FOG Rubberindo Semarang

From magnets to coasters, cable winders to key chains, Yason Peter Salim has a knack for turning ordinary rubber into cool, practical products. After partnering with a friend to start a rubber printing business in 2014, he ventured out on his own in 2016 to launch FOG Rubberindo Semarang, a made-to-order rubber trinkets business in Semarang, Indonesia.

While WhatsApp was his go-to method for communicating with customers, with a growing number of inquiries from a range of clients, including tour operators and charities, Yason wanted a way to neatly organize client-specific information and separate his personal chats from his professional ones. So, to professionalize his operation – for which he employs 14 people from his local area – Yason switched to the WhatsApp Business app in 2018.

Today, all FOG Rubberindo inquiries are routed via the app, 70 percent of which result in orders. Yason says the catalog feature helps his customers more easily browse his offerings, and “the business profile feature, with all the details available there, helps to establish a professional look to our presence, ensuring that we are a legitimate business. This boosts customer trust.”

A customer who has repeatedly ordered client bag tags and wristbands for her diving business located more than 900 miles away in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, says, “WhatsApp makes the experience of dealing with them really good, as Yason replies to my questions really quickly.”

Yason says demand for his products has caught him by surprise. But with the WhatsApp Business app helping him to better organize FOG Rubberindo’s growth, he can now outsource fewer tasks and do more of the hands-on work himself. And with the possibility of running the entire production process himself, Yason can more confidently make the quirky rubber gadgets that keep his customers coming back.