Top Machinery exhibitions in China-and how to find Chinese B2B clients

China is a Top country for machinery companies

China is the largest producer, consumer, and importer of machine tools in the world.  Most of the imported machine tools are CNC machinery and core components from Germany, Italy, Japan, and South Korea.

China has a huge demand for technology transfers from developed countries in the high-end machinery sector. Leading foreign machinery manufacturers can make use of these opportunities to export, both, equipment and expertise.

Foreign companies in the machine industry can enter the sector only by establishing joint ventures (JVs) with domestic partners. Therefore to enter the Chinese market, foreign companies must find potential Chinese distribution partners.

Seeking professional commercial and research services, participating in sector-specific exhibitions, and utilizing business matchmaking programs will allow foreign machinery manufacturers to eliminate networking uncertainty, facilitate transparent interactions, protect IP, and make sustainable investments.

Due to these reasons, exhibiting and trade shows offer several benefits and a wide platform for brands to:

• showcase their products and services
• communicate their key message to a more receptive audience
• to meet with customers who are proactively looking for a deal, which will result in you being able to collect more leads.
• Have a face-to-face contact with representatives of major companies and with representatives of the new and growing companies in the industry
• get access to the Chinese market and to find potential dealers

However, due to the covid-19, the situation has changed and many fairs and exhibitions have been postponed, therefore how can a leading machinery industry company find potential dealers digitally?

The next most important Top Machinery exhibitions in China in 2020

According to the Fairtradedate website, the next Top Machinery exhibitions appointments in China from June to November are:

• Semicon China (27-29 June 2020)

The Semicon China is an international trade fair for semiconductor technology, which takes place once a year in Shanghai. Since its establishment in 1988, it has developed into the largest and most comprehensive exhibition for the semiconductor industry in China, which maps the entire value chain starting with the design over development to the finished product. The exhibition is divided into six sections: LED, IC applications, TSV, MEMS, secondary technology applications and Fab productivity solutions, smart life. National and international exhibitors show thousands of new products, technologies, solutions and services of the industry and represent the key part of Semicon China. The LED Pavilion is the only thematic exhibition on LED manufacturing in China and covers the largest event of the LED industry in the complete LED production chain. With that Semicon China underlines its position as the most important industry event. In addition, the exhibition is a communication and information platform with informative technical forums, extensive business programs and practice-related workshops.

• Productronica China (03-05 July 2020)

Productronica China is an international trade fair for production technologies. It covers the entire spectrum of production techniques. Many exhibitors will present their innovations in the industry. In addition, visitors can look forward to a top-class conference program. Electronica China provides a platform for face-to-face contact with representatives of major companies and with representatives of the new and growing companies in the industry.

• IAS Industrial Automation Show (15-19 September 2020)

The IAS Industrial Automation Show is an international trade fair for industrial automation technology, which takes place once a year in Shanghai. Since its inception, the event has become the industry barometer of China’s automation market. Exhibitors are presenting, besides industrial automation, electrical systems, robotics and IT solutions, primarily in the fields of auto, papermaking, electricity power, rail transport, machine tool, new energy, building materials, metallurgy and mining, where performance enhancement is important and therefore offers the largest potential for automation. A focus that is gaining more and more importance is the issue of robotics. Intelligent robots from national and international market leaders conquer the exhibition platform and provide technological boom and innovations in the robotics industry. The IAS Industrial Automation Show will be held in conjunction with the ES Energy Show and MWCS Metalworking and CNC Machine Tool Show. Together, the fairs generate a professional audience of more than 120,000 visitors and establish them as important event in the exhibition landscape of China. International exhibitors use these fairs primarily to get access to the Chinese market.

• Propak China (25-27 November 2020)

Propak China is China’s premier processing, packaging and end-line printing exhibition. National and international exhibitors display the latest technology solutions for the processing and packaging of all manufactured products including dairy, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, food, beer, beverages and industrial products. A popular feature of the exhibition is the series of conferences covering such subjects as safe manufacturing, canning technology and more.

Use Lead Generation to attract potential Chinese dealer

In China, Lead generation can offer a huge competitive advantage to companies that understand how to include it within their marketing strategy.

The offline world still uses word of mouth, cold calls, the purchase of advertising space on TV and radio, and participation in trade fairs and sector events. Online communication, on the other hand, has taken on impressive dominance and is today one of the most powerful means of lead generation and conversion.

GMA is a professional in lead generation. To be effective in your lead generation, you need first to develop a good e-reputation. Investing in online advertising and creating quality content will help you develop your e-reputation. Then you have to measure results to improve your performances.

