E-commerce entrepreneurs should use technology听to听offload repetitive and unsexy tasks听such as payment processing听so that听they听can focus on听their听customers,听according听to the book听.听
The idea for听GCash, an e-wallet with听more than 38 million users, came from observing how Filipinos handled debt. 鈥淲e saw people going, 鈥業 have no cash. How about I give you P50 worth of mobile phone credits right now and let鈥檚 call it quits?鈥 That鈥檚 how it [GCash] began,鈥 said Mario Domingo, one of the e-wallet鈥檚 co-authors and founder of Neural Mechanics Inc., a boutique AI (artificial intelligence) machine learning shop that analyzes customers鈥 psychographic behavior.听
By practicing empathy 鈥 putting on a backpack, finding your customer, and learning what they are doing 鈥 an entrepreneur will be able to tease out relationships like, say, what objects frequently appear together in a shopper鈥檚 cart.听听
鈥淲e learned that on Thursday afternoon 鈥 in certain municipalities and social classes 鈥 sales of Emperador Light, condoms, and ice goes through the roof,鈥 said Mr. Domingo. 鈥淪o, we bundled the items in front of the store, and they flew off the shelf.鈥澨听
鈥淟earn how they鈥檙e browsing 鈥 and not from the听cookies听only,鈥 he added. 鈥淗ow are they interacting with your product?鈥澨听
Composed of anecdotes like these,听E-Hustle听collates insights from 17听e-commerce leaders听in the Philippines听from different fields, including logistics, distribution, and payments.听听
鈥淭here is no map to e-commerce, no guide that says 鈥榶ou are here鈥 and tells you how to go the distance. But there are principles, strategies, and tactics that cut across different contexts, and the leaders here share exactly those: You can apply what they learned often through trial-and-error to your own circumstances, fast tracking your personal growth, and in extension, that of your business,鈥 said Kyle Nate, production editor of听The听E-Hustle, in a statement.听
FROM YOUR BEDROOM听
In the early 2010s, door-to-door delivery 鈥 a service taken for granted today 鈥 was a crazy idea,听said Francis听Plaza, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of payment gateway听PayMongo. Tech, he added, democratized the playing field, allowing good ideas to flourish.听
鈥淭ech allows you to launch your idea in your bedroom. Every business is a tech company now,鈥 he said. 鈥淕one are the days when engineers monopolized tech. [Everyone] has something to bring to this digital shift.鈥澨听
This shift, Mr. Plaza added, requires a lot of players and layers to enable the ecosystem, including AI,听security, logistics, and 鈥渦nsexy鈥 facets like payments.听PayMongo听itself grew 40 times last year as a result of the country鈥檚 shift to digital transactions due to the pandemic.听听
鈥淧ayments are the least sexy thing in the value chain of internet transactions,鈥 Mr. Plaza said. 鈥淲e do this to enable more people to trust the digital world, and so you, [an entrepreneur], can do the better stuff.鈥澨听
For its part, Shopee Philippines helps small businesses shift to digital through seller support packages and the Shopee University Summit, which teaches business strategy to sellers.听听
Small sellers can try live-selling 鈥 using video to sell their products 鈥 to boost sales, according to Shopee director Martin Yu.听听
, which sells branded overruns and has a five-star rating, regularly livestreams its latest offerings on Shopee.听
For Kim Y. Lato, CEO of听Kimstore, the Philippines鈥檚 first online gadget store, selecting the right business partners was instrumental.听听
鈥淒on鈥檛 be too caught up with pricing,鈥 Ms. Lato said. 鈥淎sk, do they offer good customer service? Are their technology solutions still at par with future trends?鈥澨听
As with the other book contributors, she acknowledged the usefulness of tech while highlighting the importance of having a customer-centric culture.听听
鈥淚 knew the names, birthdays, and purchases of my first 500 customers,鈥 said Ms. Lato, who started selling online in 2006 at the now-defunct social networking site听. 鈥淎t the end of the day, tech is just tech. It鈥檚 what you provide to customers that matters.鈥 鈥斕Patricia B. Mirasol听
Put together by Bookshelf PH,听听is available at听.
