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Careem’s Mudassir Sheikha. Photo credit: Careem.

Mudassir Sheikha is the CEO and co-founder of ride-hailing app Careem, one of the hottest startups on the Asian continent.

In December, it raised US$350 million from superstar investors such as Rakuten and Abraaj Capital, making it the newest unicorn in the transportation space.

It’s been quite a journey for Mudassir and his Dubai-headquartered company since starting up less than five years ago. Careem is now operational in 50 cities across 11 countries. It counts 180,000 registered drivers, which it refers to as “captains,” and claims to have served over 8 million customers.

Mudassir and team have hustled their way to regional dominance, competing with Uber with a mere fraction of the resources that the San Francisco-headquartered behemoth has at its disposal.

So how exactly should entrepreneurs take their idea from zero to one? What’s the billion-dollar mindset? How do you build companies to last?

Mudassir addressed these queries and more during a keynote presentation yesterday at Momentum in Karachi, Pakistan.

He identified four main factors which he believes were crucial in propelling Careem from a mere idea to where it is today.

1. Think big

“You have to think big from day one,” said Mudassir. “Sure you can open a retail store, but it’s going to be difficult to make it into a large business – a billion-dollar business. The first thing you have to target is a big problem and a big opportunity.”

The idea behind Careem wasn’t simply to replicate what other startups were doing in the West. He and his co-founder, Magnus Olsson, were both former management consultants for McKinsey. The duo were stationed in Dubai but frequently traveled across the Middle East and Pakistan.

As consultants, they had to constantly deal with the abhorrent public transport options in their markets. That was a huge pain – taxi drivers would frequently rip them off and they didn’t feel safe traveling in those rickety cars.

On-demand services were unheard of in the region at that time. So both Mudassir and Magnus quit their jobs, invested a lot of their own capital, and hunkered down for the long journey ahead.

“We wanted to seize the opportunity because it was an unexplored area and we felt the potential to scale was there,” said Mudassir to the audience.

2. Build to last

The billion-dollar CEO is a firm believer in treating your startup like a baby and nurturing it the same way a loving parent would.

He explained it’s essential to instill the right values in your organization – to make sure culture seeps down from the top and everyone on the team is cognizant of the ideals they should aspire towards.

I don’t want anyone to think I’m extravagant or leading a flashy lifestyle.

“If you teach your kids not to lie and make sure they adhere to it, then they’ll eventually learn and carry that with them forever. But if you don’t do that, and don’t have a close relationship with them, then they’ll grow up with indifferent values,” he said.

“Organizations are similar, they have values and aspirations as well. The companies that have been around for hundreds of years have these values instilled in their DNA. Our mindset, from day one, was to make something to last.”

As a corollary, the idea to start a business shouldn’t be predicated on an exit strategy. “It’s not the right mindset you should go into a startup with,” added Mudassir.

If an entrepreneur is truly committed to solving problems and reducing inefficiencies then they’ll carry on with that, come what may. And to build lasting institutions, ones that will outlive them as well as their future generations, founders need to treat the early years with the utmost of care.

“There’s nothing wrong with an exit, but it shouldn’t be your overwhelming priority,” he stated.

To further explain his point about culture and setting examples, Mudassir said he frequently takes red-eye flights and inconvenient connections just to save money.

“I’m happy even if I save 200 dirhams” – that US$55 – “each time,” he laughed.

“Sure people might say Careem has the cash now but I don’t want anyone in the company to think I’m being extravagant or living a flashy lifestyle. If you won’t demonstrate and lead by example, then your teammates won’t either.”

Mudassir on stage at Momentum. Photo credit: Osman Husain/Tech in Asia.

3. Growth needs curation

“You can’t just expect to launch a product and expect that it’ll take off automatically,” asserted Mudassir. “It’s a lot of hard work, curation, measurement, and feedback.”

The former consultant explained that at Careem they’re obsessed with data and growth. Each city – all 50 of them – is monitored every 15 minutes. An analyst can crunch the numbers and tell you whether the growth in those 15 minutes was more or less than the previous day, or even the same time last week.

If numbers are going down then there’s someone from HQ on the phone with local teams on the ground, to figure out how to improve, and whether there’s an issue of product-market fit, weather conditions, or something else.

“You cannot improve anything that you cannot measure. That’s why growth and measurement are deep deep in our DNA,” he said.

