Five Ways Brands Can Gain A Foothold In Asia

Rule one in sales is to find out what customers want and give it to them. In Asia, the appetite for Western products and services is only growing.

Rule one in sales is to find out what customers want and give it to them. In Asia, the appetite for Western products and services is only growing.

A survey published by the Nikkei Asian Review polled consumers in China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines to gauge their tastes in five products and service segments: luxury fashion, fast fashion, cars, smartphones, and internet services.

At the top of the list in all five categories sat brands from Europe and the United States, with only three Asian brands cracking the top three in all five categories: Japan’s fast-fashion retailer Uniqlo, electronics and entertainment giant Sony, and South Korean electronics brand Samsung.

With an anxious Asian market hungry for Western products and services, how can marketing chiefs best present their offerings? CMO.com contributor Bobby McGill once again caught up with Martin Roll, author of “Asian Brand Strategy,” for his expert take on how Western brands can resonate with Asian consumers.

Roll offered five suggestions.

1. Western brands in Asia need to customise their offerings: Brands are about personality. Brands are about relevance. Brands are about resonating with customers. Therefore, Western brands entering Asia should be ready to adopt a two-pronged strategy. On the one hand, they should be responsive to the unique needs and preferences of customers in the different Asian markets. On the other, they should retain certain standardised differentiating elements, such as attractive packaging and a holistic brand identity across touch points.

2. Western brands need to be more culturally sensitive: Despite globalisation, each region in Asia has its own cultures, heritage, beliefs, and value systems. Any global brand that aspires to be successful in Asia needs to be sensitive to these subtleties.

3. Western brands need to collaborate with Asian partners: In this fast-paced world, time is money. Moreover, there is a complex set of cultural sensitivities in Asia. With time and complexity to manage, it would be much easier for global brands to gain a firm foothold in uncharted territories by collaborating with local players who better understand the local market, customers, and competitors.

4. Western brands need to become part of the Asian community: Companies need to ensure that they weave their brands into the social fabric and become part of the community. This means Western brands need to respond to local tastes, spend on building local relationships, and react to social needs.

5. Western brands need to be patient and employ sufficient resources: It takes time and money to become successful in Asia, which is often underestimated by Western brands planning to expand across Asia. Western business leaders and company boards often ignore the high level of determination and efforts by their organisations to succeed in Asia. The Western winners in Asia are brands that make the region their second home and show lifelong commitment.