However unnecessary it may seem at the onset marketing has its crucial inputs critical to any Small and Medium Size enterprise. As it is the channel that shouts out aloud about your business. The very route required to make known your business to everyone.
You can’t be present personally everywhere. You also can’t pitch to 10 clients at one time. Very reason you need a website. This is the first step in marketing wherein the ultimate objective is to generate intent to buy the product. Your website will speak about you to hundreds of viewers at one time. Thus, it can create awareness amongst the buyers about your business and entertain queries. It further allows you to have 24X7 global presence which is cost-effective and efficient. Also these days, having a website means being in trend. If you don’t have one you are considered outdated. It helps SMEs create branding for their businesses. Moreover, it adds to their credibility, which is imperative for conducting businesses.
1)What your website should entail
a.User friendly navigation
b.Light in data so that in can open on mobiles
c.Format it in html /dhtml so that it is easily picked up my search engines
d.Complete info about your business, credibility, quality & requisite certificates
e.A little history and references would be great
f.If you have any licenses / creditworthiness then put it up
2)Newsletters and e-mailers
Next step is to shoot your newsletters and e-mailers. These have to be content rich with images and something new to read. Shoot these to your database and be on the look out to add more relevant email ids to your database. Put in offers and discounts in these mailers making them interesting and genuine.
3)Social Media
Your marketing has to be everywhere so get into social networking. Log into facebook, flickr, orkut, myspace, linkedin, indiamart.com, youtube etc. Meet likeminded individuals here and discuss your business. This kind of word of mouth spreads faster than fire. Blogging is another avenue for you to dig deeper into marketing. You can chat and resolve issues and display your prowess.
4)Measuring traffic
With the right application you can know the number of people that visited your website. This way you can know where the maximum hits come from and when – weekdays or weekends, office hours or non working hours. It will give you an idea of who are logging on to your site. SMEs can utilize Google Analytics which is a free tool for measuring traffic on to your website.
5)Directory listing
Listing your business on the directories of B2B portals will make you visible in the search results of your target audience. As these are the people that are searching for a particular type of machinery or material, plastic cans or pressure cookers. Also these directories have credential seals like the TRUST SEAL given to some members who meet the reliability requirements at Indiamart.com. Besides, this is the place where international clients too come in to find supply of their demand. Making it a perfect international platform to grow your business.
6)Search Engine Savvy
Everyone loves to Google on things they are not aware about. Here they get options and relevant data. For your website to come up in these searches content on your website has to have keyword rich articles. For eg: if you are a travel tour company then your keywords should be: 1) travel and tour services 2) Vacations 3) Holidays 4) Luxury Travel 5) Budget Hotels – etc
As these are the common words an individual would enter into Google.
So if you want to get ahead of approximately 20 million SMEs in India with profits for the financial year, besides concentrating on product, quality and net profit among the zillion other things on your mind set aside time and budget for online marketing. Some ideas may not bring in benefits immediately but marketing as we know is a slow and steady process which will always win you benefits in the long run.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Internet - Empowering Businesses, Small & Big
New entrepreneurs are the need of the hour for India, if we need to grow at a rate of 10% says Ashank Desai, Chairman of Mastek, one of the authors of India's IT triumph story. But the existing enterprises need to nourish themselves with every available opportunity to grow and expand as we are in the backlogs compared to growing industries worldwide.
Technology is one of the major hit to Small and Medium Enterprises. We are decades behind when it comes to being tech-savvy. Having a website and being connected online is not only important but the very survival of the enterprise depends on it. One should be available from anywhere in the world ready to supply on demand. That brings efficiency and the making of a thoroughbred enterprise.
Moreover, with globalization - the evil storm on small enterprises - several new challenges have cropped up. Liberalization, competitors from across the globe, lesser pricing and enhanced customer service are some of these. Our SMEs are fighting Chinese products with all their might, yet they are falling short on efforts. Reason being online connectivity. Once you are connected and strive for a global platform, you receive recognition which in turn will roll in customers.
Adding to this, credibility is another name of the game. And it will come only if you are registered. After the government licenses are cleared, SMEs must register themselves at important portals like www.indiamart.com and www.bizexchange.in. Registering is the beginning of lasting relationships. These portals are platforms for suppliers to meet buyers and vice versa. Directories of the smallest of companies are registered here with complete product and contact details. You can get connected with your dream supplier or buyer within minutes, thus saving time and money invested in searching for the right company. In addition, IndiaMART.com gives suppliers a TrustSEAL, further bridging the trust gap between buyers and suppliers.