“And the best part about growth is that it compounds. If you give yourself a target of growing 25 percent month on month, then you’ll grow 10x each year. By the third 10x, we were sitting at a 100 million valuation. You can too,” he told the audience.

4. Your team is the sharpest weapon

Mudassir and Magnus didn’t have much money to throw around in the early days grinding in the insane heat of Dubai.

That was a problem – they wanted to hire savvy, technical, and qualified employees to grow quickly but the lack of cash meant that they couldn’t even match existing market salaries.

Mudassir admitted to having sleepless nights in those days.

“We placed a lot of emphasis on getting the right people. You can have an amazing idea but if you don’t have the right talent to execute then your plans are utterly useless. We were so cash-strapped early on that we could only offer half of what people were used to,” he said.

But there was a surprising benefit to this quandary. Careem’s early hires ticked all the right boxes in terms of their job capabilities, and they also bought into the vision of what Mudassir was trying to build.

“That’s why we became who we are today – you need to get capable people but they also need to enliven the culture of the workplace,” he added.

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Over 200 buses and vans will now be available for booking on the Grab app

Ride-hailing giant Grab announced today the launch of a coach service for Singapore called GrabCoach.

This service will allow group travellers and corporate customers to book from a fleet of over 200 buses or vans. These vehicles come in three categories: 13-seater, 23-seater and 40-seater. The fares are fixed and priced at S$65 (US$46), S$95 (US$67), S$150 (US$106) for a one-way trip respectively.

“We saw an opportunity to digitise the traditional coach-chartering business for a better customer experience. Now for the first time, those who need to travel in groups can conveniently schedule a GrabCoach within minutes via the Grab app without having to spend hours coordinating with coach companies,” said Lim Kell Jay, Head of Grab Singapore, in an official press statement.

Also Read: Grab invests US$700M for its master plan in the Indonesian market

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It’s an incredibly busy industry in Singapore, but, there is evidence that there is room for honestbee

One of the busiest sectors of Singapore’s startup scene — on-demand meal delivery — just got a bit more crowded. Grocery delivery startup honestbee will be launching the service next week, it announced in a Facebook post yesterday.

The company announced it will add meal delivery service in Singapore’s Central Business District, Bukit Merah and River Valley.

Plus, the company is including a launch-week competition for a chance to win S$30 (US$21) worth of meals. Read more on the Facebook post attached below.

honestbee has made its name as a grocery delivery startup across Asia. In Singapore, its main competition is the recently-acquired RedMart, while in countries like Indonesia it competes with HappyFresh.

According to the company’s factsheet, honestbee has 146 full-time employees and 1,200 shoppers to deploy into the new vertical.

Also Read: Why laundry service makes sense for grocery concierge honestbee

In Singapore, the on-demand meal delivery industry is robust and highly competitive. It includes brand-name companies like foodpanda, deliveroo and UberEATS along with niche companies like Grain, DishDash and AMGD.

That being said, it does not necessarily mean adding the additional vertical is a bad decision. According to multiple off-the-record conversations with ecosystem community members, one of the bright spots of Singapore’s startup economy is the ‘on-demand services’ sector. Whether it is Uber or Grab for transportation, or the multiple options for food delivery, people in the city are continuing to use on-demand services.

As the former Singapore General Manager of Deliveroo told e27 last fall, Deliveroo had captured about 5 per cent of the potential market in Singapore. This was said in the context of future opportunity, and that while meal delivery is a competitive field, the potential market is still large — meaning there may very well be room for honestbee.

Also Read: In Pics: Bike-sharing quietly starts rolling in Singapore

What makes honestbee’s move particularly interesting is, until now, food delivery startups have stayed in their lane. Grocery delivery startups focussed on groceries and meal delivery brought cooked-food to its customers.

honestbee will be a pioneer for companies considering both verticals, so it will be worth keeping tabs on its success or failure.

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Photo credit: taina / 123RF.

Southeast Asian ride-hailing app Grab now lets you hail quite a big ride. The transportation startup is rolling out GrabCoach, a service for booking large passenger vehicles, from 13-seat all the way up to 40-seat coaches.

The service is aimed at group transportation and corporate customers. Grab says there is already a fleet of 200 vehicles available to Grab app users. Prices are fixed for a one-way trip at US$46 for 13-seaters, US$67 for 23-seaters, and US$106 for 40-seaters. Passengers can book on-demand or up to seven days ahead.

The service is currently available in Singapore and can’t be used for cross-border trips.

