Social networks help SMEs join global value chain: expert

About 53 million Vietnamese people were active on Facebook on the monthly basis; 92 percent of whom use Facebook on their smartphones while 68 percent use it to interact with businesses, Mr. Tuoc stated at the Forum on Supporting SMEs to Join Global Value Chain co-held by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and Facebook.

The rate is relatively higher than the average of the world and the region, bringing a great outlook for online marketing, he noted.

Ms. Tran Thi Thanh Tam, deputy director of the VCCI’s SMEs Promotion Centre, said that when joining the global value chain, Vietnamese enterprises will have more opportunities to access new markets and boost exports, particularly in the fields of textile and garment, footwear, electronics and seafood.

More importantly, they will gain access to new technologies, paving the way for manufacturing of high-quality products for export, she said, adding that the global value chain will also allow companies to improve their management capacity and labour skills as well as foster cooperation and business development.

Online marketing, surely, will see a robust growth in Vietnam, helping the businesses to enhance their operational efficiency and integrate more deeply into the global economy, said Nguyen Thi Ly, sales manager in the north of Yen Sao Hoan My Co., Ltd, a swallow’s nest producer in HCM City.

However, Vietnamese consumers are yet to be acquainted with and have confidence in online purchases. So that more specific solutions should be tailored to increase their knowledge in e-commerce and raise credibility of the companies, she suggested.

Ms. Tam also said support policies must be feasible and meet enterprises’ demands, for example, when creating technical trade barriers for an import item, the government should seek consultations from producers or the association of producers of that product. In addition, industrial parks should become centres for connecting enterprises and providers of support services.

Participants of the forum agreed that companies needs to build their own strategies to raise their competitiveness and shift from price to non-price competition. They should also focus on branding and online marketing, particularly through social networks like Facebook.