marketing expert series Archives

Sharing Digital Marketing Knowledge with Alena Chan

Sharing knowledge with others and helping them advance is a great way to live your life. In many industries, knowledge is considered proprietary – kept separate from others to ‘protect’ it.

Digital marketers often share their knowledge and expertise – this is one of the key reasons for this Marketing Expert Series, after all.

In this issue, digital marketing trainer, Alena Chan, shares her story. Backed by years of B2B sales and marketing experience, Alena turned to training to help others grow their skills and overcome challenges.

Hi, Alena! Welcome to our Marketing Expert Series. Let’s start with your background, please tell us a bit about yourself. How did you get to where you are now?

I started my career with 20+ years of experience in B2B sales, serving in a leadership position for 10 of those years.

My marketing experience gave me the ability to transition to becoming a passionate and dedicated digital marketing trainer.

I am a firm believer in knowledge sharing to help my learners navigate this complex world of digital marketing, acquire new skills, and knowledge and empower them to achieve their goals.

So you spent more than 20 years in B2B sales and marketing. You spent much of those years in leadership positions. How did you go from that to digital marketing training? Tell us more about how you came to be a trainer and what your training is all about.

I always challenge myself to explore new opportunities in different ways. Operating a boutique marketing agency business together with my mentor has helped me gain sufficient expertise to transition into digital marketing training.

Training allows me to pursue my passions and do something that brings me greater happiness and fulfilment. My training typically covers a range of topics, such as Google Marketing (search engine optimization, search engine marketing and google analytics), social media marketing and content marketing. I also train people in skills in leadership, people management, presentation and effective selling skills.

In addition, I have the opportunity to teach in these courses: Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing and SG United Skills Program (SGUS). Successfully designed the entire curriculum for the Applied Degree in Digital Business course.

The goal of my digital marketing training is to help individuals and businesses build a strong online presence and drive more traffic, leads and sales by breaking down complex concepts into simple terms to help them succeed.

The world has changed in the last few years, with the Pandemic and the shift in the economy, how have you been impacted by these changes?

The Pandemic has led to a global recession, with many industries facing significant challenges and economic disruption. Many businesses have shifted to online operations and e-commerce has seen a surge in demand.

The marketing agency business has been impacted in some ways and many companies have had to cut back on their marketing budget, this has led to a reduction in the demand for marketing services.

This meant that I had to take a good hard look and think about what I wanted in life and my career. ‘Resiliency’ is the word to describe it.

How did the developments over the last few years affect your strategies?

The Pandemic was a challenging time for many people. However, it also led to unexpected opportunities for me.

I had to pivot my strategies to adapt to the changing paradigm, shifting my priorities from marketing agency business to training opportunities with a greater focus on exploring digital channels, personalization and building strong relationships with my stakeholders.

Tell us about some of the most effective digital strategies that you’ve implemented in recent years. Is there a strategy or campaign you’re most proud of?

In recent years, I have revamped and transformed a financial website from a traditional look and feel to a lifestyle website with a clean and attractive design to target the younger generations.

Optimizing the website content to rank higher in their search engine results by increasing traffic and visibility. Ensuring that the website is well-structured and easy to navigate, focusing a lot on user experience. Creating high-quality and engaging content that resonates with our client’s target audience. This has ultimately attracted more traffic to their site.

How do you stay up to date with the latest digital marketing technologies and tools?

I stay up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices in digital marketing to ensure that my training is relevant and effective, such as following industry blogs, and publications. Joining online communities, and attending industry events and webinars.

As a digital marketing trainer, I continuously take online courses and certifications on various platforms to learn about the latest digital marketing tools and technologies. Networking with fellow trainers and other professionals in the digital marketing industry to learn about their experiences and insights.

In your opinion, what are some of the biggest challenges facing marketers and digital experts in your industry today?

Some challenges that marketers and digital experts may face in today’s industry are keeping up with evolving and new technologies and tools are constantly emerging. Knowing how to use them effectively can be a challenge for marketers.

Managing data and analysing it can be overwhelming as marketers need to have the skills and tools to effectively collect, analyse and make informed decisions.

In your experience, as a woman, are there any obstacles – glass ceilings and the like – for digital marketing trainers?

Gender-based obstacles and glass ceilings do exist in various industries. Despite in recent years, gender inequality in the workplace has been reduced, I do still face challenges as a woman digital marketing trainer.

Some studies have shown that women are often evaluated less favourably than men in performance reviews, even when we have similar skills and experiences.

Overall, while there are certain obstacles that women may face as digital marketing trainers, it is important to recognize that progress is being made towards gender equality in the workplace to address gender bias and support women in their careers.

Any advice you’d give to aspiring marketers and digital entrepreneurs?

Continuously learning, and keeping up with the latest trends and best practices is essential. Finding your niche by specializing in a specific area of marketing or entrepreneurship. This will help to build a focused brand and differential yourself from competitors.

In today’s digital age, building a robust online presence is essential for success. Your personal brand is your reputation and how people perceive you.

I embrace failure as I see it as an inevitable part of entrepreneurship. Learn from our mistakes and don’t be afraid to pivot when things aren’t working well.

Entrepreneurship can be challenging, but it can be incredibly rewarding. Have fun and enjoy the journey, and celebrate successes along the way.

What keeps you motivated? Do you have a personal motto/saying or something else that drives you forward?

My motivation is to learn something new every day, it helps me to gain new perspectives and insights. I often reflect on my progress and assess how far I can go. Learning is a lifelong process and it is important to continue challenging myself and seeking new opportunities to learn and grow.

Overall, my passion for learning and dedication to knowledge sharing are valuable qualities that I can inspire and motivate my learners to pursue their learning journeys.

Two-way learning enables me to learn with and from each other.

Thank you for sharing your story with us, Alena. How can people connect with you if they’d like to know more about you or your training courses?

I welcome people to connect with me via Whatsapp or LinkedIn.

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Marketing Expert Series

Digital Marketing Acceleration with Evelyn Lee

The F&B (food and beverage) industry moves fast on a bad day. On a good day, it’s one of the fastest-evolving industries on the planet.

Digital marketing acceleration plays a dominant role in this industry, propelling it forward at lightning speed!

In this issue of the Marketing Expert Series, we are in for a tasty treat. Secret Recipe’s Evelyn Lee, the company’s Head of Marketing for Malaysia, joins us to talk about marketing strategies and tactics during and post-Pandemic.

In particular, she shares some deep insights into the impact of digital marketing acceleration and how she and her team have grown closer together to keep up with the ever-advancing pace of the industry they call home.

Hi, Evelyn, thank you for joining us in our Marketing Expert Series. Let’s kick off with a little background, can you tell us a bit about yourself? How did you get to where you are now?

Interestingly enough, my journey actually began in a bank! Three years later, I then moved into F&B where my true passion lay, landing a role at Classic Fine Foods, a leading gourmet and ingredients supplier in Malaysia.

During the height of the third-wave coffee movement, we opened the first coffee training school in South East Asia, Universita del Caffe Della Malaysia in partnership with illycaffe in Italy.

Nine years on, I was presented with the opportunity to join Secret Recipe Cakes and Café.

At Secret Recipe, effective marketing strategies and a supportive team resulted in a proven track record of awards for the brand, namely, ‘Brand of the Year’ by World Branding Awards from Kensington Palace, London and Platinum for ‘Best Brand’ and ‘Best in Marketing’ by Star Outstanding Business Awards (SOBA) for both 2018 and 2019.

In fact, just last week, we took home ‘Malaysian Business of the Year’, Platinum for ‘Best Brand’ and Platinum for the newly introduced category ‘Best Halal Product or Service’ at SOBA 2022.

You’re the Head of Marketing at Secret Recipe Cakes & Cafe in Malaysia. Please tell us a bit about Secret Recipe and the company’s product philosophy.

With a history spanning 26 years, our vision has always been to establish ourselves as a top-tier industry leader by consistently delivering high-quality products that exceed our customers’ expectations. Our team is committed to going above and beyond by implementing innovative ideas and continuous improvements to meet our goals.

The market is highly competitive, and we use various marketing channels throughout the year to showcase our new and exciting hot meals and cakes to keep our customers engaged. However, introducing new products alone is not enough, so we also collaborate with different parties and brands to keep our brand top of mind and close to our customers’ hearts.

As marketers, it is crucial to stay informed of the latest industry trends and always be open to learning and adapting.

What role do you play as Head of Marketing at Secret Recipe? Is there a part of your role you enjoy most?

As a marketer, you will always wear more than one hat. You have to be the marketing strategist, the social media strategist, the content strategist, the creative director, the budget specialist, the coach and a whole host of other things.

I can’t tell you which of them I enjoy the most but I love the unpredictability. I love the challenges, the new things that are thrown your way, obligating you to navigate.

For example, look at the buzz and concern ChatGPT has created – instead of it being a threat, how can we learn from it? That should be our focus.

