Misconception regarding marketing to Hong Kong property buyers?

The interest from my Hong Kong connection was a surge recently amidst the change in the social climate. According to propertyfundsworld, "Traditionally, Hong Kong Chinese purchasers have sought London property for investment purposes. They have historically bought smaller, often new-build properties either to rent or for their children to use whilst studying in the UK. The recent desire to upsize these investment properties into more substantial family homes comes as Hong Kong nationals plan ahead for a potential permanent UK relocation."

According to a recent the Economists article, “between January and May, there were 3352 Hong Kong applicants for permanent residence in Taiwan, double the figure in the same period for 2019.”

The news also mentioned that “business is booming for emigration consultancies. Mr Lam relocated 250 families in the first half of 2020, nearly as many as in the whole of 2019. Harvey Law Group, a lwa firm, had to double the size of its team to meet demand, Andrew Lo’s firm, Anlex, normally receives ten inquiries a day. Since May, it has had 200 a day. Today, people are more panicked, he says. Then, people wanted an insurance plan, now they want to “move immediately.”

According to the today's telegraph news, it said "in the last two weeks, one agent in Manchester has sold seven properties to Hong Kong buyers. Normally, he would sell one every six months."

When reaching out to Hong Kong buyers, what are the common misconception that marketers and businesses to be aware of?

1st misconception) Direct Translation is good enough. In fact, "direct translation" does not work really well because when it comes to direct translation, what the end consumers receive is a piece of a cold translated sales pitch, which doesn't resonate and addresses the needs of the targeted Chinese property buyers at the very moment.

2nd misconception) Hiring a non-native speaker is also OK. When approaching Chinese buyers in a one on one level, there is a common misconception that "it is just the language", but there is a depth that we might not aware of. Not all Hong Kong property buyers can speak fluent Mandarin or English, so Cantonese sales speakers is definitely a MUST!

3rd) One size fit all language The third misconception is adapting one size fits all language. If you are targeting Hong Kong buyers, preferable language is Cantonese and Traditional Chinese because not all Hong Kong buyers can read Simplified Chinese.

If you are properties companies interested to promote your UK properties to Hong Kong buyers and renters? Red Digital China offers Cantonese speaking sales and digital marketing services so we make sure you dont miss the trend!