Qualitative Research in China

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Hamish Liu, Force Research

1.0 Introduction

After agreeing to the WTO’s open door policy, the Chinese economy has grown at an ever increasing rate, attracting many foreign companies to invest in China, increasing the degree of competition among companies. The increasing competition made market research an important tool for companies, which has fueled the growth of the market research industry in China. In fact, within the last 5 years, the industry has experienced a constant growth rate of approx. 20-30%.

2.0 Qualitative research in China

In 2004, industry revenue was 3.2 billion CNY (400 million USD), in 2006 revenue rose to nearly 5 billion CNY (625 million USD).

The Chinese marketing research industry took shape in the beginning of the 90s, and experienced growth of 400 – 500% every year. During 1999-2002, the average growth was around 100%. And during 2003-2006, its growth fell by 20~30%. But please note that the cardinal number is different.

Typical qualitative research methods used in China are: focus groups and in-depth interviews. They make up 25% of market research in China, their percentage of the market revenue is approximately 1.2 to 1.5 billion CNY (160 to 200 million USD).

The development of qualitative research follows the development of the market research industry.

3.0 Problems of qualitative research in China

3.1 Client

Chinese companies put more emphasis on development of personal relationship/guanxi over the modernization of company operations. In western countries, the custom is business before pleasure, whereas in China, it is the opposite. (e.g.: they would have dinner and socialize before talking business).

Qualitative research is normally used before quantitative research or advertisement plans. In China, when the budget is limited, people normally discard qualitative research, because they believe that merely utilizing their own experiences and secondary information is sufficient. This creates dubious information because they do not actually delve into the minds of real consumers.

3.2 Marketing research companies

The cost of entering the Chinese market research industry is relatively low, requiring only a start-up capital of about 100,000 CNY. To be considered a market research company in China, the only requirements are an office, a couple of computers and some pens. Even individuals without any market research background can start up a market research firm in China.

There are strict requirements for moderators in qualitative research. However, in China, many small start-up companies (especially those newly established companies) hire young attractive girls with no academic or technical background in favour of experienced and qualified moderators. This results in unproductive and useless outcomes. These attractive moderators do not care about gleaning intricate details from the respondents, and ignore consumers actual train of thoughts. Because they are not qualified moderators, they do not understand the projects and constantly make mistakes.

3.3 Professional respondent/participants

Problems of professional participants in China:

There has recently been a growing problem with the appearance of Professional participants in market research studies. These are individuals that prey on market research company’s needs for FGD and in-depth interview participants for the incentives. There have been instances where they have banded together to form “professional” associations for mutual support.

They create false results and degrade client trust, not only in the research companies, but also in qualitative research. I have an example of this from 2005.

Worms a.k.a. Professional Participants:

On July 29th, it was a hot summer day, and Mr. Wang (an alias), wearing a fake Rolex and cheap knockoff t-shirt, was just leaving his house.

His briefcase contained 15 different ID cards, 4 separate driver’s licenses, 2 housing certificates to prove his place (s) of residence, 3 medical certificates to prove he has diabetes, asthma, and heart disease, and over 20 business cards presenting him in various professions ranging from university professor, manager, engineer, to merchandiser. His mobile phone receives redirected calls from 7 different numbers. In reality, Mr. Wang is jobless, doesn’t own a car, is in perfect health.

3.4 Languages

When conducting international projects in China, companies will encounter language and translation problems. There are two main problems: simultaneous interpretation for focus groups, and written translations for transcripts and final reports.

There are two kinds of simultaneous interpreters in China certified and uncertified. According to the report of AIIC (International Association of Conference Interpreters), there are only 27 official interpreters in mainland China (17 in Beijing, and 10 in Shanghai). However, most marketing research companies hire uncertified interpreters, usually individuals graduated with majors in foreign studies. These uncertified interpreters have little knowledge about the marketing research industry and industry terminology. Thus there will be cases where they will incorrectly interpret parts of a FGD, causing clients to misunderstand the information and create false conclusions.

The individuals doing the written translations are usually different from the person doing the simultaneous interpretations. Because of this, there will be differences in the outcome of the translation when compared with the interpretation due to different views on the languages, cultures, and context. For example, there is a Chinese word Da-qi, which if translated directly into English would mean atmosphere, but to translate correctly, you would need to know the context in which it was spoken. Depending on how it is used, it can describe something or someone as having a commanding presence or generous with anything or amazing.

In China there are 32 provinces (plus 4 municipalities governed like a province, e.g., Washington D.C.) and 56 ethnic groups. The official language in mainland China is Mandarin, but in different cities and regions they usually have their own local language or dialect. This creates problems for marketing research, because during a focus group, the participants prefer to use their own dialect, and both the moderator and the interpreter may not know the meaning of the local slang being used. For example in Liaoning, their term for old friend means children in many other parts of China.

