Social Selling Initiative in Indonesia via Digital Media

In the face of declining sales targets from ASEAN countries, particularly Indonesia, a Japanese company recognizes the urgent need for a strategic overhaul. During a crucial monthly meeting at the global headquarters, concerns about these shortfalls prompt the appointment of a business analyst to investigate the underlying causes. The analyst discovers that the company’s reliance on a trade agent for networking has hindered direct engagement with potential customers. By exploring the connections between contact points and sales performance, the analyst formulates a strategy to enhance outreach through digital media, ultimately shifting the focus from traditional trade agents to a robust social selling program. This initiative aims not only to reconnect with the Indonesian market but also to leverage modern marketing techniques to establish new customer relationships and drive sales growth.

Sales shortfalls in ASEAN identified. In a monthly meeting at the global headquarters, the Asia region highlights the shortfalls in sales targets from the ASEAN countries, raising concerns among the sales team. A business analyst is tasked with investigating the reasons behind these sales shortfalls and suggesting improvements. Collaborating with the marketing team, the analyst delves into the issue, focusing on the Indonesian market as a case study. The investigation uncovers that the Japanese company lacks its own sales office in Indonesia, relying solely on a trade agent for communication with Indonesian buyers. With permission to proceed, the analyst examines records of product quotation requests sent from Indonesia to Japan by the trade agent, revealing a monthly decline in these requests. This decline corresponds with a reduction in activity from Japanese sales executives in sending quotation and offer documents.

Boost sales via contact points. From the findings, the business analyst concludes that there is a significant connection between contact points and sales targets. Increasing the number of contact points is likely to boost product inquiries from Indonesia, enabling sales executives to send more quotations and offers as promotional materials. Consequently, this could lead to a higher conversion of Indonesian customers into buyers, generating purchase orders and fulfilling sales targets. Recognizing the reasons behind the sales decline and the strategies to enhance sales in foreign markets, the company director commends the analyst’s insights and assigns him the responsibility of developing an action plan for the proposed strategy.

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Social selling program implementation in Indonesia. Given the analysis of contact issues, preparations commence to create a planning document, focusing on media-centric options. This time, rather than using trade agents, the strategy incorporates digital social media platforms to present the company as a seller in Indonesia. Based on the media manager’s experience, there is a wealth of networking profiles available on social platforms compared to trade agents. After several weeks, the media manager submits a draft plan featuring options for SNS providers like Facebook and Meta ads to the business analyst in the overseas department. Following a thorough review of the planning draft by the analyst, an action plan is finalized as a social selling program document aimed at achieving sales targets. This plan is then presented to the departmental director and vice president, who are encouraged to initiate the program with a focus on success. The director of the overseas department decides to implement the social selling program digitally, allocating funds for its launch as a pilot campaign in Indonesia.

Engage buyers, reverse sales decline. The media campaign’s objective is to directly engage potential buyers and reverse the declining sales trend by adjusting the monthly targets. The media management strategy focuses on targeting profiles related to industrial processes, leveraging demand generation technology grounded in marketing science. Once the target audience is identified, the media manager contacts an agency to produce promotional materials. The media manager briefs the content writer on the temperature recorder to be promoted and the targeted profiles. After a detailed analysis of the target consumer and the product, the content creator drafts the ad script, which is subsequently transformed into promotional materials, including product films and banners, by graphic designers and video editors, collectively known as digital advertising.

Targeted ads reconnect consumers. The advertisement is dispatched from Japan to the targeted profiles in Indonesia using Meta’s advertising software. As a result, consumers aged 20-30 from cement and pharmaceutical sectors in Indonesia reconnect with the company, choosing the Japanese brand for their product needs. The social selling program not only addresses the sales gap by establishing new contacts but also rekindles the long-lost connection between the brand and its consumers. This reconnection is facilitated through the company’s social media advertisements, effectively linking around 7,000 Indonesian profiles related to industrial processes with the public relations department of the Japanese company.

Conclusion

The investigation into the sales shortfalls in Indonesia highlighted the importance of direct contact between the company and potential buyers, leading to the development of a social selling program that leverages digital media platforms for engagement. By shifting from reliance on trade agents to utilizing social media advertising, the company successfully rekindled connections with approximately 7,000 targeted profiles in the industrial sector, effectively reversing the declining sales trend. This strategic pivot not only aimed to meet adjusted monthly sales targets but also demonstrated a proactive approach to enhancing brand visibility and consumer relationships in the Indonesian market.