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Helping and celebrating Canadian small businesses
Monday, June 22, 2020
Many small businesses across the country temporarily closed their storefronts this year during the country-wide lockdown.
According to the OECD
, these closures are likely to hit small and medium-sized businesses the hardest. For many, digital tools have become a lifeline during this time.
Today, we’re kicking off International Small Business Week, a global initiative taking place from now until Saturday June 27. This week is a celebration of the resilience of our local small business owners -
like Toronto-based stationary shop owner, Peter Laywine
, who after over 30 years in business, set up his online store in March, which not only saved his business, but increased sales by almost 1700%.
To get the week started, we’re highlighting free tools and resources to help small businesses get set up with online stores, connect with their customers virtually, and get support from Canadians looking to rally behind their favourite local businesses. We hope you find these new tools and resources helpful.
Get set up online
A few weeks ago, we announced a
new pledge to get 50,000 Canadian small businesses online
. In partnership with Digital Main Street, the
ShopHERE powered by Google
program helps Canadian small businesses and artists build a digital presence. Eligible businesses can
sign up
for the program now to get a free online shop built for them.
One of the first businesses to go through the program was Toronto-based tea shop,
Plentea
, which had to permanently close its doors due to COVID-19. Plentea quickly pivoted to an online-only shop and now has the potential to reach customers across the globe.
“We signed up for the program and within a week we were up and running with the first iteration of our Shopify website. It's hard enough letting our guests know that they can no longer visit our store, but It felt very empowering telling them that we will be online, and they can continue to order our loose leaf teas through www.plentea.ca. We have already had an influx of orders and a lot of "thank you's" for us being online.” - Tariq Al Barwani, Founder, Plentea
Tariq Al Barwani, Founder, Plentea
For small businesses looking to grow their digital skills and get the most out of the web, we’ve created a
Google for Small Business hub
of free resources and training, a step-by-step
online starter kit
, and we’re also offering free virtual workshops and
1:1 coaching sessions
through
Grow with Google OnAir
.
Get support from Canadians looking to help
Canadian search interest in "
how to help small businesses
" skyrocketed in March 2020 as consumers are looking for ways to support their corner bookstores, local watering holes, beloved dance studios and other businesses that give their neighbourhoods character—even if from a distance.
Merchants can now add
support links
for donations and gift cards to their Business Profiles, letting Canadians support some of their favourite businesses like Edmonton’s
Continental Treat Fine Bistro
, Montreal’s
Bis
, and Toronto’s
Wong’s Ice Cream
, right in Google Search and Maps.
"A donation or a gift card towards a future dine in experience will go directly to paying our amazing staff and to keeping our doors open through these tough times." - Sylvester Borowka, Continental Treat Fine Bistro
People can now look up their favourite local businesses to see if they have donation or gift card links on their Business Profile. Simply type "support local businesses" or a similar term in Google Search to see a list of businesses in your area that are accepting donations or offering gift cards.
Get connected to customers virtually
Many small business owners who normally provide in-person services are now building virtual offerings. Yoga studios are offering online classes, salons are hosting virtual hair styling classes, and restaurant owners have quickly implemented delivery and curbside pick-up options. On
Google my Business
, we have introduced new features that make it easier for verified merchants to connect with their customers through their Business Profile in Search and Maps.
For bookings:
Add attributes like “online classes,” “online appointments,” or “online estimates” to their Business Profiles to let people know how they’re operating and what the offerings are.
We’ve expanded
Reserve with Google
to help merchants offer easy appointment bookings for online services so customers can quickly find available times, book a slot, and add it to their Google Calendar. Millions of people have already booked in-person appointments thanks to integrations from our Reserve with Google
partners
.
Merchants can offer easy appointment bookings for online services
For restaurants:
Lately, interest in
food delivery
and
takeout
has exploded. In response, we’ve added more third-party ordering providers, so people can order directly on Google. To give merchants even more control, we’ll soon be making it easier to indicate their preferred online ordering partners on their Business Profiles.
Today people are deciding where to grab food not only based on the menu, but also on how easy it is to pick up safely. We added attributes like “curbside pickup,” “no contact delivery,” and “dine-in” so that restaurants can easily share these important details on their Business Profiles in Search and Maps. Since March, more than 3 million restaurants have added or edited their dining attributes. Some restaurateurs are even ditching dining areas for good.
Share with customers ways they can order food
We know that businesses across Canada are looking for support during this time. We hope these new product features, tools, resources and programs can help them on their road to recovery.
Posted by Karen Godwin, Director of Customer Solutions for Google Canada
Welcome to Toronto’s #DigitalMainStreet
Monday, June 13, 2016
Toronto’s well-known neighbourhoods are teeming with energy and life, boasting an eclectic mix of shopping, culture and food that have put the city on the map. And, as the digital world changes the way consumers make decisions and purchases, the city’s businesses are adapting to optimize the potential of going online. This transition, however, poses a challenge for many small enterprises as they often aren’t sure how to get started.
