The best way to expand your business in Malaysia is through effective advertising and marketing. Malaysia is one of the most successful countries in Southeast Asia with its robust economic growth. It houses over a million business enterprises, and its economy is advancing towards more technological innovations. This makes the country a valuable ground for business expansion.
Now, you might ask, how does one enter the Malaysian market? The answer is far from simple. You’d need to do a LOT of research and planning. You’d have to look into the most recent trends in their consumer behavior. You’d also have to ask the right questions, like “What’s the best way to introduce my brand in Malaysia?”
To make your life easier, we have answered that question. Malaysia has a total population of over 32 million people, and almost 90% of them are internet users. 91.7% are social media users. Thus, the most effective way to enter this market and make an impactful entrance is through digital, internet, and social media marketing.
You might think this information is enough to kickstart your business in Malaysia. Take a breather first! You still have to know the local preferences and habits. Lucky for you, we have compiled the best tips for marketing and advertising in Malaysia from AJ Marketing – leading marketing agency in APAC. Let’s take a look!
7 Tips for Marketing in Malaysia
- Know the Terrain: Look into Malaysia’s laws, restrictions and limitations before planning your campaign
- Read their Diary: Research on the Malaysians’ culture, behavior, beliefs, and perspectives
- Add to Cart: Ride the tide of e-commerce and be one tap away from your consumers
- Generate Organic Buzz: Give the people their own voice and make use of word-of-mouth marketing
- Go Viral: Harness the power of social media and leverage on “Viral Marketing”
- Foster A.R.T: Foster Authenticity, Relationships, and Trust through the use of influencer marketing
- Join Hands with a Local Agency: Seek help from a local marketing and advertising agency
Tip #1: Know the Terrain: Look into Malaysia’s laws, restrictions and limitations before planning your campaign
When forming new friendships, one has to know the boundaries and limitations a person has before seeing if they’re the right fit. In Malaysia, you can say the same. Marketers must be aware of the environmental differences, legal factors, and media restrictions before they start planning out their campaign.
Marketers and business owners need to look into each type of media, restrictions on certain products, allowed advertising images, and government limitations.
For example, in a research from the Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, it has been found that certain products cannot be advertised in Malaysian media like television, radio, magazines, and newspapers. Meanwhile, the internet is a free terrain and there are no restrictions by the Malaysian government. Also, advertising products such as alcohol, undergarments, and pharmaceuticals have another set of legal restrictions.
Imagine going into this vast ocean without knowing the type of fish in the waters. This step is so important because you need to work around these restrictions before you even begin thinking about your content, form, and platform to use. Aside from media laws, you also need to think about the people. What do they like? What don’t they find acceptable? This brings us to Tip #2.
Tip #2: Read their Diary: Research on the Malaysians’ culture, behavior, beliefs, and perspectives
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to expanding your business into foreign countries. All countries have their own culture, history, set of beliefs, and dominant perspectives. Marketers need to look into the people’s diary to see what they find acceptable and relatable.
Malaysia has three major ethnic groups: Malay, Chinese, and Indian. Consequently, it also has a mixture of languages like Malay, Mandarin, and English. The religions most practiced in this country are Islam, Buddhist, Hinduism and Christianity. These factors alone show that Malaysia’s rich culture may pose a great challenge for marketers.
Before you begin planning your campaign, you have to choose a specific target group. Afterwards, you have to adjust your language and content according to what this group of people finds enticing. Let’s take a lesson from Vinda, an international tissue brand.
For its mother’s day campaign, Vinda chose to relate their commercial to the struggles of Malaysian mothers, from childbearing to attending their children’s wedding. Vinda made sure to hire local actors, and it made sure that everything is localized and culturally-appropriate. The wedding scene was very relatable to mothers in Malaysia, and it brought tears to thousands of viewers. The video gained traction and was viewed more than 600,000 times on YouTube.
Just take a look and you’ll see what we’re talking about!
In creating a campaign, you have to see things through your viewers’ eyes. Instead of asking “How do I present my brand?”, start asking “What do my audience want to see?”
Tip #3: Add to Cart: Ride the tide of e-commerce and be one tap away from your consumers
With the onset of COVID-19, Malaysian consumers have favored online shopping more so than physically going to a store. Being one tap away from your consumers enables them to browse through your products, read reviews, and purchase them without breaking a sweat.
In Malaysia, more than 14 million internet users purchase products online. They spend an average of $566 yearly per consumer. They spend most on electronics, fashion, personal and household care, and furniture. With this alone, you’ll see that Malaysia is now an attractive market for e-commerce.
The top e-commerce websites in Malaysia in 2021 are Shopee, Lazada, and PC Mail. Through these websites, the Malaysian customers are able to compare prices, read real-life experiences of other buyers, and even get vouchers and discounts offered by the e-commerce platform. The ongoing technological developments in Malaysia and the adaptation of e-wallets also makes it the country dominating e-commerce in the whole Southeast Asia.
Tip #4: Generate Organic Buzz: Give the people their own voice and make use of word-of-mouth marketing
Do not underestimate people’s power to tell stories. Word-of-mouth marketing is one of the most popular marketing strategies for a reason. It’s low-cost, it builds a brand community, it develops brand loyalty, and most importantly, it increases conversions and sales.
