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Why is all targeting only us and europe?

by Hardik Jogi
27 replies
Hi,
I am new to this "IM" World. I am sorry if this is a stupid question : Why is everybody only targeting US and european consumers in "IM"?

I mean china has 420 million internet users, adding 5-6 millions per month and expected to reach up to 750 million by 2015.
China has amazon and ebay competitors like : Taobao.com , alibaba.com
China has now facebook competitor like : 163.com, tencent.com ( 163.com has more than 500 million page views per month, tencent provides instant messaging service like facebook)
China has now google competitor like : Baidu.com

Why are all "IM"ers just taking advantage of western companies while there is a hidden goldmine?
#europe #targeting
  • Profile picture of the author fazlerocks
    Why are you comparing the so called reputed sites with the low ones in China only??
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  • Profile picture of the author fazlerocks
    Chinese websites which you have mentioned are designed and built for the people of china only. They are also displayed in Chinese language. So how can you expect a person who doesn't understands Chinese to use those sites??
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  • Profile picture of the author Hardik Jogi
    Chinese websites which you have mentioned are designed and built for the people of china only. They are also displayed in Chinese language. So how can you expect a person who doesn't understands Chinese to use those sites??
    I know but you can still target them. US and europe have a large population of chinese origin. Also some translation tools can make things easier.
    This is solely my opinion though.

    Why are you comparing the so called reputed sites with the low ones in China only??
    I am comparing because they can be reputed companies like google,amazon,facebook etc..in future...
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  • Profile picture of the author Hardik Jogi
    Alright, Here is some useful resources for "IM"ers who are waiting to target Chinese market"
    1) TaoBao | Sell on TaoBao | China Market Entry | China B2C E-Commerce ---> Useful service provided by some american professionals to taobao.com and chinese e-commerce. Btw, taobao shares 78 % of the domestic chinese market for online shopping ( just like amazon and ebay)

    2) Imp of ppc in china ----> PPC and SEO in China - Best Blogs Asia

    3) China web market ----> The China Web Market - Best Blogs Asia

    4) Chinese search directories ---> Submit to Chinese Search Directories - Best Blogs Asia

    Disclaimer : I am not affiliated to bestblogs.asia directly or indirectly.
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  • Profile picture of the author fazlerocks
    Do you expect people to wait for the browser to translate their social networking site?? It ll be a tough job man. People have got busy these days in Internet they need to update their status and get their work done as fast as possible.

    Translating a site and then using it ll surely be a tough as well as boring job to attract Europe, US and other non-chinese people.
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    • Profile picture of the author Hardik Jogi
      Originally Posted by fazlerocks View Post

      Do you expect people to wait for the browser to translate their social networking site?? It ll be a tough job man. People have got busy these days in Internet they need to update their status and get their work done as fast as possible.

      Translating a site and then using it ll surely be a tough as well as boring job to attract Europe, US and other non-chinese people.
      I am not saying to translate. I am saying to take help from people of chinese origin living in america or europe. They should know the country's insight. Also they can provide some useful content. They also know the language.

      About translation tools : Like google translate : I am saying to use that only for reference. Suppose i suddenly came across any article written in chinese language than i can just translate it into english.


      As far as business is concerned, business only knows one language and that's "Profit".
      I am learning chinese language. It is not that hard.


      Also note that china has a good amount of english speaking population.
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  • Profile picture of the author fazlerocks
    I am not against the Chinese sites. Don't take me otherwise. The topic made me anxious to think over it. I do live in a country which one of China's neighbor.
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    • Profile picture of the author Hardik Jogi
      Originally Posted by fazlerocks View Post

      I am not against the Chinese sites. Don't take me otherwise. The topic made me anxious to think over it. I do live in a country which one of China's neighbor.
      I know that! I love live in your country only!
      I am just worried about the economic down turn in the US and europe. I was thinking about long term "IM" Plan and thought is it a good strategy to concentrate only on "US" and "European" countries as they are now on the verge of sun-set while the china and india are like "sun rise" countries and will become "brighting stars" in future. I am thinking about a long term strategy like 5 yrs - 10 yrs etc.... as i am planning to make "IM" my main source of income.

