How to be a game-changing business in the digital age

We live in a world that is shifting towards a digital transformation. This greatly affects small and medium enterprises, which comprise over 90% of businesses in the country. “Not only do they face tougher competition from businesses around the globe due to ASEAN integration, it also remains to be seen that most small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have limited awareness of technology,” said Debbie Obias, Globe myBusiness VP for Marketing and Solutions Innovations.

Aspiring and existing entrepreneurs discover the various Globe myBusiness solutions at the Globe myBusiness Day in Batangas.

An entrepreneur gets an expert advice from one of the exhibitors.

As part of its commitment to help build a digital nation, Globe Telecom, through its SME arm Globe myBusiness, brought the third installment of its SME caravan to Batangas City recently, much to the delight of over 300 SMEs in the province. A one-stop shop for SMEs, Globe myBusiness Day featured Globe myBusiness’ customized digital solutions for entrepreneurs, booths from participating SMEs and industry partners, as well as offered insightful discussions and sharing of best practices from some of the country’s biggest entrepreneurs.

The Globe myBusiness Day façade at the SM City Batangas

Globe myBusiness executives led by Chief Commercial Officer Albert de Larrazabal (center) welcomes Batangas City officials, partners, and entrepreneurs to Globe myBusiness Day in Batangas.

To make it easier for entrepreneurs to discover the best solutions fit for their needs, Globe myBusiness built zones at the event venue that revolved around the main concerns of SMEs in operating their businesses: reducing costs, increasing sales and improving efficiency.

In addition to the showcase of the latest digital solutions, aspiring and existing business owners also learned helpful entrepreneurship tips and pieces of advice from industry experts RJ Ledesma, co-founder of Mercato Centrale Food Market and Globe myBusiness brand ambassador, as well as Anthony Pangilinan, Chairman and “Chief Disturber” of Businessworks, Inc. Ledesma gave his insights on entrepreneurship in the age of social media while Pangilinan spoke about the Do’s and Don’ts of Starting a Business.

Co-founder of Mercato Centrale Food Market and Globe myBusiness brand ambassador RJ Ledesma

Chairman and Chief Disturber of Businessworks Inc. Anthony Pangilinan

Are you planning to put up your own company in the future or just need tips on how to better grow your business? Here are pieces of advice from the experts:

1. Disruption is the name of the game.

“You disrupt the game or the game disrupts you.” – RJ Ledesma

The growth of the so-called sharing economy model is a prime example. Businesses like Uber and Airbnb continue to thrive and yet, they do not own the assets being shared. By providing a digital platform for their consumers, they were able to create a new of way of doing business.

Today’s technological advancements make this task easier. One of the solutions that Globe myBusiness offers SMEs is Shopify, an e-Commerce platform that allows anyone to open their own online store in minutes. Founded in 2006, Shopify currently powers over 175,000 businesses in approximately 150 countries. It is a cloud-based, multi-channel platform which allows merchants to design, set-up and manage their stores across multiple sales channels, including web, mobile, social media such as Pinterest and Facebook, brick-and-mortar locations and pop-up shops.

The platform also provides merchants with a powerful back-office and a single view of their business. Shopify makes it easy for anyone to build and manage their online store by providing features like the ability to design the storefront, manage inventory, track orders and customer data, view marketing and analytics information, and much more. It is one of the solutions that will help SMEs to simplify and professionalize business operations for as low as P659 a month.

(L-RO Shopify’s Kristian Salvo, Globe myBusiness VP for Marketing and Solutions Innovations Debbie Obias, Globe myBusiness VP Barbie Dapul and Solutions Team’s Steph Chua and Crissie Ortines.

2. Take note of consumers’ pain points.

After his travels to Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore and Taiwan, RJ craved for a “multisensory experience to be brought back to the Philippines.” Thus, the idea of Mercato Centrale was born. Generating ideas from customer pain points would ensure that your business will satisfy their needs.

Maintaining your relationship with your customers, however, is an entirely different story. One tool that can add value to an SME is the Globe myBusiness Tracker, a do-it-yourself portable GPS Tracking solution that enables users to monitor the real-time location of their vehicles even without the need of device installation. With the Globe myBusiness Tracker, users can improve delivery planning, do real-time monitoring and live tracking, improve driving habits and save unnecessary costs. The Globe myBusiness Tracker is available at Plan 699 with 24-months contract period in Globe stores nationwide.

3. Be open to change.

Entrepreneurs today should be able to quickly adapt to changes to allow them to see growth and savings in their business. Understanding and using technology in their operations is one of the ways by which SMEs can embrace change, and Globe myBusiness, as a trusted business advisor and partner, enables entrepreneurs to seamlessly ride the digital wave through its portfolio of solutions, and one of which is Canvas.

Canvas is an enhanced mobile business offering which converts paper-based processes to dynamic, feature-rich mobile apps. It is customizable and can incorporate functionality such as GPS, image capture, dispatch, barcode scanning, electronic signatures, push notifications and access to business data such as parts catalogs, price lists or records. Canvas eliminates paperwork, captures information and allows collected data to be shared instantly.

Canvas currently has more than 14,000 business apps ranging from inspection forms and work orders to surveys and checklist. Canvas mobile forms run on Android, iOS or Windows platforms on any smartphone, tablet or laptop.

Canvas was used at the Globe myBusiness Day in Batangas to eliminate the necessary paperwork needed to register guests.

4. Maximize the power of technology. 

Technology puts every entrepreneur at the forefront of today’s dynamic SME industry. By learning how to maximize information and communications technology (ICT), SMEs can earn the competitive edge needed to gain global exposure as well as sustainable business growth. Google Apps for Work is another technological solution offered by Globe myBusiness to its SME clientele.

Google Apps for Work is a web-based suite of productivity tools that allows work to get done professionally, from anywhere and on any device. It includes secure, reliable workplace tools for email, calendar, text and video chat, document creation, project websites, and online storage and sync, and allows for easy extensibility with hundreds of applications in the Google Apps Marketplace.

Google Apps offers users the familiar experience of Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides and other tools already used by hundreds of millions of people in their personal lives, so minimal training is required.  With Google Apps, there are no servers to purchase and maintain, reducing IT cost and complexity.

Google Apps for Work is available as an add-on to myBusiness Mobile Postpaid and Internet Plans for as low as P135 per user/month on a 24-month contract period.

Business owners can now run their business even while on the go with cloud-based app such as Google Apps for Work.

Aside from Google Apps for Work, Globe myBusiness also offers myShopkeeper, a cloud-based sales and inventory tracking solution and other do-it-yourself solutions like Second CRM, a web-based customer relationship management tool designed for maintaining customer master data, logging sales communications and tracking support activities for SMEs, as well as Business Email Hosting, which offers users the simplicity to access their mailbox anytime, anywhere. It is simple to set-up and can send and receive emails within minutes. All these solutions are easy-to-use and practical, allowing SMEs to embrace the digital revolution and help catapult their business to global success.

For more information on how Globe myBusiness can help you become a connected and digital entrepreneur, visit https://mybusinesscommunity.globe.com.ph.