These portals also allow suppliers to showcase their products. Buyers can check products and pricing giving them a look and feel of the supplier in a nutshell.
Internet is therefore the key to grow and profit. The key to survival and enhancement. Thus growth of SMEs and indirectly the growth of the country can all be attributed to the internet.
The future holds strong for those SMEs who can take on change and adhere to the requirements of current times. Being internet-savvy, building a strong technology base, international perspective and an ever-evolving attitude are a few characteristics that will help SMEs have a sustainable competitive advantage in the long run. Be empowered today!
Moreover, with globalization - the evil storm on small enterprises - several new challenges have cropped up. Liberalization, competitors from across the globe, lesser pricing and enhanced customer service are some of these. Our SMEs are fighting Chinese products with all their might, yet they are falling short on efforts. Reason being online connectivity. Once you are connected and strive for a global platform, you receive recognition which in turn will roll in customers.
Adding to this, credibility is another name of the game. And it will come only if you are registered. After the government licenses are cleared, SMEs must register themselves at important portals like www.indiamart.com and www.bizexchange.in. Registering is the beginning of lasting relationships. These portals are platforms for suppliers to meet buyers and vice versa. Directories of the smallest of companies are registered here with complete product and contact details. You can get connected with your dream supplier or buyer within minutes, thus saving time and money invested in searching for the right company. In addition, IndiaMART.com gives suppliers a TrustSEAL, further bridging the trust gap between buyers and suppliers.
These portals also allow suppliers to showcase their products. Buyers can check products and pricing giving them a look and feel of the supplier in a nutshell.
Internet is therefore the key to grow and profit. The key to survival and enhancement. Thus growth of SMEs and indirectly the growth of the country can all be attributed to the internet.
The future holds strong for those SMEs who can take on change and adhere to the requirements of current times. Being internet-savvy, building a strong technology base, international perspective and an ever-evolving attitude are a few characteristics that will help SMEs have a sustainable competitive advantage in the long run. Be empowered today!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Triple A's : Paving the Way to Success for SMEs
With numerous economic reforms and liberalization of the economy since the 1990s, India has become a country with high growth rate after China. This has not been the outcome of random selection of processes but a well thought out and planned procedures and activities. Therefore, we cannot disregard or ignore the contribution of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Indian economy. But, having said that, there are multitudinous factors that still ail SMEs when facing competition with MNCs or large corporate businesses in every sector. This is where they need to sit up and take account of the changing business environment.
Branding and image building have become the touchstone of MNCs. It is the common marketing strategy for corporate houses to influence the market in their favour and therefore determine the chances of success. Most of the SMEs are comfortable in the present economic scenario and have not incorporated additional business management skills that have become essential for survival.
Thus, the role of triple A's - Awareness, Action and Audit in SME marketing will help to keep pace with the dynamic nature of the economy.
Awareness: The visible shift from the traditional to the new has led to increased competition. The market offers innumerable services and products and therefore the idea should be to have that competitive edge that differentiates the business from the rest. But to accomplish this, it is imperative to identify customer need, the target audience and the competitors. SMEs should be aware of the current on goings in the market and keep themselves updated with the information crucial to their business existence.
- Capitalizing on different marketing techniques: SMEs need to undertake innovative marketing techniques to maximize customer satisfaction. Providing best possible services where the buyer's experience leads to good word of mouth certainly results in building of positive image for the business. This is one of the surest way of influencing clients. Customer references, radio, outdoor marketing (eg. roadside billboards), print and email marketing, and internet are other ways of making one's existence felt in the market. The strong online presence in the market has become the need of the hour as far as marketing is concerned. Since many small businesses cannot invest money in television and other expensive medium to market their services and products, internet marketing can be the next best alternative as seen in the case of Madhulika Sweets, a Dhanbad-based sweet outlet that decided to graduate to internet. Mr. Kumar Manish, Owner of Madhulika Sweets, shares, “We experienced enormous increase in our sale when we associated ourselves with a B2B e-marketplace IndiaMART.com and started online marketing of our products through the website www.madhulikaonline.com.”
- Brand Management: Many SMEs still do not invest in advertising and branding. Branding helps in image building resulting in formation of favorable customers' opinion that increases credibility of the business. Small businesses should get effective branding and advertising strategies from experts to avail of the inherent opportunities present in the market.
