Tokio Marine Life Insurance SG's digital marketing lead on e-commerce

With the rapid pace of online transactions and new developments in the online payments space, it is no surprise that the e-commerce scene in the region has seen transformational growth. That being said, keeping up with the pace of change can prove to be a whirlwind when it comes to being a marketer in this space.

There are also many considerations to take note of as a marketer, from striking the right partnerships to add value to customers, while ensuring you are getting the right attribution which links marketing and sales. With this in mind, Marketing magazine is proud to present the inaugural edition of the Asia eCommerce Awards on 29 November 2018. The awards celebrate the very best of e-tailers, innovations and campaigns the e-commerce industry has to offer in Southeast Asia, judged by an esteemed panel of senior client marketing and e-commerce industry leaders from influential brands.

Alexa Lim (pictured), head, digital marketing at Tokio Marine Life Insurance Singapore and an esteemed judge at the awards, shares with Marketing her views of the industry and why e-commerce players should be recognised.

Marketing: What is your perspective of the e-commerce industry now?

Lim: The e-commerce industry is a major contributor to not just the economy, but also an incubator for innovative ideas and experiences. In this fast digitalising world, it would be the way forward for the new, modern consumers.

Going beyond just transactional ease, business efficiencies and quantifiable results for marketing efforts; the wealth of the obtainable behavioural data can prove to be valuable in the long run. While presenting huge opportunities, the industry would also face challenges around cyber and data security, as well as ethical commercial usage of personal data.

This is evident in the financial industry as we see governing bodies showing strong support towards FinTech and similar initiatives while at the same time, stepping up on regulations for control measures. These may slow the progression of this promising industry, but the growth won’t be stopping anytime soon.

Marketing: How have you witnessed the e-commerce industry evolve over the past few years?

Lim: E-commerce started off as a wow-factor back in the day for businesses and consumers by providing greater conveniences to parties on both ends of a transaction. Through the years, different models emerged and essentially revolutionised how we - consumers and businesses alike - shop and transact today. Expectations of “good e-commerce” also grew from just providing conveniences and transactional ease, to a long checklist of providing personalisation, accessibility, speed, security, the list goes on.

Enabled by rapidly advancing technologies, today’s e-commerce can be another platform to help brands showcase their innovation and values as users get to experience exclusivity. We see some brands cleverly utilising technologies such as AR and AI engines to create unique, personalised journeys for their customers and integrated them for engagement across channels, combining the best of both online and offline worlds.

Marketing: What comes to mind when you think of e-commerce excellence?

Lim: Audience-focused implementation across a cohesive ecosystem with consistency in communication for impactful results.

Marketing: What qualities will you be looking out for in the entries for Marketing’s e-commerce awards?

Lim: Creative utilisation of insights and synergy across appropriate channels to drive success. Sales results and performance would be important, along with the contribution towards achieving business objectives.

But the key differentiating factors for me would be in how they’ve pushed the boundaries to meet their business challenges through innovative thinking – looking at their approach to customer journey design and engagement experience.

Marketing: Why do you think recognising e-commerce players is important to the industry?

Lim: More often than not, e-commerce is seen as an end-goal measurement as businesses look to measure digital marketing ROI to substantiate marketing efforts and performance. Before it rose to prominence, it is often habitually overlooked by most as another channel or overshadowed by the flashy big ideas and creative executions.

The industry will continue its predicted growth in the right direction if the people driving excellence in e-commerce - the ones enabling the experience, driving the results and pushing the boundaries – are recognised, with their work showcased as a best-in-class for the rest to learn from.

The e-commerce awards are now open for submissions until 19 October. To get started, download the entry guidelines. For more information regarding the awards and tips on how to put together a winning entry, please contact:

Danny R, Project Manager
M: +65 9858 1007 T: +65 6423 0329
E: dannyr@marketing-interactive.com

Emilia Nathasha, Project Manager
M: +65 8782 1974 T: +65 6423 0329
E: emilian@marketing-interactive.com