You’ve worked at Secret Recipe for more than 7 years now, and before that, you were with Classic Fine Foods for nearly 9 years. What drew you to the F&B industry as a marketer?

People say FMCG is fast, but personally, I feel F&B is even faster.

Your response time to market situations has to be on point and you must be able to scale quickly. It keeps me on my toes, and I learn more and that’s what I love about marketing.

There’s always something new to learn!

Is there an experience or moment you’re most proud of during your career to date?

One of the moments that I am most grateful for is when we won Platinum for ‘Best in Marketing’ at SOBA for 2018 and 2019. Another is when I was invited to be a panel speaker at DigiBranCon 2.0, last October.

But if I am to be perfectly honest, I am the proudest of my team, how far we have come and grown together in 7 years. Some have since left, but I am very proud to see how they have grown in their new roles.

(Side note: do not try to headhunt my team members.😉)

The F&B industry was heavily affected by the Pandemic. What lasting impact do you believe the pandemic’s forced acceleration of digital transformation has had on the industry?

The two years of the pandemic forced the F&B industry to grow digitally, which is something that might have taken five years or more normally. That being said, digital adoption and transformation will not slow down and we shouldn’t stop and go back to the conventional ways of doing things.

People changed, and consumers’ buying behaviour changed as well. I believe many industries are accelerating digitalisation as we have to be open to the new technologies and trends coming our way.

Do you think that this impact has permanently changed how you and your team go about your work? Where do you see your strategies going in the next few years?

My team grew very close together during the pandemic and it has shown us that we can do things that are beyond our expectations.

The sense of emotional closeness other than just the professional relationship makes us work together much more cohesively.

One thing that I realised during the pandemic was that we cannot work alone and in silos. As individuals, we all require assistance and collaboration with each other. I cannot foresee exactly what will happen in the next few years but on a personal level, I will continue to connect with my team both professionally and emotionally.

Any advice you’d give to young and/or aspiring marketers?

This will sound corny but I am going to quote “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. Always have the perseverance to test and learn. Humility is key since there will always be something that you don’t know, but it doesn’t mean you can’t learn!

It’s been great to learn more about you and your work, Evelyn, thank you for sharing. How can people connect with you if they’d like to know more about you or Secret Recipe?

Connect with me on LinkedIn!

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Marketing Expert Series

Transforming Medical Marketing with Mabel Tay

By now, we should all have a great appreciation for the medical sector and the leaps and bounds it has had to make in the last years.

Switching from marketing hospitality to the medical industry doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch – until you think about just how much of a challenge digital marketers must have faced during the Pandemic itself!

Think about it for a moment.

Faced with torrents of fake news, misinformation and ever-changing governmental requirements, digital marketers in this sector were forced to be faster, stronger and more determined than ever to get the right news out into the world and to the people – not just to spread the word about products and services, but to actually save lives.

In this interview, Assistant Director of Group Marketing at Beyond Medical Group, Mabel Tay tells us just how she and her team have worked to develop strategies to stay ahead of the evolving demands of this awesome industry.

Hi, Mabel, thank you for joining us in our Marketing Expert Series. Let’s kick off with a little context, please tell us a bit about yourself. How did you get to where you are now?

I have always been interested in marketing for the service industry and graduated with a double major in Marketing and Hospitality & Tourism in 2011. Naturally, my first job was in a hotel, but it never felt like it was my passion.

I got the opportunity to switch to the medical industry in 2014 and never looked back! I enjoy implementing communication and outreach strategies to simplify medical information across marketing channels for the public.

I was lucky to be headhunted for Beyond Medical Group (BMG) in 2019, a company which has grown exponentially in the past 3 years I’ve been here.

Currently, you’re the Assistant Director of Group Marketing at Beyond Medical Group. Please tell us about the work you do.

Beyond Medical Group (BMG) is an investment holding company and healthcare collective. We provide shared services for our doctor-partners, and I oversee the marketing department. This includes idea conceptualisation, branding, communications, digital marketing and outreach for our brands.

Can you tell us about some of the most effective digital marketing strategies that you’ve implemented in recent years? Is there a strategy or campaign you’re most proud of?

BMG has always adopted an omnichannel marketing strategy for all of our entities. As the rest of the world continues to change and consumer behaviour shifts and leans into technology, we can no longer rely on dated ways of marketing healthcare.

In the past, doctors rely solely on print, like magazines and newspapers, referral cases from A&E and other doctors, word-of-mouth from friends, and other mass marketing from hospitals. Nowadays, more people turn to the internet for healthcare solutions.

The objective is to create memorable healthcare brands by transforming how healthcare is marketed – from the point of brand conceptualisation to getting conversions and instilling trust among patients through various touchpoints.

An omnipresence includes having a strong SEO, SEM with compelling ad copies, traffic and branding campaigns from different social media platforms, events and tie-ups with corporate and industry partners, and informative point of sales materials.

A couple of the fun initiatives we’ve started are short-form edutainment videos on Tiktok, and “My Grandma Also Know”, a series of long-form edutainment content on YouTube. Give us a follow!

The world has changed in the last few years, with the Pandemic and the shift in the economy, how has Beyond Medical been impacted by these changes?

Economically speaking, healthcare is relatively pandemic-proof.

In terms of consumer behaviour during the pandemic, we saw an increase in people looking up medical information online. This works hand in hand with BMG’s direction in providing people with educational content to help them make informed healthcare decisions.

More than ever, patients have taken more ownership of their healthcare — there’s been a growing need to take back their healthcare journey and educate themselves on what to do and how to do it.

How did the developments over the last few years affect your strategies?

In today’s era of information overload and shrinking attention span, creating relevant content is more important than ever.

In the past, much of the content was on social media like Facebook and Instagram. Right now, we need to explore other platforms like Tiktok, Lemon8, etc., to continue reaching out to a bigger audience or a different demographic.

The top funnel approach microcontent on social media platforms has to be lighthearted and easy to digest. Getting our doctor-partners involved through storytelling and short-form videos is a powerful way to position them as leaders in their speciality of expertise. This will make them trusted advisors in the eyes of patients.

In your opinion, what are some of the biggest challenges facing marketers in your industry today?

Ensuring compliance: Healthcare marketers in Singapore must comply with strict regulations and guidelines set by Ministry of Health. These regulations can be complicated, and staying up-to-date and ensuring that all marketing efforts are compliant can be challenging.
Leveraging digital platforms: With the increasing use of technology, healthcare marketers must adapt to new digital channels to reach their target audience. However, the digital landscape is continuously evolving, and it can be challenging to determine which channels are most effective for different audiences.
Balancing personalisation with privacy: Consumers expect personalised experiences, but healthcare marketers must also protect patient privacy.
Retaining interest: Keeping consumers’ attention in today’s information overload era is also a significant challenge facing healthcare marketers. With the abundance of information available to consumers, it can be challenging to grab and keep their attention.

Where do you see the medical and healthcare sector heading in the next five to ten years?

The medical and healthcare sector continuously evolves and adapts to new technologies and trends. Here are a few potential developments that could shape the industry in the next five to ten years:

Increased use of telemedicine: Telemedicine has gained traction in recent years and is likely to grow in popularity. It provides patients with remote access to healthcare services and is especially useful for those in a foreign country.
Emphasis on preventative care: Healthcare providers increasingly focus on reducing healthcare costs and improving patient outcomes. This approach includes regular check-ups, lifestyle modifications, and early intervention for chronic conditions.
Growing role of artificial intelligence: Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionise healthcare by improving diagnosis, treatment, and patient outcomes. AI can help healthcare providers identify patterns and insights that may not be visible to the human eye.
Greater emphasis on mental health: Mental health has gained more attention in recent years and will likely continue to be a focus in the healthcare sector. This includes integrating mental health services into primary care and using technology to support mental health.
Greater national emphasis on primary healthcare: The Ministry of Health (MOH) Singapore plans to implement their Healthier SG Strategy, which entails major reform of the healthcare system with the intent to improve physical and mental health, promote well-being and reduce health inequality across the population. This also means stronger symbiosis between primary care providers (GPs) and secondary care providers (Specialists).

Do you have a motto or strategies to keep yourself motivated?

As the old adage goes: “Tough times never last, but tough people do”. As cliche as it sounds, having grit makes one different. I remind myself to keep positive when presented with challenges.

Mistakes are inevitable, but how do you prevent yourself from making the same mistakes and improve your situation in the future? Every challenge should always have a takeaway.

Any advice you’d give to aspiring marketers?

Great ideas don’t happen by staying in your comfort zone. Be inquisitive. The desire to innovate and identify new trends will set you apart from other marketers.
Be relevant. Keep up with industry news by following digital marketing sites and key influencers on social media. An understanding of current online behaviour will allow you to keep up with the latest industry changes.
Work smart. Be flexible. Be humble.

It’s been great to learn more about you and your work, Mabel, thank you for sharing your experience and insights with us. How can people connect with you if they’d like to know more about you or Beyond Medical?

