Many Philippine SMEs now depend on marketplaces like Shopee and Lazada as their primary online selling channels, mostly because of the immense recognition these platforms have achieved in the local market in recent years. While there’s no denying that these channels are invaluable, they homogenize the customer experience for their own benefit. Moreover, they have no incentive to push your brand, limiting your potential for growth and recognition. Having your own website, on the other hand, gives you full control over your branding and the online customer experience.

Thankfully, setting up your own e-commerce site is easier than ever. Some web platforms like Shopify even offer simple drag-and-drop, no-code site builders that reduce your dependence on web design experts. You can even add localized features through simple plugins to offer a seamless experience. For example, the Maya Plugin for Shopify lets you integrate a secure payment gateway that accepts every local digital payment, including digital wallets like Maya and GCash. The ease of integration arguably makes the Maya solution the most convenient Shopify payment gateway in the Philippines.

Whether you depend on a marketplace or operate your own site, regardless of where your channels are, you must harness your SME’s advantages in creating a strong identity. As an SME, you have more freedom to quickly develop your brand according to your goals—an advantage that is not afforded to big conglomerates and businesses that are dependent on 3rd party marketplaces.

Through carefully aimed storytelling, visuals, and consistent messaging, you can achieve an emotional resonance that attracts engaged customers. Since you can move faster than your bigger competitors, you can potentially achieve deeper connections with your customers with just a fraction of the time and resources. Study brands similar to your own and see if you can adapt or improve upon their brand strategies in your own SME.

Competing head-on with big brands in already-saturated or generic categories is not always feasible, especially if you don’t have deep pockets. Instead, look for an underserved niche or one where you are already a recognized authority. Next, partner with content creators who already have genuine connections with your intended audience. With this guerrilla-style marketing, you can simplify your brand development and keep your promotional costs under control, reducing the pressure to spend big to stimulate sales.

While large companies can often have excellent social media teams, institutional inertia and the presence of so many stakeholders often limit the depth of personalization, putting hard limits on potential engagement. This plays into the hands of SMEs that can leverage their agility to engage with customers on a personal level. 

Avoid offering generic responses and take the time to respond to inquiries, comments, and other communications to build trust. Be sure to offer personalized recommendations (not necessarily from your own product line) when appropriate. You won’t please everyone, but most of your followers will respect your business for it.

Big marketplaces rely on volume, which means many product listings end up being generic. This means that you can set yourself apart by showcasing high-quality product images, explainer videos, and well-written content that highlights the unique benefits of your offerings. Aside from just grabbing attention, these assets also set you up as a real authority in your niche, further strengthening your brand and helping you secure real customer relationships.

Competing on price isn’t always doable in today’s ultra-competitive markets. It’s also a losing strategy for most SMEs. Unless you have a serious scale advantage, there is little guarantee that you can make up for it in volume, and your brand will almost certainly suffer for whatever success it does manage to eke out.

Regardless, you should still make sure that your products match their perceived value. This means not underpricing your products unless there is a good reason to. You can still present a good proposition to value-minded customers with bundle deals, loyalty rewards, or free shipping on certain orders. You may also want to explore different suppliers or renegotiate contracts so that you still get the quality you need but at a more favorable price.

Maya offers SMEs the financial tools they need to play in limitless online marketplaces. Raise the bar and uncover new opportunities to outmatch your competition by signing up for Maya Business. Order the Maya Plugin for Shopify and other leading payment solutions today.

Signing up for Maya Business gives you a Maya Business Deposit account for settling payments and growing your savings. Maya Business Deposit offers an industry-leading 2.5% per annum interest rate, earning you PHP 25,000 per year for every PHP 1 million you deposit. You can also enjoy free cash transfers via InstaPay and PESONet, saving you cash when transacting with partners and suppliers.

Signing up also entitles you to a Maya Flexi Loan offer of up to PHP 2 million in 3 months. Funds from your Maya Flexi Loan can be used to cover emergencies and further increase your SME’s competitive advantage. Keep using Maya as your primary processor for all wallet and card payments to enjoy bigger and better loan offers.

Sign up for Maya Business today and start outdoing the competition on the world’s biggest online marketplaces.