Business Immersion: SOCA.AI Case by Entrepreneurial Marketing MBA Students in Collaboration with SBM ITB
SOCA.AI is a digital startup focusing in the development of AI software solutions. The biggest revenue stream for SOCA.AI comes from its B2B line of business, selling on-premise AI-based services to companies. These services are developed, modified, and implemented to fit the need of those customers. The primary parts of improvement within the 5A phases of marketing are Advocate and Awareness phases.
Through our interviews with SOCA.AI, we have concluded that there are difficulties to engage with existing clients to foster advocacy for new clients, starting the new Awareness phase and the 5A phases as a whole. Decision makers also tend to be skeptical about SOCA. AI not only due to lack of brand trust (as software development projects are expensive) but also lack of knowledge about how AI can be useful or even essential for their companies.
The first question begins with “Why are sales not increasing for the B2B SOCA.AI line of business?”. This question starts as a way to begin analysis as the majority of revenue comes from SOCA. AI B2B businesses. This means SOCA.AI is required to increase its engagements with its customer targets, which are companies with the budget to start an AI software development effort. The answer to this we believe is that marketing effort is considered to be not effective enough.
Marketing Framework
In today’s competitive and rapidly evolving business landscape, the ability to strategically market innovative solutions is paramount for startups like SOCA.AI. As outlined previously, SOCA.AI operates at the intersection of advanced technology and enterprise solutions, offering modular AI products to industries such as finance, oil and gas, and forensics. Despite the growing interest in AI, challenges remain in raising awareness about its value, engaging decision-makers, and fostering long-term customer loyalty.
To address these challenges, a robust marketing framework is essential. Effective marketing not only amplifies product visibility but also establishes trust, bridges knowledge gaps, and cultivates customer advocacy. By combining the 5A, STP, 7Ps, and 4A frameworks, Soca.AI can create a cohesive and robust marketing strategy. For instance, storytelling in advertising (Promotion) can enhance Awareness (5A) and Acceptability (4A), while a dedicated after-sales team (People) can strengthen Advocacy (5A) and Positioning (STP).
Segmenting, Targeting, Positioning (STP)
The STP framework ensures that Soca.AI focuses its marketing resources effectively by:
Segmenting
its market based on industry verticals such as finance, manufacturing, and retail.
Targeting
decision-makers like C-level executives in these industries.
Positioning
itself as a reliable and innovative AI partner capable of driving business transformation.
Through STP, SOCA.AI can focus on key industries, ensuring its marketing efforts resonate with the unique challenges and opportunities in each segment.
The 5A of Marketing
This model is particularly relevant for businesses like Soca.AI, which aim to transform initial customer interactions into long-term loyalty and advocacy. Under the 5A of marketing, there are 5 phases: Aware, Appeal, Ask, Act, Advocate. By applying the 5A model, SOCA.AI can foster advocacy. Positive experiences with its AI solutions can lead to word-of-mouth referrals, a cost-effective way to grow its customer base.
Aware
The aware phase is indicated by potential users that are aware of SOCA.AI, not necessarily aware of the importance of AI. In this phase, SOCA.AI must ensure its target market knows about its innovative AI solutions.
Appeal
Under this phase, most likely these people do know about AI and can relate to a certain point about SOCA.AI products and the importance of AI in their lives or businesses. Through engaging storytelling and targeted campaigns, the company can highlight the emotional and practical benefits of its offerings.
Ask
People that have gone to the ask phase make inquiries to SOCA.AI through personal connection of founders, LinkedIn direct message, or other channels. Potential customers, especially decision-makers, may inquire about SOCA.AI’s solutions when the benefits are clearly communicated.
Act
These people are customers of SOCA.AI. People that are dealing and negotiating with SOCA.AI do not always have the budget for implementation. Although they may not turn to sales immediately, they can still go to the next phase. It is important to note that people in this phase have understood about AI and have trusted SOCA.AI as one of their suppliers for software solutions.
Advocate
The advocate phase is where customers are satisfied and are trying to advocate SOCA.AI to other potential users. With exceptional after-sales service and customer engagement, satisfied users can become brand ambassadors.
In B2B model, advocacy becomes a very important tool. Decision makers will never buy from a brand that is unknown to them. Nobody wants to spend thousands of dollars for expensive AI solutions that cannot be trusted. Therefore, word of mouth advocacy becomes crucial.
Looking from the Business Side: Marketing Mix (7P)
The framework describes 7 aspects of SOCA.AI marketing and are described in this section to better understand which parts are the ones that require improvements.
