Three years of work, endless Google Meet sessions, and thousands of chat messages. When a partnership lasts this long, a client ceases to be just a line in a CRM – they become part of the daily routine, almost a colleague on the other side of the world.
We have been helping grow an e-commerce store for aesthetic medicine products in Seoul for three years. Throughout this entire time, our contact existed solely in the online space: on screens, through messengers, via tasks, and in reports. So, when the opportunity arose to meet in person in South Korea, we did not hesitate. Such opportunities are not to be postponed for later.
This trip proved to be much more than just a business meeting. We gained insight into the client’s business from the inside, understanding how everything functions, the key decisions made, and the team behind the processes. Working side-by-side rather than through a headset brought the collaboration to a completely different level.
Furthermore, it became a true adventure: discovering a new country, a new culture, and places we had previously known only from YouTube videos. Ultimately, it was a perfect blend of everything: a professional boost, genuine connections, and full immersion into the atmosphere of the country where our client lives and works.
The proposal to visit Seoul came directly from the client. It was a sincere invitation to move beyond the screen and finally meet in person, without the need for lengthy introductions.
The client also managed all organizational aspects, including document preparation, visa invitations, and logistics. We truly felt his genuine investment and care in making this meeting a reality. It was not merely a formal gesture, but a natural desire to elevate our collaboration to a more personal level.
The trip was not motivated by a single business trigger; there was no presentation to defend or urgent task that required an offline presence. Instead, it was an invitation to connect. The client wanted to meet the team that had supported him for three years — through every task, idea, test, and result — yet had only ever existed on a screen.
Inna Starkova – Head of Project Management Department
Kseniia Pashkulska – Head of SEO Department
Alla Tereshchenko – SEO Specialist
Anastasiia Cherniavska – PPC Specialist
It is worth noting that our shared history began literally from the ground up. The client has no brick-and-mortar stores; the entire evolution of the business has occurred online, a journey we have built together. Consequently, this trip was an opportunity for us to see, for the first time, a project that had previously existed only in analytics, creatives, and marketing hypotheses. For the client, it was a chance to say "thank you" in person — looking into the eyes of those who stood behind the work — rather than through a chat message.
One of the key moments of the business trip was a visit to the Global Caravan office. We met in person for the first time with the company owner, Vadym Kim, and his team.
In our daily operations, we primarily communicate with Illia and Tonia, who manage digital marketing on the client’s side. They are our main points of contact for discussing tasks and aligning on hypotheses, strategic plans, and all the operational "ins and outs" of the project.
The meeting at the office provided an opportunity to engage with everyone in a single space: discussing the broader vision with the owner and diving into the strategic details and next steps with the team.
From the very beginning, our communication with the client has been easy and natural – characterized by mutual respect and clear professional boundaries without excessive formality. We can discuss complex issues openly, address problems directly, and ask straightforward questions while receiving equally direct answers. If there are concerns, they are voiced; if there are ideas, they are embraced.
This format proves to be the most effective: it is low-stress and free of unnecessary bureaucracy, yet honest and to the point. This transparency is precisely why our collaboration remains productive and ensures that nothing is "lost in translation".
The client’s office left a lasting impression. It stands out from many other companies due to its lack of a rigid hierarchy and its light, friendly atmosphere. The team includes many ethnic Koreans who moved to South Korea under a special program, and there is a clear sense of mutual comfort and professional synergy.
The workspace is spacious, equipped with ergonomic desks and modern technology, making it a truly efficient environment for everyone. The office seamlessly combines a dedicated workspace for the daily operations of the team with a warehouse zone. This area stores cosmetics and is equipped with the necessary refrigeration systems to ensure optimal conditions for the products.
We spent our workdays alongside the team: discussing tasks, analyzing reports, and planning next steps. After hours, we connected over lunch and dinner — it is often in these simple, informal conversations that you truly get to know one another and achieve the best alignment.
During our in-person meeting, the client highlighted the consistent growth in traffic and a steady month-over-month increase in orders. These achievements have been pivotal to the business’s growth, enabling the company to expand its product range, introduce new brands, and build a resource base for further expansion into additional traffic channels.
The client specifically noted our agility and reliability in joint decision-making. He emphasized that the effective implementation of many ideas would have been impossible without the swift and coordinated teamwork that included his own team as well. This demonstrates that our collaboration is built not only on professional achievements but also on mutual trust and partnership.
The face-to-face meeting in Seoul reaffirmed that South Korea is one of the world’s most advanced countries, where people are exceptionally attentive to trends and innovation- particularly in the field of cosmetology.
