Thai entrepreneurs should focus more on product quality than quantity and study insights into the Chinese market to pave the way for long-term market penetration, says AVG Thailand.
Ms Chadakorn says Thai entrepreneurs go overboard in localising products for China.
The digital marketing firm believes that the most important thing for penetrating the Chinese market is having good products, as Thai products are known for their quality. Thai entrepreneurs should keep their focus on quality to create awareness in the market.
Chadakorn Tanasuwankasem, chief executive of AVG Thailand, said the brand image and quality of Thai products is outstanding, but sometimes entrepreneurs focus too much on localisation in the Chinese market, making them lose their Thai identity.
"There are many mistakes Thai or international entrepreneurs make, such as localising the packaging too much, translating products and services to Chinese, or too many complicated conditions for discounts, even though the Chinese love sales," she said.
"Going too far with localisation puts the brand at risk of losing its prestige as a foreign brand."
Ms Chadakorn said the key factor for driving Thai products in the Chinese market is quality products.
She also urged Thai entrepreneurs to study Chinese market insights such as the internal economy, political situation, trends and consumer behaviour, especially laws relating to commerce, including domestic and international competitors.
"China's regulations on advertising are some of the most complicated and restrictive in the world, especially for drugs and food supplements," Ms Chadakorn said.
She voiced optimism that the Chinese market can be the rising star for Thai entrepreneurs, as the value of exports there is US$30 billion (947 billion baht) or 12.4% of the value of total Thai exports.
The onslaught of Chinese travellers to Thailand, which is expected to exceed 10.8 million people this year, should also leave Chinese with a positive sentiment about the country's products, Ms Chadakorn said.
She urged Thai entrepreneurs to focus on three trends in China: social commerce, social search engines and social media influencers.
Social commerce, the seamless integration between social and e-commerce through platforms such as WeChat, has evolved quickly and become a central hub that facilitates customer engagement, commerce, customer relationship management, online-to-offline and more, Ms Chadakorn said.
The trend includes Weibo, which has features that ease corporate connections to Weibo accounts via e-commerce.
Social search engines are also vital, as consumers aren't just using social media to connect with friends but also to look up information about brands, get recommendations and view promotions.