Getting your business China ready

Australia is naturally attractive to Chinese investors because of the high-quality resources and as a low political risk destination. It’s well known that Chinese investment is increasing and there are predictions that it could double over the next six years. If we’re going to deal with Chinese investors, it’s important that we have a good understanding of their customs and their preferences.

When we partnered with the China Ready & Accredited organisation, we wanted to provide a really good platform to help non-Chinese individuals and businesses understand that they could better welcome, better understand and better engage with them.

If brokers are going to continue to be associated with Chinese investors, the more they understand about the Chinese people and their customs, as well as everything about interacting with them, then it’s going to make it a more successful transaction with them.

What inspired Kaplan to provide education and training about China?

It’s interesting. We’ve got a strong association with the China Ready & Accredited organisation. We’re a global education provider, so we have large businesses not only in Australia but also in the UK and the rest of Europe.

Our corporate clients in Australia in real estate, mortgage broking, banking, financial planning and insurance were all telling us they wanted to learn more and to be better at servicing Chinese consumers. That’s why we went and talked with the China Ready & Accredited organisation about how we could get a program that can globally assist people in dealing with the strong Chinese market.What exactly does the initiative involve?

It’s taken us two years to build this program, because we needed to get the content exactly right. It’s been online now for about the last year, but we keep refining it. Basically the course has 12 core learning modules and it has checkpoint quizzes, and brokers can complete it anywhere and at any time.

These core module subjects include: China Today, Positioning China, First Impressions, A Diverse China, Chinese Family, Confucianism, FACE, The Guanxi Tradition, Chinese Numbers and Colours, Chinese Lifestyle, Chinese Investment Mindset, Chinese Banking: UnionPay.

The content itself is being supplied by China, so it’s important to note that it’s not our western view of China, it’s based on the Chinese view of China. There are a lot of videos and things, so it’s quite entertaining when people do it and it provides the wisdom and life experience of acknowledged expert cultural and business leaders in China.

How does this initiative compare to others in the marketplace?

This is the only China Readiness program available that is fully endorsed by the Chinese government and has its own global trademark. The Australian government is also very supportive and our partner, China Ready & Accredited, works closely with the Australian and Chinese tourism departments to ensure relevance.

How do brokers get started?

You can just go online at any time and do it yourself. All you have to do is visit the website and enrol. All up, it takes you about four to five hours of online learning, but you can come back and forth to it and do it whenever you want. The online program is $250. Then of course, for corporate groups, there’s different pricing and/or if people want workshops. We believe it’s very affordable. It’s not meant to be something that’s prohibitive.

At the end of it, brokers will get a certification that they are China Ready & Accredited. It’s good for those that do it, because China Ready & Accredited is trademarked, which means the Chinese people understand that those accreditation trademarks are what they want to look out for.

It’s a quality program and what they get for their certification is a strong level of support and endorsement in China at an industry and government level. That’s important to the Chinese investor, or the Chinese consumer or the Chinese student – that it has government and industry recognition and support within China.

What has been the feedback so far?

Feedback so far has been extremely positive, particularly the feedback on the e-learning online program and how interesting and engaging it is. Individuals don’t feel like they are completing a program, they just enjoy learning about the Chinese cultural nuances. The animation style of videos is particularly engaging.

What can brokers ultimately expect to take away from the course?

They will expand their knowledge of China. They will be more culturally aware when they communicate with people of Chinese origin. They will expand their network. They will have more confidence in dealing with people. And they of course will have that certification that’s globally recognised, something that is endorsed and supported strongly within China.

This program is designed to improve skills and professionalism in dealing with people of Chinese origin. It will help them understand Chinese consumers’ requirements and customer service expectations. Ultimately they will become a more valued employee and become more business savvy.

There are obviously other cultural awareness programs, but it has that industry and government support and recognition in their trademark – that’s the important thing.

Why should brokers support this initiative?

Australians generally recognise our relationship with China as a positive one. People need to realise that anything that allows you to gain greater professionalism in the market you’re working in, and to get that globally certified status, has proven to become very, very valuable, wherever you’re working in whatever industry.

We have significant interest from major organisations in a range of industries. All outbound Chinese tourists and investors will eventually look for the China Ready & Accredited symbol in every country when deciding where they want to stay, eat, bank, shop and invest.

From a macro level, statistics show Chinese investors and immigrants purchased more than $8 billion in Australian residential property in the space of 12 months, with growing demand forecast to pump another $60 billion into the market over the next six years. Businesses who don’t consider this program will miss the opportunity that we are all aware of with the scale of Chinese investment.