Alvin Jimenez

[Disclaimer This short post was done in 2008, hence the figures maybe inaccurate. It's the concept behind the article that's more important.]

Email Marketing isn’t even in its infancy stages here in the Philippines. The lack of reliable payment gateways, along with the typical Pinoy’s reluctance to give his credit card information, make it impossible for emails to become valid points of purchase. While sites such as Bidshot and Ebay.ph provide the platforms, transactions happen through simple kaliwaans instead. Do you know anyone who has acquired any item through honest bids?

Such is the unfortunate state of e-commerce in the Philippines.

While this is the case, there are some local sites out there that show a lot of promise. Take FHM.com.ph for example. It has the makings of a brand that can adapt remarketing strategies to boost its revenue.

Let’s go through some facts:

• FHM.com.ph is independent from its print counterpart, FHM Magazine.
• While the site has the full support of the magazine, its direction is different – to provide an online platform for its subscribers.
• Boasting a user base of 60,000+ members, and 16,000,000 page views a month, it has the legs to reach out to an untapped market.

Some ideas the team came up with:

• How about using the FHM brand to promote a product or service? Online initiated subscriptions should yield a percentage for the platform.
• Include the following in the weekly update email and charge the bar a promotional cost for spreading the word for them.

“This week FHM Live goes to Route 196, featuring blah blah blah”

Again, these are all just simple ideas that can lead to bigger things. Expect more examples in future posts.

A few years down the line, when payment gateways have been improved, and the Filipino consumer finally realizes he doesn’t have to go to the neighborhood sari-sari store to purchase a sachet of shampoo, email marketing will become a very vital part of every online business.