It’s another market not a threat

Recently at a Google event, SMB Heroes 2017, to facilitate Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) that have embraced the digital world, it was interesting to watch a third generation toy shop owner in an old market in Calcutta getting online. What struck me most was this gentleman in his 60’s had the vision to see that going digital was probably the best thing to do if he wanted his future generations to carry his family’s flagship toy business. Noteworthy is, he saw going Digital not as a threat to his existing toy shop but as a source of future growth.

Technology made un-geeky

Another interesting thing was the winners of SMB Heroes 2017 awarded for using technology were not geeks yet they used technology innovatively to address challenges and grow their businesses.

If you can read this you are capable of using if not all, at least most of the tools. Some of the new tools launched by Google to help increase digital intelligence of SMBs:

Google Primer

Google Primer is a free mobile app designed to teach digital marketing skills in a quick, easy and interactive way. Last I checked in Google Play it had over 5 million downloads and a rating of 4.4 with some great reviews.

Websites with Google

Google My Business is a free tool for SMBs to create free, mobile optimised websites, easily and instantly. It means anyone who can type can actually create a website.

Through this new feature, businesses get access to templated, editable websites using their already existing data on Google My Business. With Websites with Google My Business SMBs can automatically build websites in 10 languages – Tamil, English, Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Urdu, Gujarati, Kannada, and Malayalam.

Digital Unlocked Program

Earlier this year Google launched the Digital Unlocked program. As part of this program, Google is providing online, offline and mobile training to empower thousands of Indian SMBs with essential digital skills. The offline training is being conducted in partnership with FICCI and in the last six months, over 500,000 individuals have engaged with the skilling platform and 20,000 businesses have been trained.

According to Rajan Anandan, Vice President, India and South-East Asia, Google, “India’s incredible story of internet adoption continues to have a transformational impact on how people are consuming information, finding new businesses and connecting with one another.”

“However, India’s 51 million strong small and medium business community is not yet where they should be. At Google, we are committed to removing the barriers to adoption and providing small business with the training and tools they need to accelerate their growth,” he added.