Gyeonggi Province to Support Online Overseas Marketing for SMEs' Export Vitality

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hoon] Gyeonggi Province is recruiting 304 companies to participate in the "2021 Online Overseas Marketing Support Project" to help Gyeonggi-based SMEs with excellent products and brands enter new international markets.

The recruitment sectors are ▲Global B2B (business-to-business transaction) / B2C (business-to-consumer transaction) e-commerce support ▲Global social media networking service (SNS) promotional marketing support ▲Customized overseas buyer information provision ▲Southeast Asian market development package ▲Export-tailored one-person creator development, totaling 5 categories.

The support targets SMEs with headquarters or factories in Gyeonggi Province and previous-year export performance of less than $20 million.

First, the B2B/B2C e-commerce support project plans to list products from 90 local SMEs on the world's largest e-commerce platforms including Alibaba.com, Amazon (U.S.), and Shopee (Singapore), and provide support for promotional expenses, logistics fees, and account charges to facilitate smooth sales agency operations.

Additionally, the project will support marketing utilizing influencers active on global social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, and promote and sell products on WeChat, China's largest social media platform. Gyeonggi-based overseas trade offices, Gyeonggi Business Centers (GBC), will conduct live commerce broadcasts in western China, with plans to list participating companies' products in those regions as well.

For 44 beginner companies with limited online export experience, customized overseas buyer information will be provided.

High-quality overseas buyer information by country and product category desired by companies will be provided, and the province plans to move beyond simply providing databases by also educating companies on buyer management methods to facilitate actual exports.

Along with this, as the export proportion to ASEAN regions has recently increased, the province will actively support 30 companies seeking to export to Vietnam and Malaysia by listing products on local popular online malls such as Lazada and Sendo, thereby pioneering Southeast Asian sales channels.

In the second half of this year, the province also plans to support holding export consultation meetings by identifying promising buyers in Southeast Asian regions.

In particular, as the COVID-19 pandemic has prolonged and strengthened the foundation for non-face-to-face trade, the province plans to develop export-tailored one-person creators by providing YouTube content production support to 40 SMEs to foster digital content professionals for export companies.

This project supports companies' YouTube channel operations and promotional video production, and will be newly launched this year following stakeholder feedback.

Ryu Gwang-yeol, director of Gyeonggi Province's Economy Division, said, "As the international e-commerce market with no temporal or spatial constraints is experiencing rapid growth due to COVID-19, we will actively strengthen customized online overseas marketing projects tailored to each company's characteristics."

Companies wishing to participate in the project can apply through EasyBiz (www.egbiz.or.kr).

The recruitment period varies by sector. For detailed information, please contact ▲Global B2B/B2C e-commerce support (Gyeonggi Association of Small & Medium Enterprises, 031-8064-1384) ▲Global SNS promotional marketing support (Gyeonggi Economic Science & Technology Promotion Agency, 031-259-6149) ▲Customized overseas buyer information provision (Gyeonggi Province Export Enterprises Association, 031-259-6461) ▲Southeast Asian market development package (Gyeonggi KOTRA Support Group, 031-273-6037) ▲Export-tailored one-person creator development (Gyeonggi Association of Small & Medium Enterprises, 031-206-4072) and other relevant organizations.