INNOVATORS VS COVID 19

How Digital Transformation Benefits from Personalization in Times of a Pandemic

Published

3 years ago

02/06/2021

Kossi Adzo

We talked to Sascha H. Funk, Founder of KITE Consult about elevating skills and here is what he said about it.

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times?

Sascha H. Funk: All good so far. Even though I can’t be with my family as I’m at the other end of the world we still keep in touch of course. Thanks to digital media.

Tell us about you, your career, how you founded KITE Consult.

Sascha H. Funk: At the moment I work as a University professor for all things digital (marketing, transformation, communication) as well as run my own digital consultancy out of Bangkok, Thailand. Before I came here I worked in digital marketing in Europe but came to dislike the typical agency work and decided to pursue a new challenge in Southeast Asia where I stepped into higher education and self-employment and start-up funding.

How does KITE Consult innovate?

Sascha H. Funk: Well we are focused on digital transformation and everything that topic encompasses which means the pressure is on us to keep innovating as if we don’t innovate, our clients wouldn’t trust us. Having that said it obviously always comes down to the client and the expectations to see how and in which areas to innovate. One of our biggest core values is that we don’t sell a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution, but customized innovation programs.

How the coronavirus pandemic affects your business and how are you coping?

Sascha H. Funk: Obviously budget cuts hit every aspect of life, also our clients. There are definitely less requests right now but the ones that reach out will get the best treatment possible. That should always be the case though of course. We’re also offering different payment models, help NGOs out for free, etc. as, in the end, we’re all in this together.

Did you have to make difficult choices and what are the lessons learned?

Sascha H. Funk: Lessons learned are that everything can change any minute which means a) we have to be ready to adapt on the fly but also b) our clients as well. Getting clients to understand that and trust us to get them ready to face those challenges was rather difficult (especially if they are new clients) but also something we can build upon once those relationships move forward.

What specific tools, software, and management skills are you using to navigate this crisis?

Sascha H. Funk: In this case, I don’t think the specific tools matter that much. We all have our preferred tools but in the end, it comes down to how we use them and how we interact with clients, customers, and so on. Being more personal than ever was the ‘secret’ to success here. Showing the clients/customers that we’re in this together and not just after their money but actually love creating solutions that benefit everybody was one approach that really helped here.