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CBR 2004 Readership Survey Results

Who are CBR readers? And why do they read the CBR? Survey says...

Are you an upper-level executive in a US-based manufacturing company with decision-making responsibility over your firm's China operations? In connection with this responsibility, do you make more than seven trips to China and elsewhere in Asia every year? If so, you are like many of your fellow CBR readers.

You may also spend half an hour to an hour reading every issue of the magazine and spend most of that time reading the CBR's special focus and feature articles, the China Business listing of recent Sino-foreign business deals, or our statistics pages. You probably enjoy our articles on China's economy and political situation, government relations, or your industry.

So says the CBR's 2004 Readership Survey. During the summer of 2004, Illinois-based Research USA, Inc. undertook a study for the magazine that surveyed nearly 1,000 CBR readers, two-thirds of whom were also members of the US-China Business Council (publisher of the CBR) (see US-China Business Council Members Weigh In). Forty percent of the surveys were returned; the results yielded invaluable information and thoughtful comments that will enable us to better serve our readers (and will help the Council serve its members). Highlights of the survey results follow.

Why read the CBR?

Though we are well aware that our most enthusiastic readers were more likely to complete the survey, we were still gratified that 90 percent of survey respondents said they find the magazine "very" or "somewhat" useful (see Figure 1). Of those, 81 percent read the magazine "to keep abreast of the latest developments" and 56 percent said they read it "to gain insight into the thinking of US/PRC leaders" (see Table 1). Almost half read the CBR for long-term strategic planning, and more than 40 percent read it to "learn more about market opportunities."

China's economy and political situation were topics of "strong" or "moderate" interest to more than 90 percent of respondents. Almost 90 percent were interested in our articles on government relations, and 80 percent were strongly or moderately interested in our articles on investment and trade. Legal issues, manufacturing, human resources, and individual sectors such as telecom and sales and marketing also registered strongly with respondents (see Table 2). Maybe this level of interest accounts for the fact that two-thirds of respondents said they either save every copy of the CBR or pass it on to their colleagues.

In good company

Almost 40 percent of CBR reader survey respondents work for manufacturing firms, while the others work in services such as law, finance, and consulting (see Table 3). Two-thirds of readers said that China is "very important" to their companies; 27 percent said it was "somewhat" important (see Figure 2). Readers are generally chief executive, operating, or financial officers; directors, managers, or vice presidents; or owners or partners who have been involved in China business for more than 10 years (see Figure 3).

Research USA, Inc. reports that most of these executives are responsible for administration and general management, government relations, sales and marketing, and investment in China (see Table 4). More than half develop, implement, or oversee corporate China strategy, and just under half plan and develop joint ventures or strategic alliances, manage relations with strategic partners, or are involved in contracts and negotiations for new projects. According to the survey, an average of 1,268 employees work for CBR readers' companies in China—though the median is a more modest 142 employees (see Figure 4).

Frequent fliers

It is no surprise that CBR readers are frequently on the move, if only because two-thirds are based in the United States (and most respondents' companies are US-based) and yet have China responsibilities. More than 90 percent of respondents took at least one trip out of their country base between summer 2003 and summer 2004; the average number of trips was more than seven, mostly to and from China and Hong Kong—passing through about three cities each trip. A majority of respondents said they fly business class (often on United Airlines) during these trips. On average, CBR reader survey respondents spent 46 nights in a hotel in the previous year.

"Make it fun!"

The CBR is already considering respondents' suggestions for topics to cover more (or less) often, and new formats. For example, some respondents asked for articles on China's railways, tourism sector, media and entertainment, foreign relations, and politics. Many readers expressed a lack of interest in articles on general management/administration and raw materials. As for format suggestions, we had several requests for more case studies and for more "light" pieces about life in China. One respondent asked us to publish monthly to keep on top of the rapidly changing events in China. Another asked us to double our size. We'll have to think carefully about those two.

We hope our readers will notice some changes in the coming months based on these suggestions. For those of you who did not have a chance to participate in our survey, please do not hesitate to write to us directly (publications@uschina.org) with suggestions for ways to better inform you about the China market.

Catherine Gelb is editor of the CBR.

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