Thank you for having me! You can connect with me on LinkedIn here!

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Marketing Expert Series

Talking Manufacturing Marketing with Mark Ong

Did you know that the majority of the digital marketing experts we have featured in this Series came into their careers by accident rather than by design? In fact, most of them tell the story that they were in a different line of work and were either nudged by others or made their own choices to enter a digital marketing role.

Not so with today’s interviewee!

Mark Ong is the Corporate Marketing Director for Phoenix Contact, and he got there by studying Marketing Communications at school.

From there, Mark has built himself a strong, successful career in the digital marketing sector, working with companies like Honeywell.

Join us then, for exciting insights into Mark’s career and achievements in this issue of the Marketing Expert Series!

Hi, Mark! Welcome! Thank you for joining us in our Marketing Expert Series. Let’s kick off with some background, please tell us a bit about yourself. How did you get to where you are now?

Thank you, it’s a pleasure to be here. I think I am very fortunate because I am working in an area which I studied in school (Marketing Communications). I have been in marketing for more than 17 years and serving in a leadership position for 9 of these years.

I am currently the Corporate Marketing Director for Phoenix Contact and part of the management team. Prior to Phoenix Contact, I was working as the APAC MARCOM Leader for Honeywell, which is a Fortune 100 US Conglomerate.

You’re the Corporate Marketing Director (SEA) of Phoenix Contact. Can you tell us about Phoenix Contact and the solutions the company offers?

Phoenix Contact is a German company, founded in 1923. This year marks our 100th years anniversary, which is a tremendous milestone for any company to achieve. We manufacture electrical components and connectors for a wide array of industries such as Oil & Gas, Telecommunications, Water & Waste Water, Machine Building, Infrastructure as well as E-Mobility.

The world has changed in the last few years, with the Pandemic and the shift in the economy, how has Phoenix Contact been impacted by these changes?

Thanks to the wide breadth of products and solutions that we carry (we offer > 100,000 products) for various industries, we were thankfully not heavily impacted by the pandemic. This is because when 1 industry is down, another industry will inevitably pick up. For instance, during the Energy crisis a few years ago (which is one of our main industries), Machine Building picked up and we enjoyed tremendous growth from it.

How did the developments over the last few years affect your strategies as Phoenix Contact’s Corporate Marketing Director for Southeast Asia?

We built up our marketing and technology stack and implemented tools to aid in our digital transformation, making us more agile and harnessing the power of automation to increase the productivity and efficiency of our team. For instance, during the initial stages of COVID when there were no physical events, we switched really quickly to webinars and live streaming.

I also realized that because of the pandemic, the majority of people will be working from home and thus consumption of content will have to change. Therefore, I invested in building up our very own media centre here in Singapore (about 1,500 sqft) where we can produce and edit local content for SEA.

Tell us about some of the most effective digital strategies that you’ve implemented in recent years. Is there a strategy or campaign you’re most proud of?

We have done many great campaigns over the years, but the one that I am most proud of is our social media strategy shift. Being a B2B company, we used to post photos of our products on social media together with the USP of the product.

However, 2 years ago, I implemented a strategy shift whereby the theme and focus of our social media posts are socially relatable. In other words, we moved away from posting product photos as the highlight, but rather utilize visuals and texts that would easily be understood at a glance even by a non-engineer.

I subscribe to the belief that even though we are a B2B company, ultimately the people using our products and solutions are humans, so essentially we are marketing as a B2C.

This paradigm shift in strategy helped us to more than 3X our engagement rate with our customers and increase our followers on social media by more than 20%.

How do you stay up to date with the latest digital marketing technologies and tools?

By being on the ground and keeping yourself updated on the latest news. For instance, I read daily technology websites such as Ars Technica, Fast Company, The Verge etc. and attend marketing events (as either a speaker or as a participant).

This helps me to build up my understanding of the ever-evolving digital landscape.

In your opinion, what are some of the biggest challenges facing marketers and digital experts in your industry today?

We work with a tremendous amount of big data, but I feel that many marketers are not harnessing this data effectively to drive business decisions. For instance, many marketers would have KPIs such as open rate, CTR, impressions etc. These in my opinion are great to have, but how does it truly advance the business? Therefore, the KPIs that I set for my team are more marketing revenue driven – for instance, the number of MQLs, the value of opportunities generated from these MQLs, the conversion rates etc.

If you think about it, oftentimes, when there is a retrenchment exercise, marketing is often one of the first to go. Why is it? This is because many people view marketing as a cost centre and not a profit centre.

And in other to be a profit centre, we need to start by adjusting our mindset to be more revenue and results focused.

Where do you see Industry 4.0 heading in the next five to ten years? Will we get to a point where we’re living in a fully automated and ‘smart’ world?

We already are seeing the effects of Industry 4.0 – whether is it marketing automation, robotization, big data analysis, AI or Machine learning.

However, right now what is really changing the marketing landscape is AI-driven tools like ChatGPT, which has really radicalized the way we work. In the past, we used to spend hours crafting social media posts but right now, with ChatGPT, a social media post can be crafted automatically in just seconds.

The big question many people ask is, will this make my job redundant? I empathically say no to that, because while ChatGPT can help you to craft your messages, there still needs to have a human element involved to read through and edit and “humanize” the message.

To me, this automated and smart world is not an ‘if’ but is already here. As marketers, we need to evolve and adapt to it.

Any advice you’d give to aspiring marketers especially those interested in helping advance Industry 4.0?

I think that the biggest advice I can give to aspiring marketers is to read voraciously, keep an open mind and embrace technology instead of shunning it.

What keeps you motivated? Do you have a personal motto/saying or something else that drives you forward?

My team is the one that motivates me. I believe in servant leadership and a company is nothing without its employees. Therefore team spirit and strength are crucial.

With that being said, I firmly believe that a team is like a sports team. We are here to win medals, but not everyone will stay here forever. People come and go, and that is normal. What is important is the time spent together winning.

Thank you for sharing your experience and insights with us, Mark, it’s been a real pleasure. How can people connect with you if they’d like to know more about you or Phoenix Contact?

Please connect with me on LinkedIn!

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Marketing Expert Series

Marketing Intelligence with Prasanna Dhungel

Marketing intelligence is a complex field.

In a nutshell, it’s the process of gathering, analysing, and interpreting data to gain insights into customer behaviour and market trends. It helps marketers understand their target audience better, keep up with the constant change and identify opportunities for growth.

Marketing analytics is used to identify patterns in customer behaviour that can be used to inform marketing strategies.

As the digital sphere continues to diversify and change, the means of measuring and tracking all digital marketing activities must continue to evolve with it.

In this issue of the Marketing Expert Series, GrowByData’s co-founder and Managing Partner, Prasanna Dhungel, joins us to share his experience and insights into the complexity of marketing intelligence.

**Welcome, Prasanna! Thank you for joining us in our Marketing Expert Series. Let’s kick off with a little context, can you tell us a bit about yourself? How did you get to where you are now?**

I am originally from Kathmandu and spend my time between there and Boston. I am a trained engineer and started my career working in a Healthcare IT startup, which did very well. I went to business school and consulted product and investment companies on how to do well with data.

This was the early stage of Big Data and I was noticing challenges with how companies were using data. So I formulated a concept of how data should be used and kept using it. At that time, e-commerce was starting to grow and I co-launched GrowByData to offer data insights to SMEs in e-commerce. That is how we started.

In the beginning, we did various data service projects and slowly started building technology to enable firms to process and share marketing data. We went into the competitive intelligence space to offer insights on pricing.

Here, we saw an opportunity to offer broader reporting on marketing metrics such as share of voice, pricing, merchandising and lots more. Today, we provide marketing intelligence on ingredients that help a brand get clicks from shoppers on the digital shelf.

You’re the Co-founder and Managing Partner of GrowByData. Please tell us about GrowByData and how you came to create the company.

GrowByData provides marketing intelligence to agencies and brands to win new business and boost performance.

The challenge today is digital shoppers are meandering on the web collecting information on their path to purchase. However, platforms such as Google are constantly changing. And competitors are constantly adjusting their strategies and offers.

Hence becoming visible and getting the click on this journey is vital for brands. We offer agencies and brands this insight so they are on top of these ingredients to purchase.

Through our agency partners today, our marketing insights and white glove services power the marketing performance of leading brands such as Marriott, Amazon, Williams Sonoma, Discover Card, Express, AutoZone, Lego and others.

What role do you believe the Marketing Intelligence sector – and GrowByData as a result – play in the development of the global digital space?

All firms face competition digitally. Marketing leads, customer retention and incremental revenue are impacted without an ongoing understanding of the digital ecosystem a firm plays in.

For this, marketing intelligence is vital – online across search, marketplaces, social and others – and offline. GrowByData offers search intelligence, marketplace intelligence and product intelligence – subsets of the digital marketing ecosystem.

