Tools to help you get your business online

Google South Africa launched free digital tools to help local entrepreneurs move to e-commerce after the pandemic.

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The Covid-19 recovery will be digital, reads the title of McKinsey & Company’s insights paper on how the pandemic has led to changes in customer behaviour and preferred interactions. Recent data shows that we have vaulted five years forward in consumer and business digital adoption in a matter of a few months, according to McKinsey.

Data from Standard Bank shows that since March 2020 (the beginning of the national lockdown in South Africa), there was an 84% increase in the value of online spend at supermarkets and grocery stores year-on-year, while spending at online general merchandise stores increased by 458%.

These numbers indicate that SA consumers looked to new and safer ways to shop. The bank attests to witnessing this dramatic shift in behaviour around payments during the lockdown period.

With the rapid uptake in online transactions serving as a backdrop, and wanting to ensure that small businesses are not left behind during the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, Google South Africa set up a digital hub containing free, easy-to-use tools for entrepreneurs.

Though small business owners are experts when it comes to local customers, they are often less knowledgeable about finding new markets and discerning culture, buying trends, export legalities, and payment options for their product in other countries, says Alistair Mokoena, Google South Africa country director.

Many small businesses have had to quickly figure out how to pivot their operations to a digital-first approach. Yet, there remains a gap between those who can access these online opportunities and those who can’t, says Mokoena.

Marketing kit tool

Google My Business is a platform for businesses to register their profile with the details that we (prospective customers and users) see when we search them on Google. Businesses are verified by Google upon registration, creating legitimacy.

As of late, the platform contains a new marketing kit tool described as “your agency in a pocket”, according to Claude Blatter-Hendel, Google sub-Saharan Africa’s deputy head of ads marketing.

The marketing kit is an opportunity for small businesses to create promotional material, such as print-ready flyers and posters, with space to add your own details, such as updated hours or safety measures as the business reopens.

“Google has changed the way that I foresee the future of my brand. Google My Business has led to an increase in people who visit our stores,” says Laduma Ngxokolo, fashion designer and founder of MaXhosa by Laduma, a now internationally renowned SA knitwear brand in a case study shared by Google.

According to the study, about 50% of MaXhosa by Laduma’s website visitors come from Google and around 7 000 people find the brand via Google My Business monthly. Marketing material generated with the online kit can be shared on an enterprise’s social media channels.

Favourable Google reviews from previous patrons can be turned into posters and shared on social media. The platform has a functionality to design business cards too, that will contain a short Google website address of the business.

A website for the business is easy to create. A professional website drives sales, says Blatter-Hendel, adding that consumers will more likely buy from a business that has a website than from one that does not.

Market finder

Another successful small business case study mentioned by the Google team is that of Tshepo Jeans, a lifestyle brand that makes bespoke denim clothing and ready-to-wear products, including masks. The designer and founder, Tshepo Mohlala, is also best-known for making a pair of jeans for the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, who personally collected them from the Victoria Yards store when she was on a visit to Johannesburg last year.

“Google helped him [Tshepo] gain access to markets via Google My Business,” says Mokoena. “Using the tools, Tshepo Jeans has been able to grow its online presence and start connecting with new customers, who are also able to leave reviews, for instance.”

Google’s market finder tool, which was previously sold as a service to businesses, was made free to help businesses grow internationally, says Blatter-Hendel. The market finder tool can be used to identify new potential markets, discover helpful operational information that can be used in selling to customers at home and around the world.

Users can get tailored recommendations and explore in-depth country-level data and consumer insights provided by Google.For instance, it can recommend new export markets abroad after the user provides details about their business, including goals.

The user will then be able to view various potential markets abroad, including how much people earn in those markets, how often do they go online or how many monthly searches there are for a product or service the user offers.

The tool can also be used to adapt to local markets by providing the right payment and delivery methods, as well as customer care services.