Tailored and simplified training for digital marketing and e-commerce according to the needs of SMEs

1ePoint addressed the needs of the SMEs for specialization in the fields of business and ICT. There were various reasons behind the project proposal. Firstly, many SMEs of the retail sector had been seriously damaged by the economic and social crisis in Europe, especially in the partner countries of Spain and Greece, mostly because they were unable to manage their financial issues and loans. Secondly, along with the minimization of the purchase ability of the customers, SMEs owners found themselves unable to broaden their market target audience by transforming their shop into e-shop due to lack of know-how. Thirdly, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many SMEs of the retail sector had to turn their business online, so to continue operating and generating revenue, and the lack of knowledge and expertise on this process raised as a problem. We applied for ‘1ePoint’ to help owners and employees of small and very small enterprises to increase their knowledge on e-commerce, online shops and digital marketing issues in order their business to thrive. The name of the project was linked to the term of ‘unique selling point’ as something that stands out as a service and solution to the training needs of the learners from the retail sector.

1ePoint was implemented by three partners from Spain, Greece and Cyprus, aiming to upgrade the skills of SMEs owners and employees of the retail sector in the areas of business, financial management and digital marketing. Taking into consideration the growing demand in the creation and running of online stores, 1ePoint not only focused on offering trainings, but on creating a mobile application to help the SMEs owners in the sales of products online, while improving their digital skills. 1ePoint achieved to: 1. Adapt the finance and accounting curriculum to the training needs of the learners from the retail sector in 3 EU countries and abroad, providing material in 3 languages. 2. Conduct trainings in Greece and Spain, where SME owners gained knowledge in the relevant matters to their business, e-commerce and digital marketing. 3. Deliver materials and resources as an Open Educational Platfrom accessible by any interested party. 4. Design an online app that apart from accompanying the training as a game, could assist the retail owners to initiate their online e-shop. 5. Disseminate and communicate the project results to the broader audience through the set dissemination channels and awareness-raising events in CY, GR and ES.