China Confidential

In 1998, McBru conducted the deep tech industry's first psychographic research of engineers, exploring lifestyle and other personal preferences in an effort to better understand the audience our clients market to. The Insight Series of studies has taught us a tremendous amount about what makes North American engineers tick and it's led us and our clients to some very successful marketing programs.

This year, we made a decision to expand the Insight Series to one of the industry's most rapidly emerging and increasingly important markets: China. Over the summer, we surveyed more than 2,000 Chinese engineers culled from the regular visitors to 21ic.com, an extremely popular Web site owned by Hearst Business Media, our partner in this year's study.

We mirrored many of the questions from previous North American studies in order to provide comparative data about these two markets. The results were fascinating (and available for free download at www.mcbru.com). There are some definite similarities among engineers in North American and those in China, but there are also significant differences. Having spent several weeks poring over the results, we came up with some conclusions about the results and their implications for marketers.

I was recently invited to present the study in China. The trip was truly amazing; on the ground in the country of those surveyed, the most powerful aspects of the research became much more evident.

A quick word of acknowledgment and thanks to the folks at Hearst in the U.S., Hong Kong and Beijing, who were not only terrific partners in the study, they were incredibly gracious hosts throughout my China trip, setting up a dozen or so meetings with technology marketers from multinational semiconductor companies, a Chinese distributor and an upstart power supply manufacturer. The goal of these meetings was to share the study and in the process learn more about the Chinese market. We met that goal and then some.

Hong Kong

The first stop on my trip was Hong Kong. And, as an aside, only in Hong Kong do you visit some of the deep tech industry's powerhouse companies in their offices above shops like Prada, Gucci and (my personal fav) Jimmy Choo. After the first day's meetings, it was gratifying to realize that our study and our interpretation of its impact on marketing to Chinese engineers are indeed valid, according to Chinese technology marketing executives. What was even more exciting was the candid input and feedback the technology marketers we met with shared, giving invaluable "color commentary" to our findings. This would turn out to be true of nearly everyone we met with.

One of the study's interesting findings, which has significant marketing implications, is that unlike their U.S. counterparts, Chinese engineers rarely work in teams. That fact, combined with their relative youth (average age is 29) and relatively low formal education levels, suggests marketing tactics such as providing educational content (tutorials, reference designs, etc.) and providing a mechanism for sharing information and discussing challenges (message boards, blogs and other online forums are extremely popular) would be well received. It also suggests that appealing to engineers' sense of autonomy and facilitating their independent work styles would be smart. And here is where the color commentary part comes in. It turns out that part of the not-working-in-teams phenomenon is driven by the highly competitive nature of Chinese engineers, and is amplified by a cultural management philosophy that can euphemistically be called "top-down." It's no wonder then that Chinese engineers responding to our study are less likely to rely on the advice of colleagues than their U.S. counterparts, and are significantly less likely to feel they have freedom to make decisions or to feel they are respected at their jobs. Understanding this dynamic can be invaluable to those marketing to this audience.

Another observation that was shared with me is that Chinese engineers' independent work style is in part a reflection of the one-child policy adopted in China in 1979, around the time many of today's Chinese engineers were born. According to more than one of the marketers we met with in Hong Kong, one impact of this policy is that it ultimately discourages sharing, cooperation and respect for others' talents while perhaps over-inflating each child's sense of their own intelligence and ability. Another layer of complexity when it comes to deciphering the Chinese engineering audience.

Shanghai

For those of you who haven't yet been to Shanghai, it is a remarkable city. Skyscrapers as far as the eye can see, a very active nightlife and an almost palpable sense of the future appearing before your eyes.

One of the most interesting parts of the trip was a visit to a power supply manufacturer ramping up production at its factory outside Shanghai. Starting with the live turtle in the foyer (feng shui at work), it was obvious this factory tour would be unlike any I'd attended in the States. While its physical appearance was one step above a garage shop, it quickly became apparent this company is serious business. From the power supplies they are building for a huge, global medical device manufacturer to their frustration over getting sample parts from semiconductor manufacturers, this company epitomizes the small, extremely aggressive companies cropping up all over China who are successfully competing for big customers and scrambling to keep up with their own ambition.

I learned a phrase the Chinese use to describe this aspect of China's current developmental stage: The hardware is ready but the software is not. This refers to the fact that as fast as this country is pushing itself to evolve, there are infrastructure pieces not yet in place and ways the workforce hasn't been fully prepared to accomplish the goals of management.

Over lunch with a Westerner who is a 20-year veteran of working with technology companies in China, I was told about another hallmark behavior of Chinese engineers: their general unwillingness to ask questions. I filed that piece away as more supporting evidence that educationally focused content is a very smart way to market to Chinese engineers, but that question and answer formats are unlikely to be popular.

Visiting the Shanghai offices of another of the multinationals, an interesting facet of Chinese engineering culture emerged that might be related to the point above: once Chinese engineers are familiar and comfortable with a product, they are loath to change. Further, I was informed that this has nothing whatever to do with loyalty, which is apparently in short supply. It is strictly a matter of convenience and comfort. In addition, it was explained to me that Chinese engineers prefer to be spoon-fed information and do not want to take even simple steps to find it for themselves, a fact that supports a one-click strategy for Web sites and microsites. I was also told that Chinese engineers will never make significant decisions without a face-to-face meeting; email and phone calls are fine to a point, but when it is time to finalize an agreement, nothing substitutes for an in-person visit. Our study shows that Chinese engineers find it somewhat risky to work with vendors outside their region; these insights may explain why.

Beijing

My final stop on this trip was Beijing, where I truly got a sense for the sheer size and scale of China. With a population north of 15 million, there was literally no place I went that wasn't crowded beyond a Westerner's comfort level. That said, it is a city rich with cultural history and breathtaking sights that made the huge crowds worth braving, but that is a subject for a different article!

In Beijing, we were fortunate to meet with a large, successful Chinese distributor. This was the only meeting in which a translator was required. And on that subject, I was surprised to hear from more than one technology marketer that while content should definitely be delivered in Chinese (simplified, of course), it is preferred that highly technical material be delivered in both Chinese and English. And it's not simply a matter that our translation skills are met with some skepticism, it's also that Chinese engineers recognize that they are still catching up when it comes to the most advanced technology, and re-reading content in English is a way to assure themselves they are getting the correct information.

The executives we met with from the Chinese distributor shared some startling information: Chinese engineers don't always choose engineering as a career. In China, universities can decide for students what they will study. Imagine a self-selected English major being shunted into an engineering program. Seems likely that such an engineer would require more support than average once he or she enters the workforce, another opportunity for marketers.

I also learned in this meeting there is a distinct generational divide among engineers in China, with those born after 1980 dubbed "post-dated." This young engineering class is more likely to switch jobs often, is ambitious for financial success, and for success in general. Our studies showed that Chinese engineers greatly admire successful businesspeople, and this fact was confirmed in virtually every meeting we conducted. Ambition and drive are strong among Chinese engineers, but so is a lack of education and resources required to accomplish all their goals. Yet another interesting tidbit for technology marketers.

In fact, the entire trip was ripe with information like the above. In the process of sharing our research with Chinese marketers, I learned far more than they. For many of them, the research validated what they intuitively knew, but the layers of cultural meaning they were able to add to our findings enriched my understanding of this market and audience immeasurably.


If you'd like to learn more, please get in touch. Or, if you have your own insights into Chinese engineers that you're willing to share, believe me, I'm all ears.

Kerry McClenahan

Next month: New Year's Resolutions for Deep Technology Marketers