Grab’s messaging and payment functions are used in the same way as booking a taxi or a private-hire car through the app. GrabCoach also accepts cash. The feature can be useful for passenger fleet owners and operators who don’t have their own online booking and payment systems in place.

The company seems to be taking a page out of Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing’s playbook. Didi launched a bus-hailing service in October 2015.

Grab recently launched GrabShare, a car-pooling service similar to UberPool. Last week, it announced it would pour US$700 million into research and development in Indonesia.

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A new category of residences allocated for short-term rentals could be set up

Take one last look, because these properties may soon be taken down from the site.

The Singapore government passed a legislation yesterday that will make the ban on Airbnb-style short-term home rentals more binding.

Under the current guidelines set by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), home-owners are already prohibited from subletting their homes for rentals under six months. Those found in violation of the rules will be fined up to S$200,000 (US$141,400) or be jailed for up to a year.

The new law will grant URA officers increased powers to step in and call up any suspected violators of this rule for questioning. The officers will also have the authority to demand relevant information or documents pertaining to the violation, take on-site video evidence, and conduct forced entry into the homes in question.

“Allowing residences to be used for short stays leads to high turnovers of occupants, and gives rise to nuisance and safety concerns.  Most of us do prefer some familiarity with the people who live around our homes,” said a statement on the URA website.

Also Read: GuestReady raises US$700K to help Airbnb hosts manage their property

Airbnb sent a statement to Channel NewsAsia stating it was disappointed by the new legislation.

“We have repeatedly offered our support to relevant agencies to develop a framework that promotes responsible home-sharing. Nearly two years since the URA’s public consultation, it’s disappointing that the discussion has not moved forward,” said Airbnb.

“More than 50 per cent of hosts in Singapore are sharing their primary residence – the home in which they live. For a lot of Singaporeans, the opportunity to list their home on Airbnb – for an average of S$5,000 per year – makes a real difference paying off the mortgage, electricity bills and other daily expenses,” it added.

Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong told Parliament that last year, URA saw complaints from home-owners about such violations increased by 60 per cent. It is not known how much was directly attributed to Airbnb rentals.

The listing of homes on home-sharing or rental websites is still permissible and will not be regulated, but URA will work with the management of listed private properties to inform its residents of the rules.

Still, all is not lost for Airbnb hosts, URA said it may reduce the minimum rental period, although daily rentals would still be out of the question.

“Such premises which are rented out daily ought to be regulated more like hotels rather than residential homes and should be subject to relevant license and conditions to ensure proper standards,” said Wong.

The URA is also considering creating a new category of private residences that would accommodate short-term rentals.

“New residential sites can be sold with such an approved use, allowing flexibility for short-term rentals. For existing residential buildings, they would then require planning permission for change of use, and this would be subject to a set of guidelines which URA is looking into,” said Wong.

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Image Credit: Airbnb

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TravelTriangle is a marketplace that connects customers to travel agents, fetches quotations, customises trips and makes bookings online

TravelTriangle, an online marketplace for holiday packages and operated by Noida (India)-based Holiday Triangle Travel, has secured US$10 million in Series B round of funding, led by Singapore VC firm RB Investments, according to a report by LiveMint.

SAIF Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners, both participated in its previous rounds of funding, have also co-invested in the latest round.

TravelTriangle will use the capital for technology and product development.

Previously, TravelTriangle has received two rounds of funding — US$1.7 million in pre-series A in July 2014 and US$8 million in Series A in April 2015.

Also Read: Most Indians still see young women as unfit for leadership positions – BigStylist CEO Richa Singh

Started in 2011 by Sankalp Agarwal, Prabhat Gupta and Sanchit Garg, TravelTriangle connects customers to travel agents, fetches quotations, customises trips and makes bookings online. From a backpacker’s needs to a honeymooner’s demands, Travel Triangle crafts vacation deals for holiday destinations in India as well as abroad.

According to its website, it has over 300 people and a network of 650-plus travel agents across the globe. It claims to have served one million travellers to date and reach out to over 65 destinations.

With offices in Noida, Gurgaon, Mumbai and the US, the company expects to increase the number of travel agents to over 1,500 agents in the next 18 months, the Mint report said, quoting Agarwal.

RB Investments is a boutique venture capital firm, funding innovative entrepreneurs in India. Last December, the VC fund, along with Kaleden Holdings (another Singapore-based fund) participated in Delhi-based digital payments and financial services startup instantPay’s pre-Series A round of funding.

