Samenvatting

Attracting the Asian, especially Chinese investors is becoming more and more important. While reaching the potential Chinese market is getting easier, the intercultural differences might still play a vital role in influencing the effectiveness of mutual communication. It also creates a challenge for the Limburg Development and Investment Company (LIOF) to most effectively communicate with Chinese clients concerning their needs, preferences and worries.
Research, by means of desk research and interviews, are taken out in order to find out how LIOF should promote itself among its target groups. Observations show that LIOF has taken out different China-related activities such as attending exhibitions, networking with its partners closely for new contacts, setting up a three-year Xiamen plan and designing a new Chinese brochure. However, since the Chinese market is relatively too large and due to limited resources of personnel, budget and network, this paper intends to find out more feasible alternatives for LIOF to execute.
Establishing more new Chinese contacts and increasing the awareness among potential clients could be set as primary objectives. Meanwhile, keeping good relationships with existing Chinese contacts is also of great importance. However, it is considered to be a relatively long-term procedure of establishing and maintaining Chinese contacts and further persuading and assisting them to locate in the Limburg area. A segmentation of its target groups is made: Chinese companies in the Xiamen area and Chinese companies in general.
LIOF should take good use of the opportunity provided by the three-year Xiamen plan by promoting the organization and its services by means of organizing events, advertising in local media and networking with its partners and Chinese companies. Furthermore, approaching Chinese companies in general and observing the development trend in the Chinese market are two other aspects that LIOF should focus on.
Overall, the following actions are suggested to be taken out:
1. Pay attention to the development trends in Chinese market.
2. Pay attention to relevant updating governmental policies and regulations in China.
3. Keep in touch with its existing Chinese clients, partners and involved parties.
4. Use a combination of different communication tools like advertising, website, E-newsletters, events, visits and networking to approach its target groups.
5. It is preferable to ask a professional consultancy to take out a market research in order to find out which parts of China are of higher value to target at.