"This Will Make You a Big Hit"... Small Business Marketing 'Sajangnim School' Gains Popularity

Sogin Gong Supports Marketing Training for Small Business Owners
Daangn and Baemin Also Offer Various Free Consultations

5.6 million self-employed individuals are fiercely studying to survive in the competition. The 'Sajangnim School,' which offers free consulting for small business owners struggling with their businesses, is gaining popularity.

The Small Enterprise and Market Service announced on the 23rd that it will operate the 'Food Service Marketing School' using artificial intelligence (AI) in partnership with Naver starting next month.

According to the Small and Medium Venture Business Administration's survey on small business owners, the number one management difficulty is 'intensified competition.' Last year, the closure rate of self-employed food service businesses exceeded 10% for the first time in 20 years. According to the Small Enterprise and Market Service, 73.6% of small business owners believe that "management improvement is necessary to adapt to the new environment."

The Small Enterprise and Market Service has been conducting marketing education programs for small business owners since 2022. Through the 'Online Seller Training Course' and the 'Food Service Master School,' a total of 571 graduates have been trained, all scoring over 90 points in satisfaction surveys. This year, the service will open the 'Food Service Marketing School' to improve the management environment of small business owners and create new business opportunities through education utilizing AI technology. This is an AI-based online marketing education program targeting small food service business owners. Using Naver's AI service ClovaX and Smart Place, the program educates small business owners to easily conduct marketing. A total of 150 participants will be selected, receiving 300,000 KRW in advertising support along with the training, and outstanding students will be awarded a total prize of 30 million KRW.

Distribution companies that partner with small business owners also offer various consulting programs. The local community platform Danggeun has been holding the 'Danggeun Sajangnim School' since 2022, providing marketing lectures. Through online and offline lectures and mentoring, it offers diverse information for food service, beauty, and cosmetic industries. On the 12th, it released an online lecture titled 'Introduction to Advertising,' explaining marketing secrets. The course includes practical advertising creation and utilization methods, along with one-on-one mentoring.

A Danggeun representative stated, "After attending the lectures and creating advertisements, positive feedback has been received, such as click rates doubling," adding, "We focus on providing content that is practically helpful for store operations." The Danggeun Sajangnim School has attracted significant interest, with a cumulative enrollment of 35,000 students.

Woowa Brothers, the operator of the delivery application Baedal Minjok, has been running the free business education program 'Baemin Academy' for small food service business owners since 2014. It provides education on all necessary aspects of restaurant management, including marketing, menu development, and taxation. Baemin has also established spaces for business education and experience in Songpa-gu, Seoul, and Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.

Baemin Academy located in Songpa-gu, Seoul [Photo by Woowa Brothers]

As of the end of last year, Baemin Academy has held 2,800 training sessions with 220,000 participants. Reflecting the characteristics of small business owners who cannot leave their stores unattended, it offers online non-face-to-face education as well as offline consulting that visits each region. For cafe-related education, the average application competition rate exceeds 5 to 1.

The 'Signature Menu Food Styling and Photography Training' held by Baemin in Jeju Island in 2022 recorded a competition rate of 21 to 1. The owner of a snack bar who attended this training said, "I was hesitant to take food photos because I was not good at using a smartphone, but I applied for the consulting," adding, "Learning properly from experts helped me take great marketing photos, which was a big help."