Organisation:
EDB Singapore
Resource Link:
Published in 2022, Link
My Key Takeaways
Finding your first customer or suitable partner in Singapore (SG) and Southeast Asia (SEA)?
We heard this pain point so often that EDB decided to collaborate with KrASIA to interview C-suites/founders of 19 SaaS providers for actionable insights to acquire and retain customers.
Summary of effective customer strategies (Pg 12)
The report’s case studies revealed effective customer acquisition and retention strategies like:
- Offering a unique product
- Bundled services through partnerships with local stakeholders
- Fostering word-of-mouth recognition
- Direct C-suite engagement
- Continual surveys to score customer satisfaction with their existing SaaS solutions
- New market entry with partners
- Constant customer education tailored to match local awareness levels
Anecdotal soundbites
“Checking a user’s ID in SG is different from doing so in other SEA countries. For example, the Philippines has as many as 11 different types of identification that are commonly accepted. This creates a complex process, making localisation an absolute necessity.”
“Using geolocation to present customised landing pages in the matching language, with Asia-specific case studies. “
“WISE Invests in infrastructure to lower underlying fees for users. 66% of its individual customers join through word of mouth referrals.”
“Unlike Europe, it’s more common to have discussions over apps like WhatsApp, WeChat, Line.”
“… note strict budget cycles of many industries in SEA for budget planning & implantation.”
“The sales cycle for SaaS providers may be lengthy, and enterprises in SEA require in-depth education about the enhanced value created by new digital tools”.. up to 18 months to educate the customer. (Pg 26-28)
“IMDA’s Accreditation programme, which endorses promising tech developers to help them establish credentials and position them as qualified parties to government and large enterprises.”
Growth potential of SEA’s SaaS market with Singapore as a gateway to access the region.
SEA’s digital economy is expected to reach US$300B in gross merchandise value by 2025.
37% of organisations in APAC are still behind their peers in terms of digital agility (IDC 2022).
39% of businesses in SG use 1-4 SaaS solutions (DocuSign research). As enterprises grow, more tools will need to be added to their arsenal to automate time-consuming manual processes and streamline general operations.
Moreover, more than 43% of SEA’s unicorns (i.e. 15) operate out of SG, a key tech hub for Asia.
See Pg 9 for more data on the total addressable market for tech subsectors like payments and fintech; supply chain, logistics, i4.0; enterprise services; AI, machine learning, and cybersecurity (Pg 9).
Cheatsheets of relevant organisations, programmes and events to support your business development team (Pg 53-56)
- Government-linked agencies and investors and how they help
- List of chamber of commerces in SG
- Events and tech initiatives like open innovation platforms, fintech sandboxes, corporate innovation and governmental accreditation programmes
Hope the above tips will turbocharge your SaaS company’s entry and growth in Singapore and Southeast Asia! 💪🚀
Follow me for the latest insights on Southeast Asia. My LinkedIn post here.
About Zhilin SIM
Having worked and lived in Singapore, the Nordics, China, Spain, UK, I’m now based in Paris.
I’m fluent in English, French and Mandarin, and I’m learning Arabic because it’s a beautiful and fascinating language.
My team creates and supports one-many initiatives connecting global corporate and startup ecosystems to business and innovation opportunities in Singapore and Southeast Asia.
I’m passionate about horticulture, watercolour, startups/tech as well as French cuisine, Peranakan kueh techniques and other global cuisines.
Follow me on LinkedIn for the latest insights and reach out if you think my network in Europe and Asia could be of benefit to your business and innovation activities.