Looking from the Client Side: 4A Marketing Mix
One point of selling a technology for potential users is how to develop a receptive environment for potential users to accept inward technology transfer. SOCA.AI must ensure also that the solutions they offer can be integrated to the clients business process. The 4A Marketing Mix concept can be used to better understand how this process works.
Availability
Soca.AI’s solutions should be easily accessible to
clients.
Affordability
Pricing must align with the perceived value and
Return on Investment.
Acceptability
User-friendly interfaces and strong support services ensure customer satisfaction.
Awareness
Educational campaigns help demystify AI and
promote adoption
The 4A model can be used to understand the customer perspective when trying out new technology. This perspective is important as SOCA.AI is a technology company that sells new technology solutions to users.
Proposed Solutions
To address the issues between Advocacy and Awareness, two solutions can be implemented at SOCA.AI: aftersales service management and targeted storytelling advertising.
Aftersales Service Management
Customers that are in the Advocate phase seldom go around and advocate out of their own will. It is important to encourage them to do this and continuously remind them whenever they meet new people so hopefully words about the brand will spread faster.
This can be achieved by having an aftersales team specifically handling aftersales service for existing customers. This can be achieved by extending the current team and developing plans to re-engage with previous customers, for example by asking how they are doing, reconnecting with them and asking how they are using the solutions so far.
This continuously reminds them about the brand existence to allow them to refer to the brand whenever they meet new people. Founders can also reconnect with important decision makers by inviting them for dinners, events, and others to keep them well
connected with SOCA.AI.
Referrals can also be used, where existing customers are paid acommision for new customers they bring. In the end, a new team is required and aftersales management needs to be part of the current CRM strategy, something that has not been implemented previously by SOCA.AI.
Storytelling and Targeted Ads
To tackle the problem with Awareness, we need to look at solutions that can raise awareness not only about SOCA.AI brand but also about AI as a whole. Integrating storytelling in ads will help in generating curiousity and spread knowledge about AI. Instead of just hearing about upcoming events, people also like to hear stories about previous successful SOCA.AI projects, or some more AI insights that can help SOCA.AI becoming a subject matter expert in the eyes of the people.
Target audience is also an important aspect to keep in mind when running ads. Not all stories can be consumed by all audiences. Some audiences prefer technical stories, they like stories about the technical aspects of AI, the history of AI, and the current situation, in technical perspectives. Business owners and high-profile decision makers may prefer numbers such as ROI, and they may prefer to read about previous project’s success stories.
Non-technical people do not want to read stories about difficult and technical mumbo jumbo like how an AI model is constructed. Because of this, target becomes important. Storytelling in advertisements enhances both awareness and appeal. By creating relatable and engaging narratives, SOCA.AI can bridge the gap between customers being aware of the brand and feeling emotionally connected to its mission and solutions.
As part of the team that has to be extended to support aftersales management, the team has to also support ads. The team can then develop a list of target audiences and begin developing story-based content that are aimed for these target audiences. Technical stories for technical people, business stories for business people. In the end we believe with these guides the problem of lacking advocacy and awareness can be tackled.
Conclusions
SOCA.AI has a significant opportunity to succeed in the market. With its competitive edge, which includes a strong product offering, technical expertise in the industry, and successful use cases in managing large clients, the company is well-positioned for continued growth, especially in the rapidly use cases in managing large clients, the company is well-positioned for continued growth, especially in the rapidly evolving technological landscape in Indonesia. Throughout the engagement, we identified several aspects within the company that could be improved to maximize its potential. Particularly, in terms of marketing, there is an opportunity to better communicate the value proposition of the company’s products, which can enhance the range of benefits for clients—from organizational effectiveness to profitability.
Contributors
This is a Business Immersion article researched and written by Group 1 of the Entrepreneurial Marketing MBA (ENMARK MBA) Batch 2, consisting of:
Business Immersion is a key component of the Entrepreneurial Marketing MBA (ENMARK MBA) program, offering students the opportunity to collaborate with industry through group consultancy projects. During the third semester, from September to January, students will work as a team of consultants, tackling real-world business challenges. This immersive learning experience bridges the gap between academic theory and practical application, equipping students with the skills to address complex issues and explore innovative management approaches within established organizations.
—
Entrepreneurial Marketing MBA (ENMARK MBA), a collaboration between MarkPlus Institute and School of Business and Management Institut Teknologi Bandung, is designed to equip future leaders with expertise in marketing, management, business strategy, and an entrepreneurial mindset to drive innovation and career growth.
What sets ENMARK MBA apart is its holistic approach, integrating marketing, finance, and strategy to blend creativity with analytical thinking. Through real-world case studies and hands-on projects, students develop the agility and strategic acumen to excel in today’s dynamic business landscape.
