Singapore – Nearly half of retailers in Singapore (43%) face challenges with brand awareness during the initial stages of the consumer journey, according to a survey conducted by Twilio.
The survey revealed that overcoming ad and email fatigue is the most significant challenge for 32% of retailers trying to build brand awareness. Other major obstacles include a limited understanding of consumer behaviour (29%), and difficulties in measuring the effectiveness of marketing efforts (28%).
Additionally, a significant number of Singapore retailers also face challenges in brand conversion (24%) and retention (22%). To address these issues, 45% of retailers leverage customer data to personalise experiences, 22% expand the number of channels used to connect with customers, and 18% increase the frequency of communications.
Fortunately, the survey found that many Singaporean businesses are on the right track, with 45% of retailers recognising the power of leveraging customer data to understand their customers’ needs.
The survey also highlighted Singapore consumers’ preferences for brand engagement. Notably, over 6 in 10 or 63% of consumers prefer interacting with brands through digital channels, including websites, mobile apps, email marketing, and e-commerce or social commerce sites. However, a quarter of consumers remain most responsive to brand interactions at brick-and-mortar shops.
Aligned with Singapore consumers’ preference for digital channels, Twilio’s survey found that local retailers are prioritising engagement strategies to strengthen their connections on these platforms. Over the next 12 months, Singaporean retailers plan to explore new customer engagement methods, including influencer marketing (29%), gamification (22%), and live streaming (18%).
Nicholas Kontopoulos, vice president of marketing for Asia Pacific & Japan at Twilio, said, “In an increasingly noisy and competitive landscape, retail businesses are challenged to retain their customers’ attention and ensure that they are considered at all stages of the consumer journey. Retailers must look beyond run-of-the-mill methods and consider how they can elevate their marketing efforts to create a more engaging brand experience and reach customers on their preferred channels. This can go hand-in-hand with using AI and zero- and first-party data to create more precise and personalised communications.”
“In order to increase top-of-mind awareness and enhance brand visibility at various stages of the customer journey, retailers are looking into ways to increase touchpoints with their customers. However, the brands that will truly stand out and cut through the noise will be those that understand the value of creating hyper-personalised customer interactions, especially as individualisation becomes more important to today’s customers,” Kontopoulos added.
