The Power of Storytelling: The Commercial Challenge
Singing Grass CEO Alicia Liu hosted the first international webinar on “The Power of Storytelling", as part of the Beijing International Book Fair Insights Masterclass online series, which will be broadcast in September to publishing professionals in China.
The speakers were three major industry professionals who know China well: Jan Ziff and Allan Davidson of The Heckerty Company and Andrew Sharp of Sharp Rights Publishing Consultancy,
Jan and Allan partnered with Chinese tech company Xiaomi to launch an English Learning video book series in early 2020, while Andrew has been at the forefront of many changes in children's publishing in the past 25 years.
Alicia Liu was born in China and lives and works between the UK and China. She and the speakers discussed the commercial challenges, which come from the different approaches and expectations when conducting business internationally, and how to get the best out of international collaborations through online networks.
At the time of the Masterclass recording, all four speakers were based in different parts of the world - the USA, France and the UK. Instead of meeting in Beijing as part of the Beijing International Book Fair, they are meeting virtually and sharing their thoughts with their audience in China through the BIBF Smart Learning WeChat portal.
This is the second of our two part snapshots of the Masterclass and focuses on the commercial challenges associated with publishing in China.
There are three key learnings from the Masterclass:
Understand the differences between East and West in their approach to 'Relationship'
As Alan Davidson explained, “Generally in the West, people are not as focused on relationships, but more on products. This is unlike China, where you have to have the confidence of the person who wants to work with you before they're really comfortable about doing business together. Not always, but generally relationships matter more in China”
In China it’s common to build a relationship before doing business, creating a sense of mutual confidence and trust before a transaction. In contrast, people in the West tend to build relationships through and after their initial transaction. They choose to learn about the other party as part of making the deal and creating a friendship based on shared experiences. This cultural difference is critical as it not only impacts how you are viewed in business, but also on the final business negotiation.
As Alicia Liu explained, ‘the corporate structure of China is different from the West. In the UK and USA there is a relatively flat hierarchy, but in China there is more of a pyramid shape where power is held by the top decision maker and a number of junior executives. Building a strong relationship with the senior decision makers can sometimes result in quicker decisions, and trust and mutual confidence builds better agreements.”
Understand the decision making process and make sure you know the dos and don'ts for rights selling
People may have the same job titles in Chinese or Western organisations, but their roles might be very different. The rights team in a publishing company in China acts as the point of liaison between their in-house editorial team and international publishers to assist in editorial acquisition decisions. However, in the UK the rights team's role is to sell; they may have some input in acquisition decisions though usually lack any decision-making power.
As Andrew Sharp explained, “All global publishing corporations work in different ways. If any Chinese publisher were confused about where they should be going, I would say just ask someone. You need to know your markets, understand your customers. You need to know your lists comprehensively and ideally have read every book so that you can then try and work out what goes where.”
Online and multimedia marketing has become an essential skill for publishers in China
The latest industry report from JD.com shows China's retail sector is recovering fast from the effects of Covid-19, with online shopping and livestreaming increasing in popularity. During the largest mid-year 618 Online Shopping Festival in June, the sales of children's books increased by 43% year-on-year, international imported titles increased by 57% year-on-year, and the digital content was 15% up of the same period last year.
In recognising this digital recovery Alicia Liu pointed out the importance of multimedia content for Chinese publishers:
"China's live-streaming boom is revolutionaising sales. To quote one Chinese publisher, marketing through live-streaming has become an essential skill in China when we are navigating the inevitable shift to online sales. China's retailers have fully integrated the new boom in 'shoppertainment' to let them interact with distant customers in real time!"
Jan Ziff, an acclaimed broadcaster who has worked in several continents with different cultures before China, including the US, the UK, Europe and the Middle East pointed out,
“One of the big culture gaps, again, as we talk about East and West is the western perception of China. China is dynamic. China moves fast. China's very, very modern and very proud of it.”
It was agreed that, despite many differences, we can come together, to create opportunities. This article is an adaption from our webinar for the Beijing International Book Fair Insights Masterclass Series, broadcast in September to publishing professionals in China as part of the first virtual Beijing International Book Fair.
You can access the highlights of the Beijing International Book Fair Insights Masterclass here.
