Among the customers Thomas Tan, Director of Tong Seng Fabricators Sdn Bhd, has dealt with, one stands out in his memory: a Hong Kong-listed company that supplies components for deepwater drilling rigs. The company ordered some unusual, specialised products from them. The deal went through, giving Thomas a clearer understanding of the opportunities a website could bring.
“Without this website, I believe they would not have found us from Hong Kong.” Looking back on the order, Thomas credits the company website with creating the opportunity to connect. For Tong Seng Fabricators, which previously relied mainly on business events and customer referrals to find clients, this was a different kind of business experience.
Introducing One-Stop Engineering Services to Customers Further Afield
Tong Seng Fabricators provides steel structures, storage tanks, silos and factory construction services, covering fabrication, assembly, cement work and ironwork. When introducing the company, Thomas specifically highlights this one-stop service, which he sees as a way the company differs from other providers.
Having these capabilities, however, still means making the right customers aware of them. Thomas recalls that business events and word-of-mouth referrals offered limited reach, particularly when trying to attract overseas customers. After working with NEWPAGES to build a website, he noticed a change: customers began making enquiries with a basic understanding of the company’s services. Thomas says they now receive enquiries every day. Singaporean customers, in particular, browse the website first and contact them after deciding that the services match their needs.
“They read the information on our website and felt that our services were a good fit.” In the process he describes, the website gives customers information on which to base their assessment and provides a starting point for further conversations. By the time the two parties connect, customers already have a general idea of what Tong Seng Fabricators can do.
With AI Available, Do Businesses Still Need to Invest Effort in a Website?
With AI helping people find suppliers, do businesses still need to put effort into their websites? Thomas still considers a website a relatively dependable channel, a view shaped by his actual experience with customers. They browse the website, learn about the services and then decide whether the company is a suitable partner. For him, the website’s value lies in these tangible business connections.
Thomas has also been on the other side, looking for suppliers himself. He recalls using AI to find a manufacturer in China, only to suffer a loss in the subsequent transaction. That experience left him questioning the basis on which AI recommends a company.
It also explains why he prefers to find a company first and then assess it himself. In Thomas’s view, finding a business and deciding whether it is worth working with are two separate considerations. An online recommendation cannot make the latter judgement for him.
For Tong Seng Fabricators, steel structures, storage tanks, silos and factory construction are all services that customers need to understand in detail. The website presents this information so that people with relevant needs can first learn about the company’s scope of work and then decide whether to discuss their requirements further. This is why Thomas values it as a business channel.
Google and ChatGPT Search Results Screenshots
From Design to Launch: Nine Months of Attention to Detail
The website took nine months to go from design to launch. Thomas acknowledges that this was a considerable amount of time. Yet when he talks about the process, what he remembers is the NEWPAGES team’s patience and their response to requests for changes.
“They made all the detailed changes we asked for.” Thomas uses this sentence to sum up the collaboration and describes the team’s marketing services as professional. What he appreciated during the development process was that each request was addressed individually.
Their contact did not end when the website went live. Thomas says that whenever they had questions afterwards, the team continued to provide attentive technical support. This ongoing assistance was another reason he specifically expressed his gratitude during the interview.
From making detailed revisions during development to providing continued support after launch, Thomas has concrete reasons for his positive assessment of the collaboration. For Tong Seng Fabricators, business connections that once came mainly through business events or personal introductions now have an additional starting point: customers can first get to know the company through its website, then approach it with their needs.
