What’s a common myth about B2B automation in Southeast Asia?
Eddy: Let's start with our first question. I thought we could begin with something simple. What do you think is a common misconception about B2B automation in Southeast Asia, based on your experiences?
Sujoy: Thank you, Eddie. I'm happy to share my thoughts with you all today.
Let me give you some quick background about our company, Kyndryl. We're listed on the New York Stock Exchange. We used to be part of IBM as their global technology services division. About three years ago, we became an independent company. We have 90,000 employees worldwide, so we're quite large. You could say we're the biggest startup in the world. We've had to build our own identity, and that's how we became Kyndryl.
Let's talk about B2B automation in Southeast Asia. We at Kyndryl are deeply involved in this field. As a newly independent company with a long history, we've had to automate many processes quickly.
There's a common misunderstanding about B2B automation in Southeast Asia. Many people think it's one system that can do everything. But that's not true. Our work covers many different areas, and each needs its own type of automation.
We don't have a single solution that works for everything. Instead, we use different tools and methods to automate various parts of our business. This approach helps us be more flexible and effective in meeting the diverse needs of the Southeast Asian market.
Let's take account segmentation as an example. You might think that for an industry like insurance, you could easily get a detailed profile of a company. While basic information is available, it's not enough. As a CMO, I need more in-depth data. This includes detailed financial information, leadership profiles, and information about mergers and acquisitions in the industry.
Combining all these different types of data into one profile is challenging. Currently, there isn't an automated system that can do this in a way that's easy for me to use. This has been one of our main challenges.
However, we have made progress in other areas. For example, we've benefited from standardisation in campaign automation. As a global company, we have significant resources developed at the corporate level. We can create and run global campaigns with a consistent brand presence, which is something we have automated.
So, to sum up, we've automated some parts of our work, but we still face challenges in others. That's the short answer to this question.
Mayank: Thank you, Eddie and team, for having us here. It's a pleasure. I agree with what Sujoy said, and I'd like to add something I've noticed about automation. I've worked in both very large companies and small startups. Sometimes, people think automation is only for big businesses or large clients.
But when I looked into small and medium-sized businesses in Southeast Asia, I was surprised to find they really want automation too. As Sujoy mentioned, the current quality and level of automation could be better, but the desire for it is definitely there.
Having worked in different regions, I believe we've only scratched the surface in Southeast Asia. There's a huge interest in marketing automation, even among small and medium-sized businesses. It's a wide and varied field, and I'm sure we'll discuss it more later.
Eddy: I'm interested in hearing about how things have changed for new marketers entering the industry. How is it different now compared to 10-20 years ago? Automation has been around for a long time, but in the tech and marketing industries, it's still relatively new. It really started becoming more common in the early to mid-2000s.
These days, for marketers to succeed in their careers, they need to know about technology that can help them work and stay up-to-date with the latest trends. So, from your experience, how has the growth of automation over the last ten years shaped what skills a modern marketer should have or develop?
Mayank: That's a very relevant question. You're right that marketing was a bit late to adopt automation. Sujoy was lucky to work at IBM, which has been leading in this area for a long time. I started in consumer marketing. Back then, people thought marketers just made posters, billboards, and radio ads. Now, we're driving business growth. That's a big change.
This change wouldn't be possible without new tools. People learn and grow, but we also need to use the right tools. I always tell my team that automation is like a saddle when riding a horse. The horse is your business challenge, and you can ride it bareback, which is hard, or use a saddle to have more control. That's what automation does for us.
Not all companies invest in training marketers on new technology and automation. We often have to learn these things on our own. In Singapore, we're lucky because the government provides many resources for learning. I've also worked in Thailand and Vietnam, and I see similar efforts there too.
Marketing may have been late to use automation, but it's where we can experiment the most. We can't do as much testing with products or other parts of the business, but in marketing, we can. There's been a huge change in marketing. We've only scratched the surface - there's so much more to come.
For example, personalisation has come a long way. Twelve years ago, we thought it was amazing to add someone's name to an email. Now, we can do so much more. Today's personalisation goes beyond just using someone's name. It involves understanding their social media behaviour, what products they use, how they interact online, and who they follow or are followed by.
