, your intern might just on day decide to acquire their own realtor’s licence and compete against you.

To mitigate this risk, it can be more effective, as well as cost effective, to engage in the services of a ‘virtual assistant’ located in China itself.  He or she can then take inbound calls on your behalf, make outbound ones, receive and send emails, source data, and other administrative tasks. Two birds, one stone: Not only will your new assistant will act as your gateway to China, they can also help in a back-office capacity – leaving you free to get out there and grow your business.

Irrespective of whether you elect to go down the insourcing route or the outsourcing one, make sure that Chinese prospects and customers can reach you by calling a regular Chinese telephone number.  Making an international call still remains a psychological block for many people, not only in China, but also in the USA and elsewhere too.

Once you have your Chinese contact infrastructure in place, you can begin the herculean process of reaching out to this massive market.

One way to do this might be to task your Chinese assistant with reaching out to realtors in China who might have clients interested in overseas property.  Your listings could then appear on theirs.  As with anywhere, identifying the good ones will take time.

Another strategy might be to start reaching out to potential customers directly. Like us, the Chinese are voracious consumers of social media.  However, ramping-up your existing campaigns in an attempt to win more business from China is an exercise in futility since Facebook and Twitter have not gotten any traction there.

The good news is that agencies exist that will grab your existing social media content and check that it is compliant with Government guidelines, and then publish it across popular Chinese social media networks such as Sina Weibo, Tencent Weibo, RenRen and WeChat.  This is a neat way of hopping over the almost mythical great Chinese firewall and being on the inside.

Of these, WeChat, has become defacto a standard way of communicating in China.  An English version is available for free, and should be downloaded to your smartphone as part of your new armory of tools to help you win more business from China.

Whilst the Chinese might share our love affair with social media, a face-to-face meeting in Chinese culture holds perhaps even more significance than it does in ours.  Any hard selling will be counterproductive.  Whilst relationship building is important in any culture, it is of utmost importance in this one.

Bear in mind also that the Chinese are avid researchers and might end up knowing more about the property than you do.  Be patient, and treat them with respect.

When it comes to setting pricing, bear in mind that the Chinese are a superstitious people.  Try and avoid the number 4 if possible.  Instead, be liberal with the number 8.

Prior to viewings, you should consider engaging in the services of a Feng Shui consultant who can advise of the best way to present property using the Chinese philosophical system of harmonizing human existence with the environment. 

This will be a slow burn.  Do not expect results overnight.  It’s all about relationship building.  It will take time. China’s a tough nut to crack.  But if you do crack it, the rewards can be truly enormous both financially and, given the esoteric propensity of the Chinese mind-set, possibly spiritually too.

The Chinese New Year of the Horse signifies health and prosperity.  It would seem that now is indeed the perfect time to start looking eastwards and reaching out to this enormous market.

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China language skills ‘vital for overseas property sales’

http://www.opp-connect.com/china-language-skills-vital-for-overseas-property-sales/

Cashing in on the Chinese Cash Cow - how the UK Tourism Industry can reach out to Tourists from China

Given that China is now the world’s most valuable tourist market, last year’s announcement by Chancellor George Osborne that Great Britain is to streamline the process of visa applications for Chinese tourists was perhaps not surprisingly broadly welcomed by all those involved in the UK tourism industry.

The benefits of this long overdue announcement works both ways: the Chinese love all things British -so much so that they even took the trouble to build ‘Thames Town’, about 20 miles from central Shanghai.  And thanks to Mr.Osborne’s announcement, they can now experience the real thing!

But how can those involved in the tourism sector attract more visitors from this colossal market?  Well, having a Chinese language section of your website is a good start, not least since practically all Chinese cannot read or understand English. 

Next, make it easy for prospective customers to contact you by telephone, by means of a local telephone number.  All calls must be answered in Mandarin, and possibly Cantonese – depending on where in China the caller is located. 