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Some tips to consider when you’re just starting out

Talking about small business success rates is a tricky business, but whether you believe that 50 per cent of businesses last for five years, or that 9 out of 10 businesses fail, it’s clear that the odds are not always in your favour when you start a new business. That doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t push the odds in your favour. Let’s talk about some of the most common reasons that businesses fail, and what you can do to make your company more likely to succeed.

Bad match between partners

When you start your first company, there are some fairly obvious choices for your first partner. A spouse or significant other, a best friend from college or high school, and a family member are often tempting choices for a business associate. And while these businesses can work phenomenally well, there are also real risks involved in choosing to tie your business interests to someone with whom you’ve primarily had a friendly or filial relationship.

Too often, we choose our friends and significant others because we are very similar. While this makes for great family dynamics and nights on the town, it can be problematic in the business arena. For example, if both you and your potential partner have a strong grasp on marketing, but struggle to manage product development, you may have trouble getting your business up and running successfully.

Avoid this concern by making sure that you’re choosing your partners based on skillset, not friendship or interpersonal relationship.

Wrong insurance levels

Most people know that their cars and homes need to be insured, but they may forget that small business insurance exists. From worker’s compensation to property and asset insurance, many companies choose to insure their companies against future problems. Doing this so protects their investments, both time and financial.

Small businesses often have somewhat unique insurance needs. They may not be able to choose every ideal policy all at once, but there are certain policies that no business should go without.

To make sure you have the right insurance coverage you should do things: Work with a business insurance agent who is familiar with your area, and preferably, your industry. You should also talk with local business owners who you trust to find out who handles their insurance, and find out more about what coverages they have found most helpful, versus which ones they wish they had not chosen.

Insufficient liquid assets

Let’s face it: starting a business can be very expensive. If you’re leaving a current job, you need to factor in not just your new business costs, but the cost of any health insurance and living expenses while your new business gets off the ground. Simply put, many businesses do not have adequate cash reserves to manage the early months or years of their business.

Getting a business loan can be difficult, and companies without cash reserves may need to use lines of credit or credit cards to keep their business afloat until profits begin to increase.

While this is certainly an option, it can leave the business owner struggling to make ends meet. If their company folds, but they’ve used their personal credit to finance the business, they could potentially still need to pay off that debt. This can put a lot of stress on a nascent business.

To avoid crushing your company with debt save as much as you can beforehand. Bootstrap absolutely everything possible, and limit your personal exposure when possible. Contact your local Chamber of Commerce or Small Business Administration for help with local grants or funding opportunities.

Wrong product-market or niche fit

One real struggle for many new companies is connecting with their customers. Marketing is in a period of rapid flux, and companies may not be sure how to leverage social media and content marketing, in effective ways that push their business to the forefront of their ideal customer’s mind.

Be careful, however, with blaming any failure that arises on this lack of connection. Connecting with your customers is a key portion of your business plan and a fundamental piece of your company. Whether you’re selling to dog owners, CEOs, or doctors, knowing how you’re going to meet them where they are and demonstrate your value is necessary to running a successful business. Dismissing your strategies as “just not working” is insufficient.

Plan ahead to decide how your business will connect with its customers and ideal audience. Know where they are, what they’re concerned about, and how your target message will help them solve their problem. Get specific! Model your marketing on other successful companies so that you can reach out well.

What reasons do you see that so many small businesses close?

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The views expressed here are of the author’s, and e27 may not necessarily subscribe to them. e27 invites members from Asia’s tech industry and startup community to share their honest opinions and expert knowledge with our readers. If you are interested in sharing your point of view, submit your post here.

Featured Image Copyright: gstockstudio / 123RF Stock Photo

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Careful handling of personal data helps PrimeStaff Management Services maintain a high level of trust and confidence with its clients

Be it recruitment candidate or employee data, PrimeStaff Management Services treats both with extreme care.

In the recruitment industry, information on people are the biggest asset. Yet this could become a double-edged sword if not managed well.

“People looking for jobs always want assurance that their data is safe with us; good personal data protection practices is one of the basic expectations of us as recruitment consultants,” says Mr Ronald Lee, managing director of human resource firm, PrimeStaff Management Services.

Established in 1994, the home- grown SME places people not only in Singapore, but also around Southeast Asia and Australia. PrimeStaff was named “Best Recruitment Firm – Overall (Singapore)” and “Best Recruitment Firm for HR Positions” at the HRM Asia Awards in 2015.