We differentiate our offerings by breaking silos across these point solutions and offering a holistic view of the competitive landscape to the management team. With our white glove services, we offer deep custom intelligence for brands to adjust their advertising, product, pricing, channel and merchandising decisions. This is vital for brand leaders to build, analyze and refine their custom strategies and maintain their competitive differentiation.

Can you discuss data and analytics in digital marketing and how they can be used to optimise campaigns?

Data analytics must be used in digital marketing to create strategies and campaigns and monitor and optimize campaigns. You should use digital marketing platforms’ native data, customer data and external datasets to create a 360-degree view of your business landscape.

In our case, we provide holistic visibility on Google across various SERP features on Organic and Paid. We help SEO and SEM teams understand opportunities to improve content and advertising so they maximize ROI for their marketing investment. This holistic visibility is vital now for two reasons.

First, the economic headwinds have reduced the marketing budget and headcount so smartly investing is key.

Second, Google is heavily making changes and I expect we will see more as Google is on a war footing to stay relevant with ChatGPT. In light of this, using platform-specific data is also key to constantly staying on top of performance.

The world has changed in the last few years, with the Pandemic and the shift in the economy, how has GrowByData been impacted by these changes?

We help brands maximise lead flow and conversion from their digital marketing investments. Hence with the rise in digital for brands, our clients have seen more business, which means we have also seen the same. That said, we ride the sentiments and business dynamics of our clients.

However, we are a marketing solution that helps agencies and brands maximize performance with fewer resources and for a given budget. We break silos and offer newer insights with fewer resources.

So with the economic headwinds today and many agencies and brands operating with fewer headcounts, we are a great resource to continue to delight clients in the downturn. We are optimistic that our clients will find more value in our unified insights and white glove services at a time when end clients are more demanding, but the stakeholders have fewer resources internally to delight their clients.

How did the developments over the last few years affect your strategies as Co-founder and Managing Partner?

Google is constantly changing SERP. We saw many changes during COVID. With the threat from ChatGPT, Google continues to make changes on the SERP to provide all of us who search for the right information so we don’t move away from Google to find our answers elsewhere.

Many brands and agencies are constantly trying to stay on top of this and become relevant for those who search. With the rising need for alternative platforms to advertise, brands are spending dollars on Amazon, Walmart, Target and others.

These changes have reinforced our goal of staying current across these platforms and supporting our clients to maximise returns on these channels – whether it be on search marketing, amazon investment or other retail media networks.

Tell us about some of the most effective digital strategies you’ve implemented recently. Is there a strategy or campaign you’re most proud of?

We have been using massive datasets across categories and time to offer industry-level reports such as Google’s Pulse of the Market. This insight has been valuable to our clients to help them understand trends in their category. We continue to enhance this report to offer insights into other categories and are sharing it across our marketing channels. I am proud of our work on this and know this will be a powerful value-add to our clients.

How do you stay up to date with the latest digital marketing technologies and tools?

I regularly read relevant information posted on social media and credible journals by thought leaders and industry practitioners. We also like to experiment with newer tactics on existing platforms and test new capabilities coming out.

Our space is highly competitive and it is imperative for us to stay on top of new tactics and new platforms to retain our edge. We also have to experiment with a business model to offer value to our clients.

In your opinion, what are some of the biggest challenges facing marketers and digital experts in your industry today?

Information overload, excessive marketing, the proliferation of platforms and technologies, data silos and constantly evolving techniques are the biggest challenges.

Google is rapidly changing. ChatGPT is a new opportunity and a threat to many, and we don’t know how it will impact the way we ask, learn and buy.

That said, this is also an opportunity for those that stay on top, experiment and rapidly develop new working models that show ROI will do well.

Where do you see the Marketing Intelligence sector heading in the next five to ten years?

I expect to see innovation in the way we search and consume information. I expect that platforms will automate more routine tasks and offer deeper answers to marketers.

I see insights in non-text mediums like images and videos increasingly get used to answering questions. I see us getting away from finding our answers by going over pages and pages to get what we want quickly. ChatGPT offers a preview of this world.

We, humans, will elevate our thinking to go beyond reading/processing information to synthesizing processed information, thinking deeper and using our insight to build a hypothesis or rebut. We have also moved from a data-scarce society to a data-overwhelmed society and will increasingly prefer pointed credible information vs the current need to find the needle in a haystack.

We will narrow our focus to a few platforms vs the many now. I see certain platforms dying out with consolidation and business model death. I expect to see vast innovation to enable, grow and keep a check on the innovations arising. All this creates vast opportunities in our space to stay on top and lead the way.

Any advice you’d give to aspiring marketers and digital entrepreneurs?

The future is exciting for those in marketing and entrepreneurship. The incumbents are under threat from new players. So we will see many innovative technologies and business models.

Existing ways of doing marketing will evolve. New ones with arise. New partnership opportunities will be there. So I encourage those looking ahead to pay attention to the activities of the key players and the disruptors. While you want to hear the pundits, I wouldn’t fully trust them as the experts have generally been wrong at times like this. I would get my hands dirty, experiment, be willing to fail and try new tools, businesses and operating models. I would find the early adopters and really build the way with them.

I don’t know what will happen. However, I do know that change will be there and the bold will lead the way.

What keeps you motivated? Do you have a personal motto/saying or something else that drives you forward?

Adding value to my clients, showing them the way forward and helping them win always keeps me motivated. When we do the right things for our clients, positivism flows. We can support our team members, our communities and the greater ecosystem.

I have a quote from when I was young that keeps me going – “No aim is too high if you climb with care and confidence”.

For me, the intellectual challenge of taking on a big goal of delighting my clients and building the team, processes and platform to do so at scale and with a sustainable business model drives me forward. While hard, it is intellectually fun.

It’s been great to learn more about you and your work, Prasanna, thank you for sharing your experience and insights with us. How can people connect with you if they’d like to know more about you or GrowByData?

I am available on LinkedIn.

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Marketing Expert Series

Holistic Marketing Strategies with Rajiv Rai Singh

Fairytales often start with “once upon a time…”, and many digital marketers interviewed in the Marketing Expert Series could have started their story in the same way.

Rajiv Rai Singh is no exception.

A great storyteller who started off with half-dreamt goals of television advertising, Rajiv has become a motivated, marketing leader and strategist for regional companies like Lalamove, Reebelo and Qlub.

In this interview, he talks about the challenges and opportunities he has overcome – going from digital marketing basics to fractional CMO. Join us in this issue of the Series, and you might just find the inspiration for your own successes as a digital marketer.

Hi, Rajiv, thank you for joining us in our Marketing Expert Series. Let’s kick off with a little context, can you tell us a bit about yourself? How did you get to where you are now?

Thanks for having me, Olwen.

Well, let me tell you a tale of a geeky movie buff who never thought they’d end up where they are today. Twenty years ago, I thought I was destined to spend my life as a storyteller, locked in a dark room and editing TV commercials until my eyes bled. But fate had other plans.

I stumbled upon the world of digital marketing and eCommerce about fifteen years ago, and I was hooked. Back then, there were few ways to learn, but I was as curious as a cat. I earned my stripes creating and maintaining digital ad campaigns through trial and error, launching several eCommerce businesses for others before finally landing an opportunity to work for Lalamove.

Fast forward to today, I’ve been a marketing leader and strategist for startups like Lalamove, Reebelo, and Qlub. I’ve taken on 360 marketing campaigns throughout Southeast Asia and have gained a wealth of experience.

So, I took all that knowledge and experience and put it into a little black book, a framework that I now use to help startups and SMEs create a killer marketing strategy. And who knows, maybe one day you’ll be telling your grandkids about the time you hired the geeky movie buff turned marketing strategist.

Can you tell us about some of the most effective strategies that you have implemented in recent years? Is there an achievement you’re most proud of?

I love this question and I could talk about it all day, but I’ll do my best to keep it brief.

MSMEs faced a tough time during the COVID-19 pandemic, but at Lalamove we saw an opportunity to inspire and uplift their spirits. We featured stories of ‘hero clients’ who had found ways to succeed using Lalamove during the lockdown in YouTube interviews and advertorials, making them the stars and Lalamove the supporting brand. This strategy made us the leading on-demand delivery company among MSMEs.

Another time, at my previous on-demand grocery delivery startup, we had the challenge of targeting hyperlocal areas. We revved up awareness with a flashy convoy of wrapped trucks, and on-ground activation activity and followed up with geo-targeted social media and search ads to encourage conversions. Post-purchase, happy customers were given a reward for referring others. This allowed us to achieve double digital MoM growth.

For someone who started in digital marketing, you seem to have embraced several other formats as well. How has that experience been for you?

Starting out in digital marketing, I soon realized that it’s only one piece of the puzzle. It was a bit intimidating at first because not all formats like OOH or on-ground activation are as data-driven as digital. But after some experimentation, I came to understand that each form of marketing brings its own unique value to the table.

I have to say, one of the most impressive marketing strategies I’ve seen was Lalamove’s use of vehicle stickers. Talk about maximizing reach and influencing top-of-mind awareness on a budget! That was a major factor in their rise to the top of their market.

