With more Internet users than the USA and Europe combined, and a 50% share of international e-commerce, China is the market that cannot be ignored. The double-digit growth rate from 2000-2010 that doubled its economy may have slowed, but the initial boom has left the country awash in disposable income, looking for ways to spend it.

Scaling the Great Wall of China, however, presents unique challenges. This market is not like any other. Its economy remains encumbered by strict government controls, especially of the Internet. It maintains a complex culture of spending and saving that requires understanding in order to work successfully within it.

The opportunity, however, is too big to resist. Given proper strategic planning and execution, a business can successfully enter the most dynamic and promising emerging market in the world. The time to start is now.

The window is already closing

Brands and businesses that had the foresight to enter the Chinese market during the boom years are now seeing great rewards for their efforts, particularly in the form of brand loyalty among Chinese consumers, which was a previously foreign concept in China.

Getting in while millions of consumers are discovering their preferred brands is one very good reason to launch a China strategy right away. Another even more compelling reason is that experts predict the window of opportunity could be closing in the next five to ten years. After that, the growth rate of the Chinese economy could shrink significantly and the costs of entering the Chinese market are expected to rise.

Baidu – the key to entering the emerging Chinese market

Whether your business is b2b or b2c, the key to getting noticed starts with a presence on China’s most popular search engine, Baidu, which handles about 70% of all searches for the 720 million Internet users in China. Baidu is often called “the Google of China.”

To get ranked on Baidu, a site needs to be fully translated into Chinese. SEO experts advise the use of Simplified Chinese which can be understood by the widest possible Chinese audience.

Baidu also places heavy emphasis on localized content. Website content that is hosted on foreign servers and uses foreign domains is less likely to rank well on Baidu. Use Chinese domains such as .cn or .com.cn in order to attain a high ranking on Baidu.

Proceed with caution

Establishing a Chinese Internet presence poses unique challenges. An acute awareness of the ever-present Chinese censor (known as “The Great Firewall”) is imperative. There is also an extensive list of blacklisted words that need to be avoided. Tread lightly when mentioning anything political, as entering a censored name (or even a word that is similar to something on the blacklist) can alert Baidu and cause a flagged account.

Also exercise care and employ oversight when linking from your Chinese site to other Chinese sites, potentially as resources or suggestions for further information. If your site links to a censored site, you will earn a Baidu flag and potentially be taken down. You can check here to determine whether or not a link is allowed. To experience exactly how Baidu censors, you can follow the instructions here and attempt to search censored subjects.

Plan ahead with multilingual SEO

Start with strong multilingual SEO that can be adopted to any new market, including China.

Multilingual SEO is the practice of optimizing your content for search engines in multiple regions. It deals with content as well as more technical elements such as domain names and metatags.

In China, employing multilingual SEO is of paramount importance. First, copy written with the Chinese market in mind will conform more readily to Baidu’s requirements. Second, in China, domain names make a huge difference. Choosing the right one from the start can be essential to connecting with consumers and establishing a strong local brand presence.

No Facebook, no problem – social media in China

Baidu is a starting point to establishing your brand presence in China, but reaching the 300 million Chinese social media users is essential to any China strategy. Success depends on thinking globally while acting locally.

Facebook is officially banned, as is Twitter and YouTube. Instead, look for Sina Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter. It’s home to 30% of Chinese Internet users. Baidu also has a host of social platforms and sends traffic to all of them. The most prominent is Baidu Tieba, a discussion site that any business should target to increase buzz about its products.

Learning the Chinese calendar

Prospective businesses entering the Chinese market would be wise to study the Chinese calendar, which is quite different than the Western calendar. Business opportunities related to specific dates, like Black Friday, have no meaning in China. In order to localize properly, it’s important to become familiar with the local holidays, school calendar, etc.

Everything starts with proper translation/localization

The emerging Chinese market remains a significant opportunity for global businesses. But in order to effectively reach Chinese consumers it is vital to speak to them in their language.

Make sure website content, social media, and your entire suite of marketing materials are translated properly into Simplified Chinese (or Traditional Chinese depending on the region you are targeting). Avoid literal translation and focus on localizing your content so that it is culturally relevant and will truly resonate with your target audience.

