If any of your questions are not covered by this FAQ, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Questions on doing business in China:

1. I have a small company with limited resources. Can I do business in China?
2. China has been developing rapidly for over a decade. Am I too late?
3. Why should I use a third party to help me get established in China?
4. Will my product sell in China?
5. Will the Chinese government interfere with our business?

Questions on China Market Intelligence:

1. What is the difference between China Market Intelligence and its competitors?
2. I am not sure what I want. Can CNMI help me?
3. I am looking for a specific service that is not listed on your website. Can CNMI help me?
4. Are you a Chinese company?

Questions on the CNMI Market / Consumer Scan:

1. The CNMI Market / Consumer Scan Online Proposals cost €250 and €400 respectively. How can they be so cheap?
2. Is the information in the CNMI Market Scan really relevant to me?
3. Why do you need the information asked for on the order form?
4. I am suspicious of providing you with all this information online. What will you do with it?
5. Can you really tell me how to do business in China without a single phonecall or meeting?

Doing business in China

I have a small company with limited resources. Can I do business in China?
You most certainly can. In fact, China Market Intelligence exists because of this question. Many small or medium enterprises feel they do not have the resources or capabilities to be considering expansion into China. Sometimes this is because they are worried about initial capital requirements for market entry; other times, it is because they think China is a playground for multinationals and domestic Chinese companies alone. Both fears are ungrounded! Everyone can do business in China - that is the entity of this country and what makes it grow so quickly. All you need to know is why and how. CNMI is there to help small companies grow. Our prices certainly are nothing to worry about.

China has been developing rapidly for over a decade. Am I too late?
Probably not. Whilst it is true that most large multinationals already have a presence in China and the 'made in China' label is ubiquitous around the world, it is hard to overestimate the size of China's markets and the capacity of its industries. There are still hundreds of thousands of factories looking to deal with foreign partners, and there is a market of millions of people who are only just starting to participate in the economy. China is changing fast, and business ideas or products that worked ten years ago may not work today. That just means you need to move on from those ideas and understand what is going on today: now that most Chinese consumers have a mobile phone, what will they buy next? Anticipate this question and have an answer ready. Then it is never too late.

Why should I use a third party to help me get established in China?
The Chinese market can be incredibly complicated at times, and many theories and guidelines for doing business elsewhere simply do not apply here. It simply takes knowledge and experience to understand the Chinese consumer or to deal with your Chinese supplier in a manner that makes you feel comfortable and pleased with it. An established third party can be invaluable to help you get to a point where you can do it all yourself. You just need to be careful that your partner has your best interests at heart (ie. no commitments to others) and that it doesn't drain your resources away from the actual goal: making your business in China a success.

Will my product sell in China?
If we answered this question here, we could probably stop doing business ourselves! It really depends on the product and your strategy; there is nothing that will definately (not) work. In order to find the answer, you need to do some research, which is what China Market Intelligence is here to do for you. Of course, you could make an educated guess yourself - like the pizza salesman in southern China.

Will the Chinese government interfere with our business?
Yes and no. If you come here expecting to do your business freely with no government interference whatsoever, you will be unpleasantly surprised. The government in China is simply much more involved than in most other countries. If you know what to expect, however, this doesn't have to be a problem. They are certainly not looking to discourage you from doing business in China - in fact, the opposite is true. The government can provide you with a lot of incentives if you know where to look.


CNMI China Market Intelligence

What is the difference between China Market Intelligence and its competitors?
This question is best answered by our Why CNMI? page, which highlights some of the advantages there are to doing business with us. Our customer value proposition model:


I am not sure what I want. Can CNMI help me?
Absolutely. China can be very bewildering and in the forest of opportunities it can be hard to see the trees. You may have a feeling that you should probably do something in China but you don't know what and how to go about finding out. Our CNMI Market Scan online proposal is perfect in that case. Or, if you're not even there yet and simply want to ask us something before you'll even consider doing business in China, just contact us and we would be happy to provide you with some free advice.

