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HP’s marketing chief for Asia on creating personalized consumer experiences post-pandemic

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By Shawn Lim, Reporter, Asia Pacific

May 5, 2022 | 7 min read

HP’s chief marketing officer for greater Asia, Siew Ting Foo, talks to The Drum about how she has been pivoting her marketing focus to help businesses and customers adapt to new ways of work and play post-pandemic, with an emphasis on data and locally-relevant consumer experiences.

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Beyond optimizing the e-commerce shopper experience, HP has debuted new services that are digital-led / HP

As new consumer insights emerge post-pandemic, Siew Ting Foo says HP is revising its business models, as well as its marketing strategies and campaigns.

For example, it just launched Instant Ink, a print subscription program that delivers ink to consumers, and is helping parents bond with children by engaging them at a deeper level through tactile learning experiences.

What is HP doing to build consumer trust in APAC?

Data protection is at the forefront of everything we do at HP because our brand is built on the relationship we have with our customers. We have very clear systems and protocols to protect our customer data – be it through access, anonymization, consent, contact or deletion.

Insights from customer data help us deliver personalized experiences. Customer feedback may come to us through digital customer relationship management, media targeting, call-center hotlines, and even through direct customer conversations. We take all their feedback into account when we consider our marketing strategy. For example, when our analytics tell us to reach out to our customers, we consider their feedback and the kind of features they may be looking for based on their usage behavior, and recommend the right form factor.

This perspective helps us to conduct better communication, therefore giving HP solid ground in building long-term trust with our customers. Without a deep understanding of consumers’ insights, data becomes somewhat mechanical. HP’s motto of ‘humanizing data’ remains an utmost priority for us, as we deal with data that is large and complex – from registered customer data and digital audience signals, to real-time product usage telemetries. Uncovering new ways to deliver brand experiences excites us.

How is HP improving its digital experience in APAC?

APAC consumers are spending more time on e-commerce platforms. We have pivoted from a ‘bricks and mortar’ retail model to a ‘clicks and mortar’ customer journey where marketing activations are built around shoppers’ digital experience. In the e-commerce space, HP’s suite of products is easily discoverable, which allows for a seamless purchase experience for our customers, no matter which e-commerce platform they opt for.

A shopper is simply able to search both Google and e-commerce platforms for products, prices and reviews. In this age of hyperconnectivity, a shopper would expect barrier-free access to customer support, and we always ensure our chatbots and online support are available when they are needed.

Beyond optimizing the e-commerce shopper experience, HP debuted new services that are digital-led. HP Instant Ink, our latest Ink subscription offer in Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, is a completely new way of buying and using ink cartridges for our customers’ printing experience.

Existing and new users of HP printers need only to sign up online and connect their printers with HP Smart App via wifi to set up a recurring ink subscription, delivered to their doorsteps. Subscribers will be able to track their usage, print remotely and manage multiple printers within a single app, without having to enter a physical retail store.

How are you planning to retain customer loyalty?

HP aims to offer tailored services that best suit our customers’ needs. Consumers’ willingness to embrace digital services opens up a brand-new world of opportunities for us. A customer’s journey is no longer as linear as it once was – they are looking for inspiration and highly personalized experiences.

That is why we take a customer-centric approach – placing their experiences and needs at the center of our service offering, refining our marketing strategy based on a constant loop of customer feedback and optimization. The Instant Ink subscription service, which has more than 10 million subscribers worldwide, is a prime example. The past 24 months have driven dramatic changes in the way consumers work and learn in the hybrid era. More than ever, they are prioritizing convenience, speed and instant gratification.

HP had prepared for this shift and introduced a subscription-based ink replenishment model, which was recently just launched in Singapore, to enable uninterrupted hybrid working and learning experiences. HP Smart App allows them to track real-time usage transparently and offers an automatic roll-over of unused pages for up to three months. And as needs change with circumstances, subscribers can adjust their subscription plans or terminate their plan with a click on the application. This allows customers to take ownership of their unique consumer experiences, which has always been our goal.

We have seen the expansion of personalization, enabled by data, insights and technology, as brands prepare for a post-Covid world. How are you addressing this trend?

Personalization is key in most, if not all, consumer touchpoints of HP marketing. We leverage data and technology to customize communication content to the right audience in our media campaigns. From a product innovation perspective, personalization is evident in our latest gaming offers – Omen Gaming Hub, a control-tower-like software, enables the best PC performance as per gamers’ unique needs and styles in the Central Processing Unit (CPU), Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) and other hardware and software configurations. Our gaming suite of technology provides personalized color schemes for device lights, accessories and PC. Artificial intelligence (AI) is utilized to support these functions by analyzing users’ behaviors in real-time to give them the most pleasant experience.

From a customer engagement perspective, HP’s Experience Hub in Kuala Lumpur (launched last January) is a major step in HP’s vision to modernize omnichannel commerce that is hyper-personal and seamless in today’s hybrid work and play. We recognize that the past 24 months have dramatically changed consumer behavior, and now the modern commerce experience must provide both personal engagement for online customers, and a richer, more immersive experience for offline customers.

The Experience Hub (X-Hub) unifies the retail experience across the South East Asia region with its Kuala Lumpur flagship physical store connecting to 82 online stores spread across Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Consumers online can look forward to personally engaging HP Live Advisors, a team of dedicated experts based at the X-Hub, via real-time video calls and chat functions in their preferred local language, and join livestreams on the latest HP products via the HP Virtual Showroom.

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