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4 minutes readErik, for starters, please tell us what inspires and motivates you the most when you decide to enter a new market?
The most interesting thing is watching the brand grow. Initially, nobody has heard of RateHawk, but that’s an opportunity rather than a barrier, as well as a huge source of motivation. You get to see that, as the word goes around, more and more leads crop up, you start to become recognized, and you get invitations to business events and presentations.
Our product creates a real wow effect. At presentations, partners always rave about how convenient and simple RateHawk is.
And, of course, it’s inspiring to see your colleagues and partners enthused. They are genuinely in love with the product, so it’s easy for them to sell it. We are delighted when new employees are fired up to join our team and we look forward to onboarding those kinds of professionals!
When did RateHawk become interested in Asia and what led to that?
We began studying this destination in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, with the aim of potentially entering the Asia & Pacific market. Unfortunately, the pandemic forced us to freeze the project, but we ratcheted it back up this year. At the start of the year, the team and I analyzed the markets and we are now just beginning to launch them. Essentially, we are localizing the business, hiring staff, and signing up partners.
Now we aim to reach a minimum of 20% Asia market penetration throughout the region. Above all, we are focused on the big players — OTA and TMC, while SMEs are a secondary priority.
What targets have you and your team set for the next two or three years?
We are only at the beginning of our journey, so our targets are big. At first, we immersed ourselves in studying the local features of the markets, went on field trips, collected information, and worked together with partners. Now we aim to reach a minimum of 20% market penetration throughout the region. Above all, we are focused on the big players — OTA and TMC, while SMEs are a secondary priority. Many of them have been working with us for a few years now, since 2019 when we were originally getting started.
For example, Singapore is essentially a ready-to-go market, where a third of our partners are already signed up, and dozens have been activated already. We have a bank account in Singapore and we support payments in the local currency — Singapore dollars. Our plans include participating in the ITB Asia exhibition, which just so happens to be held in Singapore.
We also hold Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines markets in our sights. We need to update our products for certain markets (including Thailand and South Korea). For example, we need to localize the RateHawk platform, which we expect to implement by the end of this year.
Obviously, it’s impossible to bring such ambitious plans to fruition without a lot of people’s help, so we are investing heavily into recruitment. Currently, we have three staff members in Malaysia, one in the Philippines, and one in Taiwan. Our Malaysian colleagues are already hard at work producing sales.
Naturally, we are continuing to search for new talents to join our team: our first staff member has recently joined us in Taiwan, while in August at least three sales managers are set to get started in the South-East Asian market. We are searching for team members in Hong Kong and we plan to begin recruitment in Australia and India in the third quarter.
We are investing heavily into recruitment. Currently, we have three staff members in Malaysia, one in the Philippines, and one in Taiwan. Our Malaysian colleagues are already hard at work producing sales.
How is your team currently organized?
The Launchers Team studies the business potential of new territories and launches markets from scratch via a very energetic sales management process. We have a European segment of our team and an Asian segment. They all work remotely, but we periodically hold offline meetings and, when we can, we get together at various events — travel exhibitions, business dinners, and informal team lunches.
As far as the work process is concerned, we hold team syncs once every two weeks. I speak with each staff member on a weekly basis, so communication doesn’t suffer at all due to not having in-person meetings.
Our current priority is Southeast Asia. After that, we will expand the team in Australia, then build a team in East Asia.
How do you see the team growing in the near future?
Our current priority is Southeast Asia. We are seeking a team lead to bring the regional team to full strength. Consequently, we will have a team lead, account managers, and sales managers.
After that, we will expand the team in Australia, then build a team in East Asia — China, South Korea, and Japan.
I think that now is the perfect time to join RateHawk and see history in the making. We provide you with every opportunity to achieve your ambitions, get results, and grow quickly as a professional!
