As social media gains popularity in Myanmar, more foreign companies are using it to reach consumers who go online for product information. However, marketing to Myanmar's growing consumer class has room for improvement.
Thai producers in particular could do more on social media to capitalise on the already strong reputation of Thai products among Myanmar consumers, says Myat Oo, operations manager of Phoe La Min Shopping Mall, the only department store in Hpa-An, the capital city of Kayin state in eastern Myanmar.
Local consumers prefer goods from Thailand even though they are often 10% more expensive than those imported from China, he said. The only problem is that they still don't know the full range of products on offer.
"We are importing all kinds of Thai products including food and beverages, cosmetics, fashion and clothing, electronics, home appliances and construction equipment, and Thailand is now the second biggest trading partner of Myanmar," Myat Oo, also a member of Kayin State Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KSCCI), told Asia Focus.
The Phoe La Min Shopping Mall is the only department store in Hpa-An, a city of some 420,000 people and the capital of Kayin state that borders Thailand. SUPPLIED
"Our two governments have already agreed to promote and double bilateral trade to US$13 billion by the end of 2021, so the question that my country should have is, how can we get more trade and customers to Myanmar?"
He made the comments at the CLMVT (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar Vietnam, Thailand) forum organised by the Bangkok Post, Post Today and Asset Pro Management last month.
In Myanmar's retail sector, information on the variety of products available in stores is "very important", said Myat Oo, and social media fills a big need because conventional advertising and marketing do not reach the broad mass of people.
According to We Are Social, a global social media agency with headquarters in London, around 14 million people, or 26% of Myanmar's population, were using social media as of January 2017, almost all of them over mobile connections. That compares with just 2 million in 2014, reflecting the dramatic expansion of internet access since the mobile market was liberalised. Active Facebook users alone total 9.8 million, the local firm Amara Digital Marketing Agency estimated last year.
"This is a great chance to get low-cost marketing into Myanmar because our small and medium enterprises are already trying to use social media to get more customers, along with getting to know them, and it also presents a great opportunity for the e-commerce players in Thailand," Myat Oo said.
"With around 10 million active users in the country, Facebook is now a perfect channel to reach the customers here.
"Thai products have so much potential in Myanmar because Myanmar people already like to buy Thai products, so the important thing is marketing in order to let people know what is there to buy. We need to know what you have."
MultiVerse Advertising, a Yangon-based marketing agency, notes that online habits in Myanmar are different because the internet is still a relative novelty for many people. As a result, many people use Facebook for searches, and not Google.
Photo: Phrakrit Juntawong
That's a boon for marketers since Facebook offers the most detailed targeting information of any digital platform, the agency points out.
MultiVerse recommends having a well-thought-out Facebook strategy because the platform presents a huge advertising opportunity and makes it easy to pursue marketing objectives, from brand awareness and driving sales in Myanmar.
Myat Oo also recommends the use of more visuals including photos, as well as dual-language capability, both Burmese and English, because translation between the two is not yet available on Facebook.
"Myanmar people prefer to read in their own language not English and that is important for foreign businesses to know," he said.
Popular Western beverage brands such as Cola-Cola and food franchises such as KFC are finding new momentum in Myanmar and there is no reason why Thai brands and Thai food franchises cannot do the same, Myat Oo pointed out.
"They (western franchises) used to struggle in the past but they are very successful now, like KFC."
However, he stresses that businesses need to study market demand and local culture before entering Myanmar. Clear communication and partnerships with local companies are also vital.
Thai Beverage Plc, for example, did its homework when it introduced Chang Beer, lowering both the alcohol content and the price of its product in Myanmar to better suit local tastes and respond to price competition.
"You will be better off if you study the culture before you enter Myanmar and be careful with the language because it can cause misunderstanding. You need local people who have local knowledge," he said.
One example of miscommunication occurred when Vietnam Airlines, which flies to Yangon, had to withdraw all copies of its inflight magazine in November 2015 after a fashion shoot featuring Yangon's famous Shwedagon Pagoda depicted on a dress outraged many people in Myanmar.
Malaysia-based Teo Seng Chan Liquor Merchants came under fire online in the same year for using an image of the temple on the label of a whiskey bottle.
Discussing what kinds of products were in demand in Myanmar, Myat Oo said "we like what you guys like" referring to Thai consumers. Chawaphan Chawacharoenphan, president of the Tak Chamber of Commerce and Banpot Kokiatcharoen, manager of Nguan Heng 1992, said sugar, alcoholic beverages and smartphones were all in high demand at the moment.
Mr Banpot said there was still room for growth in Myanmar's service sector, especially hotels, given the expected increase in Chinese visitors.
The government of Myanmar has set its sights on attracting $140 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) between now and 2030, and a growing amount of that sum is expected to go into consumer goods and retailing.
The country received nearly $1 billion in FDI in the first two months of 2017-18 fiscal year that began on April 1, according to the Directorate of Investment and Companies Administration (DICA). It expects FDI to reach $6.1 billion in 2017-18, adding that India has already extended $1.75 billion in grants and credit to Myanmar to try and offset China's large presence in the country.
India has been the key promoter of the India-Myanmar-Thailand highway, which is expected to spur a big rise in trade between the subcontinent and Asean, but it has moved forward at a snail's pace. Originally scheduled to be finished in 2014, it will now be completed by 2020.