Founders of Weiken.com, Mr. Goh Joo Hong (left) and Mr. Vincent Neo (right)
Design for Success
The notion of disruption may appear intimidating to many businesses but it is inevitable. There is no denying that traditional interior firms which were once known as renovation contractors, had to alter their business model to stay relevant in this transformative age. Notably, Weiken.com Interior Design Pte. Ltd. (WEIKEN) a familiar Singapore-grown brand, is one shining star that adapts well to disruptions and have emerged as the name of game amidst the waves of tough times.
Weiken.com by its name exudes the company’s belief in Internet presence. The co-founders of the company, both Mr Neo and Mr Goh have stood by their belief with conviction to ensure the company remain sustainable and relevant in the ever-evolving market till today.
WEIKEN has become one of the leading, renowned and preferred home interior brand in Singapore as well as the Asia region. For over 25 years in operation since 1996, WEIKEN has established a remarkable track record of turning their customers’ dream interior space into reality, through its excellent service coupled with spatial creativity and innovation, quality workmanship and aesthetic interior design solutions.
The Digital Edge
Marketing and leveraging on digital technology have always been an integral part of the business, allowing WEIKEN to be in a versatile and flexible position to adapt and recover from disruptions. Since incorporation in year 1996, WEIKEN has weathered through the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, SARS outbreak in 2003 the 2007 Global Financial Crisis and now the COVID-19 pandemic.
When asked, the co-founders shared a significant event during the 2007 economy downturn, where they stood by the belief that when market is slow, the emphasis on marketing and branding should remain robust. “Back then, we viewed the situation differently and believed that there is always light amidst the gloom. While many businesses may be plagued by worries and cut back on their marketing spending, we strived on, which explains why our brand remains vibrant till today.” they remarked.
Their belief still stands in coherence with the recent COVID-19 pandemic outbreak which puts a severe strain on Singapore’s economy, affecting businesses and Singaporean’s way of life on an unprecedented scale. With working from home being the ‘new normal’ and social distancing measures in place, WEIKEN remains unfettered by these restrictions.
“Even though our showrooms were closed temporarily following the government’s Work from Home (WFH) interventions, we have the technology infrastructure that helped us quickly adapt from traditional face-to-face meetings with our clients to virtual meetings. Clients can now direct their enquiries and obtain quotes through email, social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram or via our business hotline. This gives us a huge competitive advantage during this crisis.” Mr Goh said with a sense of relief.
In a bid to retain its brand awareness and competitiveness, WEIKEN continues to ramp up Above The Line marketing efforts such as TV & radio commercials, magazine editorials as well as influencer and celebrity endorsements. WEIKEN is also at the forefront of digital marketing where they invested in Google SEO & SEM as well as social media advertising.
To ensure operational efficiency and enhance effectiveness, the company also automated some of its processes by leveraging on cloud and web-based systems such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM).
These have catalyzed its productivity in project management and help save cost in its processes by accurately capturing performance data and insights for periodic analysis and review.
Humble Beginnings
Today, WEIKEN is the longest standing interior design firm in Singapore that is ISO-certified in its quality processes and boasts a team of innovative staff with strong design capabilities. However, its early days were not easy.
In the beginning, the co-founders were plagued by low capital and had no helpers to run the various business functions. Being a new entry to the industry with little experience in interior design, building brand recognition and establishing trust in our customers were uphill tasks.
“Starting out was tough but it was worth the grind. No one believed in us and have doubts in our skills and credibility initially. We had no sales for the initial few months into our business and I remembered using my credit card for my daily expenses. Since we wanted the company to grow, we had to tighten our purses,” Mr Neo remembers.
“We delegated our roles and responsibilities, issued our own invoice, and did our own simple accounting. We even had to do up some basic proposals for clients ourselves, based on our prior experience in interior design. Everything started from scratch.”
Through it all, the key to overcome challenging times is the will to fight and the grit to stay on the course. Having underwent many major disruptions and setbacks, WEIKEN has withstood the test of time and is a concrete testament that positive mindset sets forth a bigger trajectory which paves the way for higher growth.
The hard work of the co-founders over 2 decades have not only been recognized as a reputable and credible ‘One-stop service’ interior design firm but also evident by the various accolades and awards such as Bizsafe STAR, Spirit of Enterprise, Singapore Quality Brand Award and more that are garnered over the years.
Foundation to Success
The definition of success is highly subjective but the cornerstone of WEIKEN’s success in the minds of the co-founders are true to the hearts and down to earth – Customers. This is true to WEIKEN’s philosophy of fusing the latest design and sustainability trends to realize the space that epitomizes every client’s character and taste.
To achieve a high level of customized service to every client, the co-founders and the esteem team of professional staff are consistently dedicated to provide the same level of assurance and peace of mind at every stage of each project from initial consultation, project delivery to project aftercare.
WEIKEN also adopts a collaborative, innovative, progressive work environment that deepens the bench strength of its current office. To achieve that, a dynamic feedback and idea contribution system was implemented across the department in which staff are encouraged to share their knowledge and provide sound suggestions to any problems they may face during their day-to- day work life. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic when staff are required to work from home, this practice remains as a means of communication and forging stronger relationships.
“Besides endurance and believing in big dreams, the foundation for a successful company is customers and our staff. From the start, we have remained consistently hardworking and rendered our fullest effort in everything we do to ensure that our customers are happy with our works and that our staff continues to feel fueled to provide the best dedication they can have.” said Mr Goh.
Mr Neo added that, “we consistently seek for constructive feedback and remain receptive to all kinds of feedbacks from our salesperson, administrative staff, and also our customers. Listen more, change for the better and then learn from it. You wouldn’t be disadvantaged from listening to it.”
On a monthly basis, the company will announce the successful completion of an interior design project, indicating the name of the salesperson and interior designer by way of Facebook posting to motivate their staff intrinsically.
Another key ingredient to success is to possess the business acumen to seize market opportunities and to turn crisis into opportunity as the company looks forward to be SGX-listed in the upcoming years and expanding its business presence into the global markets. To achieve that, it is extremely vital to stay abreast of regulatory requirements and be up-to-date and react to the ever- changing market demands. “It is not just technology that is changing the world. The macro environment is constantly evolving and our company has to be agile to react and respond accordingly with these changes. There is then a constant need to learn and unlearn so as to stay current and get ahead.”
