Addressing the misconception: Media relations are not given, it's earned
Matt: Considering media relations, my first question is: What is most people's misconception of the subject?
Fai: This happens a lot in big corporate companies. Many higher-ups believe they can control the media. For example, if a company gets bad coverage, they might think they can take down or revise the article. But we can't really do that because of journalism ethics and standard operating procedures.
If a company is covered inaccurately, we have the right to request a revision. But if the article is factual, all we can do is respond to the media.
Media relations are often misunderstood. It's not a transactional relationship where you can pay for coverage. You need to build a genuine relationship with media outlets to get your company covered properly.
You need to build a genuine relationship with media outlets to get your company covered properly.
I took the time to meet our international media friends. We have coffee, chat, and sometimes talk about work. It's like having friends outside the office. I don't treat the media folks as transactions, it’s a mutual relationship. It's always a friendly relationship.
How a perception audit helps brands understand public opinion
Matt: How can brands know what people think about them? Are there any tools or tips for brands to understand their public image?
Fai: Knowing what people think about your company is very important. I compare it to riding a submarine with sonar. Without sonar, you can't see what's ahead and might crash into a mountain. But with sonar, you can see the path and avoid obstacles.
Many companies and people focus on engaging with the media. While this is important, it is also essential to review how the public views you or your company.
Many companies and people focus on engaging with the media. While this is important, it is also essential to review how the public views you or your company.
For me, that's what a perception audit does. It helps you understand public opinion, which is a valuable tool. With this knowledge, you can plan and strategise better before deciding what, who, and why we do things in a year. You can target the right market and audience.
To gather this information, you can use tools like social media monitoring or listening tools. However, sometimes you need to go out and interview people, including stakeholders and employees.
Understanding how employees feel about the company is also important. This kind of information is priceless, and there are agencies that offer these services. It helps us avoid guessing what information the public needs about us.
Matt: What's important is that smaller brands with less money can use these ideas too. You can start small with tools like employee interviews or social media monitoring.
Fai: Exactly. It's as simple as creating a Google Form. From there, you can plan and strategise more efficiently.
Collecting genuine feedback through face-to-face interactions and community-based events
Matt: How can brands better understand their target audience? What practical ways can they use to really understand customer behaviours and what they care about? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Fai: It's important to understand our product and who benefits from it. For example, I mostly handle MSMEs in Indonesia. By assessing our product, we can identify the right target audience.
Most products target big cities, but they often miss that in Indonesia, Tier 1 cities are only 15-20% of the market. Meanwhile, small cities outside Jakarta, Bandung, Medan, Surabaya, and Semarang dominate the market.
I've been doing this for five or six years, visiting tier-two and tier-three cities in Indonesia with the relevant journalists. Meeting our users in person is invaluable because their feedback is honest and unfiltered.
In this digital era, face-to-face interactions with your target market are priceless. You get genuine responses, which help us optimise our product based on real feedback.
In this digital era, face-to-face interactions with your target market are priceless. You get genuine responses, which help us optimise our product based on real feedback.
We also organise community-based events where partners can share their knowledge about our product. Successful users can help others, creating a strong community around our platform.
With a good understanding of your target audience, you can build media engagement accordingly. This should automatically lead to more marketing success.
Matt: Has any customer feedback ever surprised you?
I met some of our partners in Bali, and they were mostly benefiting from our money transfer products. This product became our main service because its usage kept increasing, and many of our partners made most of their money from it. It helped their businesses grow three to four times.
Little insights like this come when you go directly to the field. We value feedback like this because it helps improve our products.