3.5 Agencies

Training for agencies: large geographical area

As mentioned above, there are over 200 cities in China. The average salary in each city differs, which makes designing standard screening criteria difficult. Therefore, it becomes necessary for us to utilize local contract agencies as they are more familiar with local languages, customs, cultures and business practices. They are better able to understand the realities of the local people when designing screeners to make sure questions are practical and relevant.

3.6 Mode of thinking

Mode of thinking: Chinese under communist rule were discouraged from imaginative thinking, and are not used to expressing their viewpoints openly.

The majority of Chinese consumers are used to a centralized mode of thinking and not good at creative thinking. Hence, the moderator needs to use qualitative techniques to draw out useful responses from respondents. For example, puzzles or projective techniques are required, because Chinese respondents need direction. Harmony is a good example of the Chinese mode of thinking, because Chinese tend to avoid unnecessary conflict by avoiding the expression of viewpoints that may cause debate or argument.

4.0 Solutions towards problems

4.1 Clients:

An international marketing research firm looking to execute a project themselves in China did not know the business culture but decided to go forward with the project anyway. They did not know about the social aspect of Chinese business culture, and proceeded with interviews of upper and middle management without cultivating any sort of relationship with the interviewees. This caused some individuals to refuse the interviews and the project stalled.

Building relationships with clients is an aspect of Chinese culture that foreign companies need to learn in order to be successful. Foreign companies need to show their respect to those in middle management before starting up the project.

4.2 Marketing Research Company

When searching for a marketing research partner within China, it is best to seek out well known companies or members of QRCA. But you need to be careful when choosing branches of large international research firms, large Chinese companies, or companies that quote the lowest price. Because the strengths of the large international branches may not be qualitative research, the large Chinese company may not be good at international projects (especially for the translation problems). Many companies that quote the lowest rates lack reliable quality control (especially regarding problems of professional participants).

4.3 Professional Respondents

Members in the marketing research industry in China are lacking a self-regulatory body.

Some companies offer very low quotations to attract more clients but their cost-cutting strategy results in incorrect and even false data. And the potential industry regulatory body in China, the CMRA (China Marketing Research Association), is still quite young, and cannot currently enforce its regulations with any sort of consistency or reliability.

Suggestions based on past experience：

• Referrals: Participant recruitment can be done through referrals from internal employees, thus ensuring that the participants are not professionals.
• Physical screening criteria: e.g.: For a mobile phone focus group, request the respondents to bring their own handset, the purchase receipt, and ensure that they are familiar with the function of the mobile.
• Mental screening: test potential respondents about the product features, cost, values, etc.
• Database: Creating internal database of participants, to avoid multiple occurrence of the same respondents.

4.4 Languages

With regard to goals and suggestions for language issues:

Contract with the simultaneous interpreter, and provide training on the industry terminology.

Offer project-related materials for the interpreters to study, allowing them to understand the project and special terms better in advance.

Long-term simultaneous interpreters should work closely and become familiar with moderators, so that the interpreter can understand the moderator’s techniques and speech patterns.

If the project involves multiple cities, only one single moderator should be utilized in this instance, because it ensures a consistent translation and interpretation of the discussions.

Written translation should be done in house rather than outsourced, which is why it is important to have a global staff.

The moderator needs to understand not only the background of the project, but also needs to learn the local culture of the participants, in order to better understand their responses and to make communication easier between them.

Here is a case study for language problem:

What technology companies or brands come to mind when you think of healthcare delivery systems, equipment and devices, or technology? (PROBE UNTIL UNPRODUCTIVE)
The voice in the tape:
(After being asked the question, there is silence for few seconds, the respondent is thinking)
(R) I didn’t catch that bit, can you repeat the question again?
(I) I said if you are to think about healthcare delivery systems, healthcare equipment and devices, or healthcare technology, what are the brands or companies that come to mind?
(R) Um, what do you mean? do you mean healthcare equipment or technology? This question is too broad.
(I) Let’s say that as a whole, brands or companies related to the healthcare industry?
(R) Well, Ximenzi,
(I) Apart from Ximenzi, any other brands?
(R) Hui Pu might be another of them. Well, our hospital has just purchased ………device…….and it is not so (diverging away from the question)
(I) (Draw the respondent back) Let’s come back to the question, any other brands you can think of apart from these two?
(R) Well, let me think about it (silence for another 5 seconds). Riben Guang Dian (in Chinese- direct translation is Japan Light and Electronic)
(I) Anything else
(R) That’s about it
(I) Can you think of one more brand or company that is significant?
(R) Dongzhi (in Chinese)

After the interview, the transcriber listens to the recorded tape and summarizes the responses:

Talking about medical service systems, medical facility and equipment, medical technology, I first think of Ximenzi, then Huipu, Riben Guang Dian, and Dongzhi. Translator needs to find the English names for Ximenzi (Siemens), Huipu (HP, more formal is Hewlett Packard) , Riben Guang Dian (a tricky one whose direct meaning is Japan Light and Electronic but the official name known by rest of the world is Nihon Kohden same as Japanese pronunciation), and Dongzhi (Toshiba). Then they edit and proofread the English.

