1. Each region has its own approach and B2B mindset
The first lesson, and perhaps it’s an obvious one, is to reject generalisations as much as possible, as Poppy Robinson, Bray Leino’s Singapore-based regional director for Asia Pacific (part of the Mission group), points out. “There are many different markets within Asia, and each is pretty distinct. Exhibition stands, conferences and product launches might look the same to the untrained eye but will subtly differ from region to region. What works in one Asian country won’t necessarily work in another.”
Mark Cullen, planner at branding and design firm Good, works with a number of B2B clients across the continent. “It’s definitely true that Asia is such a diverse beast that it really shouldn’t be viewed as one homogenous region, whatever your business’ size and presence,” he says, “However, if you were to draw broad themes, then China’s B2B market is influenced far more heavily by government policy and macro-economic influences, whereas South Korean and Taiwanese B2B companies are much more liberal and Western-minded. Japan is another extremely developed but distinct market.”
2. Content isn’t just about narrative – it’s about facts, stats and background info too
When it comes to how content’s written, produced and presented, the gap between the east and the west widens. “We tend to present a lot more background information over in Asia,” explains Poppy. “Big data, for example, is a hot topic in the UK, but it’s less well known in China – so any content you produce must take into account that information available in the west may not be readily available in China.”
Her colleague Tan Kay Kin, CEO of Splash Interactive (also part of the Mission group), points out that while moving from the awareness to the conversion stage can take a mere matter of months in the UK, it will often take far longer in Asia, depending on the target audience. “It’s all about winning credibility and justification before you really make any impact,” he says.
3. Social media channels are completely different
While content often needs rethinking depending on the market, the social platforms used to convey this content are often completely new. Whether it’s WeChat, Viber or Line, a whole new hybrid breed of social networks are making their mark on the economies of the Far East – and they’re used differently to Twitter and Facebook. “In the west social media tends to be for personal use, whereas in the east that distinction is blurred. WeChat, for example, is used by people to do everything from bill-splitting to organising laundry pick-up. It’s much more than just a broadcast/content sharing tool and much more of a lifestyle app.”
WeChat, like WhatsApp, originally offered a chat function – but unlike WhatsApp was always designed with a business audience in mind. “Over 90 per cent of China’s internet population are on WeChat, and it has 700 million monthly active users,” says Kay Kin, “so the majority of companies use it to share content and engage with their customers.”
"In terms of volume of content, in the west less is more, whereas in China more is more"
4. More is more on company website homepages
While white space is held up by western designers as the pinnacle of aesthetic excellence, the thinking in China is a little different. “In terms of volume of content, in the west less is more, whereas in China more is more,” explains Kay Kin. “It’s normal for Chinese websites to contain a huge amount of detail on their pages – this is partly due to the fact that historically download speeds were slower, so people wouldn’t want to have to click through to find more information. However, having white or blank spaces on your homepage could also suggest an intention to keep information from the customers, or suggest that there isn’t much to say about your product or company.”
5. Ignoring traditions and cultures may well alienate customers
These are too myriad and multiple to list here, but are perhaps more pronounced than even the most well-travelled marketer would imagine. “With colour schemes, for example, you have to be really careful,” says Poppy. “Red and yellow can both be considered politically sensitive colours in Thailand as they can suggest an allegiance to the political parties. Similarly, white can signify mourning in parts of south east Asia – so you’d want to avoid using such colours predominantly if you were targeting these areas.”
For Poppy, putting together the invite list for a summer party or product launch can also be ridden with hidden dangers. “In Singapore for example, it’s very important to consider whether it’s appropriate to invite a government minister to the event. If so, this should always be done using the proper invitation channel. But how you’d go about the invitation would differ slightly just over the border in Malaysia,” she says.
"With colour schemes, for example, you have to be really careful... red and yellow can both be considered politically sensitive colours in Thailand as they can suggest an allegiance to the political parties"
6. Pitching might be the same but budgets are very different
The age-old and perennial problem of pitching seems to exist the world over – the big difference for agency-side marketers tends to be the size of budgets to play with. “If you’re from an agency in the UK and you’re expecting the same budgets in Asia you’ll be in for a shock,” explains Poppy. “Smaller budgets can be a big limitation – you might be used to working with 40 per cent of a global budget, whereas in somewhere like Indonesia you could be working with just one per cent of that, so it’s even more important to carefully consider how best to use it.”
7. Marketing automation hasn’t yet taken off
Unsurprisingly, marketing automation (MA) isn’t a tool that’s widely used in Asia, partly due to licensing costs and tighter budgets – but this is changing as a raft of cheaper MA platforms come onto the market. As a result, expect marketing techniques to become ever-more advanced in places where they might have historically lagged. “In some south east Asian markets they still send out mass emails via Outlook,” admits Kay Kin. “So whenever we create email campaigns we’ll always create a version that can go on Outlook.”