If you are already investing considerable time and money in entering the Chinese market, make sure that professional translation/localization is part of your strategic plan as well.

If you need to get a document professionally translated, you may be asked to provide proof that you used a qualified service. This proof usually comes in one of two forms: a certified translation or a notarized translation. The differences between the two – and when they are used – are significant.

Certified Translation

A certified translation means that the LSP or translator has provided a signed statement that the translation is a true and accurate translation of the original. Certified translations are usually required for legal documents such as business contracts, court transcripts, immigration documents, adoption agreements, and birth, death, or marriage certificates.

A certified translator and a certified translator are not the same thing. A certified translator is a professional translator who has passed an exam and received certification from an organization like the American Translators Association. However, a translator doesn’t need to be certified in order to provide a certified translation. Any qualified translator or LSP can provide a certified translation by signing and attaching a certificate of accuracy to the completed translation.

Notarized Translation

A notarized translation is less about quality control and more about following official procedures. A notary public is a person who is authorized by the government to oversee and authenticate various legal formalities – one of them being notarized translations. Notarized translations are usually required for education-based documents like high school transcripts or foreign diplomas.

Any self-proclaimed translator can take their work to a notary public, swear an oath to its accuracy and sign an affidavit. The affidavit will be considered valid once the notary public has signed it and put his or her official seal on it. The translator does not have to be certified and the notary does not assess the quality of the work – they verify the translator’s identity, but that’s about it.

Use one, not both.

Today, it’s usually one or the other that is required – either a certified or a notarized translation, but not both. This was not always the case, as just a few years ago the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) required that all certified translations also be notarized. However, the USCIS has since changed the rules and dropped the notarization requirement, making certified translations the standard U.S. requirement for all immigration purposes.

If you need help preparing certified translations or notarized translations, contact Morningside and we will be glad to assist.

The documentation required for a product launch in the life sciences industry is diverse and can be staggering in scale. Labeling, pre-clinical and clinical reports, literature publications, and marketing materials – each require input and expertise across multiple departments before a medical product can be marketed and sold domestically.

On the international stage, a product launch requires the additional step of expert medical translations. When facing tight budgets and deadlines, managers may be tempted to rely on their in-house colleagues’ foreign language skills to cut down on time and cost. This, however, is a big industry no-no. As valuable as in-house product knowledge may be, it does not supersede the value of professional medical translators when you’re preparing to go to market overseas.

Without a full and inherent understanding of how to join the technical terminology of your documentation and the intricacies of the target language(s) involved, your colleagues will likely end up wasting time cross-referencing words and phrases when they could be focusing on other substantive work or, worse yet, the translations they provide might be ambiguous or inaccurate – and this could have very negative results.

Unlike multilingual colleagues, a quality ISO-certified translation partner can provide a three-step Translation-Editing-Proofreading process (called ‘T-E-P’) that utilizes independent linguists to vet the translation against the source materials. A QA process with multiple medically fluent translators helps mitigate the risk of ambiguity or misunderstanding.

Further, ISO auditors, IRBs, and regulatory bodies typically require a ‘Certificate of Translation’ for the translation of materials relating to international initiatives. A Certificate of Translation states that the submitted translation product is an accurate representation of the source documents in their target language, as judged by professional linguists.

Ultimately, globalization of any medical product is an inherently complex process and a quality-oriented Language Service Provider can be a significant asset in making your product launch proceed smoothly. While multilingual colleagues can provide crucial feedback and support, you are better off relying on an LSP for the actual translation work to ensure accurate medical translations that meet regulatory requirements and support your marketing strategies.

About the Author:

Jack Fischer is a Business Development Manager at Morningside’s Life Sciences division. After researching Tuberculosis genetics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and working with numerous biotechnology startups in New York, Jack moved to Morningside in order to apply his expertise to developing and implementing translation solutions for the life sciences industry. Jack has a dual B.A from Skidmore College in Integrative Biology & Business.

Contact Jack directly at any time via: [email protected]!