Along with China’s rise on the world stage, Chinese companies – heeding former President Jiang Zemin’s oft-quoted rally of zou chu qu (“Going Out”) – have been making great efforts to build a presence in major markets of the West. The result so far is largely mixed, and many challenges remain.

While Western economies may be keen to embrace new foreign capital and corporate investments from the world’s second largest economy, particularly following the global financial crisis of 2008, a large part of society in the US and Europe continue to view Chinese companies with a strong sense of apprehension and skepticism. Such an impression of “China Inc.” results from China’s sovereign image being shrouded in mystery and lacking transparency and openness. Repeated incidents of food safety, sub-standard product quality, labor disputes and management malpractices have created a trust deficit instead of goodwill for the Chinese corporate brand among Western consumers and stakeholders.

Against such a backdrop, building a trusted, successful and lasting brand in the global marketplace is a tricky proposition for many a Chinese company as the process demands a much longer time frame and more conscientious planning to ensure success overseas. This is often a challenge to many Chinese companies which are more accustomed to the fast pace of growth and success that their business and brands have achieved back home over recent years.

 In charting a business plan for developing a brand organically or through acquisition, Chinese companies should pay at least as much attention to a structured communications plan as to legal or regulatory considerations. Failure to do so results in aborted M&A deals or disruption to the overseas expansion strategy due to strong backlash from important stakeholder groups including local politicians, opinion-leading media, employees of target companies, special interest groups and industry associations. It is crucial to allow time to build recognition and rapport with all these stakeholders well before any commercial deals are being struck or actual expansion plans are announced so that any misconceptions of the company or its business aspirations can be cleared and prejudice dispelled.

A three-pronged strategy is useful. First, take proactive control and lead communications to all target audiences rather than waiting and allowing third parties to put the wrong face on your brand. Second, leverage the voices of powerful influencers to generate endorsements for your messages. These are trusted influencers or third parties in the local community or even global arena that can lend strong support to our corporate brands or business propositions. Finally, evolve communications efforts to continually hit the right buttons with different target audiences as times change in the local economic, political and cultural context.

Inward reflection on management practices is as essential in building corporate brands overseas as external communications. Corporate governance often tops the priorities of overseas investors in evaluating or assessing the quality of Chinese companies. A strong, professional leadership and a transparent, accountable and responsive management is essential in projecting a powerful “brand” for the company and often counts more than how the company’s products or services perform for many important stakeholders.

Finally, no communications effort can be complete in today’s modern world without taking a comprehensive account of digital channels in the communications mix. Management and brand ambassadors need to arm themselves with the tools and skills to communicate effectively across different digital platforms just as they do with traditional media (see also Josh Nova’s commentary on social media on page 10 of this edition).

 China has proved itself through many successful international events and milestones over the past decade. Its national brand can only be made complete with an equally strong face for its many successful enterprises.