MANILA, Philippines - Micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) will now be able to expand their market share for a minimal fee by advertising online through Google’s business stimulus project.
In a press briefing yesterday, international search engine Google said they are offering P2,000 worth of free credits for MSMEs to start an online marketing campaign with Google AdWords, the company’s advertising platform.
“MSMEs understand that the Internet provides a great opportunity for them to expand locally and into new markets across the world, but they don’t know how to get started or are unsure of the benefits of online advertising,” Derek Callow, Google Southeast Asia Head of Marketing said.
“With the Business Stimulus Package, we make it easy for local MSMEs to create a website and use it as an effective sales channel with a free trial of Google AdWords, an affordable, measurable online advertising platform,” he added.
According to Callow, this is a cost effective method of advertising because the payment is based on the number of hits. “The Internet is a platform where they can grow their business,” he said.
Callow said MSMEs can clearly communicate what they can offer to the world. The Philippines is the third country in Southeast Asia where this was launched. This was already introduced in Singapore and Thailand.
Other perks of the stimulus package are the development of a company website by STI College and free tutorial. The first 200 MSMEs who will register will be given a free website while others will only pay a one time fee of P3,000 to STI. The tutorial on the other hand, will cover how to start a website, marketing products and services online and using Google’s technologies.
For his part, Information and Communication Technology Commissioner Mon Ibrahim said that MSMEs can increase their marketing audience by using online advertisement. Google’s online advertising platform enables businesses to reach 25 million Internet users in the country and 73 percent of the one billion internet users worldwide.
“In line with our mission to develop ICT-enabled business community, we support this initiative as way to get more Philippine MSMEs online and use online advertising and websites to engage both a local and global audience,” Ibrahim said.
“We are very excited to be part of a program that uses technology as the foundation of economic progress, and we look forward to promoting this package in our roadshows around the country,” Ibrahim added.