Joint venture to boost Thai SMEs online

       The Commerce Ministry has teamed up with Google and Sripatum University to boost electronic transactions by SMEs for tapping new customers and increasing sales in the domestic and global markets.
       As a part of the business stimulus package, the program is offered to SMEs with free of charge website development and online marketing training.
       Google offers 2,500 baht worth of free credits to start an online marketing campaign with Google AdWords, the brief four line text ads which show up as "Sponsored Links" at the top or right side of the results page when users conduct a Google search.
       Sripatum University will develop website and translation of the first page in English at no cost for those who don't have a website. The offer applies to the first 400 SMEs.
       According to Pornthip Kongchun,Thailand Marketing Manager of Google Asia Pacific, the Internet is a great opportunity for SMEs to expand their market, locally and across the world.
       Citing Internet World Stats, Pornthip said the world's Internet population today is at 1.6 billion mark with more than 200 million new people coming online each year. There are over 60 billion searches conducted on the Internet worldwide per month and over a billion people around the world search on Google for information everyday. In Thailand, there are some 14 million Internet users.
       Google AdWords platform reaches out to over 73 percent of the world's Internet population and over a billion online users everyday.
       Prapon Milintajinda, secretary to the commerce minister, said Thailand's export value has declined month by month,while e-commerce can help increase some 20 percent of sales revenue to SMEs. The collaboration of the three parties will be an effective channel for Thai SMEs to reach customers worldwide.
       As the government body, the ministry will do matching between the SMEs with customers. The program will encourage local SMEs to find new customers and market their products and services to overseas clients.
       The program is valid from now to October 31,2009 and SMEs can sign up for joining the program at www.google.co.th/sme2009. Rachaneeporn Phudyaporn Phukkaman, Sripatum president noted that the success of the program can be recognised by the transaction deals of those SMEs website.