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🇨🇳 7 Don'ts and Dos for Winning the China Market
Most Western companies get China wrong. The market size pulls you in. The complexity spits you out.
Stephen Tseng
November 19, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes
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Dminorstudio Newsletter
19th November, 2025
Hey, Stephen here.
Most Western companies get China wrong.
The market size pulls you in.
The complexity spits you out.
Brutal truth: Most fail before they start.
Why Western B2B Companies Struggle
Here's what kills Western B2B companies in China:
Burning cash before testing → Run small pilots first. Learn what works before betting big.
Copy-pasting home playbooks → New York strategies don't work in Shanghai. Different market, different rules.
Misreading digital DNA → WeChat isn't Facebook. It's a super app—messaging, payments, mini-programs, everything.
Missing user behaviors → Chinese buyers research differently. They buy differently. They trust differently.
Wrong value proposition → Local pain points need local solutions. What matters to your US clients doesn't matter here.
Zero focus → Trying to serve everyone = serving no one. Pick your niche and own it.
Chasing quick wins → China rewards patience. Think years, not quarters.
What Actually Works
Success in China takes two things:
Patience → Build relationships. Earn trust. Play the long game.
Fast adaptation → Test. Learn. Pivot. Repeat.
Forget shortcuts.
Lean into learning.
Winners?
They know China is a marathon.
The China Approach
Most companies fail because they treat China like any other market.
It's not.
Here's what works:
Start small → Pilot programs over big launches
Hire local → They understand the culture, platforms, and buyers
Embrace WeChat → It's where business happens
Build trust first → Relationships beat transactions every time
Stay flexible → What worked last year might not work today
China isn't impossible.
But it requires humility and commitment.
The best time to enter China is when you're ready to learn—not when you're desperate to sell.
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Today’s insights:
Are You Still Pitching Features? Why Prospects Just Don’t Care
How B2B Marketing Is Changing: 16 Big Post-Covid Evolutions
China's Global Push in Retail: What Executives Need to Know
And more…
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🎬 THAT’S A WRAP
Before you go: Here are 2 ways I can help
B2B Digital Marketing Solution — We help B2B companies grow business through proven B2B digital marketing approaches.
China B2B Digital Marketing Solution — We use China-specific digital marketing approaches to help B2B companies grow in China market.
Thank you for reading, and stay cool this hot summer☀️.
— Stephen Tseng
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