“Because of the trans-boundary nature of our business, we recognised the need to develop a privacy policy that is of international standards,” Mr Lee says.

Also read: Early childhood educator simplifies personal data protection requirements

PrimeStaff had a personal data policy in place before the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) came into full effect in July 2014. The policy then was focused largely on putting in place measures to restrict access to files containing personal data, and the blocking of file sharing sites and non-corporate email access to prevent unauthorised transfer of data to any third parties.

“Things are different now with the mandatory requirements of the PDPA,” Mr Lee adds. “The new requirements imposed by the Act means we need to obtain consent to use personal data, and the resultant shift in customer expectations is a motivating factor that keeps us on our toes.”

CHALLENGES

PrimeStaff’s employees handle personal data on a daily basis. Their biggest challenge is to ensure employees comply with its personal data protection policies to fulfill their functions and operations.

Period of transition

PrimeStaff took several months to align its personal data protection policies to meet the PDPA’s obligations. The process started with a team of five, including Mr Lee. They attended introductory talks, seminars and other related courses to familiarise themselves with the requirements of the PDPA.

Given the company’s specialised function, the bulk of personal data handled by PrimeStaff is for the purpose of recruitment for client organisations, and they handle the personal data of about 40,000 individuals. So it was clear to the team that ensuring the personal data remained safe and secure was of utmost importance.

“Our biggest challenge is ensuring that no personal data is leaked by our employees, whether unwittingly or deliberately, because our consultants handle so much personal data on a daily basis,” Mr Lee shares.

Also read: What’s Silicon Valley’s secret sauce? Here’s what Asian entrepreneurs can learn in terms of culture

To prevent softcopies of personal data being downloaded and transferred, the team enhanced the security of the company’s IT systems, including blocking access to free email service providers such as Google mail, Yahoo mail, Hotmail and other media-sharing sites such as Dropbox, iCloud, Google Drive. Third-party storage devices such as thumb drives and CD readers are also fully or partially disabled so that information cannot be readily copied or transferred.

Other steps taken by PrimeStaff included the development of new forms to document consent from potential candidates to use their data for recruitment, and the introduction of a retention limitation policy.

The company’s retention policy limits its consultants from keeping a candidate’s data unnecessarily. Some personal data is typically kept for a period of time in order to recommend suitable job openings. However, the data would be deleted when it is no longer needed for legal and business purposes.

STEPS TAKEN

– Regular employee training on PDPA requirements and on the importance of protecting personal data protection

– Enhanced security measures in IT systems such as restricting access to and transfer of personal data

– Development of new forms to notify and obtain consent from potential candidates

Candidate data vs employee data

Apart from candidate data, PrimeStaff is mindful that it has to protect its own employee data, too. As an HR consultancy, PrimeStaff believes all personal data is important and does not treat employee data any differently. Therefore, file access control measures are put in place to ensure only the relevant employee has access to employee data.

Mr Lee explains, “Access and processing of employee data are restricted. Only HR or the Payroll department and recruiters are allowed access to such data based on whether they have been tasked to use or process the data to fulfill the purpose it was collected for.”

Also read: Search Want to roll Want to roll your product out to the streets? This ignition programme could be the answer

“For IT systems, once properly put in place, they are less likely to pose compliance problems,” says Mr Lee. For example, once a file access control measure is set, employees who do not have permission to handle the information will not be able to access the file.

“However, there is less certainty with people,” he adds. To help reduce human errors, PrimeStaff makes it a point to conduct regular training for its employees. These sessions reinforce the importance of protecting personal data and update employees on new developments and regulations in the HR industry.

BENEFITS

– Increased trust and confidence among clients, candidates and employees that their personal data is protected

– Reduced risk of personal data leaks and misuse

– Enhances professionalism and instills pride in PrimeStaff employees who know they are entrusted with sensitive personal data

Compliance a worthwhile effort

Mr Lee estimates that they spent about $45,000 to hone and implement its personal data protection policy to comply with the PDPA. He attributes 93 per cent of the cost to man-hours spent understanding the application of the PDPA to PrimeStaff’s operations as well as in developing and implementing policies to comply with the PDPA. Training fees accounted for the rest of the cost.

However, Mr Lee considers these to be necessary compliance costs. “Knowing how careful we are with personal data increases the trust and confidence our clients and candidates have in us. We allocated more time and effort on compliance with the PDPA so as to get this right, which in turn enhances our position as a preferred HR consultant.”

