[Written in partnership with ULive, but the editorial team had full control over the content.]
No matter which social media app you scroll on, chances are high you’ll come across a reside promoting session.
It could possibly be a style home, a tech model, or perhaps a native F&B entrepreneur chatting away. Merchandise will flash on the display screen and orders will begin rolling in with out the host even batting an eye fixed.
In actuality, although, this seamless-looking course of hides a chaotic backend for sellers. Companies have to trace feedback, confirm funds, and be aware of stock whereas the reside session is ongoing.
Not many sellers are up for the problem, however three Malaysian entrepreneurs made it work for them:
A lot of that is with the assistance of ULive, an clever order administration system designed for reside commerce. Right here’s the way it modified their journeys.
A pandemic skit that turned a enterprise alternative
For Gary Yap, reside promoting wasn’t all the time part of his plan. He’d constructed a profession as a tv host and made a reputation for himself as a bunch at native channel 8TV.
However in the course of the pandemic, when everybody had nothing to do, he jokingly created a web based persona referred to as Madam Kee. The skit quickly grew well-liked along with his Fb and Instagram followers, and it wasn’t lengthy earlier than enterprise alternatives got here knocking.
“A whole lot of companies saved coming to me, asking me to assist promote and promote their merchandise [through live selling],” Gary shared, so he took the prospect to broaden his horizons.
Regardless of being an skilled TV host, the early days weren’t straightforward for Gary.
With no system in place, his staff was manually jotting down orders lengthy after the livestream session had ended. Worse nonetheless, he was scammed by a number of individuals who faked their funds to gather the products, costing Gary over RM10,000 in product worth.
That’s when instruments like ULive turned important to his operations, significantly its options like:
- Actual-time order document, which routinely captures each order from reside feedback throughout all posts
- Actual-time stock administration, which updates routinely with every sale
With this, Gary was capable of calm down and concentrate on participating with audiences.
Turning a RM5,000 funding right into a thriving household enterprise
“On the time, I used to be simply staying at residence with out a lot to do,” Joey shared. So with a capital of RM5,000, she established Unicorn Online Wholesale together with her sister June.
Initially, Joey was working the enterprise solo whereas her sister June helped out within the evenings after clocking out.
Till someday, the orders started piling in a lot that they wanted all fingers on deck. This was when June determined to stop her day job to additionally run Unicorn On-line Wholesale with Joey on a full-time foundation.
However the actual problem was the shortage of a correct system again then. All the pieces was finished manually, from noting down orders to processing them, and employed assistants weren’t all the time dependable.
“Typically they’d undercharge or overcharge clients, and even change the corporate account to their very own. It was very messy and we couldn’t examine each single order,” Joey confided.
That’s once they turned to ULive’s platform to show the tide and allow the sisters to regain management of their reside promoting enterprise.
Options comparable to ULive’s built-in fee gateway, e-invoice, and automated bulk low cost administration supplied their clients a extra seamless buying expertise.
When exhibition lights dimmed, they discovered a brand new stage on-line
In contrast to the opposite two manufacturers, Hoyiyo Store began its enterprise as an offline enterprise.
Earlier than this, Sunday and Mario often joined exhibitions at buying malls to promote their merchandise. Nevertheless it was an exhausting and unsure enterprise mannequin.
Then a good friend instructed they struggle Fb reside promoting and it modified every thing.
As an alternative of going through only a handful of shoppers at exhibitions, they may now attain a whole bunch of individuals in a single livestream promoting session.
After all, scaling their Fb reside promoting enterprise got here with its personal set of challenges. “When bringing items from overseas, there have been fixed errors in ordering. As soon as, the orders had been over 300 or 400 items!”
With no correct system, Sunday and Mario risked the recurrence of such hiccups, so that they turned to ULive for help.
For instance, ULive enabled them to streamline orders via its built-in logistics function, which has over 80 courier companions. The platform’s gross sales and product studies additionally supplied complete analytics that allowed them to make higher enterprise choices.
Quietly powering a brand new technology of entrepreneurs
On the coronary heart of reside promoting isn’t simply commerce, it’s about connection.
Whether or not it’s Gary discovering new methods to reinvent his profession, Joey and June turning a RM5,000 funding right into a household enterprise, or Sunday and Mario pivoting from offline to on-line gross sales, these entrepreneurs present how resilience can repay.
That stated, as their very own expertise has proven, resilience alone doesn’t preserve a enterprise working.
Utilizing platforms like ULive to quietly energy the backend, they had been capable of scale with out dropping the private contact that retains clients coming again.
“Dwell promoting is rising into certainly one of Malaysia’s most fun digital economies, but it surely isn’t straightforward for the folks driving it,” stated Bryant Khor, the co-founder and CEO of ULive. “Our objective is to remove the operational complications, so sellers can do what they do finest—join, encourage, and construct lasting companies.”
Featured Picture Credit score: Gary Yap / Unicorn On-line Wholesale / Hoyiyo Store
