SMEs eager to tap e-commerce

Economic downturn has turned the pressure on SMEs to find new customers. JUDGING by the response to a recently launched website development promotion, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia are eager to tap the power of the Internet as a new strategy for driving business growth.

The economic downturn has turned up the pressure on Malaysian companies, particularly the 550,000-plus SMEs, to find new customers for their products and services amid declining sales and financial constraints. Extending their marketing and advertising reach by venturing into cyberspace is a logical move.

Within days of the introduction of the SME Business Stimulus Package on Dec 2, hundreds of SMEs have registered for entry-level websites for their businesses. The first 100 got their websites for free, while the rest pay RM200 each.

The package is the result of a partnership between the Ministry of International Trade & Industry, search engine giant Google and two local universities. The aim is to connect Malaysian SMEs to millions of Internet users at home and abroad.

This way, the local businesses can harness the cost-effectiveness and reach of the Internet to access a wider market and increase sales.

According to Google Southeast Asia head of online, Charif El-Ansari, since last week’s launch, hundreds of SMEs in Malaysia have signed up for the package. Many more are expected to come on board before the registration period ends on Jan 31, 2010.

The package offers free hosting on Blogger.com and five static HTML (hypertext markup language) pages, including the homepage, a products/services gallery, a business location page with map, an “About Us” page, and a “Contact Us” page with form.

The package makes it easy for Malaysian SMEs to create a simple website and use it as a sales channel in conjunction with a free trial of Google AdWords, a search engine marketing platform.

With Google AdWords, companies can create online advertising campaigns that are affordable and measurable, and that can potentially reach 15 million Internet users in Malaysia and one billion users globally, who seek online information on products and services.

“We are continuing to see double-digit growth in user and advertiser base,” says Charif about Google AdWords, which enables any business to track exact return on investments (ROI) figures on their online advertising campaigns.

“Thousands of SMEs in Malaysia already using Google AdWords,” Charif notes.

By signing up for the package at www.google.com.my/stimulus, SMEs will get a company website developed by Multimedia University (MMU) and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Utar), to promote their products and services.

“Participants need only pay a one-time fee of RM200 to MMU or Utar for the website development work,” Charif says.

Participants will also receive RM200 worth of advertising credit from Google as well as a free one-on-one tutorial from a Google authorised representative on how to set up and maintain a search marketing campaign with Google AdWords.

“The package also includes a free seminar by Google in partnership with SME Corp on starting and maintaining a website, marketing online and using Google technologies to promote their business,” Charif adds.

According to latest statistics, 82% of SMEs only use computers for office work such as billing and invoicing, while 94% have no e-commerce exposure. Only 53% owns a corporate website, with no e-commerce capabilities.

“These are the SMEs that the stimulus package is targeting. It offers to build websites for companies that do not have them yet as well as free RM200 online advertising credit through Google AdWords for companies to try out online marketing,” Charif points out.

He adds that many SMEs have wrong notions about online advertising, thinking that they must allocate a large budget for it and hire IT specialists to run the campaigns.

“In fact, Google AdWords makes it easy for any business owner without any technical experience to use the platform for online ad campaigns, where they can pay as little as 4 sen every time a potential customer clicks on their advertisements,” he explains, adding that the package is designed to help counter the misconceptions.

According to official statistics, SMEs in Malaysia are the backbone of the Malaysian economy. They make up 99% of the country’s businesses and account for 56% of the total workforce.

“For them to bounce back from a crisis that has left them with decreased sales and smaller budgets, they need to grow their businesses without breaking the bank. With Google AdWords, SMEs only pay when a potential sales lead clicks on their online ad,” Charif adds.

According to Charif, the SME Business Stimulus Package has been offered in many parts of Asia as well as in Australia, and has seen great success with thousands of SME signups in these countries.

“Most recently, we launched the package in Thailand in September and the Philippines just a month ago,” he adds.