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Disclosure: This article is sponsored by PDPC and first appeared in PDPC website Press Room

Feature image credit: PDPC

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An Honestbee shopper in action.

Honestbee, a Singapore-based startup which started out as a grocery delivery service, now wants to send you lunch too. This move comes just a few months after it launched an on-demand laundry service.

The upcoming launch of meal deliveries, announced via Facebook, puts Honestbee in a hyper-competitive space in Singapore filled with established players like UberEats, Deliveroo, and Foodpanda, as well as fledgling startups like Grain and DishDash.

However, it’s putting its eggs in many baskets by building a delivery network which enables freelance riders to fulfill an assortment of services.

It’s unclear how Honestbee plans to stand out in this space. It will begin delivery meals in Singapore a week from now in these areas: The Central Business District, Bukit Merah, and River Valley.

Tech in Asia is reaching out to Honestbee for more details.

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Facebook is no longer just “post and forget” — you need to target, analyse and engage

You probably don’t need another person to tell you that ”everyone is on Facebook” and your business should also leverage Facebook. It’s widespread these days.

Well, these people are not lying. Facebook records a user base of about 3 million people in Singapore. On average, Singaporeans spend 2.2 hours daily on this platform. These are staggering numbers from a marketing standpoint.

The problem is that Facebook introduced so many features and changes in their platform in the recent two to three years, its easy to lag behind and misapply outdated strategies that wastes our precious resources as businesses and entrepreneurs. Having worked with companies ranging from startups to MNCs in their advertising efforts. I have identified eight common traps you need to be aware of:

1. Don’t bother posting on Facebook

Are you thinking about what to post on your Facebook page next week? Well, you can probably drop the thought.

This would have been a good move in 2012, when your post can reach as much as 16 per cent of your fanbase. The figure dropped to 6.5 per cent in 2014. Now, it is less than 2 per cent. That’s not all. Only a further 5 per cent or less of this measly 2 per cent is going to pay attention to your post on their newsfeed. That is only about 0.1 per cent of your fanbase. Shocking?

Facebook page organic reach to your fans per post (Note: These are average figures. Your numbers will vary depending on the level of engagement on your page & post.)

It would have account for something if you have a fanbase of say, 10,000. If your Facebook fan count is 300 or less, honestly, the time would be better spent elsewhere. There is absolutely no need to put up posts daily, or even weekly for that matter, as with the case of so many businesses I see. We all love to think that we are very important and everyone is waiting for us to post. Fact?  People are so busy with stalking their friends and relatives on Facebook to give us any attention.

On the other hand, you cannot totally ignore Facebook either. People need to know that you are still in business. Strive to at least post once a month, but there is absolutely no need to scratch your head agonizing what to write everyday.

2. Be careful of the default

So you learnt that your organic posts do not go far and advertising on Facebook is the only way to reach more people at (very) reasonable costs.

Source: Moz

You started buying ads on Facebook, only to receive a lot of likes … but zero new business. Before you start concluding that Facebook ads are a waste of time and money for businesses, think again.

The problem usually lies with how you set your targeting. By default, Facebook show your ads to users in Facebook, Instagram and Facebook ad network.

Did you know only the first option is for advertising within Facebook? Second option shows your ads in Facebook’s subsidiary, Instagram, and for the third option, you don’t even know where your ads are displayed!

You may think it’s harmless, but Instagram burns your money faster than fire spreads in the forest (Instagram is hardly profitable for most businesses). If you do not have a big budget to invest for ‘brand awareness’, do scrutinise your settings before clicking ‘confirm’, or you may just fall into one of these traps.

3. Watch out for foreign likes

Let’s say you checked your targeting settings hundred times and have made sure that you are targeting high net worth individuals in Singapore. Your ads are still not getting any sales. You decided to click into the profile of people who like your ads. To the shock of your life, these are not locals! You got a lot of engagement with plenty unfamiliar-looking profiles instead.

Another trap of Facebook advertising is its ‘smart’ algorithmn. Facebook automatically optimises your ads to appear in front of people most likely to click or engage with ads. Coincidentally, these people may not be people who buy, but people who like to like your posts. More often than not, these are not the locals.

What can you do about it ?

