The certificate honor system is very popular in China, actually, there are different kinds of certificates throughout Chinese people’s entire life, and of course, the foreign credential program is welcome here as well, but not all of the credential program is successful, some of them can not have enough people, some of them have “too many” people, some of them get people that they do not want to.
Here are a few tips for running a foreign credential program in China
Demand, Branding and awareness
Before making the decision to offer the credential in China, normally, we recommend doing a market assessment, mainly to understand its brand awareness and how much branding work needs to do. In the meantime, we need to understand whether the credential is needed in the market or can Chinese professionals use the credentials for their daily work. The market demand is a necessary condition, no matter whether the brand awareness is good or not, we will have ways to conduct a successful credential program.
Working with a Chinese Partner
A trusted partner always make life easier, they are the ones who know the market and have the resources to help promotion. In the meantime, conducting activities in China will require to have a partner to do a temporary filing or register a rep office (for more information about those, please read the other Aritcal about FNGO law). Therefore, the first step is to establish a good relationship with the local counterpart
Not necessarily full Licence
Licensing to some company may save some energy, but not always the best way to process, sometimes by this way the number of participation might be enough, but the quality will be declined, which may damage the branding and affect the long term development in the market as well.
Control quality, proceed with quality instead of quantity
As mentioned above, the best approach is to work with a local partner and make sure there is a certain involvement to monitor and control the quality of the course. In the meantime to build the community, create online and offline exchange opportunities, and provide a healthily organic growth platform is very necessary.
Diverse marketing channels
A diversity of marketing channel is very important, especially it could make the image of the organization consistent. As China has a large population, sometimes you may get enough people, but if all the people are from one province, or even one company, or one industry sector, which is not good for overall branding or long-term development.
Protect trademark and Intellectual Property
Entering a new and emerging market, IP and trademark protection always needs extra care. The organization needs to make sure a proper operation and monitoring while delivering the credential in the market, including but not limited trademarks, logos, service marks, trade names, copyrighted materials and publications. The partner or any other parties do not use, reproduce or distribute without prior written consent.
Localization
This is not a must, depending on the industry, but since the content normally is delivered in Chinese, which will make a difference. Sometimes, the market systems are different, and some of the content needs to adapt to local market as well.
Conclusion
Most of the Foreign credential programs in China are welcome and able to running successfully. First step is to find the right partner, then pay attention to the area of the trademark, IP as well as quality, last is to brand and offer relevant benefits e.g. networking opportunity. Maximizing the exposure in the market is always good for all the people who have the credential here.