      As for now, US and Europe rules. But for how long? if US and European citizens will be unemployed, financially screwed up and countries will be in huge debts, citizens will lower their spending online.
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      • Profile picture of the author Kay King
        It's not just China, of course - though that it is a huge potential market.

        I've wondered something along the same lines at times. When I see marketers trying desperately to sell in the US while unable to write well in English - I wonder if any of them build sites in their own language.

        This is especially true with so many marketers now seeming to be from Malaysia, China, etc - do they target their own country's business or only try to sell in the U.S.? I've been curious about that.

        If I were fluent in another language (which I'm not) I would definitely be creating sites for that language market as well as the English speaking market.

        kay
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        • Profile picture of the author paulie888
          Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

          It's not just China, of course - though that it is a huge potential market.

          I've wondered something along the same lines at times. When I see marketers trying desperately to sell in the US while unable to write well in English - I wonder if any of them build sites in their own language.

          This is especially true with so many marketers now seeming to be from Malaysia, China, etc - do they target their own country's business or only try to sell in the U.S.? I've been curious about that.

          If I were fluent in another language (which I'm not) I would definitely be creating sites for that language market as well as the English speaking market.

          kay
          I very much doubt that they do on any kind of large scale, given the rampant piracy and lack of intellectual property rights that exist over there. Of course, I'm just referring to digital information products here, there is a much higher chance of them being successful with selling physical products and/or promoting them as an affiliate.

          Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author DireStraits
    Well, China may be something of a manufacturing and (developing) economic powerhouse, but I think its levels of consumer demand (at least for the sort of stuff we buy here, and the stuff "us guys" sell/promote online) are way below that of most western countries, perhaps?

    That, and a few other reasons.

    But, what do I know? Not much.
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    • Profile picture of the author Hardik Jogi
      Originally Posted by DireStraits View Post

      Well, China may be something of a manufacturing and (developing) economic powerhouse, but I think its levels of consumer demand (at least of the sorts of stuff buy here, and the stuff "us guys" sell/promote online) are way below that of most western countries, perhaps?

      That, and a few other reasons.

      But, what do I know? Not much.
      Yes, I agree with you that us and european people buy much more but for how long?
      Economic downturn, bad overall economic outlook, high unemployment rate and huge deficits are just making things bad.

      That's why i thought concentrating on china,india for long term. Us,Europe will be your best bet for short and medium term, But i have serious doubts for the long term.
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    • Profile picture of the author paulie888
      Originally Posted by DireStraits View Post

      Well, China may be something of a manufacturing and (developing) economic powerhouse, but I think its levels of consumer demand (at least of the sorts of stuff buy here, and the stuff "us guys" sell/promote online) are way below that of most western countries, perhaps?

      That, and a few other reasons.

      But, what do I know? Not much.
      I have to agree, consumer demand for digital information products (which is what many of us internet marketers focus on) is next to non-existent. There was a thread in here earlier posing the same questions about opportunity surrounding the Russian market.

      The short answer is that demand for digital information products really does not exist there. In addition to that, lax enforcement of digital copyright laws means that your digital products will be freely pirated and copied the moment you release them there (just think of where DVD and music piracy is rampant, and I'm sure you'll understand what I'm getting at here).

      Paul
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      • Profile picture of the author Hardik Jogi
        Originally Posted by paulie888 View Post

        I have to agree, consumer demand for digital information products (which is what many of us internet marketers focus on) is next to non-existent. There was a thread in here earlier posing the same questions about opportunity surrounding the Russian market.

        The short answer is that demand for digital information products really does not exist there. In addition to that, lax enforcement of digital copyright laws means that your digital products will be freely pirated and copied the moment you release them there (just think of where DVD and music piracy is rampant, and I'm sure you'll understand what I'm getting at here).

        Paul
        Yes, I agree with you. Digital products wont sell in china,india etc,,,
        I was thinking about becoming affiliates for taobao or alibaba (they mainly ships physical products...)
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        • Profile picture of the author chicharito
          US and Europe are more accustomed to the idea of using their credit cards to purchase things online.
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        • Profile picture of the author paulie888
          Originally Posted by hardik jogi View Post

          Yes, I agree with you. Digital products wont sell in china,india etc,,,
          I was thinking about becoming affiliates for taobao or alibaba (they mainly ships physical products...)
          I think the main barrier of entry for people in western countries is the language and culture. If you can't write sales copy and connect with the target market, how are you going to be able to sell anything, whether it's a physical or digital product?