Well, Facebook’s advertising platform is a powerful machine, as long as you know how to tap its potential. Make use of the ‘exclude’ feature to exclude audiences you do not want to target! You can exclude foreigners or other groups you know will never convert into a customer. In one of our campaign for a property company, we excluded all property agents in Singapore.

4. Avoid the shortcut

If you are wondering why the options above are not accessible in your computer, you probably have been boosting posts only.

Amazon and other e-commerce stores have their 1-click purchase to make it easy for people to buy. Facebook came out with their own version of this with the ‘1-click advertise’ option, which is the boost post button.

It saves time and hassle at the expense of cutting out a lot of features you would see in ads manager and power editor. To encourage its use, Facebook repeatedly reminds you with messages like this:

Many advertisers have likened clicking boost-post to writing a blank cheque to Facebook.  If you don’t have deep pockets, avoid the trap of the shortcut and instead go deeper into what Facebook offers.

Facebook’s share price has been on the rise as more and more businesses jump on the advertising bandwagon. Without proper know-how, businesses owners are just contributing to the bottom line of Facebook. On the other hand, with the right strategy, you can be among those succeeding.

Source: Convinceandconvert

5. It’s not traditional one-way advertising

The power of Facebook lies in its social potential. It can go both ways. You ads has the chance of going viral. However, it can also backfire.

Check out this ad by OCBC bank:

It looks like any normal and decent Facebook ad, until you scroll down further to the comments section. Did you realize that they are paying money to advertise for their competitor ? Guess what, after seeing this ad, I took action and shifted my money to BOC. You can say its pretty ‘successful’.

Many traditional advertisers fall into the trap of approaching Facebook advertising the way they do for newspaper or magazine advertisement: that is to publish and forget. The wonder of Facebook is that it produces a lot of feedback for you to fine tune your ads over time. Make use of these quantitative and qualitative feedback to improve on your performance.

6. Be a data geek

Speaking of getting quantitative feedback …

Since Google, Facebook and other digital advertising platforms came into the picture, marketing has largely evolved into more of a geeky sports. The amount of data available for decision making is tremendous.  Your left brain muscles matter as much, if not more than your right brain muscles today.

Fret not, you don’t need to start hiring a data scientist. To make it simple, important metrics to look at include your cost per click, clickthrough rate and conversion (most businesses are not measuring!).

So, what is considered decent numbers? According to Nanigans, a data company, the average clickthrough rate in Asia in 2016 is 1.97 per cent. If you are doing less than 1 per cent clickthrough, you are paying a lot more money than you should.

In our own example, we were collecting emails on Facebook with a free ebook. I changed the ad image from the 1st to the 2nd and saw an increase in clickthrough and leads conversion by 50 per cent!

First ad image

Second image with 50% higher clickthrough and conversion

This would not have been possible if I were to advertise in say, newspaper where I get only one shot at success. Today, the data available for fine tuning our ads provides unprecedented opportunity. It makes leads generation a highly predictable and consistent process, almost to the point of being scientific.

Stability: Isn’t that what we all want ?

7. Go for softer conversions

Facebook likes to keep users within Facebook. That’s obvious: No media publisher wants to send people away. Thats why they introduced new features such as Canvas ads, as well as instant articles to confine people within their ecosystem. As an advertiser, this is not to your advantage. Facebook is the land of shiny objects where a thousand and one things demand the attention of your prospects.

Think cat videos, ex-girlfriend’s pictures, etc. As an advertiser, instead of trying to sell your product on Facebook where attention span is almost nonexistent, strive to get them to click into your website or landing page and opt in to an offer that doesn’t take a lot of brain power to process. Don’t be overly ambitious in getting them buy on the spot. Use soft conversions.

Facebook distraction

Conclusion

At the end of the day, don’t stop trying. Getting burnt in Facebook once doesn’t make it a useless platform.  After all, isn’t it the spirit of entrepreneurship to keep trying?

Having taken the time to educate yourself on the 7 traps above, you are better equipped to deal with Facebook than ever before. Like all other aspects of your business, once you find the right formula, Facebook will help skyrocket your sales. Importantly, it provides the consistency and stability of business that all of us need.

Don’t miss out on this awesome opportunity! Facebook ads is going to get more expensive over time. The best time to jumpstart your engine is now.

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The views expressed here are of the author’s, and e27 may not necessarily subscribe to them. e27 invites members from Asia’s tech industry and startup community to share their honest opinions and expert knowledge with our readers. If you are interested in sharing your point of view, submit your post here.

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