Growth Hacking in Asia

Managing and finding success in Asia has been a discussion for as long as I can remember. What makes it so difficult for companies to succeed here? Why do so many executives, entrepreneurs, and business end up empty handed?

For starters, Asia is deceptive — it’s home to 60% of the World’s population, across 48 countries and it’s very pluralistic. The laws, culture, attitudes and motivations are very different from the West. It takes most Westerns businesses forever to appreciate that.

This article is not about cultural appreciation. It is about being successful in Asia, which is still a challenge for many Western businesses. Drawing from my experience of working and partnering, as well as, spearheading country entry initiatives in Asian markets — here are my top 8 hacks:

1. Asian turf is not flat. Asian business, as life here, is — hierarchical, layered and subtle. At work, there is often a business leader towering the team. The team respects the leader and expects “humility” in return. That’s how the Asian power equation works — this dynamic needs to be understood by anyone investing in Asia.

Asia has a thing for personalities same as the West. In Asia, it’s a cult of sorts. Devdutt Pattanaik says, “India is very strongly driven by personalities, while modern management is uncomfortable with the personality cult and prefers faceless institutions.” This also goes for Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore.

2. Lone Ranger vs Team. When talking about personalities, understand that “lone ranger” culture does not get success here. There are people without authority, but influence. Teams sell better here than individuals because there are people required to deal with hierarchies, to deal with escalation, and get “stuff” expedited. If you really want to conquer Asia, create a small army here.

3. Define “what you want” and don’t fuss on the “hows”. Most Americans think chopsticks, tea rituals, and bowing is the most integral part of Asian business culture. We may or may not wear cheongsams or saaris to work, but nothing in this list defines our business values or competence.

Most Westerns visiting Vietnam, Indonesia or Malaysia are often surprised that everyone speaks English. The visit is usually laced with conversations about traffic snarls in Jakarta, Manila, or Bangalore, followed by a discussion about football. 850 million Asians watch the premier league, roughly equal to viewership in Europe — but that does not make us European in any way.

Usually, the visiting team from the HQ goes back and invariably copies an American or European model, which eventually fails. By the time the nuances of doing business in Asia are understood, pressure on P&L skyrockets.

Nataly Kelly, (Vice President Hubspot & Localization expert), says when she is asked questions like “Why aren’t we succeeding there?" Her answer : “Ask your local teams.” ?

4. Surprise! MNCs aren’t the most attractive job opportunity in Asia. In China and Thailand, people need to learn English to work at an MNC. Even if they don’t learn the language, they can happily spend their lives in local conglomerates, which pay well. On the other hand, in India, the MNC lure is stronger, with those trips to Europe or USA, almost motivational.

The complexity makes talent acquisition superlatively challenging, although reasons vary in each country.

5. Collections will drive your receivables guys mad. When accounting for collections, be prepared to struggle. Your AR teams will struggle. Emails don’t extract payments here. Barring Singapore, Australia, and Japan, this is a rampant problem in every country.

Rather than fighting the situation, budget 60–90 days on invoices and budget for a 60% recurring rate for renewal, maintenance, and support fees. (Unless you are SAP). Enlist support from Account teams early on. Structure incentives appropriately and compensate adequately for timely collections and renewals.

6. Deal sizes. When thinking of deal sizes, I often joke that we should take a cue from the difference in meal sizes. Compare the size of an average Asian meal versus an American meal — that also reflects in deal sizes.

Perhaps, customers are over cautious. Even if ROI of a purchase is proved, they play it safe before placing larger orders. One can expect more follow through deals, but the sizes and speed cannot be matched with American ways of working. It’s possibly a fall out of the legal infrastructure, lack of consumption mindset, or just a preference.

Whatever it is, if organizations understand this, they can focus their attention away from replicating the American model and building an Asian model of success.

#7 Regional Product Market Fit

Take one country at a time and run a product market fit. Pick ideas from the global model, give them a local flavor, enhance their flavors to suit the regional palette before taking it to the market.

For content management its advisable to target Locally relevant Links and Shares. Each country has unique, peculiar customer insights. Take time to study that and leverage off them.

#8 You need humility to win Asia

Lastly, in addition to understanding business nuances, processes and law, a key lesson Asia teaches the world is — Success is difficult here, be humble in your approach. (Here, I deliberately lump Asia together, will circle back to this another time)

Avoid the “complex of superiority”. Arrogance ain’t taking you anywhere here. You need humility to win Asia.

~ Anu Lall