The Viet Nam Online Marketing Forum 2016 was opened by the Viet Nam E-commerce Association (VECOM) in Ha Noi on August 26. — VNS Photo

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The Viet Nam Online Marketing Forum 2016 was opened by the Viet Nam E-commerce Association (VECOM) in Ha Noi on August 26.

With the theme "Optimising online marketing", the event aimed to promote online marketing in Viet Nam and support businesses optimising their online marketing channels.

"The most effective way to do business online is to have a website and social media presence that work together to spread your message and foster relationships with the broadest customer audience. The first step towards building a successful and credible online presence is to choose the right domain name." President of VECOM Nguyen Thanh Hung, said.

"By using trusted domain extensions, there is a level of credibility awarded to these businesses. Considered the global standard for doing business online, numerous global enterprises, including Fortune 500 companies, have chosen .com to build their websites with the desire of extending beyond the local audience," Hung said.

"Additionally, with the operational accuracy and stability of the .com DNS infrastructure for more than 18 years, businesses are encouraged to choose .com to be the basis of their online presence," Hung added.

A report of VECOM said that E-commerce in Viet Nam has been in rapid development stage. Online sale reached US$4.07 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach $10 billion in the next five years. However, businesses are facing remarkable obstacles, including customer trust, payments and online marketing tools.

In order to raise businesses' awareness of the importance of building an online presence and conducting online marketing, many speakers from world's big names such as Google, Nielsen, and Facebook, shared their expertise and guidelines at the event.

Many experts also agreed that every small business needs a website. Given the ease of building a website these days, it is possible for businesses to build a high-quality website to showcase business, and to establish their brand in a form they can control.

Seventy-seven percent of small businesses say websites are the most effective online marketing tool for creating awareness and strengthening customer relationships, more than any other online marketing tool.

According to Nielsen's Global Trust in Advertising 2015, Vietnamese consumers place most confidence in advertisement on search metrics, and then social networks, online video and banners.  While online marketing has an intimate relationship with online shopping, many Vietnamese businesses have not paid much attention to this tool. — VNS