According to IDC forecasts, the China IT Market will grow 16.5% CAGR from 2011 – 2015 and reach $220B in 2015 for hardware, software and IT services. China has become the most significant growth market for technology solutions fueled by their global leadership in the manufacturing sector and the accelerating purchasing power of businesses of all sizes.
The million dollar question to be answered is how are emerging US technology companies offering innovative IT solutions going to capitalize on the China market?
The go-to-market costs for US product companies initiating their market presence in China on their own can be both cost and resource prohibitive so the decision to sell in China is typically put off to sometime in the future. Success in the China market does not have to be put off to the future by following these simple three best practices:
Trusted Channel Partners
Developing cost effective Chinese partnerships is best navigated through trusted advisors who understand the government regulations, know how to sell in China and have a proven track record for customer service and support. It takes so much more than just a tactical plan for selling products and scaling revenue as the US product company’s long term reputation in the marketplace is at stake. Product companies that utilize trusted advisors to select the most appropriate channel partners can assure that the best interests of all parties are achieved. Success in the China market requires channel partners with strong skill sets and expertise selling and supporting enterprise IT products along with having a well established reputation with strong customer references. Raising the bar on selecting best-in-class channel partners will pay off large dividends in successfully building the company brand and fueling growth for the emerging US product vendor. These trusted channel partners in China not only devote the resources toward being trained as experts on the products but also know the competitive landscape and can articulate their knowledge effectively to the Chinese IT customer base.
Understanding of the IT Customer in China
Trying to sell products in China the same way they are sold in the US is a common mistake that emerging tech companies make. The right channel partner can accurately translate all the product documentation in Chinese for effective messaging. IT organizations in China have rapidly become quite sophisticated and have very skilled IT professionals making product recommendations and decisions. The IT investments in China are happening on a scale like we have never seen before and this is creating great opportunities for those product companies utilizing trusted channel partners that can leverage their relationships toward developing these new customer engagements. The Chinese IT organizations are closely scrutinizing product sales presentations and collateral for best in class solutions and the vendors that can clearly articulate their message are the product vendors that are winning business opportunities in China today.
Ongoing Support Services
Chinese IT clients require specialized consulting skill sets from their vendors with the ability to address the unique aspects of their IT infrastructure and achieve the customer’s desired service level objectives (SLOs). Many emerging product companies in the US think that they can leverage their US resources and marketing collateral but it is important for documentation and training to be communicated in Chinese. Additionally, successfully selling IT solutions in China requires a wide range of consulting services including performance tuning, trouble shooting and implementing high availability infrastructures. The China IT market is changing quickly with higher levels of enterprise requirements and the vendors that can respond to that change are best positioned for success. In a growth market like China, competition is very intense and the combination of innovative product differentiation with value added support services have become paramount to successfully selling IT solutions in China.
Summary
Making an investment in selling products in China is clearly an important strategic decision. Not only is the market in China growing faster than any other part of the world but the business partners selected by the US product company need to adapt quickly to all the changes happening in the China market. Forming relationships with the right channel partners for success means delivering products that are priced and packaged right for the customer. These channel resources need to be people that are comfortable with not only the Chinese culture but also the culture of the US product company it is representing and the end result is being an effective bridge of these cultures. The channel resources need to have proven expertise working with Chinese people, have great communication skills listening to customer needs and delivering the specific services required for success. Although this might sound like basic table stakes, most US companies never consider the significance of these attributes when selecting their channel partners in each part of the world. Success is clearly achieved by finding the right partners who hire the right people and have the best interests of the customer in mind when selling best of breed IT solutions. The China IT market is clearly the next frontier for emerging US tech companies to capitalize on.
The million dollar question to be answered is how are emerging US technology companies offering innovative IT solutions going to capitalize on the China market?
The go-to-market costs for US product companies initiating their market presence in China on their own can be both cost and resource prohibitive so the decision to sell in China is typically put off to sometime in the future. Success in the China market does not have to be put off to the future by following these simple three best practices:
Trusted Channel Partners
Developing cost effective Chinese partnerships is best navigated through trusted advisors who understand the government regulations, know how to sell in China and have a proven track record for customer service and support. It takes so much more than just a tactical plan for selling products and scaling revenue as the US product company’s long term reputation in the marketplace is at stake. Product companies that utilize trusted advisors to select the most appropriate channel partners can assure that the best interests of all parties are achieved. Success in the China market requires channel partners with strong skill sets and expertise selling and supporting enterprise IT products along with having a well established reputation with strong customer references. Raising the bar on selecting best-in-class channel partners will pay off large dividends in successfully building the company brand and fueling growth for the emerging US product vendor. These trusted channel partners in China not only devote the resources toward being trained as experts on the products but also know the competitive landscape and can articulate their knowledge effectively to the Chinese IT customer base.
Understanding of the IT Customer in China
Trying to sell products in China the same way they are sold in the US is a common mistake that emerging tech companies make. The right channel partner can accurately translate all the product documentation in Chinese for effective messaging. IT organizations in China have rapidly become quite sophisticated and have very skilled IT professionals making product recommendations and decisions. The IT investments in China are happening on a scale like we have never seen before and this is creating great opportunities for those product companies utilizing trusted channel partners that can leverage their relationships toward developing these new customer engagements. The Chinese IT organizations are closely scrutinizing product sales presentations and collateral for best in class solutions and the vendors that can clearly articulate their message are the product vendors that are winning business opportunities in China today.
Ongoing Support Services
Chinese IT clients require specialized consulting skill sets from their vendors with the ability to address the unique aspects of their IT infrastructure and achieve the customer’s desired service level objectives (SLOs). Many emerging product companies in the US think that they can leverage their US resources and marketing collateral but it is important for documentation and training to be communicated in Chinese. Additionally, successfully selling IT solutions in China requires a wide range of consulting services including performance tuning, trouble shooting and implementing high availability infrastructures. The China IT market is changing quickly with higher levels of enterprise requirements and the vendors that can respond to that change are best positioned for success. In a growth market like China, competition is very intense and the combination of innovative product differentiation with value added support services have become paramount to successfully selling IT solutions in China.
Summary
Making an investment in selling products in China is clearly an important strategic decision. Not only is the market in China growing faster than any other part of the world but the business partners selected by the US product company need to adapt quickly to all the changes happening in the China market. Forming relationships with the right channel partners for success means delivering products that are priced and packaged right for the customer. These channel resources need to be people that are comfortable with not only the Chinese culture but also the culture of the US product company it is representing and the end result is being an effective bridge of these cultures. The channel resources need to have proven expertise working with Chinese people, have great communication skills listening to customer needs and delivering the specific services required for success. Although this might sound like basic table stakes, most US companies never consider the significance of these attributes when selecting their channel partners in each part of the world. Success is clearly achieved by finding the right partners who hire the right people and have the best interests of the customer in mind when selling best of breed IT solutions. The China IT market is clearly the next frontier for emerging US tech companies to capitalize on.