I am looking for a specific service that is not listed on your website. Can CNMI help me?
Possibly yes. Of course, if you are looking for a team of rocket scientists to help build your latest design of space shuttles, then no - I am afraid we cannot help you (but we can point you in the right direction thanks to our Industrial Expert Database). We are not a 'Jack of all trades, master of none' type of services firm that you see so many of in China these days. Our core service is market and consumer research, so we can help you with that. We are in the business of selling information. If that is what you are looking for, but you cannot find a perfect match on our website, simply contact us.

Are you a Chinese company?
We are a company registered in the Netherlands and our founder is Dutch. We are headquartered in Shanghai, and generally have representatives on both sides of the globe.


CNMI Market / Consumer Scan online proposals

The CNMI Market / Consumer Scans cost €250 and €400, respectively. How can they be so cheap?
First of all, both services are cheap because we have eliminated many of the non-value adding activities that usually precede such a research. Once our clients have completed the online form, there is no further need for any meetings, phonecalls, or extensive email exchanges. This saves us (and you!) an incredible amount of time, which is reflected in our costs. Additionally, we have leverage because of volume. Much of the information that is used in our market scans is information that we, as a company, already have access to even without our clients' orders. Therefore, each CNMI Market Scan costs us little more than the time required to research the available data and compile the report. In the case of our consumer research, we partner with Chinese companies in notably the process of completing the field work of research. This heavy reduction in costs is passed on directly to our clients, hence the competitive price.

Is the information in the CNMI Market / Consumer Scan really relevant to me?
Certainly. The fact that our market scan is cheap does not mean it is irrelevant, easily accessible data that you could have found yourself. We work with secondary data from a great variety of sources, many of them within China or obtained through prior research and field work. The real strength of the CNMI Market / Consumer Scan lies in our interpretation and presentation of the data. Each and every report is written entirely from scratch after receiving your online order and confirmation via email. No two reports are the same, even if they are looking into the same possibilities or products. Chinese data often has to be carefully interpreted to be understood the right way: we have the knowledge and experience to do this, and present it to you so that you always know exactly what it means for your business in China. Besides, if you feel that some of the information you need is not covered by the online Market / Consumer Scan proposals, simply contact us for a customized research.

Why do you need the information asked for on the order form?
To help you make your CNMI Market / Consumer Scan as relevant and specific as possible, we need as much information from you as you are willing to share with us. If you tell us "I would like to sell wine in China", we can certainly provide you with a research on wine consumption in China, where it is sold, where it is produced, and what average prices and expectations are. But if you were to tell us "I would like to sell our sweet Muscat wines in China. We can produce up to 100,000 bottles per year, but we sell about half of those in our own outlet in Italy for €5 per bottle", then we can immediately inform you of the fact that sweet wines are indeed the most popular variety in China; that you may want to consider distributing only to a handful of retailers in Shanghai to test an initial year's worth of 50,000 bottles; and to consider a price of up to 150 RMB per bottle (for example).

I am suspicious of providing you with all this information online. What will you do with it?
Personally, we welcome the digitalization of services worldwide, but you are right to be concerned about privacy and safety. We can assure you that any information you share with us is 100% confidential and will be used only for the purpose of advising your business. Nothing will ever be provided to third parties without your prior consent, and even then it will only serve the purpose of helping you get the information that you are after. If you contact us using the contact form, any information you enter there, too, will only be used in replying to your inquiry or comment.

Can you really tell me how to do business in China without a single phonecall or meeting?
Yes, to a certain extent. The CNMI Market / Consumer Scan online proposals are not for everyone. If you require very specific consumer data, for example age, income, and gender distributions as well as behaviour and taste patterns of Shanghai's Muscat wine-drinking population, you should look at our customized research services instead. The scans will also not tell you exactly how to do your business in China. We are not a strategic or management consultancy. The market scan provides an answer to the question "why should I do business in China". The consumer scan provides an answer to the question "who will buy my product in China and why". They both illustrate your opportunities and what you should be careful of, so that you can make a well-informed decision on whether or not to make the move. Consider the CNMI Market / Consumer Scan a guidebook to your travels in China; not a planned itinerary with a tour group.

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