Word-of-mouth marketing makes use of people’s natural tendency to become advocates of a brand because of their positive experiences. In today’s hyper-connected world, a single story about a brand can have positive impacts on brand identity and support. Marketers can launch campaigns designed to accelerate people’s enthusiasm to share their happy experiences with a product or service.
In Malaysia, this strategy has been effectively used by marketers. Let’s take a lesson from Malaysia Airlines. In their campaign, Malaysia Airlines turned the negative effects of the pandemic into positive ones. They sold their signature salted peanuts to remind their customers of memories when flying abroad. To do this, they encouraged their previous passengers to share their stories of flying with the airlines on social media. It amplified organic buzz and word-of-mouth, and it caused the salted peanuts to be sold out in less than 2 hours.
People’s storytelling abilities can be an amazing tool for marketers, especially when it’s for free. The only thing you have to do is make sure that your customers get a pleasant experience, and that they have the avenue to tell people about it. When word-of-mouth marketing is done right, it might even result in your online content going viral. This moves us to Tip #5.
Tip #5: Go Viral: Harness the power of social media and leverage on “Viral Marketing”
Have you ever scrolled through your Facebook account and come across a photo, video, or meme shared by several of your friends? In essence, viral marketing makes use of that. Viral marketing is a marketing and advertising strategy which makes use of peoples’ interactions with an online content. Brands use this strategy to increase their online presence in a cost-effective way. This type of strategy needs creativity, luck, and preparation.
30 million Malaysians use social media and they spend about 3 hours a day on these platforms. Their most used social media platforms are WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, and TikTok. These platforms have been utilized by big and small brands alike to direct attention towards their newest products or services.
For example, McDonalds used TikTok to create a viral dance challenge. They used hashtag #BigMacTikTok and encouraged users to do a “finger dance”. The #BigMacTikTok Challenge successfully generated millions of interactions and an enormous sales increase.
Going viral is not as easy as it looks. This is why businesses choose the right people to work with in order to gain traction. Malaysian companies work with famous bloggers, product ambassadors, famous celebrities, athletes, and influencers to set the tone for their viral online marketing promotion.
Aside from viral marketing, businesses also work with these people to foster trust and loyalty with their target audience. In the next Tip, you’ll see how influencers create A.R.T. – authenticity, relationships, and trust.
Tip #6: Foster A.R.T: Foster Authenticity, Relationships, and Trust through the use of influencer marketing
People are more likely to believe the opinion of someone they know and view highly. In Malaysia, consumers tend to give weight to the opinions of influencers who they look up to. These influencers already have an authentic relationship with their audience, making it easier for new brands to be introduced to their target market. Businesses can leverage on these already-existing dynamics between an influencer and their followers.
There are several types of influencers a brand can work with. There are micro-influencers, and there are mega-influencers. Influencers can also be seen in different niches and platforms, such as TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. With the right information, a business can choose the perfect influencer that fits their brand values.
Let’s take a look at this campaign by Rexona. Rexona wanted to appeal to mothers and other busy women in Malaysia, sending the message that women can work and feel powerful while moving because they smell and feel good. Rexona chose influencer Ayda Jebat who is a mother, actress, and a businesswoman, with over 5 million followers. The Instagram post gained thousands of views and likes from women all over Malaysia. Thus, Rexona achieved its goal of being exposed to strong women in the country.
There are thousands of influencers in Malaysia that you might feel a little overwhelmed. You can’t just choose anybody–you need a curated list of people who are actually capable of being your brand persona. The founders of AJ Marketing believe that only with good insider information can you know the best influencer for you. To get these exclusive know-hows, you’d need the help of a local marketing agency.
Tip #7: Join Hands with a Local Agency: Seek help from a local marketing and advertising agency
Would you rather enter a new market blindly, or would you rather ask someone to guide you along the way? The wise choice would be the latter. Doing Tips 1 to 6 alone is possible, but it will take an unreasonable amount of time. The best way to enter the Malaysian market is through the help of a local marketing agency.
The founders of AJ Marketing believe that by being physically present in the country, they get to see first-hand the marketing and advertising trends that are gaining results. Local agencies have actual first-hand data from real customers that can help you strategize your next campaign for the Malaysian audience. With this, AJ Marketing believes that they can help you truly speak to the Malaysian market.
Conclusion
Malaysia is a valuable ground for business expansion, but it sure comes with several challenges. Marketers and business-owners need to look into the country’s laws, restrictions, culture, and consumer behavior. Aside from in-depth research, a business entering the market also needs to ride the digital waves in Malaysia – from e-commerce, viral marketing, to influencer marketing. Lastly, a business wanting to expand in this country should not face the challenges alone. They need to have a reliable local agency to help them in their marketing efforts. This local partner already lives amongst the Malaysian market, making everything as smooth-sailing as can be for the business-owner.
We hope these 7 best marketing tips can help you promote and introduce your brand in Malaysia. These tips are not enough arsenal, but having them can help you to a great start. If you are looking to expand your business in Malaysia, check the AJ Marketing blog for information about local Malaysia market trends.