All this information helps us create better campaigns and target decision-makers more effectively. That's been my experience as marketing has evolved from traditional methods to what it is today.
Sujoy: I agree with Mayank that automation is just a tool. But I want to add something important. In the last ten years, the biggest change I've seen is in strategic partnerships, especially in tech and telecommunications.
At Kyndryl, we can't do everything alone. We work with cloud providers, startups, and tech companies to create solutions that help transform banks, insurance companies, retailers, and airlines.
In the last two years, since we became independent, we've been working more closely with big tech companies like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Google. Having a good automation strategy is great, but it's even better when it works across your whole network of partners. It's really important to work together on finding new customers.
This is a new challenge for marketers that wasn't around 5-10 years ago. It's crucial, and I think it will continue to be important. We'll see more companies working closely with partners. This means we'll need to work together on finding and developing new business opportunities.
I see more opportunities for partnership and teamwork. Our tools help make this possible. We need to use shared systems where we can all see what opportunities we're pursuing and why, and how we're working to win them.
In a region known for its diversity, how are B2B companies tailoring their customer-centric models to cater to different markets in Southeast Asia?
Eddy: Let's continue talking about Southeast Asia for our next question. Southeast Asia is known for being very diverse. How do you think B2B companies are adapting their customer-focused approaches to suit the different markets in this region?
Mayank: Asia is very diverse, and that's a given. When it comes to focusing on customers, even if you're targeting the same type of business, it can be very different from one market to another.
Singapore and Malaysia are somewhat similar in some ways, including culturally. But when you look at Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar (which is a bit difficult to work in right now), things are quite different.
What's really important is understanding the business well, understanding the cultural differences, and then empowering the local teams. You can't just go in telling prospects that you know what you're doing and expect them to believe you. Instead, you need to help them on their journey. That's where automation and tools can help.
In my 25 years of working, I've seen how sales and marketing have become much more connected. That's why you'll hear me talking a lot about sales and pipelines - as a marketer, that's part of what you do now too.
It's all part of one big effort to reach the right prospects, communicate with them properly, and build relationships. In some industries, they need to see you in person. You can't just keep sending emails. You need to be there. And that's also part of the culture.
You develop these skills as you go along. But that's the reality of our region. In Singapore, it's highly automated. You can run global campaigns from a small office. But when you go to Indonesia, especially outside of Jakarta, you find very different ways of communicating and marketing to people.
So you really have to be flexible and customise every aspect of your work, not just your campaigns, but every interaction. That's why as marketers, we need to work closely with other departments to understand regulations, know where we can and can't operate, and how far we can go.
It's a complex mix of culture, automation, technology, personal relationships, your experience, company goals, profits, and products or services. It's not just complicated, it's complex.
Sujoy: I think Mayank explained it well. You talked about diversity, which is a simple word. But in Southeast Asia, it means a lot. This region has different economies, languages, and levels of digital technology use. It also has many social and political differences. As a marketer and business leader, you have to deal with all of this.
I want to add one important point. If you're entering a Southeast Asian market, you need to ask why you're doing it and what you can offer. This is obvious, but many companies get it wrong. I'll talk about professional services as an example. Being good at what you do doesn't mean you'll succeed in every market.
For instance, it's very hard to enter the public sector in some ASEAN countries. There are many barriers that keep new companies out. But if you have good relationships, the right partners, and a tested market approach, you have a better chance. If you've done the groundwork that gets you to the final selection stage quickly, then you can compete based on your skills. This helps level the playing field a bit.
Getting to that point takes a long time. We work with long business cycles. From both our successes and failures, we've learned that understanding the many types of diversity - in technology, skills, and relationships - is crucial for success.
I hope this answers your question. Mayank explained it well. Our business depends on having good relationships. They can make or break our deals. Good relationships create opportunities for us.
Without good relationships, opportunities can disappear quickly. I think marketing is a powerful tool for generating leads, especially in Southeast Asia. It's a great region to work in, and Singapore is a perfect base.
