Brands Need to Stop Looking at Asia Markets as One Monolithic Entity

Martechvibe speaks to Nikki Taylor, a marketing specialist with 20 years of experience in the APAC region. She has worked with brands such as UPS, Google, and Kuehne + Nagel.

She says, “Navigating diverse markets demands a keen understanding of cultural nuances and market maturity. For instance, in Thailand, the strategic use of colour in advertising is crucial, with specific hues holding significant meanings.”

Meanwhile, Japan presents distinct challenges, emphasising the need for a profound understanding of local business customs and the significance of nurturing relationships. This stands in contrast to the younger demographics found in Southeast Asian markets, where prioritising a mobile-first approach has been essential, driven by past affordability concerns in technology.

Nikki has cultivated numerous high-performing teams. Her expertise lies in breaking down organisational silos and upskilling teams in digital marketing. With a diverse background spanning digital paid display, programmatic advertising, website traffic generation, and lead generation, Nikki possesses a wealth of experience in various facets of marketing.

In addition to her marketing roles, Nikki has managed small businesses under UPS, focusing on non-sales contact and digital acquisition, growth, and retention strategies. Her responsibilities also extend to customer experience management, encompassing areas beyond traditional UI/UX design, such as optimising account opening processes and identifying pain points along the customer journey for resolution.

Nikki gives a clear picture of why successful marketing in this region hinges on patience, adaptability, and a profound understanding of cultural and technological nuances. She also talks about how APAC marketers should leverage data analytics and customer insights to inform marketing strategies and optimise campaign performance.

Excerpts from the interview: 

Tell us about your marketing experience in the APAC region.

Having spent 18 years in the Asia Pacific region, I’ve managed numerous regional teams. It’s a common misconception that Asia is a monolithic entity; in reality, Thailand differs significantly from Vietnam, and Korea is distinct from Japan in various aspects.

Navigating diverse markets demands a keen understanding of cultural nuances and market maturity. For instance, in Thailand, the strategic use of colour in advertising is crucial, with specific hues holding significant meanings.

This emphasis on colour is evident in everything from vibrant side-by-side displays to sprawling 4-metre billboards, showcasing a unique approach to engaging audiences through colour psychology.

Meanwhile, Japan presents distinct challenges, requiring a deep respect for local business practices and the importance of relationship-building. This contrasts with the youthful demographics of Southeast Asian markets, where a mobile-first strategy has been critical due to historical tech affordability issues.

In addition cultural practices in China, Japan, and Korea, such as communication styles, gift-giving, and business meeting norms, alongside the use of specific digital platforms like WeChat and LINE etc, highlight the importance of cultural sensitivity in these markets.

Successfully marketing in this region hinges on patience, adaptability, and a profound understanding of these cultural and technological nuances, underscoring the complexity and reward of doing business in Asia.

How should APAC marketers leverage data analytics and customer insights to inform marketing strategies and optimise campaign performance?

Data is the new compass for marketers – It guides our strategy, our creativity, and our execution. So you need to look at data as ‘insights to action’. Often one of the key things that I explain to my team is that you need to triangulate data.

You should be looking at operational data, sales data, business data along with your campaign data and customer behaviour campaign. This will give you the bigger picture. So you’ve got to start at the high level first.

When you are working on a new product or service into a market, do your research, ask the right questions. 

1. Where is the addressable market there? 
2. Is it in a country?
3. Is it across multiple countries? 
4. What is the opportunity for new customers you can get on this?
5. What is the penetration that you’ll get of your existing customers with this new product or service? 
6. What is the potential or the forecast of the revenue for this? 
7. What is the profitability? 
8. What is your share of wallet?
9. What is your market share? 

Once you have identified the why and the who, analysing campaign data will inform you about customer behaviour and specific pain points in those markets or segments.

In the logistics industry, especially in the APAC region cross border shipping and customs clearing are big pain points. And we have three always-on programmes – new customer care programmes, growth programmes and the win back programmes.  

I love these always-on programmes because it starts to give you insights into what works and what doesn’t with your audiences. What we saw when we started to address them with some of these pain points around brokerage is that we had massive spikes. I had an open rate of 87%! We took that insight and we tweaked some of the headlines and it made it spike even more. We took that and made a YouTube series, which also did great. 

Data guides our strategy from who and what to where and why. It helps us forecast, help us determine where to go with our content and then helps us with our execution. Ultimately, making sure that we really start to scale and get bigger.

Meanwhile, how do you use customer insights and marketing strategies? As a marketer, everybody must know the core of a successful campaign starts with storytelling.

But like I said, those pain points drive into it, all of a sudden you start to have a good story. And then you work on the campaign data – what channel should it be? Should it be TikTok? Should it be in email? And what should be the caption?

You layer in the data science and the research of your story to make it grow even better. This is how you bring it all together and optimise your campaigns.

Also Read: Lack of Personalisation is a Notable Pain Point for South African Consumers

What strategies would you recommend marketers to address common pain points and challenges that customers face when using logistics services?

One of the common challenges marketers encounter is the lack of understanding surrounding customer behaviour and the customer journey. Articulating and gaining buy-in internally are crucial to success, as credibility is often questioned.

When it comes to budgeting, I often face scrutiny from the board. Despite being a seasoned marketer with a proven track record of delivering high ROI, there are still doubts about credibility. For instance, when proposing a win-back program with incentives like vouchers, questions arise regarding guaranteed revenue generation.

In response, I emphasise having data to support our initiatives, demonstrating significant year-on-year growth through test versus control analysis over the past two years. I assure them of our ability to achieve results. Furthermore, I address concerns about offering vouchers by explaining their role as incentives, backed by data comparing vouchers versus promo codes.

When questioned about customer retention post-incentive, I emphasise the importance of quick wins and acknowledge the likelihood of drop-off rates. To assuage doubts, I present cohort analysis findings showing that after six months, 20% of customers remain active, contributing consistently to revenue and volume.

So, whether it’s for paid search, win-back campaigns, programmatic advertising, emails, or voucher programs, I believe leveraging data adds credibility in addressing board inquiries.

What are your thoughts on Gen AI as a marketing tool?

I’ve always been super excited about generative AI. Every other day I hear a horde of new AI apps coming into the market. Some don’t want to use generative AI but others like me are more optimistic. What makes a good story? To get to it, the first two drafts are rubbish, it’s generic, and then you finally have your final hero content. Guess what, Chat GPT throws the first two out for you. Now I’ve cut down what used to take me half a day to do, and I’m ready to move forward. 

What’s the craziest marketing campaign idea you’ve ever had? 

Last year, our team faced the challenge of promoting a new chatbot service on LINE app with limited resources. Despite the budget constraints, we embarked on a creative journey to generate buzz and awareness. One of our strategies involved collaborating with a local design college to design eye-catching packaging for our products, featuring QR codes that directed customers to the chatbot service.

In addition to this, we explored the realm of sonic branding by partnering with a renowned beatboxer to create a unique UPS song, “Next Day Beats.” This song not only added a distinctive element to our brand but also resonated with our messaging of fast and reliable delivery.

Furthermore, we tapped into the world of micro-influencers in Japan and Thailand, producing engaging content showcasing packing and delivery processes. This content not only captivated audiences but also resulted in a significant increase in engagement and usage of our services.

Overall, our creative and strategic approach, despite budget constraints, allowed us to effectively launch and promote our chatbot service on Lime, garnering attention and engagement from our target audience.