In Mainland China’s “moderately prosperous society”, the last 24 months has seen a pronounced growth in consumer wealth, and this shift in societal affluence has led to an appreciable divergence in consumer trends towards sophistication and aspiration in the products that they desire. For companies operating in Mainland China’s digital and marketing industry, this means that they have to recalibrate their tactics in reaching out to customers, with consumer insight becoming of increasing importance, according to Simon Lance, Managing Director at Hays Greater China.
“With more disposable income, consumers have greater needs in entertainment, personal development and styling. As a result, previously popular, basic brands are declining in esteem, being replaced by more boutique, niche brands. This adjustment of desires means there are an increasing number of options in the market, and marketing and digital companies, particularly those in the retail and FMCG sector, must reconsider tactics in order to access the newly sophisticated market.”
This change means that there is a greater demand for candidates in customer insight and marketing research roles, individuals who can analyse this more intricate consumer segmentation and their buying behaviours. A major facet of this is the implementation of big data.
“Previously marketing centred around campaigns and promotions in order to see what customers wanted,” says Simon. “But now the usage of big data means that companies are able to track consumer needs and foresee what kind of marketing can be used in the future, getting closer to the consumer itself.”
Due to the exponential development of big data in recent years, in the last 12 months marketing and digital companies have moved away from the relatively traditional roles of digital commercial, marketing and commerce towards the technology driven roles of data analysis, ecommerce products and ecommerce big data. However, due to the relative newness of these roles, candidates must look to develop their skillsets.
“Things are moving with such speed that candidates who considered themselves experts just two years ago can no longer make that claim, meaning that they must invest a great deal of time in self-development,” explains Simon. “To this end candidates in marketing are improving through online courses and attending networking and industrial events, while digital candidates are taking additional degrees or courses in management skills in order to meet requirements for desired roles in these areas.”
Companies that possess an understanding of the fast changes in the Chinese market and the increasing complication inherent in the marketing and digital industry are proving to be obliging of this employee desire to upskill, with almost three quarters of employers surveyed by Hays providing some kind of training.
“Due to the awareness that there is a lack of ready-skilled talent in these newly critical areas, we are seeing many of the industrial leading players investing in skills training, leading to internal promotion. In digital areas this often means the sponsorship of degrees or MBAs, and even the provision of international training experience, something that is particularly prevalent for large technology or internet companies,” Simon says.
“A primary example of this employee betterment is the recruitment of consumer insight experts from agencies and developing any skills they consider lacking, as this proves to be much more cost efficient than hiring one of the very few readily-equipped candidates in the market.”
This time of change and disruption in the booming marketing and digital industry means that there are many opportunities for candidates in the sector that are willing to upskill and gain a greater understanding of the skills that are now required.
“As there are limited digital candidates with managerial experience, candidates who can combine their qualified technological skills with superlative communication abilities and have a track record of leadership will prove to be extremely desirable for companies,” Simon confirms.
“And if a marketing candidate is a consumer expert who has the ability to see the patterns and logic behind the daily market updates, and in doing so can foresee the consumer’s next move and find the next hotspots in Mainland China’s diverse, segmented market, 2018 can be a particularly prosperous year for them.”
An overview of what other trends have been observed in Mainland China’s marketing and digital sector can be viewed below.
- Despite claims that offline retail is a dying industry, with the improved customer insights offered by big data, this year has seen Chinese companies combining online and offline marketing departments leading to expansion in both areas.
- Of candidates looking for a new position, almost 42 per cent did so for professional development purposes.
- With companies investing greater resources in talent acquisition, the past 12 months has seen an increasing number of recruitment websites developing in the emerging areas of marketing and digital, with many companies actively hiring through online and mobile channels.
- One outlet for recruitment that is proving particularly popular is the usage of H5 WeChat viral campaigns.
- Due to the large number of agency staff available, moving candidates in-house is relatively uncomplicated, with positions often filled within two months.
- As agency staff frequently move in-house, agencies are looking to develop fresh graduates into marketing research and consumer areas.
- Few roles are being filled by international hires, however for more senior roles with niche technology experience, companies are looking to North America, with Silicon Valley a desirable location for acquisition.
To read the full Inside Story of Marketing & Digital in Mainland China report, please click here.