Action: The information and knowledge gained should be put into practice. With the continuous change in the market, customer opinion changes simultaneously. Investing in effective and smart marketing and newer and better ideas can guarantee assured returns. Small businesses have immense growth potential but are also threatened with technological innovations and advancements. This makes it essential for them to streamline their marketing activities by keeping abreast with the local as well as the global competitors. Also, there should be a shift from profit-making business to relationship-building enterprises. Therefore, the SMEs should take appropriate action and adopt best practices that will be beneficial to their business operation.
Audit: SMEs should embrace processes that continuously review their activities. Any and every business wants to maximize profit but the question is to what extent should a business cut cost to achieve this. Cutting costs weakens the chances of increasing resources and investing in better tools and technologies. This harms small businesses which can have an adverse effect in the long run. Periodic evaluation of business strategies will lead to improved quality and productivity.
The last few years have seen a lot of change in the Indian economy. The multifarious products and services available to the buyers have resulted in complete makeover of the exhausted system of working. Today, every business is expected not only to offer what is wanted by the buyers but also to focus on cost management rather than cost cutting. Moreover, building assets are no longer associated with plants and machinery but with the brand that they are. Therefore, to survive and exist in this aggressive and combative conditions, businesses need to evolve with the change.
Branding and image building have become the touchstone of MNCs. It is the common marketing strategy for corporate houses to influence the market in their favour and therefore determine the chances of success. Most of the SMEs are comfortable in the present economic scenario and have not incorporated additional business management skills that have become essential for survival.
Thus, the role of triple A's - Awareness, Action and Audit in SME marketing will help to keep pace with the dynamic nature of the economy.
Awareness: The visible shift from the traditional to the new has led to increased competition. The market offers innumerable services and products and therefore the idea should be to have that competitive edge that differentiates the business from the rest. But to accomplish this, it is imperative to identify customer need, the target audience and the competitors. SMEs should be aware of the current on goings in the market and keep themselves updated with the information crucial to their business existence.
- Capitalizing on different marketing techniques: SMEs need to undertake innovative marketing techniques to maximize customer satisfaction. Providing best possible services where the buyer's experience leads to good word of mouth certainly results in building of positive image for the business. This is one of the surest way of influencing clients. Customer references, radio, outdoor marketing (eg. roadside billboards), print and email marketing, and internet are other ways of making one's existence felt in the market. The strong online presence in the market has become the need of the hour as far as marketing is concerned. Since many small businesses cannot invest money in television and other expensive medium to market their services and products, internet marketing can be the next best alternative as seen in the case of Madhulika Sweets, a Dhanbad-based sweet outlet that decided to graduate to internet. Mr. Kumar Manish, Owner of Madhulika Sweets, shares, “We experienced enormous increase in our sale when we associated ourselves with a B2B e-marketplace IndiaMART.com and started online marketing of our products through the website www.madhulikaonline.com.”
- Brand Management: Many SMEs still do not invest in advertising and branding. Branding helps in image building resulting in formation of favorable customers' opinion that increases credibility of the business. Small businesses should get effective branding and advertising strategies from experts to avail of the inherent opportunities present in the market.
Action: The information and knowledge gained should be put into practice. With the continuous change in the market, customer opinion changes simultaneously. Investing in effective and smart marketing and newer and better ideas can guarantee assured returns. Small businesses have immense growth potential but are also threatened with technological innovations and advancements. This makes it essential for them to streamline their marketing activities by keeping abreast with the local as well as the global competitors. Also, there should be a shift from profit-making business to relationship-building enterprises. Therefore, the SMEs should take appropriate action and adopt best practices that will be beneficial to their business operation.
Audit: SMEs should embrace processes that continuously review their activities. Any and every business wants to maximize profit but the question is to what extent should a business cut cost to achieve this. Cutting costs weakens the chances of increasing resources and investing in better tools and technologies. This harms small businesses which can have an adverse effect in the long run. Periodic evaluation of business strategies will lead to improved quality and productivity.
