Digital disruption is ‘unavoidable challenge’: Mirum
IN PREPARATION for digital disruption, brands and marketers should invest in new tools, facilities and employment training programmes to utilise growing big data driven by online consumers, says Mirum (Thailand), a digital arm under British public relatio
“Even though the digital transformation in Thailand is slow when compared with other countries like Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia, this is an unavoidable challenge,” chief executive officer Uraiporn Cholsirirungskul said yesterday.
Another factor needed to steer the country towards a “Digital 4.0” position is strong leadership, in terms of a clear policy and real activation.
“Thailand’s ‘digital economy’ policy is on the right track; however, the implementation is yet to be achieved,” she said.
Uraiporn, who has a background in digital transformation, said Thailand was still in the so-called Digital 3.0 era, which involves cloud computing that enables cross-platform collaboration including online, omni-channel and mobile services.
“It might take time to reach the stage of Digital 4.0, which means digital transformation that allows communication and operations to occur automatically with the aid of machine-to-machine [technology] or the Internet of Things,” she said.
Investment in digital media does not mean simply creating brand awareness but should lead to actual purchases and e-commerce.
She said that to turn this opportunity into reality, companies should put more effort into creating their own media platforms while exploring and experimenting with other main platforms such as Facebook, Google, YouTube and Line to reach consumers.
Under the digital ecosystem, businesses are required to deliver better services and to serve customers at any touch point. Competition will no longer be determined by a company’s core products, but by the capability of the business to top up services or products for customers.
“The consumer is the key in brand building. Companies should put more emphasis on data analytics and usage to develop their brands and products with a consumer-centric design process,” Uraiporn said.
Companies should consider their customers’ needs. They have to understand what they really want. If a company based its actions on such insight, it would create the right products as well as prepare the proper marketing strategies to attract the right target group.
In addition, companies should make their employees aware of digital innovations. To prepare for digital disruption, employee training programmes relevant to this innovative technology is needed.
Mirum (Thailand) says it aims to provide consultant services to its clients on how to create their own platforms. By the end of this year, the company targets earning more than half of its total revenue from this service while continuing to provide digital marketing and content service.
Revenue from platform-development consulting is expected to grow by 10-20 per cent this year.
