For today’s “Look Who’s Talking” series, we sat down with OOm’s Chief Operations Officer Wyvan Xu! The co-founder of OOm may look tough on the outside, but he’s a really friendly and chatty person inside! Find out more about him below:
1. Describe your role at OOm
As the Chief Operation Officer, I helm the daily operations of the entire agency, which includes account management and the backend support team. My objective is to optimise the operational flow within the company so that we can provide quality and prompt service for our clients.
My day at work consists of having discussions with team leads to find out issues they are facing, followed by coming up with strategies to overcome them. Ensuring that the clients have a pleasant experience with us on top of achieving their business objectives is of utmost importance to us.
I also work with the management team to inculcate a healthy work culture, where all employees are accounted for and we communicate and align ourselves towards a shared goal.
2. Briefly share with us how you started in the industry
I always had the idea of setting up a business on my own. I came across affiliate marketing back then and started exploring ways to earn an income working from home. Through the process, I learnt and understood how to leverage on various digital channels to bring in online traffic, which eventually led to the sales of the products that I’m pushing.
The opportunity came when I completed my 2 years of national service (NS), where Ian and I decided to venture out and use our skills to service clients in the corporate environment.
3. Name one of the biggest accomplishments of OOm in the last year that impacts the company to what it is today
For the past few years, we see a shift in the digital landscape. In the past, being strong in SEO and SEM was sufficient for a business to be digitally competitive. In the current day and age, with more companies jumping on the digital bandwagon, focusing solely on SEO and SEM is no longer enough. With the rise in social media, content creation and ecommerce, we have to expand our offerings to provide all-rounded digital marketing services to cover all aspects of our clients’ digital needs.
One of the biggest accomplishments will be the flexibility of OOm to adapt to the needs of our clients quickly. We expanded our team with social media strategists, copywriters and designers over the past year to help our clients build their social media presence as well as create content on all digital platforms that attracts people’s attention. This was not easy as structural changes had to be made, but I am glad that we were able to tide through the period of transition and emerged stronger.
4. If you are not in the digital marketing industry, in what field would you likely be working?
I think I will be an army regular if I am not in the digital marketing industry. I am one of those who derives exhilaration from the adventurous and regimental army life, surrounded by brotherhood!
5. Do you consider yourself a workaholic? Why?
Probably yes. I guess, as a business owner, there is a perpetual need to keep working and thinking of ways that I can better innovate and improve the overall performance of the company.
6. What is one thing that most people don’t know about you yet?
I’m really, really friendly, although I may look fierce and stern at times.
7. What do you usually do during your past time, or if you’re not working?
Now, I spend most of my time with my family and my 2 kids.
8. If traveling is free, where will you go and why?
I would like to travel to different parts of China. That is where our roots are from and there are a lot of different things to experience from their rich culture.
9. Where do you see OOM in the next 3-5 years?
The next few years will be focused on solidifying our service offerings to better serve our clients.