The last few years have seen a lot of change in the Indian economy. The multifarious products and services available to the buyers have resulted in complete makeover of the exhausted system of working. Today, every business is expected not only to offer what is wanted by the buyers but also to focus on cost management rather than cost cutting. Moreover, building assets are no longer associated with plants and machinery but with the brand that they are. Therefore, to survive and exist in this aggressive and combative conditions, businesses need to evolve with the change.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Internet & Mobile Industry Huddle Together to Propel SMEs to Next Level of Growth
-Top players from industry brainstorm on driving SMEs business with cost-effective ICT solutions
-More than 500 real SMEs participate in the conference
-Chief Guest Shri Dinesh Rai, Hon'ble Secretary, Ministry of MSME, GoI announces Rs. 105 cr. worth ICT scheme
-Sessions on B2B marketplaces, social media & classified portals, IT applications, mobile & email marketing take the limelight
New Delhi, 8th July 2010: Now is the time of collaboration between the industry stalwarts for augmenting growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Indubitably depicting this, for the first time ever, the Internet and Mobile industry fraternity came together to provide much-needed impetus to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) at the recently concluded Conference on 'Free for SMEs'. Jointly organized by IndiaMART.com and Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, the much-acclaimed conference brought fierce competitors from different verticals on a common platform to voice their opinion, share their expertise and add value on how SMEs can leverage ICT tools, services and applications for their business growth. That is, the conference equipped the SMEs with information and knowledge of these applications which they were largely unaware of. The distinguished Chief Guest Shri Dinesh Rai, Honorable Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India also commended such an effort and announced an ICT scheme worth Rs. 105 crore for the MSMEs.
Complimenting the industry fraternity, the audience gathering was constituted by the real SMEs. As usually observed, actual SMEs are missing in action in conferences and seminars. However, the theme was so valuable and attractive that it was successful in mobilizing over 500 SMEs to attend and benefit from this unique convention.
No other platform than 'Free for SMEs' could achieve a feat of having intense competitors like IndiaMART.com, Tradeindia.com, Fibre2fashion.com, Sulekha and Yahoo! Small Business in one forum and discuss how SMEs could reap the benefits of B2B Marketplaces. Moderating the session, Mr. Namit Pandey, Head, Yahoo Small Business, Yahoo India said, “Internet today has become bigger than any other media viz. radio, TV or newspapers. Thus, the starting point for SMEs today is certainly to have web presence to reach out to their customers.” The unique session had further deliberation by Mr. Brijesh Agrawal, COO, IndiaMART.com who highlighted how SMEs can do wonders by using B2B Marketplaces easily and effectively. Breaking the myth of having to invest exorbitant amount of time to access B2B marketplaces, he stated, “SMEs lack willingness to access Internet. If they overcome this, all they require is 15 minutes to one hour of time in a day to effectively utilize the services of these online marketplaces and enhance their business prospects tremendously.” Echoing Mr. Agrawal's view, Mr. Bikky Khosla, CEO, Tradeindia.com, said, “SMEs need to be active on B2B marketplaces which offer cost-effective solutions for both marketing and sourcing.”
In addition, for the first time ever, the entire classified portals industry was together on one platform. The think tanks from InfoEdge, OLX, Asklaila.com, Quickr India, J9 Ventures successfully enabled a detailed understanding of leveraging their cost-effective services for brand building, promotions and engaging customers. While Mr. Amarjit Batra, OLX highlighted the worthiness of local classifieds and methods to utilize blogs and social networking sites like Facebook, Mr. Pranay Chulet, CEO, Quickr India termed the local classified portals as 'faster, better and cheaper' way of enhancing businesses. Believing in the tech-tonic shift in the way information is consumed, Mr. Amlan Mandal from Asklaila apprised everyone in the audience on evaluating what works better (social media) for business, segmentation of target group and timing of consumption.
An interactive platform, the one-of-a-kind conference also had panelists answering questions put forth by the engaged audience. To a question on what all aspects to be kept in mind while hiring SEO agencies, a panelist replied that objectives and deliverables are to be well-defined while understanding basics of SEO by oneself. Replying to another question on how to use social media for a B2B segment, another panelist said that companies can start groups around their area of expertise through which they can tap their target customers.
Proudly enriching the SME audience with low-cost or free ICT solutions, corporate giants like Microsoft, Google India, Intel South Asia ardently shared stage with upcoming business leaders like Luna Ergonomics. Addressing the session, Mr. Rajeev Karwal, Founder and CEO, Milagrow stated, “In order to remain competitive, SMEs need to use low-cost or free tools like Cloud Computing. Infact, lesser known softwares like Sugar CRM, Orange HRM and .proj are very helpful tools for managing businesses efficiently.” Moreover, Mr. Gautam Gandhi, Manager, New Business Development, Google India emphasized on importance on careful integration of online and offline activities by small businesses. Sharing an exciting new technology, Mr. Abhijit Bhattacharjee, CEO, Luna Ergonomics informed that with Panini Keypad users can type in any language and utilize it for different areas of their business like sales force automation and sending updates to customers in regional languages, among others.
