Bangladeshi mobile app company levels up its marketing with ITC support

Even mobile application companies need to undergo a health check from time to time – a communications health check, that is.

Dhaka-based Reverie Corporation Limited, a mobile applications company with a focus on games and entertainment, used to have difficulties communicating its business prospects with potential buyers and investors.

‘No one understood what we made, what my company was doing, and no one wanted to invest,’ said Nasima Akter, Reverie’s Managing Director.

That changed after Reverie underwent a communications health check – designed to measure the effectiveness of the company’s marketing and branding strategies – carried out by the International Trade Centre (ITC) as part of the Netherlands Trust Fund III programme.

The NTF III Bangladesh project, funded by the Dutch government through the Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries (CBI), aims to boost the competitiveness and export revenues of high-tech sectors in Bangladesh.

As part of the project, 23 information technology (IT) companies in Bangladesh, including Reverie, received insights about the way they market their services. Since undergoing the high-level reviews of their communications tools in September 2014, the companies have been able to substantially upgrade their communications methods.

‘These companies shared their marketing materials, such as brochures, web pages, social media sites, business cards, letterheads and posters, so we could advise them on what they could do to attract more buyers, particularly those in the European market,’ said Krister Ahlberg, ITC’s marketing & branding adviser.

The health check was an eye-opener for Reverie, according to Akter. ‘I was surprised with the results,’ she said. ‘We found that we had many weaknesses, and we are trying to change them.’

In the last year, Reverie has changed its website, logos, letterhead and e-mail signatures. The four-year-old company has also created YouTube videos to promote itself and its products. All recommendations made in the health check will be implemented within two or three months, Akter said.

‘The most important lesson is to know your company’s main goal,’ she said. ‘Every company owner should learn about her company’s needs, which I learned during the health check. After changing the website, some clients responded, and now we are talking about new projects. It’s really worked for me.’

Other Bangladeshi IT companies, such as Informatix, Nascenia and UY Systems, have also made changes to improve their branding. The businesses that have the resources to implement the changes have focused on improving their messaging, particularly on their websites.

‘They made their look more appealing,’ Krister said. ‘For example, instead of having crowded logos, they moved to simpler ones. Good marketing materials are extremely important because if they don’t correspond to Europeans’ needs, it will be difficult to engage with them.’

ITC is replicating this initiative under NTF III in Kenya and Uganda, which will involve a group training before meetings with individual companies.