That experience inspired me to start my second venture, VOOH Media, which helps brands increase their top-of-mind awareness through vehicle stickers and re-engage OOH audiences online. I still love digital marketing, but I wanted to bring my skills to other areas as well.

You’re currently a marketing consultant, helping startups and SMEs establish themselves. Can you tell us more about your work and what it means to fill this role?

As a marketing strategist, or more accurately, a fractional CMO, I provide marketing leadership and expertise to my clients on a part-time or project basis. This arrangement allows clients to access my knowledge as a digital marketer and broader experiences as a CMO without incurring the cost and overhead associated with hiring a full-time executive.

For companies that are not quite ready to bring on a full-time CMO or simply need some temporary help, I’m here to navigate them through the marketing maze.

Whether it’s developing a winning marketing strategy, branding, conducting marketing analytics, leading the execution of a marketing plan, providing leadership and mentoring, or even assisting in the hiring of a marketing team, I can take those burdens off my clients’ shoulders.

How is a fractional CMO different from other marketing consultants?

While a marketing consultant focuses on a specific aspect of marketing, a fractional CMO offers comprehensive leadership and expertise in all areas of marketing, as well as team management and mentorship.

My unique edge as a CMO is my background working with startups and disruptive brands. Innovation and transformation require a new approach to marketing, one that embraces growth-oriented principles like iterative testing and development. I bring this expertise to companies looking to shake things up and navigate uncharted markets.

The world has changed in the last few years, with the Pandemic and the shift in the economy, how have you been impacted by these changes?

Well, let’s just say these times are like a wild roller coaster ride – we’ve seen consumer behaviour take a sharp turn, budgets tighten tighter than a screw, and layoffs happen faster than you can say ‘unprecedented.’ But hey, every dark cloud has a silver lining, right?

As a CMO, these changes have challenged me to be a little more crafty with my strategies. I’ve embraced new technology like a kid in a toy store, using no-code tools to manage and launch digital campaigns and AI to lend a hand in content creation. Who knows what other surprises the future holds, but I’m all in with a positive outlook.

How did the developments over the last few years affect your strategies and motivation to strike out on your own?

If anything, it has fueled my desire to take the leap into entrepreneurship. With so many companies struggling to keep up with the changes, it’s become clear that having control over my own success is more important than ever.

And the best part? With all the cool new tech out there, it’s never been easier for someone with my experience to start their own ventures and chart their own path to success.

In your opinion, what are some of the biggest challenges as a fractional CMO today?

Here’s a big one. Most company stakeholders may initially view you as an external vendor which can limit your say in the company’s broader business strategy. This can limit your ability to make a significant impact on marketing activities. Hence, it’s important to quickly establish trust and credibility. With clear communication and a flexible approach, these challenges can be overcome and the role can be highly rewarding. By being smart, agile, and results-driven, a fractional CMO can make a big impact in a short amount of time.

How have these challenges affected the direction and strategies you’ve implemented in recent years?

Most of my clients actually come from within my network so I already have built years of trust and credibility with them.

As I expand my client base, I plan to further invest in personal branding and content marketing to establish my expertise and build trust from the outset with new clients. This approach will allow me to hit the ground running and bring more autonomy to each new project.

Where do you see the marketing sector heading in the next five to ten years?

I have a few thoughts:

Data has and always will be King: Companies will increasingly rely on data to drive their marketing decisions, leveraging advanced analytics and AI to personalize and optimize their efforts.
Technology is Changing the Game: With the emergence of new technologies such as VR, AR, and 5G, marketers will have more tools to reach and engage with their audiences in novel ways.
Experience is Everything: Customers expect a seamless experience, and brands will be investing heavily to ensure their experiences exceed expectations.
Overload of Channels: As the metaverse, AR and VR open new playing fields and existing ones innovate, there are going to be more channels than you can count. Companies will be using a combination of traditional and digital marketing channels to reach their target audiences. No single channel will be the silver bullet.
Purpose is Becoming More Important: As consumers evolve to associate brands more with their own identity and purpose, brands will be paying more attention to their impact on society and the world, and marketing will be a key part of promoting their purpose and values.

Any advice you’d give to aspiring marketers?

If you want to achieve that which seems unachievable, then you have to do the things that scare you the most. Anything less simply means you are sitting in your comfort zone.

And remember, setbacks are simply stepping stones on the road to success. Embrace them as opportunities to learn, grow, and soar higher!

It’s been great to learn more about you and your work, Rajiv, thank you for sharing your experience and insights with us. How can people connect with you if they’d like to know more?

Great, feel free to pick my brain anytime. They can connect with me on Linkedin.

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Marketing Expert Series

Talking Digital Marketing Training with Paul Lim

Meet Paul Lim, a digital marketing trainer and expert who has built a successful career, starting as a regional sales head for well-reputed companies and transitioning into an entrepreneurial journey as a digital marketing trainer.

His passion for education and mentorship led him to become an adjunct faculty for business schools in Geneva, London, and Zurich, as well as a digital marketing trainer for over 2,500 individuals in various digital and meta-marketing areas.

With the rise of the digital age and the impact of the pandemic, Paul adapted his strategies to become more adaptable, resilient and client-focused. In this issue of the Marketing Expert Series, Paul takes us through his career journey.

**Hi, Paul! Thank you for joining us in our Marketing Expert Series. Let’s kick off with some background, please tell us a bit about yourself. How did you get to where you are now?**

I started my career with several well-reputed, listed companies in Finland, London & South Africa, working in the packaging industry as Head of Regional Sales for many years. I spent 70% of my time travelling, canvassing for sales from overseas customers.

The hectic and demanding schedule meant that I was neglecting my daughters. This realisation prompted me to make a change and embark on my entrepreneurial journey.

I started managing a marketing agency specialising in website development and Google marketing for 5 years and was headhunted as General Manager for Media & Publishing industry in Myanmar.

A chance encounter at a networking session with a director for a business school lead to an invitation to join them, which is how I started my educational journey as an adjunct faculty. Gradually training opportunities flowed in and I embraced these opportunities wholeheartedly.

And now, I find myself wearing multiple hats: a digital marketing strategist, Meta Blueprint trainer, entrepreneur, speaker and author as well as an adjunct MBA faculty who teaches digital marketing for three business schools in Geneva, London and Zurich.

When the COVID pandemic hit, I decided early on to book a return ticket to Singapore since many activities were standstill. It was December 2019, I returned home with no career plan.

You are an entrepreneur and digital marketing strategist. You’re also an author, and you’ve trained more than 2,500 individuals in a variety of digital and meta-marketing areas. Please tell us more about how you came to be a trainer and what your training involves.

After consulting with my mentors on business options, I decided to take on a business in digital marketing training because training is an evergreen industry.

The pandemic made people realise the need for upgrading their skills for career opportunities and business survival. With my knowledge and experience, I suppose it’s not really surprising to learn that I enjoy the satisfaction of moulding young minds.

To date, I have trained over 2576 individuals from Singapore and regional countries in the areas of meta-marketing, digital marketing, social media, Google marketing and online campaign management.

In addition, I have the opportunity to teach in these prestige courses: Masters Programs, Diploma in E-commerce, ICDL Digital Marketing, SG United Skills Program (SGUS), Career Conversion Program (CCP) and Affiliate Marketing (Lazada & Shopee).

The world has changed in the last few years, with the Pandemic and the shift in the economy, how have you been impacted by these changes?

Paul Digital Training (PDT) was established in January 2020 during the Pandemic.

PDT delivers a wide range of cutting-edge digital marketing courses. I chose digital marketing courses because of the rapid digitalisation we’ve faced in the last few years. The world has gone digital, it is the right move to ride on the trend.

I entered unchartered territory without prior industry knowledge during my initial venture. As a result, I experienced many trials and tribulations in starting my training business.

Therefore, I had to work hard to learn the ropes from my mentors to gain a foothold and respect in this competitive industry. The journey was tough but I was optimistic. I believe with hard work and perseverance, the right opportunity will come to me at the right time.

I received my first training after many months of canvassing. Gradually, my business grew via word-of-mouth referrals. With support from valued clients, PDT was able to develop digital training courses for various industries and a pocket of clients from neighbouring countries. I’m now a training partner with many established Approved Training Organizations.

How did the developments over the last few years affect your strategies?

I needed to become more adaptable, resilient and client-focused to succeed in today’s competitive landscape. To boot, I need to react swiftly to evolving market conditions and trends. We are committed to delivering the best experience at every stage of the client’s learning journey.

Tell us about some of the most effective digital strategies you’ve implemented recently. Is there a strategy or campaign you’re most proud of?

I used Public Relations as the most effective digital strategy to bring my business to the next level.

I got involved in many corporate social responsibility activities; volunteer work and helping unprivileged students in Myanmar, Nigeria, Sri Lanka & Cambodia when I was an entrepreneur managing a marketing agency.

