On June 20th and 21st, Noah Digital’s Mary Wang and Oliver Gu attended the Gateway 17 conference, hosted by Jack Ma’s eCommerce company, Alibaba, in Detroit, Michigan. Mary and Oliver were also accompanied by forty other Canadian entrepreneurs who were exploring the opportunity to expand their small businesses with Alibaba. The Gateway conference aimed to connect small businesses with the largest e-commerce site in China, Alibaba, which connects businesses to other businesses and consumers. The two-day event was an action-packed glimpse into the near future of e-commerce in China, and the opportunities being presented to small businesses throughout the world.
According to Jack Ma’s keynote speech on the 21st, “the next 30 years belong to small businesses.” The world is shifting from the need of standardized products (made by large corporations with a one-size-fits-all mentality) to personalized products (which can be provided by small businesses in niche markets). Larger corporations are going to face problems with competing with these consumer demands. One way in which businesses can optimize themselves in this new market is through the utilization of the web.
More and more, consumers are turning to their devices, such as laptops, tablets, and mobile phones, to do their shopping. We are seeing many brick-and-mortar based businesses go belly up, and in order to survive in these web preferential markets, small businesses must adapt by giving the consumer a way to access their products in a digital manner. With the increase in digitally-formed businesses, there has also been an increase in digital marketing services, such as Noah Digital Inc.
Mary and Oliver at Noah Digital Inc. are at an advantage for the next 30 years, as Noah Digital has been (and will be) assisting many companies and entrepreneurs in bettering their online presence through Search Engine Optimization, and the revamp or optimization of the client’s websites. Not only does Noah Digital have a leg up, but any company they service will also reap the benefits due to the rise in popularity and demand of consumer-friendly website services.
In conclusion, there are many great opportunities made available to small businesses by Alibaba. The advice in which Mary and Oliver took from this event is that the web is the tool of the future for businesses; you can either grab onto it and find great success, or miss out by getting lost in dated business methods. Noah Digital Inc. will be at an advantage as many companies search for ways to meet the demand for better web services for their consumers.