I see diversity as a strength for marketing. If you spend enough time in the region to understand all its differences - economic, social, political, technological, and regulatory - you can create a strong strategy. When you combine this with effective marketing and sales, you set yourself up for success.
How do you envision the B2B landscape evolving in Southeast Asia over the next few years, and what should companies be doing now to prepare for these changes?
Eddy: Let's move on to our last question, which I really like because it focuses on the future.
I'd love to hear from both of you: How do you think the B2B landscape in Southeast Asia will change in the next few years? What advice would you give to companies looking to enter this region or just starting out?
Sujoy: We've been thinking about it a lot as we grow our business in the region. We have existing customers we want to keep and grow - that's our base business. How do I see this developing?
We work with partners to expand our existing business. For our hundred or so key customers in the region, we try to increase our share of their business. We build strong references and proof cases.
When we try new things, like AI projects, we make sure to put them into practice and then use them as examples to show the business benefits of expanding with partners. This is how we grow, and marketing plays a big role in this.
We've talked about working with allies, and marketing helps a lot here. We can work together on business development, create campaigns, and keep our messages consistent for both new and existing customers. The main focus of our business will continue to be account-based marketing. It's not just a small part of what we do - it's our main strategy.
Most of our marketing efforts are for existing customers. We really try to understand their world. We plan 18 months ahead, looking at things like their financial situation, growth plans, and potential mergers or acquisitions. We also think about how to build the right relationships.
This helps us have important conversations beyond our current contracts. From a marketing perspective, it's very people-focused and closely tied to sales. If we can build good relationships that lead to us being recommended, that's ideal. We want to win business based on good relationships and the good work we've done before.
We try to find 'partner allies' - people in an organization who promote Kyndryl's value behind the scenes. As marketers, we want to support these people and make sure our value proposition stays relevant to them.
For example, they might be security officers looking at how Kyndryl can help with new regulations. We use our global experience to help in smaller markets like Vietnam, Thailand, or Indonesia, where rules are changing quickly and we need local expertise fast. We learn from what our teams are doing in Europe to follow new regulations there.
The key is for marketing to stay ahead of trends, adapt our business and messages to new threats and opportunities, and work well with partners.
It's really important to work closely with partners and customers. This helps us define the work we need to do and hopefully win contracts without competition. That's our main goal. We focus on specific existing customers and spend a lot of our marketing budget trying to win more business from them.
Eddy: I really like that, Sujoy. You've highlighted what schools teach new marketers - keeping an existing customer is cheaper than finding a new one.
Instead of always trying to get more accounts, it's worth looking at how to grow existing accounts. It's important to focus on building and strengthening relationships with current customers.
Mayank: I agree, and I'd like to add a few points. Unless you're selling just one product or service, which is rare, you'll always face this issue. I've seen it in both B2C and B2B for over 25 years.
First, getting a new client, keeping them, and then trying to win them back if you lose them costs a lot more. Second, when it comes to reaching out to clients, if you try to appeal to everyone, you'll waste a lot of money and only reach a few.
If you focus on a core group of clients and try to sell them more products, your marketing will be more targeted and customised. It's more relevant because you can talk to them about the products they already use and suggest logical next steps.
When you're approaching a new potential client, you're basically guessing. You might say, "Hey, do you like any of these products?" If they don't respond, you try another, then another. It's not efficient.
For those new to B2B marketing, this is crucial to remember. Another important thing is understanding who's who in the client's company. You need to know the end user, the person who influences decisions, and the main decision-maker.
As a marketer, you need to reach all three. You should create a smart strategy that doesn't just focus on the end user. Sometimes, especially in B2B, the end user doesn't have a choice because higher-ups have already decided on the software or product.
The end user, like a warehouse worker, might not care much. But the influencer, like a Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), matters. However, the CHRO might not make the final decision. That often comes from the CEO, COO, or CFO.
It's crucial to tailor your marketing messages for different people. What the influencer needs to know isn't the same as what the decision-maker needs to know. When you're in a meeting, pay attention to who's there. If you're presenting to top executives, you need to know exactly who you're talking to. This is key to success in this region.
