Indonesia is one of the fastest-growing digital markets in the world, driven by a large population, increasing internet penetration, and a dynamic business environment. With a rapidly evolving digital landscape, businesses must navigate language preferences, diverse payment systems, customer service expectations, and regulatory changes to succeed. This article explores key aspects of the Indonesian market, including payment methods, domain trends, customer preferences, and government regulations, providing insights and strategies for businesses looking to establish a strong presence in the country.
Additionally, this article features insights from Yusuf Nurrachman, CEO of RumahWeb.com, and Filip Borcov Incredible from Site.pro, discussing shared hosting tips in Indonesia. Their expertise sheds light on the best practices and challenges businesses face in the local hosting market.
Indonesian market key features
The Indonesian market mainly operates in the local language, with about 99% of support provided in Indonesian and only 1% in English. Payment systems in Indonesia are pretty much diverse, with QR codes being the most popular payment method. Most of Indonesian companies accept payments using QR codes, credit cards or PayPal. Around 40% of all transactions are still conducted through bank transfers. The average price for domains in Indonesia is approximately 160.000 rupees for a .COM domain and about 300.000 rupees for a .ID domain, which is roughly equal to $20. The popularity of .id domains has been on the rise in recent years, making them as sought after as .com domains.
Customer support and preferences
In the Indonesian internet hosting market, 24/7 support is what really matters. When it comes to creating a website, customer preferences vary. While some tech-savvy people may attempt to create a website using a website builder, most small businesses prefer to have this service done for them. For instance, the aforementioned RumahWeb.com company offers both ‘do-it-yourself’ and ‘do-it-for-me’ website building services, depending on whether or not the client has ready-made content for their business.
Free vs. Paid services
Offering free trials improves customer retention because it allows customers to try out the product before making a payment commitment. Monitoring churn rates is also important, especially in Indonesia, where social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok are often the number-one choice for businesses. In such a way, websites become a necessity only in case of stable business growth.
Government Regulations
Recent government regulations have had a profound effect on the market as well. For example, the Indonesian government blocked TikTok Shop due to some trade regulations related to importing goods from China. This move caused significant disruption for small businesses that used TikTok Shops for their sales. As a result, many Indonesian companies began to complain about the injustice of such a rash decision, as TikTok was bringing them good sales. In this regard, Yusuf Nurrachman emphasises the importance of having your own website as a stable online presence.
Lessons learned
Lifehack #1: Omni-Channel marketing — the best way to promote in Indonesia
The RumahWeb.com company successfully applies Omni-Channel marketing, which has proven effective in Indonesia due to the wide range of media preferences among different population segments. However, relying solely on automated customer relations doesn’t work well in this market. Building trusting personal relationships with customers is super crucial to company’s success.
Lifehack #2/#3: If you break good relationships with your customer — then you lose everything. Understanding customer needs is what really drives your business in Indonesia.
Even if you work in IT and you think that all processes can be automated, so customer relations are well established a priori – no, it doesn’t work like that. The most important thing you have to do is establish good relationships with the customer, communicate and recognise their needs.
Summary
Indonesia, with a population of 270 million and growing Internet penetration, presents fantastic market opportunities. The country’s average salary and tourism industry are on the rise, which is expected to contribute to the continued growth of internet users. As the market evolves, businesses must focus on building strong relationships with customers and adapting to changing market conditions.
