The final withdrawal of Google from China this summer may have stirred the interest of media commentators lamenting that the Internet giant was not able to make things work, but the fact is that from a marketing perspective it has done everyone in the West a big favour.
The problem with Google stemmed not from the company itself, but from the fact that so many Western marketers sought its familiarity in a digital landscape that is alien both technically and culturally.
Goggle was a home from home, a convenient and familiar platform through which to talk with Chinese consumers, but it was a dangerous distraction because its penetration at its highest point was relatively small, and it allowed brands to think they had an effective digital strategy when they were failing to embrace the important mainstream platforms.
Even when a few years ago, Google withdrew from mainland China to its southern fringes and Hong Kong it did not stop many marketers from persevering with a communications lost cause.
Now that Google has gone there is no choice but to properly focus on the communications opportunities presented by the leading indigenous search engines, Baidu and 360, who respectively are responsible for 60 and 15 percent of the search audience. However, it is important to monitor search share trends. Until quite recently Baidu managed up to 80 percent of searches.
In China the web, social media and e-commerce play a much more important role in personal and commercial life than almost anywhere else. The Chinese culture of wanting to learn and share information is tailor-made for the digital environment, and e-commerce sales have so far peaked at £3.4bn a day with a further 40 percent sector growth expected by the end of next year. Social media recommendation accounts for nearly 40 percent of new buying decisions in China. Google never played a significant role in any of this.
Baidu is frequently described as the Google of China because it dominates the search arena. From a consumer perspective the search experience of the two is very similar, but for marketers the processes involved are quite different. Domains have to be registered in China either directly by the brand owner, or through a developer / agency. To be recognized in Baidu searches it is also important that sites are registered and verified with the company itself. It means that in Baidu searches a site can be seen, and verification will display a standard mark that demonstrates company or brand authenticity.
Verification is essential. There are still many false domains and fake products being sold on the web, which means it is important to make use of Baidu’s authentication mark. It is an effective way of creating assurance among consumers.
There is another important process to be undertaken in order to establish digital presence effectively. Companies need to register or acquire as many domains as possible that are close to the brand or trading name as is possible. It will help prevent false sites. Also, cyber squatting is rife in China, and the only way to get the domain or domains you want is to buy them.
But before selecting required domains thought needs to be given to brand name itself. This may appear to be a strange task, but it is crucially important.
This is because Western names rarely translate into Mandarin accurately, and only the very biggest and robust brands have a hope of assuming that consumers will know who they are and what they stand for. Even then it may only work in the tier one cities in which consumers are more aware of international companies and products.
If a name translation is vague or inaccurate there is a strong likelihood that consumers will interpret the name for themselves and apply a negative or slang name. In fact, brands can pick up different names in different regions and the results are very rarely positive from a brand perspective. It can be impossible undo the adoption of negative names.
This may sound like yet another barrier to overcome, but if you get it right there can be big benefits. For example, Clarks Shoes played on the much sought after heritage of Britishness and the quality assurance this provides by calling itself Clarks England. This has proved to be a massively successful naming choice, and is integral to its great success in China.
There are other important differences that need to be taken into consideration in web marketing. There is a lot of legacy technology, including the fact that many browsers run on IE6, which has not had to be accounted for in web build in the West for many years. It is therefore important to take the legacy factor into account when developing a site.
Another key consideration is indexing. It works very differently on Baidu, 360 and other search engines in China compared to Google. Many Western brands assume they can register a website in China, translate the copy and they will be up and running. The simplicity is appealing, but it will not work.
All of the factors described make it easy to understand why Western marketers found the familiarity of Google so enticing. They could be seen to have a strategy based on what was familiar, but the fact is the withdrawal of Google has been an important factor in helping marketers to adopt much more effective thinking that will be far more profitable.
By Peng Yan, Chief Operations Officer at Qumin.
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