That’s why we have partnered with the City of Toronto to launch
Digital Main Street
, a program that will help 40,000 Toronto businesses adopt the digital tools and technologies to help them grow. Digital Main Street is a platform that is free for main street businesses to join, helping them navigate the often confusing and overwhelming online universe by acting as a guide to all things digital.
Over the next few months we’ll be working with the city to offer programming that will help businesses amplify their online presence and reach more consumers from Canada and around the world. In fact, we started earlier this month with BIAcadamy, hosting 47 business improvement areas (BIA) at Google Canada and providing training so they can help businesses in their neighbourhoods get online and grow globally with Google tools, like
Adwords
,
AdWords Express
and
Google My Business
.
Last year, over half of the trillions of Google searches conducted globally happened on smartphones, and critical to the success of Toronto’s main street businesses will be capitalizing on this move to mobile. As part of the Digital Main Street program, we’re arming Toronto businesses with digital tools that will help them get in front of potential customers during key moments when they are searching for products and services close to home. Canadian
search interest in “near me”
has increased by 400% year-over-year. We know that these searches lead to sales. In fact, 74% of shopping conversions occur within one hour of the initial search.
1
There’s unlimited potential for small businesses to take advantage of mobile tools to be present during these moments.
As a former startup ourselves, Google has a passion for entrepreneurship and innovation. We’re proud to be part of the Digital Main Street team and look forward to supporting Canadian entrepreneurs and helping our businesses grow.
Posted by Sam Sebastian, Managing Director, Google Canada
1
Google Canada Nielsen Mobile Search Moments, 2016
The web is a growth engine for Canadian businesses
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Canadians are constantly connected. Whether we’re streaming a new playlist, sharing a photo with family, or checking in with friends, the web plays an integral role in our daily lives. With a multicultural population and a culture that encourages Canadians to embrace their global connections, we also have the right conditions in place for our businesses to grow beyond our geographic borders.
For Canadian businesses, the web is a powerful tool to reach potential customers both at home and abroad. Thanks to the Internet and the emergence of new business platforms, even the smallest company can now adopt and afford technology that would have been the envy of a large corporation 15 years ago
.
More and more, the evidence shows that the Internet will contribute a growing share of Canada’s economic growth and that businesses that embrace online tools do better.
Take Manitobah Mukluks for example, an Aboriginal-owned company that’s been selling its traditional mukluks and moccasins in Canada for more than 15 years. In 2012, it began experimenting with online marketing through Google AdWords and launched an e-commerce site using Shopify to broaden its reach. Today, Manitobah Mukluks sells to over 45 countries through its online store and over one third of website visits come from abroad.
Rosa at Manitobah Mukluks shows off her finished product
Currently in Canada, one in 10 small businesses are exporters, but many more businesses could use the web to reach a wider pool of customers and markets.
That’s why today we’re launching a
Canadian Export Map
to help raise awareness of the export opportunities available to our home-grown businesses. Available at
g.co/exportcanada
, this map compiles data from the top 10 export countries for Canadian businesses to help them market their goods and services more effectively. The map includes the most important holidays and events in each country and insights into the web and mobile usage in each market. Our export site also shares stories of Canadian businesses, including
Vancouver Film School
,
Manitobah Mukluks
, and
1-800-GOT-JUNK
, that have successfully expanded their customer base to global markets using the web.
A sample page from the new Google Canada Export Map, available at g.co/exportcanada
“Toronto’s entrepreneurs are truly global - they are exporting to markets all over the world and that’s why we are helping to secure market access for their goods and services,” said
Minister of State Maxime Bernier
. “Our government is opening the European and South Korean markets and we will continue to give Canada’s small and medium-sized enterprises a priority on trade missions abroad.”
“Toronto has become a global leader in technology development, and as mayor, I am committed to growing the industry, which provides jobs of the future. Companies like Google Canada choose to locate themselves in Toronto because of our diverse and talented workforce, and today, we are seeing the expansion of an exciting new program that will help businesses market themselves internationally,” said
Toronto Mayor John Tory
. “As one of North America’s great cities, I want Toronto to lead from the front of the pack as a future-ready and globally integrated city.”
A recent study from Boston Consulting revealed that small businesses that embrace the web are almost 50 per cent more likely to sell their products and services outside their region. All kinds of businesses, from the largest e-commerce sites to the smallest local businesses, are using the web to power their sales to markets around the world. Today, every business can be a digital business that takes advantage of the 2.5 billion consumers online.
At Google Canada, we’re working to help small businesses to make the most of the digital single market opportunity. And we can’t wait to see how Canadian businesses make the web work for them, and where their export journey takes them.
Posted by Sam Sebastian, Country Manager, Google Canada
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