Additionally, I was also appointed judge for the Singapore Website Awards 2017, featured for industry insight on Myanmar, Nigeria and Singapore news media and magazines.

Author of two books (my 2nd book – Marketing for a Digital World will be launched at end of February 2023) and a contributing author to several bestseller titles.

How do you stay up to date with the latest digital marketing technologies and tools?

Stay updated with digital marketing gurus, professional websites and online influencers. Build connections from LinkedIn, establish rapport and leverage the subject experts

Renew my Google Ads & Meta certification with yearly examinations; keep my credentials current with the latest digital marketing technologies and tools updates.

Furthermore, I’m a strong believer in mentorship; I have 3 mentors from India, Malaysia & Singapore who mentor me on the latest META Marketing tips & techniques to help me to optimize an Ads budget and eventually my clients benefit too.

In your opinion, what are some of the biggest challenges facing marketers and digital experts in your industry today?

In my opinion, the biggest challenges are inflation and the overall cost of manpower. Especially in light that retaining good talent and online advertisement costs are expected to go up.

In terms of business, it is increased productivity and cost efficiency that will drive earnings. PDT focuses on growth through leadership and training to combat challenges and stay ahead.

Any advice you’d give to aspiring marketers and digital entrepreneurs especially those interested in digital marketing training?

Aspiring marketers or digital entrepreneurs need a high ability, drive and desire to learn. Don’t give yourself excuses or procrastinate. Test your ideas fast with your potential customers to get feedback.

What keeps you motivated? Do you have a personal motto/saying or something else that drives you forward?

Delighted to share the latest digital knowledge, and skills and add value to my clients’ learning journey as well as witness the growth in their careers.

Every class brings new meaning to learning and every class brings new friends to my circle, thus motivating and driving me forward.

Thank you for taking the time to share your insights and experiences with us, Paul. How can people connect with you if they’d like to know more about you or your digital marketing training courses?

Feel free to contact me on my website, via Whatsapp, or on LinkedIn.

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Marketing Expert Series

Healthcare Marketing in a Post-COVID Environment with Mandy Phang

When we look back to the early 2020s we have a clearer picture of what we are currently lacking. . We’ll be able to see how industries are impacted by the pandemic and its subsequent socio-economic consequences.

One of the industries we’ll look at very closely is the healthcare sector. For obvious reasons healthcare is one of those industries, driven to evolve to tackle the global crisis.

Joining us in this issue is Mandy Phang, Group Head of Marketing and Communications at Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care. She shares with us her hands-on experience and real-world situations from her very rich and diverse career and offers insights and advice for young, upcoming marketers.

Hi, Mandy, thank you for joining us in our Marketing Expert Series. Let’s kick off with some basics, can you tell us a bit about yourself? How did you get to where you are now?

My name is Mandy. I was born and raised in Kuala Lumpur, truly a city marketer and not a fan of nature. Advertising and marketing are my passion and that explain my career journey of 23 years working in various marketing roles across different industries, crossing from advertising agency to automotive, property development and healthcare.

It is always fun and exciting to apply marketing ideas and strategies in a different industry.

You’re the Group Head of Marketing and Communications at Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care. What does Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care do exactly?

Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care (RSDH) is equally owned by Sime Darby Berhad and Ramsay Health Care. RSDH’s portfolio in Malaysia comprises Subang Jaya Medical Centre, Ara Damansara Medical Centre, ParkCity Medical Centre and Bukit Tinggi Medical Centre.

It also operates three hospitals in Indonesia, namely RS Premier Bintaro, RS Premier Jatinegara and RS Premier Surabaya. RSDH is steadfast in providing the highest quality patient care, committed to the tagline “People caring for people”. With cutting-edge technology, state-of-the-art facilities and experienced consultants across a wide array of specialities, RSDH’s experienced healthcare team is committed to the highest quality patient care, clinical outcomes, staff and specialist well-being and stakeholder interest.

And what does your role entail? Is there a part you enjoy most?

My role in RSDH covers all aspects of corporate branding & communications, performance marketing, PR, digital marketing, contact centre and crisis management. This year, I have also been appointed as the Asia lead on corporate sustainability for RSDH.

What I enjoy most in my current role is the experience of witnessing and participating in the fast transformation of healthcare marketing pre and post-pandemic and driving the acceleration of digital marketing in the business.

I joined the healthcare industry in October 2019 right before the COVID-19 pandemic put the world went into lockdown mode in March 2020 and it lasted for more than 3-years. During the period, there were many priceless learning experiences on crisis management in the realm of healthcare where many unprecedented issues had to be managed well and timely on a weekly basis. Having the opportunity to learn and be part of the healthcare support system at a time when health services were needed the most is definitely the biggest spotlight in my career history.

What about your achievements – is there something that sticks out? A ‘most memorable’ achievement or proudest moment in your career so far?

Throughout my career journey, I always aimed to create new milestones and bring unique value to the company I worked for. I am always game to try new things and challenge the status quo where I go. There were several memorable achievements that made me proud (whenever I tell the story to my team and my son including 😊)

In UMWT (Head of Branding and CRM for Toyota & Lexus)
Spearheaded the e-CRM project “My Owner’s portal” which was successfully launched as the first mover in the automotive industry. It sets the benchmark in digitalising customer experience bringing conventional car ownership management to the web. Hosted several unconventional and unique car launches event such as a car catwalk show on stage (showcasing the beauty of car design and manoeuvrability), cars stunt shows and parades on the Sepang F1 circuit track and more
In Sunsuria (Marketing Director)
Organised the inaugural marathon and cycling event from ground zero at the bare land of new township development and attracted over 3,000 participants in joining the event.
Skyrocketed Sunsuria brand awareness from a new boutique developer level to one of the Top 15 developers in The Edge Property Excellence ranking positions.
In RSDH (Group Head, Marketing and Communications)
Restructured the entire Group Marketing roles and team within 6 months of joining healthcare and formalised setup of marketing supports including the transformation of manual-based support and clarity of roles between business units (hospital) and group office. Developed mid-to-long-term sustainability strategy with strong support and buy-in from RSDH Board members.

The last few years must have been a rollercoaster ride for you and your team. How did COVID-19 affect your strategies?

The COVID-19 pandemic has, without a doubt, affected the healthcare market, both directly and indirectly.

When I first joined RSDH, my priority was to look into a long overdue rebranding strategy alignment project between RSDH (parent brand) and our business units (hospital brands). However, when COVID-19 hit us we were forced to pause and even stop certain plans.

Our strategies immediately switched focus to ensure clear and fast corporate communications to all our stakeholders including our patients, senior leaders, business partners and our people.

A big part of our daily focus is on communication, communication, communication. During a time of crisis, nothing is more important than clear communication. Disseminating regular messages to our people and giving constant assurance and recognition for their sacrifices and hard work in battling the COVID-19 pandemic is a very powerful supporting force to the frontliners.

What sort of other lasting impacts do you believe the pandemic’s forced acceleration of digital transformation has had on your industry in general?

Healthcare technology existed long before COVID-19, predominantly in medical devices technology, integrated EMR and IT systems, cloud and to a certain extent artificial intelligence (AI) in some parts of the world.

For me, one of the most apparent changes from the pandemic is the shift in the stakeholder’s mindset and eagerness towards digitalisation and innovation within the entire healthcare industry particularly in the aspect of the patient journey experience.

The trend and inclination towards social media marketing is also something that will have a lasting impact post-pandemic as it now becomes a very critical aspect of the consumer decision-making process. Furthermore, the growth of social media platforms has transformed the dynamics of the electronic marketplace by creating social networks of consumers, opinion leaders, and field experts such as KOLs, social influencers, user-generated content (UGC) and more. Basically, everybody has a voice in any products and services on the world wide web and social media.

Do you think that this impact has permanently changed how you and your team go about your work? Where do you see your strategies going in the next few years?

Yes. The impact has definitely changed the dynamics and work habits nowadays. Many organisation stresses even more on performance delivery than before. New processes and policies are being reviewed and updated to ensure better business continuity measures are in place. Less paper printing and higher dependency on innovative solutions and digital platforms are basic tools required for people. Work-life balance is also crucial to ensure sanity (mental health) and productive working stamina applies to all ages of colleagues.

In the next few years, there will be a few key areas of focus in our strategies that are:

customer / patient first philosophy (setting new benchmark experience)
planet first (increase commitment to ESG agenda and ambitions)
strategic partnership and co-branding initiatives

Do you have any advice for young marketers?

Learn to write. Many new marketers can’t write very well nowadays. It is imperative to know good business writing. It is a skill both in high demand and short supply nowadays. Learn how to express yourself in writing precisely, intelligently, and in brief. Good writing will take you places, no matter what your role.

Explore, learn and explore. Too much of anything can become boring, so make sure you’re exploring different areas of marketing to find the area you love in your job. Be humble, dare to speak up and be willing to learn new things. There is no loss but only gain in lifelong knowledge and experience.

