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With its Business View, search engine giant Google is helping small and medium enterprises (SMEs) enhance their online presence without creating a website or investing in a domain name. The product uses Street View technology to let potential customers explore a businesses location through a 360-degree virtual tour.
While Google doesn't disclose the numbers of domestic SMEs using the product, Business View is present in about 200 cities in India. Globally, about 300,000 businesses across 30 countries have adopted Business View.
The product was launched in India about two years ago.
"Google Business View is a tool that helps a business improve its online presence. There are various ways to be presence online - a website or an online maps platform. But a website has several unanswered questions: it won't tell you where the business is and how long it will take to reach that outlet, etc," said Suren Ruhela, director and product manager, India Google Maps.
Ruhela says today, being online is a more comprehensive concept. To leverage the true potential of the internet for a business, potential customers should be able to search, locate, reach and recommend the business with ease, he adds.
He says the process of creating a 360-degree tour is simple. Google has a team of photographers, termed the Google-trusted agency. An SME has to schedule a photo shoot, after which the photographer creates a story for the SME.
"In India we have more than 20 Google-trusted agencies and in a city such as Pune, we have six agencies helping business get Google Business View for their stores. Globally, we have seen strong adoption of Business View among restaurants, hotels, cafes, bars, etc. In India, we have also seen retail stores, car showrooms and day care centres using Business View," said Ruhela.
Consider the case of VV College of Engineering in Tamil Nadu. To draw attention to their campus in Tisaiyanvilai, the college management sought to increase their online/social media presence, as they felt newspaper ads were too costly and ineffective. Also, these advertisements didn't showcase the college campus and amenities effectively to potential students.
Business View's impact on the way the college is perceived is clear: Its Google+ Page impressions rose from 769 a month before the product was used to 3,062 a month after it, an increase of 298 per cent.
"Business View isn't a monetisation tool for Google, as the business pays directly to the agency for getting Business View for their outlet. Like search, results on Google Maps show businesses relevant to the information searched by users. Businesses can also advertise through ads products such as Adwords," said Ruhela.
