I've created this graphic to summarize my experience in the APAC, and explain why the APAC market is so hard to penetrate. In short, the concept of APAC itself is misguiding, and the countries should be viewed individually. I like to think of the market along three dimensions: size of opportunity, ease of doing business, and appetite for innovation for technology products.
Appetite for innovation: despite external appearances, Asian cultures in are conservative and collective. In an overgeneralizing sentence: risk avoidance is more important than successful experimentation. Taking time to assess, evaluate, experiment, and establish trust and dependability are core parts of doing business. Companies will not change to a “superior” vendor because they’ve had years of successful support from the current one.
Ease of doing business: there is no ease, because you will need to consider the following. First, (if at all possible) mastering the cultural and language aspects: operating within the nuances, understanding what yes and no mean, accepting the pace of meetings. Second, successfully navigating the complex co-dependencies and unspoken rules that need to be followed. Third, accepting and overcoming the (to the external eye) unreasonable legal and regulatory frameworks in each country.
China: its GDP alone is almost half of Asia’s, so the APAC’s GDP is heavily skewed by it; its growth influences many reports and optimism related to the APAC. It’s also a peculiar market to enter, where in addition to the above geopolitics play a big role. Finally, while it’s large overall, it’s almost impossible to sell external tech there because the locally developed stuff is so good.
Australia is only linked to the APAC by its geographic proximity. In its culture, economy, political alignment, and way of doing business, it belongs in Europe.
Note: Taiwan and Hong Kong are missing. I didn't include them in the bubbles because of their elevated exposure to geopolitical trends, and the lack of my personal experience.
What's your experience in this market? What have I missed?
