Filipino small business owners strongly embrace digital transformation, says GoDaddy study

GoDaddy Inc., the company that helps entrepreneurs thrive, reveals Filipino entrepreneurs take digitalization of their business seriously and are trying to improve processes with better use of technology tools to help their business be more efficient and help them grow.

The third round of findings from the GoDaddy Data Observatory 2023 shows Filipino respondents are already using digital tools including intranet or internal social networks (84%), shared drives for collaboration (72%), services for storing or transferring data (67%) and use of video conferencing (65%).

Filipino small businesses are also willing to invest more in online sales and marketing this year, according to the report (95%).

Meaningful customer experiences are recognized by Filipinos as a key component for their business. Taking this into account, the tools that the businesses are currently using or planning to use to operate their business and interact with customers include online customer service (71%), digital payment systems (70%), e-mail notifications (67%), online booking systems (63%) and digital invoicing (56%). Additionally, 54% of respondents claimed to use a customer relationship management tool (CRM) to help manage and track customers interactions – on par with the global average of 55%

When it comes to the importance of digitization, Filipino small businesses believe it is very important to have web security (82%), have a social media presence (82%), have an online store (76%), conduct digital advertising (75%) and own a website (72%). Additionally, 68% of respondents said they researched or bought website protections for their site.

“GoDaddy offers a comprehensive suite of tools and services ready to help Filipino small businesses maneuver through the digital landscape in a way that is affordable and easy to use. We are committed to assisting them in adapting their strategies to stay at the forefront of the digital revolution,” said Selina Bieber, Vice President International Markets for GoDaddy.

The GoDaddy Data Observatory was conducted by Advanis in March 2023 in Brazil, Colombia, Germany, India, Mexico, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, and the United States. The sample criteria were small business owners, and companies were defined based on the number of employees, ranging from one to 50 people. For this study, a total of 4,682 entrepreneurs and small business owners were surveyed, including 488 in APAC (Philippines, Singapore and Thailand combined).