August 22nd 2013 By Crystal Wilde
Although Hong Kong is the home of start-ups, the majority of the scene is saturated with older, wealthy entrepreneurs who have cash to splash on their business babies. But one web design company is hoping to change all that, by offering the city’s most affordable website creation and product distribution package.
A fun and funky website designed by iiNOVA
If we said you could have a fully-functioning website and another platform from which to sell your products and services for just HK$2,500, you’d probably say we’re crazy. Well we’re not, but our buddies over at iiNOVA might be!
Having already cornered the budget business market in Australia, the web design gurus have come to Hong Kong in a bid to open up the internet to all. Rather than targeting the business big boys, iiNOVA is hoping that their one-size-fits-all website packages - which use standard templates that can be customised in terms of colour and layout - will encourage students and those with few means to start out on their own.
In addition, anyone who buys the standard website package will be given the privilege of appearing on iiNOVA’s product distribution channel, set to launch next month. Shifting everything from cosmetics to food products on behalf of clients, the iiNOVA platform will bring a ready-made market of savvy online shoppers to businesses that are yet to find buyers.
“We came to Hong Kong because we could see the market here and the growing online audience of Generation Y,”Jawen Hui, Hong Kong iiNOVA team leader, tells Localiiz. “There are a lot of teenagers here who prefer online shopping, but also the older generation is now learning how to play around and shop on the Internet.”
Jawen first came across iiNOVA when looking to enhance his part-time work as a second-hand salesman while studying in Brisbane. Impressed by the results of his own iiNOVA website, he asked the company if they could use his help encouraging other local business to get themselves online.
“I saw that there were many car dealers and self-employed people who had a business but not a website. They were still working in a very traditional way, getting business from referrals, banners and word of mouth. When they realised they could get a website made for so little, they took the banners down and reprinted them with their new web address,” says Jawen.
More information on iiNOVA's new distribution channel
Now opening offices in Taiwan and Malaysia, iiNOVA - who can also make bespoke websites for those looking for something more unique - hopes to shake up Asia’s online scene by offering a one-stop service that includes domain name registration, email, hosting, design and content management.
For a renewal fee of just HK$1,500 a year, customers will also benefit from a dedicated support team that will provide maintenance services throughout the year. In addition, satisfied customers who tell their friends about iiNOVA will receive a HK$500 referral fee for every order of the standard website package.
“Nowadays, people want their own business but think it’s too expensive to invest in a website and marketing,” said Jawen. “We want to deliver the message that it doesn’t have to cost the Earth to get online and connect with customers.”
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