By following these steps and keeping your unique audience in mind, your brand can successfully expand into Asian markets.
Although our world is more connected than ever, each country still has its own unique preferences and tastes. This is especially true in Asia. Many brands are expanding into these markets because of the breadth of consumers that are eager to purchase goods. When it comes to online purchases, roughly 50% of 20-30 year olds in Asia are shopping online at least once a week.
Having a strong online presence in these communities is a great way to increase sales abroad. However, it’s important that your brand doesn’t just share the same content with each audience. Buyers from different countries have different tastes and habits which you must be aware of.
Creating a unique email marketing strategy for each community is a great way to establish yourself overseas. Open rates in Asia are often as high as 24%, meaning that customers are receptive to such a strategy. Your campaigns should – and will – be different than those you currently run. However, some things – like using an email address verifier – will remain the same. Here’s how you can market your brand and earn more revenue with an email strategy in Asia:
Understand That Every Audience is Different.
While a 24% open rate sounds promising, how receptive an audience is depends on what country they’re in. Malaysia, for example, only had an open rate of 16.52%, while Vietnam had a staggeringly high open rate of 45.98% but a click through rate of only 6.38%. Thailand, on the other hand, had a 26.67% open rate and a high click through rate of 10.41%.
These numbers show that email marketing is a viable strategy for companies looking to attract customers in Asia. However, there is clearly some difference in the habits and desires of these audiences, and what entices them to complete an action. International marketers must study what these potential clients like and dislike in their emails, and capitalize on that to boost brand awareness and purchases.
For example, although Vietnam and Thailand are geographically near one another, they are two culturally distinct nations. Understanding differences relating to language, culture, etc. can help you avoid potentially embarrassing mistakes, and increase your chances of getting your messages read.
Use Email Marketing Best Practices.
The audience and content of your email is different, but the standard practices are quite similar regardless of location. Here are email best practices that you should follow when launching an email campaign in Asia:
Optimize for Mobile.
The trend of using a mobile device to open email is growing worldwide, and Asia is no exception. Mobile devices already count for 58% of the email market. In fact, over half the consumers in China view email on their mobile devices.
Therefore, ensuring messages can be opened on these devices should be a priority for your brand. Failing to do so can mean the difference between reaching new customers and alienating them.
Personalize Email.
Creating individualized subject lines and messages is a useful strategy for email marketers. In a recent study, it was found that a personalized subject line resulted in an average open rate of almost 31%. This number is nearly double that of those who chose not to deliver personal messages to clients.
Segment Your List.
List segmentation is a popular tactic used by email marketers to send relevant information to different subgroups. For example, clients who live in warm climates would be unlikely to react positively to deals on winter coats. That’s where segmentation can help. By separating customers based on location, age, and preferences, you can ensure the correct information gets to the consumer most likely to act on it.
One company, Fave Malaysia, stated that list segmentation helped them increase click through rates from 5.5% to 7.72%. Grouping customers together based on their likes can help you run a more successful campaign.
By following these steps and keeping your unique audience in mind, your brand can successfully expand into Asian markets.
