The survey covers 15 countries, and the Chinese Brand Global Trust Index is released!

Due to the epidemic, manufacturing in many parts of the world has stagnated, while the domestic supply chain has recovered rapidly. Many domestic brands are accelerating their overseas expansion through cross-border e-commerce and foreign trade channels.

In the cross-border e-commerce industry, most brands are still just a "trademark" and have not been truly recognized by consumers. Recently, Anker became the world's number one digital charging brand, boosting industry confidence. How is the overall trust of Chinese brands overseas? How to improve global consumers' trust in Chinese brands? On December 1, the "China Brand Global Trust Index" released by Ipsos revealed the answer.

Anker becomes the world's leading digital charging brand, but overseas consumers still have concerns about Chinese brands

In the cross-border e-commerce industry, Anker Innovations is a leader. Its business started online, and it has successively launched brands such as Anker, Soundcore, eufy, and Nebula. It has performed well in the fields of AIoT, smart home, and smart acoustics, and has now become one of the largest global consumer electronics brand companies in China in terms of revenue.

Last August, Anker, which was established less than a decade ago, was listed on the A-share ChiNext board, with a market value of over 80 billion yuan. Last week, Anker announced that it had become the world's number one digital charging brand, an excellent example of a Chinese brand going global.

Sellers in the industry are no strangers to Anker. Since 2012, Anker has been ranked as the "#1 Best Seller" on major platforms, mainly Amazon. Its sales on the US Amazon platform are second only to Apple's official ranking; on the Japanese Amazon platform, it ranks first in sales of single products in the consumer electronics category.

Brand power is not achieved overnight. In the history of Chinese brands going overseas, there are few examples like Anker. In comparison, most brands going overseas still face the problem of low trust in overseas markets and face many difficulties in market expansion. Previously, Amazon's US site displayed the seller's company name and address on the "Seller Profile" page, which caused some sellers to worry about consumers' informed shopping choices.

How is the overall trust in Chinese brands in the world? How can Chinese brands gain the trust of global consumers? How can they make differentiated strategic adjustments in different markets? The newly released "China Brand Global Trust Index" can provide us with new directions.

Chinese Brand Global Trust Index Released, Overseas Consumers’ Favorability Improved

As the domestic market gradually becomes saturated and the demographic dividend decreases, more and more Chinese companies are beginning to expand into overseas consumer markets and look for new user growth points. How Chinese national companies with high reputation and national popularity can gain the trust of overseas consumers and grow into global brands has also become a topic of concern for Chinese companies going overseas.

Recently, at the "Great Future - Ipsos 2021 China Brand Globalization Summit Forum", Ipsos released the 2021 "Ipsos China Brand Global Trust Index (GTI®)". The report surveyed 11,000 respondents from 15 countries and regions, covering 5 major industries and multiple well-known brands, and conducted in-depth analysis and benchmarking of key Chinese brands going overseas in terms of cognition, trust, purchase intention and brand competitiveness.

Comparing the "Ipsos Global Trust Index (GTI®) for Chinese Brands" released in the past two years , overseas consumers' overall favorability towards Chinese brands has slightly increased in 2021, among which emerging markets are obviously more positive , with more than half, such as Thailand and Russia, exceeding 32%; developed markets have increased faster, and the favorability of Chinese brands in the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, and Japan have all increased.

(Screenshot of report)

As for brands from different countries, the global trust index of American, Indian and Chinese brands has risen against the trend, with Chinese brands making particularly significant progress.

Overall, consumers have the highest trust index for European, American and Japanese brands, Korean brands are in the middle, and Chinese brands have the lowest trust index; compared with 2019, the overall trust index is not much different, consumers' trust index for American, Japanese, Chinese and Indian brands has increased, while the trust index for German, British and Korean brands has decreased.

(Screenshot of report)

Among them, the trust of Chinese brands in emerging markets is relatively good, but needs to be greatly improved in developed markets. Specifically, the Middle East and Southeast Asian countries trust Chinese brands the most; in Western markets, although the trust in Chinese brands has improved, the majority of them still do not trust them overall; Japan has the lowest trust in Chinese brands, with a net trust of about -55%, and overall they do not trust Chinese brands at all.

So, how to enhance global consumers’ trust in Chinese brands?

First of all, we need to continue to spread the word so that more consumers can understand Chinese brands.

In the reputation pyramid, the order of user supportive behavior development is: knowing → familiarity → liking → trusting. In the process of building a Chinese brand image in overseas markets, the first thing to do is to let more people know the brand, then be familiar with what products the brand sells or what services it provides, and then let more people like or trust the brand, gradually moving to the top of the pyramid.

Among them, trust is an important indicator. It is not only an affirmation of the brand’s past and current practices, but also a prediction of future consumer and brand behavior.

Ipsos's survey found that the respondents had different levels of trust in Chinese brands , depending on whether they had "some understanding", "relative understanding" or "very understanding". In general, the more consumers understand Chinese brands, the more they trust them, and the more trust they have, the more willing they are to buy Chinese products or services. To win trust, brands should develop strategies based on the trust needs of different markets, persist in communication through appropriate channels, and continuously communicate with local consumers.

Secondly, we need to understand the factors that most drive overseas consumers’ trust in Chinese brands in order to optimize various strategies such as product marketing. The factors that drive overseas consumers’ trust in Chinese brands include 15 indicators such as providing high-quality products, doing business fairly, respecting and protecting consumer privacy, being an attractive employer, being environmentally responsible, and taking social responsibility .

(Screenshot of report)

At the same time, brands need to recognize the similarities and differences in winning the trust of consumers in emerging markets and developed countries, and focus on meeting local demands.

Among the main trust factors, both developed and emerging markets value high quality, privacy protection and social responsibility. In addition, the former also value environmental responsibility, attention to society and employees, and the integration of Chinese brands into local culture; the latter also value the fairness of business methods, whether they are currently using the brand, and whether the brand conducts socially responsible business.

After understanding the differences in trust factors in different markets, brands can then determine effective communication strategies based on local conditions.

There are many internal connections between trust drivers. Taking developed markets as an example, in addition to being directly related to being an attractive employer, a brand's "providing high-quality products and services" is also related to "doing business in a fair and ethical manner." Brands need to clarify the relationship and find more effective communication paths based on their positioning and needs, so as to increase overseas consumers' trust in Chinese brands.

(Screenshot of report)

Compared with 2019, the image of Chinese brands has improved a lot, but there is still a long way to go to win more trust from overseas consumers.

In addition to the Global Trust Index of Chinese Brands, Ipsos also focuses on five major industries: the Internet, smart devices, smart homes, new energy vehicles and sportswear. Based on this, it will successively release trust indexes for different industries, how to enhance overseas consumers' trust in Chinese brands in different industries, and overseas trust index rankings for Chinese brands that focus on individuals. Sellers can pay attention to it in advance.

Click "entry" now to download the "Ipsos China Brand Global Trust Index (GTI®)" report.

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