          Of course, the obvious answer is outsourcing, and I'm sure that some enterprising internet marketers will eventually get around to implementing this when they realize the enormous opportunity before them.

          Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author KirkMcD
    Why I have given up in the rest of the world?
    Because I've experienced very high fraud and refund rates. It was no longer worth the effort.
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    • Profile picture of the author jan roos
      I think you have a point especially if you think about the new data privacy law they want to pass here in the states which could kill affiliate marketing.

      It probably is a good idea to start expanding into other countries to diversify. I for one will be looking into this more seriously.

      Cheers
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      • Profile picture of the author Kay King
        Hadn't considered increase fraud/refund rates. Wonder it that would still be true if you are working in your own culture/language?

        It's not only translating site pages but knowing how to approach those in another society in a way that sells. Most of our advice is based on what motivates the US/UK buying public. In other cultures, the motivators may be quite different.

        India is a huge market that is rapidly growing and from what I have seen (unless it's my imagination) more marketers in India are beginning to target those in their country. Is that true or just my impression?

        kay
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      • Profile picture of the author Hardik Jogi
        Originally Posted by jan roos View Post

        I think you have a point especially if you think about the new data privacy law they want to pass here in the states which could kill affiliate marketing.

        It probably is a good idea to start expanding into other countries to diversify. I for one will be looking into this more seriously.

        Cheers
        which law are you talking about? I am noob to that. You can just clarify in detail or point out any source.
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  • Profile picture of the author jasonmorgan
    1) I don't speak Chinese

    2) US and Western Europeans have credit cards

    3) Following my stats... visitors from non US and European countries are only burning my bandwidth. They aren't buying so I have no incentive to consider them in my IM bubble.

    4) It's more profitable to redirect that traffic to porn sites that pay .30 per email sign-up. Don't laugh, it adds up.
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  • Profile picture of the author marketing123
    We'll in my opinion, if I am a "IM"er I will not focus really on China. Why? Because I believe Chinese have this loyalty attitude. I mean they buy their own products first before anybody else. If we won't forget that's really the big reason why their economy goes up again right? And comparing to western consumers, western people are easy to deal with as well as they are more versatile than Chinese people.
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  • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
    Originally Posted by hardik jogi View Post

    Why are all "IM"ers just taking advantage of western companies while there is a hidden goldmine?
    The problem with this whole thread is that your premise (there is a goldmine) is false!

    No, there isn't. You may add "yet" but for the moment wise marketers don't venture there because there is no market.

    Recently there was a similar thread about the Russian market. What I posted there should apply here, too (mutatis mutandum).
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    • Profile picture of the author genietoast
      I think you make a very good point, and I had been thinking about this for a very, very long time.

      What about Asian markets? They are a hot potential if marketed well. India + China put together make 1/2 of the world's entire population.

      I found out through a very discrete grapevine that "weight loss" products are NOT searched for the most by USA. It's Vietnam.

      But...

      Just like any niche market, I'd still have to target that market. I mean, what kind of keywords would I target for these sites? Could I find a demographic of buyers and China and India for my niche other than say Google trends?

      It seems that IM products seem very popular in Singapore and Malaysia based on the You Tube appearances of big gurus at world-wide conferences.

      So, yeah. It's huge.

      And even if you did use translation services for the advertisement and salespage, what about the rest of the delivery?

      I wouldn't want to give a false impression that just because the promo was in Chinese that my product is in Chinese. What if the person has a question? How would I explain the answer to him.

      And what if it was just an affiliate product?

      I think it's very possible to do, but just a few logistical things to work out.
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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Originally Posted by hardik jogi View Post

    Why is everybody only targeting US and european consumers in "IM"?
    Because you're on an English-language forum.

    Go to a Chinese-language forum, and things will be very different.

    Of course, everyone seems to be gravitating to the English language over time, if only so they can sell more stuff to those arrogant Americans who refuse to learn other languages. Which is not exactly helping with the arrogance
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