TO GET the younger generation to patronize your product, one must anchor the business on technology, the top official of a media and digital communications company said.
“You have to have a sustainable business anchored on technology and on digital. For the young people, how do you make it relevant to them?” said Donald Lim, chief executive officer of Dentsu Aegis Network Philippines, in an interview with SunStar Cebu at the sidelines of a forum last month.
Lim urged small businesses, even sari-sari stores, to explore the different social media platforms to sell their products.
“In Facebook, there are so many doing live selling. Walang nakaisip nun (Not many have thought of that),” he said.
Lim said that companies should start looking at the economic ecosystem as a whole and not just at their direct competitors.
“A lot of successful businesses have to recognize that what brought them to their level of sucess today will not be the reason for their sucess five years down the line. They have to look out for their competitors that are in the peripheral, not just those who are selling the same products as them,” he said.
Newcomers, Lim said, pop up in the business industry, and for other businesses to thrive, they have to go digital.
He said that taking advantage of various digital tools can go a long way for any business.
“So the challenge to all of the business owners is how can they have a digital-first mindset, where the content that you create can be propagated to as many platforms as possible. You’re not competing with one another anymore. In fact, all of you have the opportunity to monetize if you put all your content on YouTube, on Facebook, on Instagram and get the traffic, the eyeballs and the eardrums there,” Lim said.
Asked what keeps Filipinos from delving into the digital landscape, Lim said these are the mañana mindset or the “do-it-tomorrow” habit and settling for what is available.
He cited the case for a sari-sari store, which needs to adapt to the changing times or lose customers if a convenience store with all sorts of services decides to open next to it.
He added that if a business is catering to the older segment that does things traditionally, it might still do well.
He noted though that most of the younger consumers want everything done quickly, making online shopping popular.
“Now, if may sari-sari store ka (if you have a sari-sari store), why don’t you try selling online? I-try mo ibenta kung may Facebook ka (try to sell on Facebook),” he suggested.