Digital Marketing Resources for Building Resilient Online Businesses

With over half of the world’s population online, digital adoption and venturing into digital marketing has become a regular part of how consumers and businesses operate daily. That’s billions of people waiting to hear about what your product or service has to offer!

What digital marketing is and why it’s an essential pillar in digital adoption is that it’s a process of implementing strategies to market everything about your business to online audiences. These marketing strategies are and should be aligned with your overall business strategy, and achieve various goals and objectives you’ve set for yourself.

These are based on an effective digital marketing strategy framework which covers all digital touch points in your customer’s journey. It should also be scalable enough that you can tailor-fit it to your business needs and capabilities. Scalable in the sense that it allows digital adoption to be undertaken not just on a need-to-have basis.

Over time, digital marketing has helped both consumers and businesses transact more efficiently; saving money, time, and effort than ever before. This fact alone is prompting even more shifts as it costs less to scale compared to traditional marketing that relies on print and broadcast media.

So if it’s so great and cost-effective, then why have SMEs in the Philippines lagged behind in digital adoption, up until the pandemic forced the shift? This question, we try to answer below, as we take a zoomed out look at overall digital adoption by SMEs in the Philippines.

The Philippines has been lagging in digital transformation, because it’s an effort that requires not just an internal capability to support, but external ones as well. Such that come from external stakeholders that are tasked with crafting and refining policies and infrastructure that foster and encourage the smooth uptake of these technologies.

This is where government agencies should step in and step up to empower and not just encourage entrepreneurs to undertake digital transformation. With our economy seeing increasing growth in digital goods selling, it should only follow that efforts go beyond calls and move towards solid actions to enable it.

However, up until 2018, only a small chunk (seven percent) of businesses undergoing digital adoption in the country can be considered as leaders. These figures tell of the huge gap between the success SMEs can potentially attain with digital transformation, and the actual capabilities they need to have to tap into that.

A fact echoed by International Data Corporation Philippines Market Analyst Alon Anthony D. Rejano in a statement he told the BusinessMirror:

The Philippines still has a long way [to go] and more work to do from a cultural, regulatory and technological standpoint.
- Alon Anthony D. Rejano

In the SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook 2019 published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, other common barriers in digital adoption that SMEs face include lack of information and awareness, skills gaps, insufficient capital, technology and infrastructure gaps, or gaps in organizational practices.

Hurdles in Digital Adoption for SMEs in the Philippines. Among these hurdles, which one do you relate to the most? Arguably, SMEs in the Philippines could be facing one, two, or all of these hurdles; stuck at a loss on how to overcome them. But in terms of lack of knowledge and access to digital tools, we hope to help you out as a veteran digital marketing company in the Philippines. Photo by Propelrr.

The study also pointed out that digital adoption also differs in speed and breadth. Where small businesses are less digitized compared to medium-sized ones. And where large businesses can digitize a number of business operations simultaneously, small businesses often do so in increments – opting to innovate in administration and marketing first.

It’s needless to say that these barriers will need an intersectional approach, activating the participation of both private and public entities. But with the competition unresting and continuing to tighten, SMEs in the Philippines are pressured to keep pace and do it fast. But with all of these factors given, what can be your most productive first step?

For us right now and with this content, it’s to help bridge the gap in accessing helpful information and skills you need to take that first step in your digital transformation and building a resilient business.

Because ultimately, the benefits of ecommerce and other digital marketing solutions you’ve put in place, do not and will not serve as mere band-aid solutions for now. As long as it’s there, seek to maintain and grow it so that you can continue to enjoy its many advantages.

Developments in digital empowerment of SMEs

This was something already learned by business leaders who sought digital transformations amid the pandemic. Ride Revolution’s chief executive Noel Tordesillas, for example, sees their digital marketing solutions as “permanent fixtures” that can continue to foster further growth in business, even beyond the pandemic.

Similarly in the public sector, the value of digital marketing business digitalization has become more apparent with the growing adoption of ecommerce by local business. And, in response to this, more efforts to support its uptake by SMEs are being eyed by the local trade department.

Continuously Growing Industry. Thanks to this growing recognition of the benefits of digital solutions from both the private and public sector, more SMEs are exploring the digital front to keep business alive. More importantly, this growth has also sparked more efforts to empower SMEs coming from the government, making ventures into this realm of marketing more possible. Photo by Propelrr.

It’s these developments that make now the best time to be exploring digital marketing and its potential to grow your business. If you're still on the fence about it, then below you’ll find some other compelling benefits that you can expect to gain from a pursuit into digital.

Top benefits of digital marketing for SMEs

1. Ensure business survival
2. Build-up and establish lasting brand recognition
3. More proactive marketing strategies with the help of data
4. Compete using more cost-effective strategies
5. You always have an audience

1. Ensure business survival

Digital marketing is by no means a new strategy. And, if anything, it’s proving to be a crucial strategy for keeping businesses big and small afloat in the current circumstances.

Business digitalization and digital marketing ensure business survival because the platform is much easier to sustain compared to traditional channels. Moreover, an online presence opens up a floodgate of more business opportunities, as more people engage with online shopping amid the pandemic.

Hence, engaging on digital isn’t just an act to throw your business a lifeline, but rather a crucial step to increase your brand’s competitiveness and growth. It allows your business to thrive, and provides it with a competitive edge against your competitors who have yet to go digital.

2. Build-up and establish a lasting brand recognition

One of the most crucial aspects of digital marketing is a brand identity that sticks with your target audience. With both your customers and competitors migrating online, it becomes imperative that you also develop your online presence.

