[Written in partnership with MaGIC, but the editorial team had full control over the content.]
FusionQB is a customer data platform (CDP) solutions provider launched in 2016 by a founding team made of members who were from NEXPlatform, a proptech solutions firm.
Beyond that though, each one of them comes from a strong technical consulting background and have been in enterprise implementation, with a cumulative 18 years of experience.
In that time, among some of the ongoing problems they’ve identified that retail businesses today face include:
- A siloed customer database, where data is stuck in only one system, so businesses are unable to view customer profiles and their overall purchasing journey;
- Overloaded touchpoints, where customers are on different platforms, making customer marketing strategies hard to execute;
- A disengaged experience, whereby if there are no physical events or activities, a brand’s customer engagement comes to a halt;
- The lack of real-time data analytics, leading to a slow or delayed management decision-making process due to a lack of transparency in the business.
CDP versus CRM
If you’re wondering what the difference between a CDP and customer relationship management (CRM) platform is, we did too.
And what we found out was that, in brief, a CRM is a system that supports sales, while a CDP delivers a more complete (360-degree, if you will) view of the customer beyond the sales cycle.
The conventional practice for businesses is to have a sales and marketing team that stores customer data in a CRM system, and after a sale is complete, a customer’s profile no longer gets updated.
CDPs are able to do away with this manual, inefficient process by automatically and actively collecting customer data.
It then helps businesses make sense of the data to come up with effective customer reach and engagement strategies.
The results speak for themselves
FusionQB is not the only CDP provider in Malaysia—there are other companies like Avanade Malaysia doing the same.
However, FusionQB’s co-founder Stephen Lim told Vulcan Post that there are several differences between them such as how FusionQB serves different industries, is more cost-effective, has a shorter and faster time-to-market, and more.
Their target market includes enterprises and corporations with a large volume of customer data. At the moment, they’re serving clients like property developers, retailers, mall operators, manufacturers, education providers, and will soon be expanding into the healthcare and wellness industry.
“The value of the customer data will be impactful with ecosystem players, as corporations today would want to activate their data and expand it with other profiling data such as behavioural, geographical, net worth, mobile usage ones, and more,” Stephen explained.
Some of their key clients include big names like Gamuda Land, Paradigm Mall, Pavilion, Sunway Property, KSK Group, and SkyWorld.
There are 2 key metrics that FusionQB tracks when it comes to validating how effective its CDP solution is: sales conversion and customer engagement rates.
Based on existing data, Stephen confidently told us that their clients have seen a 22% growth in sales conversions within 4 months after implementing FusionQB’s solution, while their customer engagement rate grew by 38% in 3 months after implementation.
It’s an ongoing learning process
But market validation still remains one of FusionQB’s biggest challenges.
Not all solutions are sellable and replicable in the market today. The market trends and business needs change faster than we know. So, we continue market validation even after the solution was launched to improve its value in the client’s business.
Stephen Lim, co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of FusionQB.
One way the team does this is through a 90-day hand-holding support programme for clients so FusionQB can understand their needs on a deeper level to create high-impact value.
The pandemic has also slowed down the company’s regional expansion plans, but FusionQB has been able to overcome this by launching a reselling partnership model that leverages local partners to expand and replicate its business beyond Malaysia.
On the brighter side, the company increased its headcount by 30% during the pandemic by working with external agencies to bring in targeted talents, and implementing internal referrals.
Stephen shared that FusionQB is also pursuing a pre-series A fundraising activity, and they’re currently speaking to a few interested corporate investors and VCs to raise US$1-2 million.
With fresh funds, the team will further expand their talent pool as well as penetrate the larger Southeast Asian market over the next 3 years.
“We have been actively participating in SEA events and programmes to gain exposure and market discussions with local players, and this year we have formed a team focused on Indonesia,” Stephen said.
To ensure that the team is equipped for these growth opportunities, FusionQB joined the Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre’s (MaGIC) Global Accelerator Programme (GAP) where it’s been able to benefit from the mentors, coaches, and VCs within the network.
More specifically, it has helped the team enhance its understanding and positioning of its fundraising opportunity, which will pave the way for the rest of its expansion plans.
Featured Image Credit: FusionQB
