Make Small Strong: giving customers several ways to help

Read the campaign story

Google India’s Make Small Strong campaign launched in September 2020 amid the disruption facing small businesses during the pandemic. It invited people to support local shops through purchases, reviews, ratings and social recommendations. The message did not rely on one expensive act of support. It offered several familiar actions, some involving spending and others involving useful information or visibility, within a broader effort to help businesses operate digitally.

Contemporary reporting describes the campaign alongside partnerships intended to help businesses build a digital presence, accept orders and arrange delivery. YourStory’s announcement and Financial Express coverage both document the consumer invitation. Much of that information originates in Google’s announcement, so the two articles are not independent evaluations of business recovery. This case also distinguishes Make Small Strong from earlier 2020 support programmes rather than assigning every Google small-business initiative the same launch date.

Editorially, the campaign breaks a large problem into actions an ordinary customer can understand. Supporting local business is an abstract aspiration; buying from a shop or writing an honest account of a real experience is concrete. A menu of options lets people contribute according to their circumstances. The invitation works best when the action has a clear destination and does not require the audience to invent a new habit from scratch.

A small business association could adapt the structure with an opt-in directory of local members and accurate instructions for finding them. Invite customers to share truthful experiences without rewards conditioned on positive ratings. Do not fabricate reviews, pressure staff or customers, or coordinate misleading endorsements. Obtain permission for business photographs and keep hours, delivery areas and contact details current so the additional attention does not lead people to unusable or inaccurate information.

The case also shows why demand and operational readiness should be considered together. A shop may gain enquiries but be unable to fulfil orders if stock, payments or delivery are not ready. Measure completed useful actions and merchant feedback, not just hashtag mentions. This entry does not claim that the campaign saved businesses or caused a quantified recovery. Its practical lesson is to make a broad invitation actionable, then ensure the receiving businesses can benefit from the action without sacrificing honesty, consent or the quality of the customer experience.

Offer several routes

Include useful actions for people with different budgets and time.

Protect review integrity

Ask only for honest accounts of genuine experiences.

Prepare the destination

Verify business information and fulfilment before driving attention.

A small test for another brief

Build an opt-in local business directory with honest support options.

Useful customer actions and merchant-reported fulfilment.

Pause promotion when listings become inaccurate or reviews are manipulated.

• Confirm merchant consent, hours and service details.
• Publish clear routes to buy or leave truthful experience-based feedback.
• Check enquiries, fulfilled orders and information accuracy with merchants.