ET WLF 2024: Localisation, customer service key to success, says Agoda CEO Omri Morgenshtern

Localisation and customer service are key to success in any market, Agoda chief executive Omri Morgenshtern said.

"Deep local merchandising or localisation is what we do when we go to any market. Every market you go to, you have two problems: problem number one is trust... nobody knows you and, as a result, they don't trust your service," he said.

"Problem number two is customer education in a B2C (business-to-consumer) business. Educating customers about something that they are not used to doing is horrible, super painful, costly... slower adoption. What you want to do is bring yourself, as much as you can, to look and behave like a local brand. Don't educate people... slowly, start being a local."


Singapore-headquartered online travel agency Agoda was acquired by Booking Holdings in 2007 and has about 40 offices and 8,000 employees across the world.

The chief executive said the recipe of success is something that is not always apparent.

"There are things that you do and things that are external, that sometimes we don't even know, that are helping you become what you become. You need to recognise that there's a bit of luck in every strategy," he said.

Technology and right pricing are the other important factors for a company to be successful, he said.

"How fast do they evolve to tech changes, like how fast do they use AI (artificial intelligence), as an example? Those are all symbols of a tech company. Basis of whatever you do is tech. Every country we went to, our initial strategy failed. That requires us to do something different that requires velocity," Morgenshtern said. "Velocity comes from tech. If you don't have a strong enough tech organisation, you cannot adapt to the changes coming from the outside. If you don't have enough of a tech organisation, you won't be able to catch up with the curve, and you lose."

The executive said he could not overemphasise the importance of price. "Giving the right price to the customer across any industry is the number one growth driver that I can think of."