Want Google to help you make hefty money? Then do this

Google Business: With the power of the internet, small Indian traders are carving a path for themselves to reach out to a global audience. You can do it too. Google has over the years been working to launch easy-to-use products that allow such traditional businesses to make themselves more discoverable and to be able to target their audience with smoother customer engagement. These small businesses have used digital tools to promote their traditional art, by which they, not only managed to revive the artform but also became successful due to their perseverance of making sure that they don’t remain demographically cramped.

Speaking on the Google business platforms and its impact on her family-owned business Matrika Gupta, Co-owner at Ram Asrey — a Lucknow-based food joint said, "Our joint is more than 200 years old and our ancestors used to be the Chef in Nawab Wazid Ali Shah's kitchen. But, with the change in time, the marketing has changed to a drastic level and we had to adapt to the changes taking place in terms of marketing. So, I tried Google My Business, where I listed my venture in 2015. After that successful experiment, I began using Google Ads and social media platforms to advertise Ram Asrey. In the next phase of digital experiments, we are planning to try out the Google Merchant Center which will allow Ram Asrey’s eateries to be listed in the Shopping carousel when people look to buy sweets online."

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Suhel Parvez, Owner, Bharath Arts and Craft — a toy-making firm based in Channapatna, a suburb of Bengaluru said, "We are the sixth generation in toy-making business and we have been existing since 1782. Bharat Arts and Crafts was very traditional in its outreach initiatives and used middle-men and agents to acquire customers and sell products because that was the only option available to them. But four years ago I decided to explore the burgeoning World Wide Web and set up a Google Website for my business.  Initially, my family was not supportive of my efforts and assumed it would all be a huge waste of time, and was apprehensive of how much it will cost them. But soon after creating a Google My Business website with photos of the products, a contact number, and a link to a map to help people find the shop easily, my father started getting calls from prospective customers. Footfalls to the store also saw a dramatic rise after Parvez added the listing of Bharat Arts and Crafts on Google Maps.

Parvez said that prior to adding his listing on Google Maps, customers would struggle to find his shop and many would abandon their search for Bharat Arts and Crafts but now that they have an online listing, they receive at least 4-5 customers per day which was earlier close to 3-4 people in a month. Now that Suhel sells directly to the consumer, the price at which he sells to consumers has dropped because he has been able to bypass the middleman. The other benefit of having an online avatar is that now Parvez also gets bulk orders for corporate gifts.

Same is the case with Bengaluru-based women entrepreneur Amita, who along with her husband co-founded Krishne Tassels. Amita was working in Nokia and her husband was working for Cisco as an IT Software engineer before they co-founded their venture. During Amita’s pregnancy, she resided with her mother for six months during which she learned and perfected the art of making traditional saree tassels or Kuchu as they are known, a traditional handicraft in Karnataka. Mesmerised by her own new-found skill, Amita started uploading pictures of her work on social media platforms which invited numerous queries and orders. Eventually, she wanted to reach out to more people and widen her outreach. To help her, her husband did an online course with Google Digital unlock and learned as much as he could about Digital Marketing. He went on to create a Google My Business profile and through Google Analysis kept a track of the designs of tassels people searched for.  Through her wide reach and posts, she has till now trained 700+ unemployed and underprivileged women from far away districts of Karnataka & neighbouring states who are now making a living for themselves through the art and earning around Rs 15,000 to Rs 18,000 while working from home.