Whilst the Chinese do not share our love affair with email, it is important that you can be reached by other means, such as instant messaging and contact forms.  Agents that are deployed to answer inbound calls can also be tasked with making outbound ones on your behalf.

The Chinese do, however, share our love affair with social media – albeit with altogether different platforms.  A Facebook or Twitter campaign aimed at winning more business from China is therefore an exercise in futility.  The good news is that specialist agencies exist who will take your existing social media channels, then screen and translate all material into Chinese, and then help spread the word about your offering to Chinese social networks such as Sina Weibo, Tencent QQ Weibo, RenRen.and Wechat.

As for search, Baidu is their google – but all listings need to be vetted beforehand..

When deciding your pricing, avoid the number 4 if possible.

 The Chinese are a superstitious people, and this number is associated with bad luck.  The number 8, on the other hand, is associated with good luck, so bear this in mind when setting your pricing.

When it comes to paying you, don’t be surprised if your new customers pay you in cash.  For online and telephone bookings, it is important that they can pay you using UnionPay, the only domestic bank card organization in the People's Republic of China.

When your Chinese visitors arrive it is important to treat them with courtesy and respect.  For them, travelling is an honour and they expect to be treated with respect when they get here.

Whilst their fondness of all things luxury is well known, those in the lower to middle end of the market need not worry.  Some stay at budget hotels, only to end up spending thousands of pounds shopping for branded consumer goods which are cheaper for them than in mainland China.

If your offering is a quintessentially British one, then milk it for all its worth – Brand Britain sells well to this vast receptive audience.

If you operate tours, try and include Bicester Village in Oxfordshire on your itinerary if possible.  Their ‘Chic Outlet Shopping’ centre is proving to be a hit with Chinese tourists with Yuan to burn.

Given the expected number of tourists from China, those that spend a little time, money, and effort to increase their visibility to Chinese visitors today can expect dividends both immediately and in the years to come.

Contact Center Terms Explained [video]

A Chinese Virtual Office: The Quick and Easy way to Start Expanding Into China

As anyone who has ever tried expanding into China can testify, the process of so doing can be fraught with difficulties: over and above the cultural and linguistical challenges, there are a raft of potential obstacles which include compliance with Government policies and labor laws, as well the obligations associated with insurance, leasing of offices and hiring of staff.

This having been said, the potential of this vast and fast growing market are simply too big to ignore: China is the world's fastest-growing major economy, with growth rates averaging 9.8% over the past 30 years and it could become the world's largest economy sometime as early as 2020.

If your Business transcends the national boundaries of your domestic market, China should therefore be at the top of your list of countries to target as part of your globalization efforts. Understandably though, the difficulties associated with entering China often act as a barrier for taking the first tentative steps into this enormous market.

However, there is a way to circumvent these obstacles - instead of committing yourself to the costs and headaches associated with opening an office in China, you can easily create the impression to potential Chinese customers or partners that you are already operational there by creating a virtual one instead.

Reading an English language only website and calling an overseas number remains a practical and psychological barrier for people in most countries, including China. It is therefore important that prospects can contact you in Chinese and by means of a domestic telephone number, as opposed to an international one.

Inbound calls to your Chinese number must be answered in Mandarin or Cantonese, depending on which region of China the caller is located. Call center agents that answer such calls must be trained so that they have at least a basic understanding of your particular product or service. They should then make available to you such leads in English. Any follow-up activity should of course be conducted in the caller's native language.

Your new Chinese number can then easily be added to the 'contact us' section of your website which thanks to the global architecture of the World Wide Web all potential customers located in China will be able to see. Even better, you can create a Chinese section of your website and there are a wide range of translation companies who will only be too happy to help you in this process.

If you elect to have a Chinese standalone version of your website, then work with a company that can help you get listed on Baidu, China's answer to Google. Doing so will greatly improve the chances of being found by potential Chinese customers who are actively seeking out your particular goods or services.

By establishing a virtual Chinese office, you will be able to capitalize on the opportunities on the afforded by this colossal market at a fraction of the costs and risks associated with setting up a real one.