To obtain the desired results from lead generation campaigns, it is necessary to use the most useful tools. In the digital world, we are talking about SEO, SEM, Content Marketing, Social Media Marketing and recommendations.

SEO&SEM

When the Chinese want to find a new product to spread over the country and earn money on that, they go and search on Baidu. They have to find you there and get redirected to your website to see who you are and that you are worth it.

In the West, the website is a showcase of the products and services offered by the company and constitutes a fundamental tool for achieving specific objectives (sales, lead generation, etc.). In China, however, it serves first of all as a guarantee and of the authenticity of a brand.

In a market where counterfeiting is on the agenda, Chinese users are used to checking information through the digital channels available to them, before creating contacts with other companies.

For these reasons, there are a few basic rules you have to follow when constructing your website for the Chinese.

In China, the leading search engine is Baidu, so if a company wants to reach Chinese partners, it must be present on Baidu. In addition:

• Your website should be translated into Chinese because Baidu gives greater visibility to sites that are written in Mandarin Chinese. This helps your website receive more traffic.
• To ensure fast loading it must be hosted in China
• The content should be localized
• The website must also be adaptable to mobile phones
• Combine SEO & SEM

Through SEM it is possible to sponsor sites with targeted campaigns. In this way, your brand’s site will get a better online reputation, an increase in visitors and of course a higher market return.

Specific SEO and SEM activities, therefore, become fundamental, with tools and mechanisms different from those we are used to. For further information about SEO and SEM in China read the following article:

• SEO
• SEM

Localized Content Marketing

Content marketing is also important when trying to attract Chinese partners, as by getting closer to Chinese culture and their tastes you can show the brand value and increase the interest from potential partners.

Don’t forget the QR code

Make good use of the QR code of your website as they are everywhere in China and people use it to scan and read information about the company. Making business cards with the QR code is very common in China.

Social Media Marketing in China

Using social networks as part of a digital marketing strategy is always an excellent idea to generate leads and acquire clients. However, it must be borne in mind that Chinese social media are different from Western ones.

WeChat and Weibo are the most popular Chinese social platforms and they are the best social media platforms for Top machinery companies.  They reach the majority of Chinese clients because Chinese people spend a lot of their time on these platforms.

For example, the following image represents the account of a Chinese top machinery company on Weibo.

To carry out Social Media Marketing activities in China, it is necessary to make use of a native Chinese team, specialized and competent, capable of producing language content aligned with the local culture.

H5 Wechat Brochure

It is an electronic brochure that is easy to share on Wechat. It contains the listing of all your products (in Chinese). It is one of our latest solutions for impressing industrial buyers.

A good way to let potential clients easily find your product list.

Recommendations

In China recommendations mostly come from locals. That’s why it is important for the presence of Chinese forums and to do PR on related Chinese newspapers.

Reviews on Chinese forums

There are many designated forums in China and all of them are Chinese forums in the Mandarin language. The most useful forums are Zhihu and Baidu Zhidao.

Opinions shared on forums have a big influence on the decisions that a Chinese person makes. They can spend hours and days checking the forums to decide who is good to cooperate with.

PR in China: a boost for your Reputation

PR is one of the most cost-effective solutions in the Chinese market. It is a basic of marketing where the right people talk about you. In China, E-reputation is key to success. PR is a good way to build your credibility and attract potential Chinese partners.

How can a leading machinery industry company find potential B2B clients digitally in China?

To find a client is necessary to enter the Machinery market in China. However finding a purchaser can be a daunting task, especially if you’re a non-Chinese speaker. Working with the right people can make things significantly easier and it can be worth spending some money to save time and reduce the hustle.

Visiting one or more trade fairs and exhibitions can help you find various Chinese dealers and purchasers.

However, due to the current lockdown, it is impossible, therefore which digital channel can a brand use?

Searching Online

You can search for a client online, but this can be a challenge. There are currently more than 85,000 industry dealers in China, to contact random clients one by one can take a long time with a low success rate. Not to forget, you’ll increase the risk of coming across unreliable industrial purchasers.

GMA could be your B2B partner

Finding the right dealer for the size of your company, your products and your target clientele is not an easy task.

Fortunately, Gentlemen’s marketing agency is very familiar with the Chinese digital market and its players. Local dealers have no secrets for us. Our expertise allows us to support you in your search for the best machinery client, we can take care of the entire process for your company.

Do you want to know more about How to use digital marketing to increase your success? Contact GMA a digital marketing agency, specializing in the Chinese digital market.

Read also:

• Window Cleaner Robot Market in China
• THE ULTIMATE GUIDE FOR B2B DIGITAL MARKETING IN CHINA
• WHAT DIGITAL MARKETING WILL BE IN 2020