THE CNMI Department of Commerce launched a business readiness initiative last week to help local businesses increase exposure, track, and boost their sales.
Economic Recovery Corps fellow Carina Boston Pinales, who works with Commerce, on Tuesday explained how the initiative works.
She said when business owners fill out the form from the QR code provided by Commerce, it will take them online, where they can submit their business profile.
As of Jan. 12, 2025, 30 different businesses had already registered. Commerce, with the help of the Marianas Visitors Authority, handed out over 200 QR code cards to passengers of a cruise ship that visited Saipan over the weekend.
The QR code directed tourists to the new Commerce website, which contains a list of clickable business names. Once they click on a business name, visitors are taken to the business’ website or social media platform.
Pinales said the initiative will also allow Commerce to learn what supportive services local businesses want, such as more workshops or additional business activities.
The online form also includes a question asking if people feel confident about the business. Based on the information provided in their profiles, Commerce can create a unique link that allows businesses to track activity when visitors access their categorized listings on the website. When a visitor receives a “Welcome to the CNMI” card and clicks on a business listing, Commerce can see where the visitor is from — whether it’s Korea, Japan, or elsewhere — and track the activity and the day they visited the site.
For example, when Commerce learns that a flight from Korea is arriving with 200 passengers, the business readiness initiative will allow the department to track whether businesses are benefiting. If Commerce sees, for instance, 20 engagements on a specific business link clicked by visitors from the website, it can determine the impact.
Pinales said the initiative will help Commerce acquire real-time data and assist businesses in making data-driven decisions that are specific to what’s working for them.
“This helps us with our gross domestic product, with our economy in general, measuring to know when we have an influx of visitors, where the businesses need to concentrate their marketing efforts in the long term, and we know to measure those engagements and put our focus on attracting those types of visitors,” Pinales said.
She said it is hard for businesses to make accurate decisions about where to focus their efforts, whether it’s offering specials or ensuring that most of their communications are in a specific language, for example.
“Right now, we don’t have that information. With this campaign, it will help us have that information,” she said.
Commerce Secretary Remedio C. Mafnas said she is “so excited that we came up with this because now, some of the businesses that reached out to us, we visited them, explained the project, and helped them fill out the online form, and they are very happy.”
She said her department is trying to do whatever it can to help businesses. “What we do is not just for Commerce it’s for the entire CNMI, to help the people and businesses,” she added.
Registrar of Corporations John David A. Reyes, who plays a key role in the implementation of the initiative, said whenever a new business registers, Commerce provides a checklist to the business owner or operator, allowing the business to be listed online for tourists and other prospective customers to see.
“We are working hand in hand to make sure that our businesses are registered here,” he added.
CNMI Department of Commerce Secretary Remedio C. Mafnas, center, Economic Recovery Corps fellow Carina Boston Pinales, left, and CNMI Registrar John David A. Reyes pose for photo after an interview with Variety on Tuesday.
This is the QR code card that Commerce has been distributing to visitors and potential customers of businesses in the CNMI.
