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When it comes to engaging today’s customers, data and emotion are two of the most powerful influences that brands wield. Avis Easteal, Regional Head of Consumer, APAC at Luxasia, is passionate about both. 

Avis has worked at Luxasia in Singapore for the past four years. The company is a leading omnichannel partner for luxury beauty and lifestyle brands. Avis works with these brands to reach consumers across Asia.

Joining us on the Future of Work, Now podcast, Avis shares that what she likes most about the industry is the emotional satisfaction she experiences. She doesn’t see her career as simply “selling stuff”. Rather, she connects people to the things they are going to love. 

We talk to Avis about her work and ask for her views on data and digital transformation. Here are the highlights from the conversation: 

 

What is it that you do at Luxasia?

I look after marketing, data analytics, customer experience, creatives, and how we talk to our customers. I also help to teach people digital marketing as that’s my thing. I love it. 

The simplest thing to learn about digital marketing is that it is all about how you can get people to buy again. You then measure success by how quickly they buy again and how much they spend. If you don’t have those metrics, you are just kind of guessing. 

You have to listen to what customers want as it is not always what you want to sell them. So when you listen to your customers, it becomes really interesting and enlightening.

 

What is the most surprising thing you’ve discovered using data?

In the past, we worked on intuition and that can take you a long way. However, what the data shows us is how consumers actually buy. 

When I first started, we had a view that people stuck with a brand forever. So, if you purchased a fragrance, we thought you’d always want that one fragrance. By looking at our data, we found out that’s not actually true. Most people use a portfolio of different fragrances and that really changes how we need to market to them. Instead of telling them about the same fragrance all the time, we need to tell them about all of the fragrances they can come and explore.

It is so easy to make generalisations about things, but it doesn’t work. There are different trends we need to understand. One of the things I love to ask is “Do you know that? Or do you think that?” If you just think you know something, it is based on your own perception.

“Once you have data, it always makes you ask better questions and that is the beauty in teaching people about data. You teach them to ask better questions.”

Avis Easteal | Regional Head of Consumer, APAC at Luxasia

 

What does digital transformation mean to you?

I started out in digital before digital was really a thing. I remember getting my first laptop and connecting to the Internet when we had to connect from the phone lines. I also remember getting my first desktop computer and teaching myself how to type and use Microsoft PowerPoint and Word.

Children learn how to use this technology at school now. So, there are basic things that tell us we are in a digital world. Whether businesses transform or not, their customers are going to be digital. That makes it difficult for businesses to not be digital anymore.

I think digital transformation has become wider as well. Luxasia has gone through a huge digital transformation over the last four years and we are in our fifth year now. Of course, using customer relationship management (CRM) software to engage customers, building digital marketplaces, and creating exceptional ecommerce experiences is part of that digital transformation. But digital transformation also extends to other areas, including changes in how we pay our bills, changes in how we submit our expenses, and changes in how we talk to each other.

Things like Zoom are now standard today. It is wonderful that we can look at people and talk to them and have a connection, without being in the same place. So, I think digital transformation is everywhere and it is marvellous and provides people with accessibility. We do need to be careful though, and make sure that those who are not digitally savvy are still able to access what they need.

 

Listen to the full podcast to hear more from Avis on digitisation, data analytics, and inclusion.

Access the podcast on demand at our podcasts page, Spotify, and iTunes. You can also listen over at the Singapore Community Radio Twitch page, Facebook page, and website. 

Tune in at 1:00 p.m. SGT Friday, April 9 to hear from our next guest, Wendy Walker, Senior Director Marketing Asia Pacific at Salesforce. 

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