A strong brand identity lets you stand out from your competitors by being a prominent and recognizable name in the industry. This recognition then leads to a stronger affinity within your audience to choose your products or services over all others. Eventually, you’ll also achieve brand loyalty and advocacy.

An effective digital marketing strategy solidifies and strengthens this brand identity by maintaining this connection with your customers on online platforms. A benefit that is indispensable now that it’s difficult to foster these connections via offline channels.

3. More proactive marketing strategies with your business's data

The best thing about digital marketing and advertising is that it’s not a one-way process, but rather a feedback loop. This feedback loop and sustained relationship with your customers lead to business sustainability.

With online marketing, you’re not just telling people about your product, but audiences are also able to communicate to you what they think about it. This is data that is less accessible with traditional marketing channels.

Digital marketing shifts the thinking from audiences as just consumers to “customers as co-producers,” which effectively boosts your audience's response to your brand. People like to be heard, and knowing what they like through the data you gather on digital platforms help you create proactive and actionable steps to meet their demands.

4. Compete using cost-effective strategies

A common misconception about digital marketing is that it’s a financially burdensome solution. But if you run the numbers, it’s actually more cost-effective than you think.

Traditional marketing in the Philippines may still reign supreme but it may well be impractical for SMEs to resort to these versus online marketing. With online marketing, doors open up for small businesses to compete even with bigger brands because on digital, the playing field is more level and accessible to all.

Resorting to online media forms eliminates expenses involved in producing expensive marketing materials for traditional media. Having a strong online presence also builds up your brand’s popularity and identity which adds up to your customer’s loyalty to your brand.

5. Ensure that you always have an audience

Digitalizing your business ensures that you always have an audience. And on the internet, visibility is an absolute necessity for brands.

Thankfully, the en masse migration to online spaces makes it nearly impossible for your brand to not be discovered and engaged with. Not only that, but amid the pandemic, users are also spending more and more time – increasing your changes of reaching your target market further.

Data from Hootsuite shows that the Philippines alone spends hours on the internet. With visibility so crucial to a brand’s survival and offline channels restricted, digital marketing provides the important bridge that helps maintain brand-consumer interactions.

Spending the Most Time Online. Time and again, online usage data from Global Web Index, We Are Social, and Hootsuite show that the Philippines is one of the top countries that spend the most time online, with nearly 11 hours spent on the internet. That’s five hours more than the worldwide average. Photo by Propelrr.

Those said, there’s no further questioning that digital marketing is an exciting new strategy SMEs need to take up to survive the changing economic market in the pandemic.

But in order to fully maximize these benefits, you’ll have to come into digital fully equipped with the knowledge and skills you’ll need to execute critical strategies. And that’s what this content exists for: To help provide you the digital marketing resources you’ll need to help your online business grow.

Below, you’ll find the very same resources that have prepped our world-class digital marketing professionals at Propelrr. Here and now, you can browse this curated library of digital marketing resources, and get started on a journey towards online business sustainability that outlasts any calamity.

To achieve more stability and continuity, many businesses are finding hope in going full digital — be they a small or big business.

However encouraging that sounds, the task can be daunting for a number of reasons. The most pressing of which is the lack of guided resources that help you in setting up your digital platforms.

But don’t worry, we got you. In this section, we’ll cover all the basic requirements you need to set up a digital presence for your small business. You will find registration requirements and procedures for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and various digital platforms on which your business can exist.

If your business is already registered, you can go ahead and skip to the section on basic digital storefronts to jumpstart your brand’s online presence.

Business laws in the Philippines, including the Revised Corporation Code (Republic Act No. 11232), are crafted by Congress and approved by the President. Meanwhile, rules and regulations in the form of memorandum circulars and orders are issued by government agencies including the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

If you find reading through business laws and regulations intimidating, you can always refer to helpful articles written for non-legal practitioners.

Here is a list of online resources on laws concerning businesses and consumer protection.

This is important for business independence, and helps you craft and/or refine your digital strategies in tow with the advice from your partner agencies. After all, you know your audiences and business best. Combining your insight and that of an agency’s will help you develop a complete strategy that is able to achieve your business goals.

Do you have a solid knowledge of all these channels below? If not, then read these Facebook marketing resources and other channel-specific resources, below.

These curated readings and courses will help you learn the ropes of digital marketing and basic online marketing strategies that are framework-backed, and proven to work across various industries.

These resources below comprise of training courses, downloadable content, articles and publications to support your marketing and advertising strategies. Check them out.

With basic digital marketing analytics, you can propel your business to success with improved strategies and campaigns.

Acknowledging your limitations is important in putting into perspective your potential and capabilities, after all. During your journey, remember that:

• The path to success isn’t necessarily linear. Much like everything on digital, there will be many twists and turns you’ll go through before you reach a certain goal. When pursuing digital transformations, you’ll need to understand that so you don’t unnecessarily pressure yourself.
• It helps to have a framework guiding you. This will not only help guide you with a systematic approach to your learning, but later on in your practice and implementation in work as well. Having a proven framework backing your steps and actions towards transformation will definitely help provide structure in a chaotic world such as digital.
• Prioritize and delegate your learning. As business owners, you’ll often fall into the trap of feeling like you need to learn everything. While that is possible and encouraged, it would be of great help to adapt with agility to prioritize and delegate other learnings to your trusted leaders in your organization. You’re not in this thing alone.

Did we miss other aspects of digital marketing you’d like to learn more about? Make sure to let us know in the comments section, and let us grow this library of digital marketing resources for businesses.

If you need more help from the experts, feel free to send us an email, or if you’d like to share this with a friend for now, don’t forget to tag our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn accounts in your posts.