msme Archives - Mommy Ginger

One of the end-game goals of most entrepreneurs is to reach a point where they’re recognized internationally. Thanks to the internet, it’s surprisingly easy for your product to reach different cultures, countries and languages. However, this alone isn’t enough to consider yourself as a global business. Unfortunately, small companies have a much harder time breaking into international markets because they don’t have the right connections, staff or knowledge required to make it overseas. While this can be something you slowly work on over a long period of time, there’s no doubt that it takes a lot of hard work and dedication.

However, there are a couple of strategies that you can employ today that will not only increase the number of international opportunities available to you but could help you enter foreign markets on a much lower budget.

Consider which countries you want to appeal to

While it’s possible to appeal to the world as a whole with your product, we highly suggest that you pinpoint your focus on a particular region of the world or country. Some products do much better on a global stage because it’s something that everyone can use, such as a smartphone. However, even such a widely-used tech product can have smaller markets and demands in certain areas. For instance, wealthy areas of the world love big-name brands such as Apple and Samsung. However, areas with dense populations and lower income might prefer budget smartphones with a heavy emphasis on value.

As a result, you need to consider which countries your products appeal to. This can be difficult to identify with minimal research. This is why it’s important to do some preliminary research on potentially viable markets before you decide to invest in your growth in another country’s markets.

Do your research as early as possible

Once you have identified those opportunities, it’s time to start doing research. Everything from financial options to production and even cultural differences needs to be considered when performing research. The idea here is that you’re looking for any risks or challenges involved in breaking into a new market.

On the financial side of things, it’s worth establishing flexible options so that you can easily pivot your business when you want to capitalize on overseas opportunities. For example, having a way to send money to Pakistan could be helpful if you wanted to set up a means of production in South Asia. Similarly, having support for local payment methods and not just cards and PayPal. In the context of Pakistan, this could mean local options such as EasyPaisa and payOrder. Doing this type of research will greatly improve your chances of breaking into an international market simply because you’ll be more relatable.

Establish a small team of experts

If you want to go global as a small business, you’ll need to organize a team of experts that can smooth out the process. This can include translators, local influencers and even support staff that can speak the language. With this small team of specialists, you’ll have a much easier time communicating with an overseas audience and also appealing to them through changes in your branding and products. It can be difficult to find the right people for the job. Networking is your best friend here and doing your research on local influencers to work with can make a huge difference in your success rates.

One of the essential skills of becoming an entrepreneur is being able to lead a team. Even if it’s a relatively small but diverse group of specialists, having a team that is focused on international growth will make a huge difference in the long run. Not only will you be able to communicate with overseas customers, but you’ll also be able to change your branding or products and services to fit a different market. You should never underestimate the cultural differences in overseas markets and how they can affect both the products you create and your marketing materials. By respecting these cultural differences, you’ll have a much easier time growing your business in a completely different environment.

Going global as a small business can be surprisingly challenging, especially if you’re working with a relatively small team or have a limited budget to spend on overseas expansion. However, with the right approach and a team to support you, we believe that it’s one of the most attainable goals for a confident entrepreneur. If you’re looking for something challenging to push your business to its limits, then attempting to break onto an international stage may be enticing thanks to the rewards it can offer.

At my company, Manila Workshops, we used to run workshops that focused on teaching micro-small-medium enterprises or MSMEs how to run Facebook Ads. They would normally understand everything and grasp all the concepts, but would be sad to find out that the only way you can run ads on Facebook is if you have a credit card or a PayPal account.

Credit card penetration in the Philippines (the last time I checked) is around 3% (*check out this report by We Are Social and Hootsuite: https://www.slideshare.net/DataReportal/digital-2018-philippines-january-2018). I think the reason for this really is that approval rate is low, because not a lot of us have credit history. There is a lack of basis for credit ratings.

So going back to this promotion concern of MSMEs, it was great to see this new partnership between Globe myBusiness and Facebook.

Derrrick Heng of Globe myBusiness and John Rubio of Facebook

Ces Porto, Marketing Head of Globe myBusiness

What is the Globe myBusiness x Facebook Promote mo ‘Yan, SME Partnership all about?

Basically, you can now create Facebook Ads and then charge your Globe myBusiness ThePlan. Just follow these three easy steps:

Create your Ad.
Promote your Ad.
Charge to Globe myBusiness The Plan.

Getting the Globe myBusiness ThePlan

If you want to learn more about the Globe myBusiness ThePLAN, there are 2 available plans — 1499 and 1799. Here are the details:

myBusiness ThePLAN 1499 *24 months contract period	myBusiness ThePLAN 1799 *24 months contract period
Unli Calls to all Networks Unli Texts to all Networks 2GB Mobile Internet Free DUO Landline (for 12 mos) Inclusive of Samsung Galaxy A50	Unli Calls to all Networks Unli Texts to all Networks 5GB Mobile Internet Free DUO Landline (for 12 mos) Inclusive of iPhone 6S + 32GB

To sign up for Globe myBusiness ThePLAN 1499, click here.

To sign up for Globe myBusiness ThePLAN 1799, click here.

After subscribing to a plan, you can now start creating your Facebook ad.

Creating an Ad

All you need to do is visit https://globe.onlinesales.ai/. You can also Call 121 or visit a Globe Store near you.

Once your account has been verified to be a Globe myBusiness number, you will see a dashboard. You can then start creating Facebook ads.

The first thing that you need to do is to choose the objective. In this particular Globe myBusiness system, they limited the choices to just 3 available objectives to choose from. This is so as not to overwhelm you anymore with the choices.

You can choose from Brand Awareness (to introduce your product or service to a target market), Messages (to promote your product or service using messenger) and Lead Generation (to collect information from potential leads).

After choosing the objective, you can choose between Display Ads or Carousel Ads (multiple images).

The next step is to add an image. You can upload your own image or choose from the Stock Photos available.

Then, add the headline (title), description (describe the value that you are extending your potential customers), URL (enter the link to your website or link to where they can learn more about your services), Call to Action button (you can choose from what’s available). You can then save and launch your ad!

By the way, you can choose to either have a Php 1000 or a Php 500 budget for running your ad. There will be a 15% management fee, so if you choose Php 500, the charge will be Php 575 (exclusive of VAT).