How Singtel is planning to drive business to SMEs

In its bid to increase business opportunities for the SME sector in Singapore, Singtel, a telecom operator has announced a nationwide campaign to rally support for small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) with a call to consumers to use products and services offered by SMEs.

The 99%SME campaign will run from 29 October to 1 November 2015 with the support of co-founder DBS, official media partner MediaCorp, SPRING Singapore and strategic partners: CapitaLand, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft and Samsung.

Bill Chang, CEO, Group Enterprise, Singtel said, “The campaign is focussed on driving innovation for a more dynamic SME ecosystem and a stronger economic base for our nation.

As the backbone of Singapore’s economy, the nearly 190,000 SMEs make up 99% of the total number of registered companies in Singapore. They contributed half of the GDP last year and employ seven in ten of the workforce.

“For the inaugural campaign, we are using Singtel’s Amobee Brand Intelligence to aggregate and analyse online sentiment to help retailers better understand and engage their customers. We are also leveraging social media to get consumers to rediscover and celebrate what SMEs have to offer,” he said.

“Singtel, together with DBS plan to make the 99%SME week campaign an annual event. We welcome the participation of other like-minded corporations - the 1% of large companies in Singapore - to help the 99% of the companies here succeed,” added Chang.

Lim Chu Chong, Head of SME Banking, DBS Bank said, “We are rallying our 4.5 million DBS and POSB customers, using more than 2,300 of our physical touchpoints including branches and self-service machines and our internet and mobile banking platforms to encourage our customers to show their support for SMEs. DBS is also committed to help SMEs build long term, sustainable business capabilities.”

Chang Long Jong, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of MediaCorp said, “Branding and marketing are key challenges confronting SMEs and that’s where MediaCorp can help – through our focus on SMEs in our content and through our advertising products and solutions customised for them. We aim to help SMEs succeed, create sustainable growth for themselves and in turn sustain our economy.”

99%SME campaign website

In the weeks leading up to the campaign, there will be a drive for SMEs to publicise their companies and promotional offerings on the dedicated 99%SME website www.99sme.sg. Consumers can check out the offers, share them with their friends and enjoy the offers when the campaign kicks off on 29 October 2015.

99%SME Consumer pledge

Consumers are encouraged to visit www.99sme.sg to pledge their support for SMEs. They can also use Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr to spread the message to their friends.

Fans of participating SMEs can also submit videos on what they like about their service to MediaCorp’s lifestyle and entertainment portal www.Toggle.sg.

Singtel will be giving away 1GB free data to the first 50,000 Singtel postpaid mobile customers who support 99%SME on each day of the four-day campaign. The free data will be activated on 26 December 2015 for eligible customers. All the customer needs to do is visit www.99sme.sg, key in their mobile phone number and submit a photograph of a receipt from a participating SME during the campaign period.

Corporate support

The inaugural campaign is supported by leading corporations - CapitaLand Mall Asia, Hewlett-Packard Singapore, Microsoft and Samsung.

The campaign is also endorsed by SPRING Singapore and key SME associations and chambers of commerce and industry.