Since 1987, when Vietnam first opened its doors to foreign investment, the country has been on a steady trajectory of increased economic development and higher standards of living. Between 2014 and 2020, Vietnam’s middle class more than doubled from 12 million to 33 million people. The younger generation has grown up with widespread access technology and information, which has contributed to growing brand consciousness among these increasingly sophisticated consumers.
The rapid pace at which the new Vietnamese middle class is entering consumer markets presents both opportunities and challenges for businesses that hope to reach them. The potential revenue is out there, but brands risk wasting money on marketing efforts that do not connect with these consumers. Before getting started with digital marketing in Vietnam, we recommend taking the following steps.
Develop detailed customer profiles
Vietnamese consumers are not a monolith. There are crucial demographic distinctions that are essential to understand if you want to properly segment your target audience, including location, income, and socio-cultural factors, for example.
Adapt your brand for the Vietnamese market
Despite Vietnam’s interconnectedness with the rest of the world, local tastes and preferences still drive consumer behavior. What works for your brand at home may not translate to Vietnam. Take a critical look at your brand’s voice, values and tone in the context of the customer profiles you developed to make sure you are hitting the right notes for consumers and not turning them off with tone-deaf messaging.
Define clear digital marketing goals
Articulate clear goals for your digital marketing efforts that you can evaluate quarterly for progress. Use achievable targets based on industry standard metrics available across platforms (metrics such as CPC,CPM, engagement rate, etc.). Overbroad goals such as, “We want to advertise on Facebook to increase our bottom line” won’t leave you in a position to know if you’re making progress and will inevitably lead to frustration.
Pay attention to the details of your campaigns
Vietnam moves at hyperspeed: new buildings appear seemingly overnight and work that can take days back home gets done in hours here. However, this often comes with some corner cutting. By paying attention to the details of your campaigns, you will quickly distinguish your brand from competitors. Resist the urge to move too quickly. Put another way: take the time to make sure you choose your words, images and colors carefully. Commit to excellence so that when your campaigns appear online, they are executed to provide a seamless customer journey that people will notice.
Putting it all together
We haven’t addressed many of the other questions that come up when launching a digital marketing effort, such as platform choice or content strategy. It may be tempting to start with those granular questions, but doing so puts the cart before the horse. Dispense with preconceived notions you might have about Vietnam, and to take the time put together a marketing blueprint that is measurable, achievable, and above all is purpose-built for the Vietnamese market.
