Interview with New iadvisor Ivan Wong

New iadvisor Mr Ivan Wong, Search Marketing Director at Maple Commerce, shares on how search marketing can assist companies in their internationalisation efforts

Any tips for Singapore companies planning to venture into the region?

Any business planning to internationalize should leverage on search marketing to do online market research and run trial marketing campaigns to better understand their target markets and competitive environment. Search marketing provides some of the most targeted and cost-effective marketing channels available to businesses big and small. In addition, if faced with budget constraints, many internationalizing businesses today can effectively leverage more on free search and online media channels like video and social media to achieve a better return on marketing budget than other channels.

Search marketing can also be used to research target markets and better understand the demand for their products and services. Well run search marketing campaigns can provide internationalizing companies with the know-how to,

1. Research Markets - Understand the market and search patterns of customers in their targeted countries
2. Drive Targeted Traffic & Conversions - Make effective use of various online marketing channels to increase exposure, sales and positive customer interactions for products and services in the target countries
3. Measure Results - Track all customer interactions and make pro-active improvements to the website and marketing campaigns to better serve customers

In your opinion, do most companies understand and effect SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) effectively in their businesses? If not, why?

In my opinion, especially for Singapore companies there are still many opportunities to expose companies to the full options and benefits provided by search marketing and equip them to effectively manage their entire search marketing efforts. In addition, many companies that are engaged in SEO and SEM do not implement analytics and thus are not in a position to measure the effectiveness of their online marketing campaigns.

It has been said that the internet is the great leveler especially when it comes to marketing. Is online marketing on a zero budget in this day and age a misnomer?

Indeed today the internet provides some of the most effective and targeted marketing channels available to businesses big and small. In addition marketing on a zero or low budget is a situation facing a lot of smaller startups or entrepreneurs, though zero budgets might be a misnomer as time spent on marketing is a cost. But if faced with this situation many businesses today can effectively utilize SEO and online marketing to target specific market niches without spending a cent on paid advertising.

What can a small company with limited budget do to effectively expand its branding, products and services overseas?

A small company can set clear online goals, leverage on free market and competitive research tools, use quality content-driven search and blog marketing, leverage on online media marketing channels including social media and video and implement analytics to measure and improve on marketing success.

How different are the economic principles of online marketing to offline marketing? Or is it different at all?

There is great adoption of offline marketing principles in online marketing. Where online marketing often goes beyond offline marketing is in providing more pinpoint targeting and instant measurability for campaigns. Indeed we can tap on a wealth of free market and competitive research data available from internal analytics and external market data tool providers like Google to target our marketing campaigns, and after campaign launch use analytics and reporting to pinpoint well performing campaigns and determine marketing ROI quickly and accurately.

Have internationalisation issues? Ask Ivan Wong or any iadvisors to recieve your free market advice today!