So the translation becomes:

When I think of healthcare equipment, devices, and technology the first names that come to my mind are Siemens, Hewlett Packard, Japan Nihon Kohden, and Toshiba.

See the difference, it might be somewhat different in sentence structure due to diverse culture and language grammar, but we never change the essence of the content.

The above is just an example of how we are able to translate from Chinese to English in a form that would be understandable to our clients.

4.5 Facility/Agency

When designing screening criteria and research content, we should keep in mind the differences among regions and cities.

Chinese domestic companies have a responsibility to perfect and adjust designable criteria and problems after receiving them from clients.

Focus group and monitoring facilities in some secondary and tertiary cities cannot compete with Beijing and Shanghai, so we rent a conference room in the local hotel with video monitoring equipment.

4.6 Mode of thinking

It is not easy to become a qualified moderator. The moderator needs to understand both Western and Eastern cultures. For instance the moderator needs to know that Eastern culture is more of a collectivist society and Western culture is more individualistic. Also Eastern culture relies more on indirect communication, while Western culture prefers more direct communication.

Qualitative research needs to be flexible and cater to different respondents and their respective backgrounds. For example, participants with IT background may not be used to thinking outside of the box and are much more straightforward so effective projective techniques would need to be utilized to delve deep to discover their true thoughts and feelings.

We need to fully understand the different aspects of both Eastern and Western cultures, because this will help us to provide better service to our international clients.

A good example of the difference in Chinese thought is by looking at the usage of projective techniques.

Ineffective Techniques

Brand Obituary: No one would want to use this technique as it is about death, and to take part in such talks about death would be unlucky and inauspicious.

Laddering Technique: With the Laddering technique most respondents get angry, annoyed, or frustrated after the 2nd and 3rd question. They are not used to answering questions that keep searching for the answer behind something, because their mindset is that if something is a fact it is a fact, no reason behind it.

Solar System/Planet Game Technique: This technique doesn’t work because most Chinese are not familiar with planets, solar systems, and other stellar phenomenon/bodies. But I believe that if this or similar techniques are modified to incorporate more eastern culture (i.e. Yin Yang, 5 Elements, etc.) that respondents would be more familiar with. It could work because the problem with asking Chinese about planets and solar systems is that the majority are unfamiliar with the planets, stellar phenomena, stellar terminology and what these things mean or represent. Because the Chinese concepts of Yin Yang, along with the 5 elements can, and is, used to represent all things in nature and the universe they are perfect for such exercises. A simple example would be to have the participants place companies within a graph or chart that represents Yin, Yang and 5 elements and ask what attributes about those companies make them belong to a certain category.

Effective Techniques

Role Playing: Expressive techniques like role-playing work quite well because Chinese are usually very polite and reserved about their REAL opinion about things, but because they are acting as another person they can express their real feelings and opinions under the guise of someone else.

Sentence Completion: This technique works quite well because the respondents can fill out the holes in the sentences the way that they see it, so that they can truly express themselves using this technique because they aren’t answering a direct question.

For projective techniques the most effective techniques are the ones where respondents are not directly asked to express their opinions but rather answer from a third party’s point of view, or indirectly seem to work best as they don’t have to bluntly reveal their personal opinions and views. The ineffective techniques mostly refer to cultural beliefs/taboos, unfamiliar concepts, and differences in ways of thinking that lead to unhappy and unresponsive respondents.

5.0 Selecting a Marketing Research Firm

When looking for a research partner in China:

Step 1: While there are over 3000 market research companies of various sizes operating in China, only approximately 100 companies are able to provide services for international projects. In order to learn about these companies, you should coordinate your search through the internet search engines along with the member directories of research organizations such as ESOMAR, QRCA, and CASRO.

Step 2: To list potential options

• Prestige: Check to see whether the company has ever worked with international clients, have completed international projects, and have several well known clients.
• Size: The company should have several facilities across the country to run Focus Groups, to observe/monitor/record interviews, have an exclusive research network, and have a reasonably sized office.
• Personnel: The company should have staff who have had overseas background, foreign studies majors, or foreign staff
• Experience: For qualitative research an experienced moderator is necessary for communicating with respondents in a casual manner, and effectively directing focus groups and interview.

6.0 Conclusion and further discussion

For many international companies, qualitative research is held in high esteem, but in China the main market research method is still stuck on quantitative research, with qualitative research accounting for a small percentage of all market research in China.

We need to understand the problems of qualitative research in China, so that we can find and use the proper solutions needed to provide better services to the clients. This is the direction market research needs to take in order to further enhance the development of the industry in China.

Contributing Company:
Force Research. Beijing & Shanghai, China. www.forceresearch.com
Contact: Hamish Liu. [email protected]+86-10-64069885 .

Disclaimer: Views & opinions are solely those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect SIS International Inc.’s opinions, views and methodologies. Under no circumstances will SIS, it affiliates, successors or assigns be liable for any loss or damage caused by anyone’s reliance on information contained in this web site.

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