The trip provided a critical insight: the highest sales volume is driven not by new releases, but by products that have already become top-sellers in Korea and maintain leading market positions. It is these proven bestsellers that consistently provide the primary turnover for the business. For our client, whose main market is the US, this is a strategically vital insight: focusing on established brand positions yields significantly better and more predictable results. Therefore, our strategy is to effectively promote top-tier products by leveraging their popularity in Korea, and only then scale new arrivals.
We did not make any radical structural changes during the meeting, as the primary objective was different. This was a face-to-face visit aimed at building personal connections with the client’s team and achieving full alignment across all operational processes.
The discussion focused on the strategic development of the projects, with a primary emphasis on:
Additionally, we addressed alternative traffic acquisition channels. The client is currently actively developing TikTok and Instagram, which are already yielding tangible results in the form of new orders.
Currently, the client manages targeted advertising and SMM internally. This approach is highly effective, as their in-house marketer creates and adapts content specifically tailored for social media platforms.
On our part, we provided a detailed consultation regarding the strategy and potential optimization of these processes, while the direct implementation remains with the client’s team. This arrangement allows us to remain fully focused on our core areas of expertise — SEO and PPC.
The face-to-face meeting with the client catalyzed the development of new, more comprehensive, and agile solutions. Numerous ideas emerged during our discussions, with the following key initiatives taking priority:
At the same time, even when performance is strong, there is always a new challenge: scaling. Consequently, we dedicated a significant portion of the meeting to discussing future steps. Our shared goal is not only to consolidate current successes but also to unlock new opportunities for the systematic growth of the client’s projects.
The primary objective currently set by the client is to achieve consistent and high-level financial performance. While specific details remain confidential, the overall current status is assessed as steadily positive.
The visit to Seoul helped pivot our strategy toward a more comprehensive and agile approach, focusing not only on SEO and PPC but also on a multi-channel promotion strategy.
The overall conclusion of the trip is clear: our development strategy has been validated, and we are moving in the right direction. This personal visit has only strengthened the mutual trust and the conviction that many more opportunities for shared growth and scaling lie ahead.
Our business trip took place from September 7 to September 13 and covered three key locations: Seoul, Jeju Island, and Busan.
Our hosts curated an incredible itinerary that offered a deep immersion into Korean culture:
We visited the Jeongbang Waterfall on Jeju Island – one of the island’s three major waterfalls and the only one in Asia that falls directly into the sea. It stands at a height of 23 meters.
The entire itinerary was incredibly rewarding, harmoniously blending official meetings and deep dives into operational processes with an exploration of South Korea’s rich culture. In addition, we had the opportunity to enjoy a free day in Seoul to explore the city independently.
We are profoundly grateful to the client for their hospitality and dedicated attention, as they remained by our side throughout nearly the entire week. In fact, we spent the vast majority of our time together, which allowed us to significantly strengthen both our professional partnership and our personal connections.
The cultural characteristics of South Korea significantly influence business communication and shape partner expectations. We identified several key takeaways:
Immersion into the local culture was critically important – it allowed us to see and better understand why South Korea sets the trends in cosmetology. We saw firsthand that beauty and self-care are integral parts of daily life here, with consumers closely following innovations and ready to test them immediately. As a result, the Korean market often serves as a "testing ground" for new products and approaches that subsequently spread across the globe.
This experience helped us clearly define both client expectations and market needs:
By seeing firsthand how culture influences consumer behavior in Korea, we gained a valuable insight for our future work: to prioritize novelty, relevance, and high-quality product presentation.
The trip confirmed that we are moving in the right direction — the promotion strategy is working, and the results provide the client with the confidence to expand further. Face-to-face meetings offered invaluable insights into South Korea’s cultural and business context: the speed of trend adoption, the high bar for quality standards, and the fundamental importance of personal contact.
For our team, this served as a signal to place even greater emphasis on agility, rapid testing of new ideas, and multi-channel integration. We also saw clearly that success in this collaboration is rooted in partnership and trust: joint decisions are made faster, and ideas are implemented more effectively.
As a result, the team returned from the trip with renewed motivation, a deeper understanding of the market, and the inspiration to scale our successes.
The trip was a complete success, fully meeting our expectations. It did more than just strengthen our partnership; it transformed a remote collaboration into a solid personal connection. We are sincerely grateful to the client for their immense trust and the unique opportunity to dive deep into their business. The visit finally confirmed that our chosen strategy is the correct one. We are currently successfully managing two of the client’s websites, and given their ambitions for active scaling, we are ready for new joint ventures.
Establishing a closer connection and gaining a comprehensive understanding of their business has created a robust foundation for this growth. Thanks to this high level of trust and our alignment on future needs, we anticipate launching several new projects for promotion in the near future.