Marketing is about both math and creativity. It is not just about some crazy campaigns, but all ideas need to make money sense (=ROI).

It’s been great to learn more about you and your work, Mandy, thank you for sharing your insights with us. How can people connect with you if they’d like to know more about you or Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care?

Connect with me on LinkedIn.

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Marketing Expert Series

International Education Marketing in Ipoh, Malaysia with Keh Eng Tschong

If there was ever any doubt that it took brains, courage and creativity to lead a team through the COVID-19 pandemic, then this interview puts those doubts to bed.

In Malaysia, as in many countries, there’s a clear difference between the big, bustling cities like Kuala Lumpur and Johor, and the smaller, calmer places like Ipoh. Outsiders might mistake Ipoh for a sleepy retirement village, but beneath the surface, there is a busy, dynamic community thriving in sectors like education.

Joining us for this issue is Keh Eng Tschong, Head of Marketing at Tenby Schools Ipoh. He’ll take us through his career and how he found himself at the helm of the team in Ipoh. We follow his in-depth narrative on how he, his team and the Tenby Schools group navigated and survived the pandemic and Eng Tschong’s analysis of how we will be affected from now on.

Hi, Eng Tschong, thank you for joining us in our Marketing Expert Series. Let’s kick off with a little background, can you tell us a bit about yourself? How did you get to where you are now?

After graduating from Monash University with majors in Marketing and Management, my career kicked off in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

My roles were mainly marketing-related and, being adventurous at the time, I hopped industries from building materials, home décor and IT before deciding to relocate back to my hometown in Ipoh.

It was in the tertiary education sector that my career truly took off. I was very gratefully mentored by the then-Group-COO of Impiana Group, which owns the local college.

Other than honing my strategic planning skills, I strove to become more well-rounded and at one point I had 3 departments under my wing – Recruitment, Branding & Promotions and Student Affairs & Alumni.

When it was time to move on, I joined Tenby Schools Ipoh under the International Schools Partnership. Still attached to them, I’ve served for over 3 years in Tenby so far.

You’re the Head of Marketing at Tenby Schools Ipoh. Please tell us about the work you do.

Naturally, the title comes with the ownership of the School’s Strategic Marketing and Admissions Plan and Annual Budget. Essentially, I make sure that everything is aligned, especially for areas such as key priorities progress, consistencies in key messages, observing and anticipating listed threats, improvement tactics and budget management.

A huge chunk of time is invested in content creation, as we have a commitment to a bi-weekly content calendar submission for review. Ipoh is one of the only two schools in the SEA group to come out with in-house campaign videos from scratch. We went from storyboarding, photography, videography, design, content writing, and copywriting up until editing towards the final product. This is then pushed out digitally through social media and reinforced through offline or out-of-home media.

Usually, there are two main content categories – acquisition and retention.

The department also works internally on designs such as sales, academic and non-academic events collaterals such as posters, landing pages and digital ads. As brand guardians of the school, we try our best to ensure the school as a whole sticks to brand guidelines.

Personally, I’ve also helped in training new admissions staff (sales) in the areas of marketing basics relevant to their daily routines (the 7Ps in our landscape, understanding buyer roles, importance of delivering consistent key messages, buying decision-making process and factors) and personal selling techniques. I’m also the gatekeeper for the school’s social media and admissions e-mail enquiries, mainly filtering and forwarding them to our Admissions Team.

What’s it like to work in an international school in Ipoh versus other cities in Malaysia? Is it very different somehow?

I’ve personally not worked in any other international school. Under the International Schools Partnership, we have nine schools in Malaysia – 6 Tenby, 2 Straits and Asia Pacific – and as a group, we have weekly virtual meetings and quarterly physical meetings or team-building get-togethers.

We constantly share best practices and challenges and try to support each other the best we can.

Ipoh is a unique market, especially in demographics, consumer & social behavioural patterns, customer service level expectations, price sensitivity and marketing channels’ efficiencies and effectiveness.

To elaborate, the average age of Ipoh citizens is constantly rising as the salary gap is widening each year compared to other areas such as Klang Valley, Penang, and Johor. This results in the younger generation often opting to work outside of Ipoh and Perak in general.

In turn, this impacts buyer roles. While other schools are almost always dealing with parents (initiator & buyer), Ipoh sometimes deals with grandparents or guardians (initiator & influencer but not the buyer) as many parents are working in other states leaving their child(ren) in the care of grandparents. Naturally, this can complicate marketing initiatives like ad placement and deployment strategy, admissions communication and buying decision processes.

The salary gap also influences consumers in Ipoh to be more price sensitive. The perceived value of “amount of money paid versus products or services acquired” differs greatly compared to states which have higher average salaries and disposable income.

Consequently, the role of customer service frontliners is more challenging and if not managed properly, will result in a higher number of withdrawals.

Ipohians are a very down-to-earth bunch, more resistant to change coupled with a more slow-paced working environment. So implementing branding practices is more challenging as the education process will take longer and the steps in change management tactics must be further broken into smaller steps.

As mentioned on the average age combined with the resistance to change factor, Ipohian’s tech savviness is much lower compared to other major cities in the country and therefore some traditional media such as street buntings and LED billboards are still adopted to have decent coverage on targeted segments.

You’ve worked in a variety of industries throughout your career. Is there a moment or campaign you’re most proud of?

There are a few, but the one that will forever be imprinted in my memory would be my time in tertiary education – Perak College of Technology (PCoT).

As managers or heads of departments, in reality, what we plan to execute for the year, almost always doesn’t pan out as the year runs down. Not even 75% close to the initial plan becomes reality most of the time due to the many factors and different expectations from various stakeholders.

During my second year in PCoT, I would say the execution was nearly 90% of what is planned at the beginning of the year all thanks to the trust from senior management, my peers, and my team.

The Recruitment Team numbered ten at the time, and we were able to pull off a cost-effective Guerrilla Marketing type of public engagement activity in between the seeding and harvesting period. Combining 2 years of consistent messaging and digital content schedule with some third-party SEM, we closed the year with 680 recruitments as compared to the previous year of 430.

It was really a remarkable year!

What sort of impact did the COVID-19 pandemic have on Tenby Schools Ipoh?

Tenby Schools Ipoh was the first school in the state (both private and government) to go online since day 1 of Malaysia’s lockdown, thanks to a proactive central office, 1.5 months prior the whole school was instructed to have a detailed plan on “what if a lockdown occurs and how can we prepare to go online?”.

Some hiccups in the first month didn’t stop us, and like many other industries, our community endured the good struggles and is now more tech-savvy and resilient. As safeguarding is an integral part of what we do, we get essential guidelines and through sharing of best practices, we were told by the Ministry of Education during a “spot-check” that we were the golden standard for Covid SOPs at the time for other schools to follow. Unknown to many, the community really pulled through together as non-facilities staff volunteered to put up signs and tape for social distancing measures.

Beyond Tenby Schools Ipoh and applying to general as well, companies could have done more to blanket the transition from working from home towards back in the office. From my viewpoint and observation, the pandemic really took a toll on the mental and physical health of the public even without us consciously realizing it.

This is unsurprising as this was an unprecedented event, at least in Malaysia. For example, some of our physical stamina might have deteriorated, and it’s easy to slip our minds to just expect our bodies to switch from staying at home with minimal exercise to going back to our normal routines pre-Covid.

Numbers-wise the school was hit by expats’ children leaving due to parents returning to their home country, but we managed to retain the same number of children in the first year of Covid and had a small growth in the second and upcoming years.

The pandemic will likely have a lasting effect on our daily lives, although government SOPs have softened, the school majority still stuck to wearing masks, social distancing, and being more attentive towards personal hygiene.

How did the developments of the COVID-19 Pandemic affected your strategies as Head of Marketing?

During the first lockdown, we deployed almost 85% of our budget on digital channels. We anticipated that the digital environment would be very cluttered, as every business from sole proprietary owners to SMEs to MNCs would be left with no choice but to promote online. Our response to it was that artwork needed to be cleaner and crisper to optimize impression, engagement and call to action.

Throughout the whole ordeal, there were on and off lockdowns in Malaysia, the priority during those lift-off periods would be getting as many raw materials for content creation so that we keep the momentum going with decent content. My advice to the photographer was in a single photoshoot, try to have more variance so that the photos can be applied to different collaterals and artwork that serve different purposes. During liftoffs, we also deployed some street buntings and were among the first to do so in Ipoh during the second lockdown lift-off.

Content balancing was also a vital component of how we keep our followers intact, we tried to balance retention and ads as best we could while also giving breathers to our targeted audience.

From 80% being spent on digital during the 1.5 years of the pandemic, we are now shifting towards 55% offline and 45% digital in this running financial year budget.

I’ve adopted SWOT in my strategic plans since 2016, often using the 7P model to run a company’s SW and PESTEL for OT. A strategic plan for me should always be a live document, and the pandemic further reinforced my motion. A month plus prior to the actual lockdown, I’ve prepared the usual MarComm plan for the year and a what-if-lockdown MarComm plan for the year. We swam into it right from the start and were able to stay ahead of our competitors.

