MUMBAI: In a bid to provide deeper engagement to small medium businesses (SMBs), who are looking to gain from the rising Internet user base in the country, Google India has launched a new initiative called Google Advantage.

The initiative will entail Google hosting an offline symposium to educate small medium businesses on the benefits of the Internet and also provide one-on-one consultation on how to use the latest online tools and technologies and meet their business objectives.

Speaking about the initiative, Google India head of small medium business marketing Sapna Chadha said, “Small and medium businesses in India have been a strategic focus for Google. In the last four years, we have rolled out several initiatives that are aimed to equip small medium businesses to get an online presence and use the digital platform to grow their business. With this initiative, we wanted to provide SMBs a platform to get direct access to Google and gain through deeper engagement and one-on-one consultations. We expect over 4000 small medium businesses to attend the program this week.” 

The initiative in Delhi will be executed in partnership with Google agency partners IPG Mediabrands.

IPG Mediabrands CEO Shashi Sinha said, “We’re delighted to partner with Google for this initiative. Google Advantage is a great platform for small medium businesses to connect and learn about the scope of online medium. There is a huge potential for modernization and adoption of newer marketing technology amongst SMBs in India to grow their business.”

Out of the estimated 51 million small medium businesses, only five - six per cent have online presence. Studies done by Google indicate that at least 20 per cent of India’s SMBs are already equipped with the infrastructure to leverage technology but need the help of digital experts to help them navigate some of the complexities of navigating the constantly changing digital landscape.

The initiative is designed to help small medium businesses get first hand information from Google in a format that will encourage SMBs to share their challenges and learn directly from Google experts. The event will be held in Delhi from 7 - 12 September, 2015 and extend to more cities basis the feedback.