Your markets decide where the AI team looks for companies and which country rules apply to every message. Outreach Asia serves Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. This article explains how to set them, what the rules change and why Vietnam is not on the list.
Where markets are set
You choose markets when you pick campaigns during setup, and you can change them at any time afterwards.
- Open Settings and choose the Countries and exclusions tab.
- Under Markets, tick the countries you want researched. Each row shows whether cold email is allowed or blocked there, with a one-line note on the local rule.
- Use Show all markets if the country you want is not in the short list.
- Select Save markets. The next research run uses the new selection.
Each campaign also has its own Where list, so you can run, for example, a distributor search in Malaysia next to a buyer search in Singapore.
What the country rules change
Consent rules are enforced in the app’s code rather than left to the AI’s judgement. They decide which addresses may be emailed and when a company should instead be contacted by hand. A market with no rule on file is blocked by default.
| Market | Main law | How Outreach Asia applies it |
|---|---|---|
| Malaysia | PDPA 2010 | Consent-based for direct marketing to individuals; opt-outs honoured immediately. |
| Singapore | PDPA and the Spam Control Act | Conspicuously published business addresses may be emailed in a business context. The law allows 10 business days to act on an unsubscribe; the app acts immediately. |
| Indonesia | PDP Law No. 27/2022 | Consent-led. Generic company inboxes only; personal webmail is avoided. |
| Thailand | PDPA (2019, in force 2022) | A legitimate-interest basis is documented before named people are contacted. |
| The Philippines | Data Privacy Act 2012 | Legitimate interest is available; objection rights apply. |
Across every market, a company that has no suitable email address, or whose local rule does not allow a cold email to the address found, is placed in Contact by hand. The AI still writes the message; you send it yourself through the company’s contact form or by phone.
This is general information, not legal advice. The rules above are how the app is configured. Take local advice before running a campaign at volume.
Why Vietnam isn’t served
Vietnam’s Decree 91/2020 regulates advertising email itself rather than only the personal data in it, and it requires express prior consent before advertising email is sent. That means the usual distinction between a generic company inbox and a named person gives no room for a first introduction.
Because the app blocks cold email to Vietnam and has no other outreach route there yet, research in Vietnam would produce a list of companies nobody could contact. Rather than sell a market and then quietly not deliver it, Vietnam is switched off. In Countries and exclusions it is marked not served, and a campaign that lists it is told that no companies are found there.
Choosing a first market
If you are unsure where to begin, start narrow. One market and one campaign give you cleaner results to learn from than five markets at once.
- Follow your evidence. Choose the market where your statements are strongest: existing certifications, local references or a price list in the local currency.
- Consider language. Drafts can be written in the buyer’s language, but your attachments may only exist in English or Chinese. Check they will be useful.
- Think about follow-through. Pick a market where someone on your team can take a call or a meeting when a reply arrives.
Excluding companies you already know
The same tab has a Never contact list. Add existing customers, competitors and anyone you are already talking to, one per line, as company names or domains, then select Save never-contact list. The AI team cannot know these relationships unless you tell it.
Need help with something not covered here? Email wilson@communication21.com or use Help & glossary in the app.