A BRADFORD-based organisation is holding bespoke clinics to help businesses research the Chinese export market.

Sales and export directors are being given a chance to sit next to a business specialist while he negotiates the complex Chinese internet and investigates their company’s export potential.

The clinics will be run by Chamber International’s China-affairs associate, Matthew Grandage, a fluent Mandarin speaker who spent 15 years working in China, and now advises British businesses on a daily basis.

Mr Grandage said: “A key challenge for many companies is understanding how good, or bad, a job their distributors are doing, and whether they are up to the job.

“Without understanding how a company’s product or advertising is perceived by potential customers in China, a great business opportunity may be missed or become an expensive failure.”

Chamber International believes that a valuable way for UK companies to research the Chinese market is for Mr Grandage to work alongside them at their offices, searching the Chinese internet for information relevant to their company, products, services and competitors.

He added: “This approach combines the company’s product and marketing knowledge with our specialist regional and research expertise to establish how they and their competitors are positioned within the Chinese market.

“Such information is hard for most people to access because of the language barrier, and because China’s online environment is so different to ours. It is written in Chinese; web searches must be conducted in Chinese and there is no Google, different social media platforms and an alien e-commerce culture.

“Using this method I’ve seen companies make significant breakthroughs in just a couple of hours, and change their long-term strategy for the Chinese market as a result.”

As well as being able to conduct real-time searches in Chinese, Mr Grandage will also be able to advise British businesses about China strategy.

Previous China successes supported by Chamber International include helping an engineering company identify suitable distribution partners.

Slots for the Yorkshire clinics are available on March 27 and 28. To book a visit, call Chamber International on 0845 034 7200.