Do you think smaller towns like Ipoh were impacted differently by the Pandemic compared to larger places like Kuala Lumpur? In what way?

I think what hits Ipoh most was and still is, the economy. By observing peers, friends and families working in other states and countries, Ipoh’s recovery was vastly slower. The main factors would be the naturally slower pace working environment mentioned earlier, the difference in SOPs between the different states (many other industries reopened in Klang Valley while Ipoh remained mandatorily closed) and the struggles to hire or rehire staff (laid off during the pandemic) due to its naturally tiny talent pool which was much smaller after the pandemic as much more people are able to find means and ways to generate income online and were contented in working in their own pace at the comfort of their homes.

What sort of lasting impact do you believe the pandemic’s forced acceleration of digital transformation has had on the education industry in Ipoh?

Based on conversations with our existing parents (especially those who transferred from government public schools), potential parents, friends and family, the impact on public schools is not significant. The main reason could be limited funding to put the required technology in place for online or hybrid learning. The mainstream feedback was that what happened in public school was mostly children were assigned homework, given a deadline, submitted, and repeat.

The fact is hybrid or online learning consumes much more time compared to traditional physical learning whereby teachers work around the clock attending to any questions students might have beyond the usual working hours, as some parents can only assist in their child(ren)’s learning after working hours.

On a positive note, around the last quarter of 2021 and early 2022, there was feedback that government public schools offered better employment packages to teachers, with guaranteed minimum yearly increments. Hopefully, this will help improve the education sector here in general, as children are always key to a brighter future.

Do you think that this impact has permanently changed how you and your team go about your work? Where do you see your strategies going in the next few years?

Regardless of Covid, I think the world is constantly evolving and change is imminent, that’s why we run SWOT periodically to predict and anticipate these macroenvironmental changes.

As marketers, we should always keep our ear close to the ground and be as versatile as we could in grabbing opportunities and mitigating threats, or better still turn threats into opportunities.

Any advice you’d give to aspiring marketers?

No job is easy and being a marketeer comes with a unique set of benefits and challenges. Marketing and branding practices are very subjective, there could be 99 ways to reach a similar goal so have your own flare, master your 7Ps, have faith and respond based on your data analytics. Most importantly, be happy with what you are striving towards. ‘Okay’ is not good enough if it can be ‘better’, consistency is key in brand-building and opt for progress over perfection.

It’s been great to learn more about you and your work, Eng Tschong, thank you for sharing. How can people connect with you if they’d like to know more about you or Tenby Schools Ipoh?

Anyone interested to know more can contact me via WhatsApp at +60125166621 or drop us an email or fill out an enquiry form. For those who simply want to learn more about what we do, you can always go to our YouTube channel to get a feel for who we are.

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Marketing Expert Series

Marketing in the Quick-Service Industry with Belinda Ho

You may know it better as the ‘fast food industry’, but it’s also known as the ‘quick-service industry’. In Southeast Asia there are plenty of different franchises and types of quick-service restaurants, some focusing on local cuisine and more global ones like McDonalds, Subway, and Burger King.

In this issue of the Marketing Expert Series, Head of Marketing at 4Fingers Crispy Chicken, Belinda Ho, talks about her 20+ years in this fascinating industry and how she came into digital marketing. Her experiences over the course of her career provide insight into the industry itself, as well as her own life’s story.

Hi, Belinda, thank you for joining us in our Marketing Expert Series. Let’s kick off with a little background, can you tell us a bit about yourself? How did you get to where you are now?

I have been in the quick-service restaurant industry for more than 20 years. Starting with McDonald’s for 17 years, then a quick 21 months in Texas Chicken and finally, nested in 4Fingers Crispy Chicken.

Local store marketing, events and family marketing were my foundation and forte back then. I previously headed the Happy Meal Program in Malaysia. I plead guilty for breaking many hearts due to the “sold out” situation in all of the HM Programs during that time. But in my defense, we did not expect such an overwhelming response….. Ha! Ha! Ha!

It was my short stint with Shell, representing EdenRed that had me dabbled in digital marketing overseeing built on mobile apps CRM Programs. That was my awakening and brought me further and deeper into digital marketing (social media, digital marcomm, food aggregator and strategic partnership)

When I was at Texas Chicken in particular, the insights into digital marketing played a major role in encouraging me to learn more, leading me to my current position as Marketing Head at 4Fingers.

You’re the Head of Marketing at 4Fingers Crispy Chicken. Please tell us about 4Fingers and the work you do there.

Let me see, where do I start…?

I am responsible and accountable for everything related to Sales, Marketing, and even PR. This includes yearly budget projection & marketing calendar planning, sales performance, brand management & positioning, advertising, new product development, local store marketing, new store openings with image enhancement, digital marketing as well as Corporate MarComm and strategic partnerships. Since we are the brand keeper, we must keep tabs on any new designs from store images to uniforms.

My typical day starts with analyzing daily performance and nimble it strategically. Not forgetting preparing project proposals throughout the year and leading campaigns from the budget; planning to execution. And I usually end my day by visiting at least 1 store out of our 52 stores.

Lastly, I also support Franchise Team and Indonesia Team in setting up of new stores and on-going engagement in campaigns & new products.

What sort of impact did the COVID-19 pandemic have on 4Fingers Crispy Chicken?

The impact comes as an opportunity to reach out to customer beyond the storefront, as customer seeks to digitally hunt and engage themselves for their next meal. The need for businesses to change digitally and evolve with new consumer behaviour is essential.

How have the developments of the COVID-19 Pandemic affected your strategies as Head of Marketing? What challenges and/or developments have you had to adapt to since 2020? How have you overcome them?

We switch 180 and fully focus on advertising digitally and collaborate heavily & effectively with our Food Aggregators Partners to bring attractive selections to the our consumers. Since delivery is dominating over foot traffic, all campaigns are emphasized towards products that can sustain portability. We changed the packaging to maintain our product quality to be same as enjoyed at the storefront.

Strategies became shorter to midterm. And we (the marketers) must be more adaptable to situational circumstances. Understanding that the lines between tactical and strategic during this period are totally blurred.

From helping to market the brand as a Covid safe brand, marketing the safety aspect of the business, taking on new consumer needs for staples and family meals and now helping the business adapt after it has opened.

In addition to that, the biggest challenges were the insufficient and inconsistent supplies that made the obstacles even more significant, especially our chicken supplies. Because of that, Marketing Team synergizes with the Supply Chain Team to ensure continuous supplies, especially chicken. Marketing will tweak the menu & window calendar campaign based on SCM projections. During this time, we have to be extremely agile and able to response quickly based on unpredictability circumstances.

What lasting impact do you believe the pandemic’s forced acceleration of digital transformation has had on your industry?

The positive impact would be the building of digital infrastructure as the adoption rate of digital engagements are now higher. This accelerated the consumer learning on it and that now has set a foundation for a lot of businesses.

Do you think that this impact has permanently changed how you and your team go about your work? Where do you see your strategies going in the next few years?

In fact, it doesn’t because marketing’s true role is still about “communication of a product to a target customer through a medium and seeks to convert them” and for the past decade it has still proven that change is a constant and marketers must adapt.

Changes in communication channel adoption and effectiveness, consumer behaviour and environment are part and parcel of day-to-day marketing. Ultimately is the understanding of consumer behaviour.

As a woman, there are often obstacles to overcome in any industry. How have your experiences and opportunities helped shape you professionally? Do you feel that your career has had an impact on how you now lead your teams?

Totally agreed. The working landscape is dynamic as we established, and the business world is no longer just a man’s game. In fact, based on my working experience I have met more women Marketers either as a client or within the agencies communities. However, I must admit that battling or trying to compete in this challenging environment is “no walk in the park”.

My experiences and opportunities now had an impact on how I lead my team as they have given me:

The ability to wear many hats
Balancing careers, household management and taking up the mantel of parental guidance helped me to quickly adjust to new situations and focus on finding solutions to real-life work issues.
Enhancement of Teamwork
I am an advocate of teamwork and team player. Making bold and wise decisions which will help make the team environment less authoritative and more cooperative, bringing a family-like feel to the team. Eventually, this boosts teamwork across the organisation and helps implement a new culture within the business.

Any advice you’d give to young and/or aspiring marketers?

Learn how to be proactive & helpful instead of being quiet and waiting for directions. Be PROACTIVE by asking a lot of questions. However, it is AN ART to ask questions without being annoying and counterproductive. You do by listing down all the questions, set a dateline for feedback and coming out with options & solutions.

This behaviour eventually produces the right working attitude and lastly, understanding & be adaptable to the ever-changing marketing industry.

It’s been great to learn more about you and your work, Belinda, thank you for sharing. How can people connect with you if they’d like to know more about you or 4Fingers Crispy Chicken’s work?

You can follow me on LinkedIn.

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