The conference concluded with the forward-looking theme of cost-effective mobile and email marketing solutions for SME businesses where One97, Valuefirst, 160by2, Sprinklr jointly enlightened the esteemed audience with their knowledge. Describing email marketing as a high ROI solution, Mr. Manjunath K G, Co-founder & MD, Sprinklr said, “SMEs need to start building mailing lists and tracking visitors to their websites and getting back to them.” Lastly, Mr. Pankaj Agarwal, Head-Sales, Netcore Solutions explained how mobile marketing can be effectively used in a cost effective way. He added, “Mobile marketing tools like SMS-push/pull, games application, Voice-IVR or Voice-SMS, Mobile Internet-rich media, et al can be highly beneficial for SMEs.” Mr. Agarwal also ran an instant poll among the audience to know their feedback about Mobile Advertising. Over 90% SMSed stating Yes!
About IndiaMART.com
IndiaMART.com is India's largest online B2B marketplace connecting global buyers with suppliers through business directories, online product catalogs, buy-sell offers, industry specific marketplaces, printed media and trade shows participation.
Founded in 1996, the company has a pan-India presence in over 100 cities. With over 1500 employees located across 39 offices in the country, IndiaMART.com offers an extensive range of value-added products and services to its 700,000 registered members and nearly 5 million global buyers across various industries and verticals.
IndiaMART.com has won numerous awards over the years and has been widely covered by media such as CNBC, BBC, BusinessMoney, CNN, Businessworld, Economic Times, Financial Express, etc for its pioneering role in promoting SME business in the country. Its existing investors include Intel Capital and Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd (Times Group), India's largest print media group.
For more information, please visit: www.indiamart.com/press-section/
Media Contacts
Pawandeep Kaur
Manager – PR
IndiaMART.com
M: +91-9990098828
E: pr@indiamart.com
-More than 500 real SMEs participate in the conference
-Chief Guest Shri Dinesh Rai, Hon'ble Secretary, Ministry of MSME, GoI announces Rs. 105 cr. worth ICT scheme
-Sessions on B2B marketplaces, social media & classified portals, IT applications, mobile & email marketing take the limelight
New Delhi, 8th July 2010: Now is the time of collaboration between the industry stalwarts for augmenting growth of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Indubitably depicting this, for the first time ever, the Internet and Mobile industry fraternity came together to provide much-needed impetus to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) at the recently concluded Conference on 'Free for SMEs'. Jointly organized by IndiaMART.com and Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, the much-acclaimed conference brought fierce competitors from different verticals on a common platform to voice their opinion, share their expertise and add value on how SMEs can leverage ICT tools, services and applications for their business growth. That is, the conference equipped the SMEs with information and knowledge of these applications which they were largely unaware of. The distinguished Chief Guest Shri Dinesh Rai, Honorable Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India also commended such an effort and announced an ICT scheme worth Rs. 105 crore for the MSMEs.
Complimenting the industry fraternity, the audience gathering was constituted by the real SMEs. As usually observed, actual SMEs are missing in action in conferences and seminars. However, the theme was so valuable and attractive that it was successful in mobilizing over 500 SMEs to attend and benefit from this unique convention.
No other platform than 'Free for SMEs' could achieve a feat of having intense competitors like IndiaMART.com, Tradeindia.com, Fibre2fashion.com, Sulekha and Yahoo! Small Business in one forum and discuss how SMEs could reap the benefits of B2B Marketplaces. Moderating the session, Mr. Namit Pandey, Head, Yahoo Small Business, Yahoo India said, “Internet today has become bigger than any other media viz. radio, TV or newspapers. Thus, the starting point for SMEs today is certainly to have web presence to reach out to their customers.” The unique session had further deliberation by Mr. Brijesh Agrawal, COO, IndiaMART.com who highlighted how SMEs can do wonders by using B2B Marketplaces easily and effectively. Breaking the myth of having to invest exorbitant amount of time to access B2B marketplaces, he stated, “SMEs lack willingness to access Internet. If they overcome this, all they require is 15 minutes to one hour of time in a day to effectively utilize the services of these online marketplaces and enhance their business prospects tremendously.” Echoing Mr. Agrawal's view, Mr. Bikky Khosla, CEO, Tradeindia.com, said, “SMEs need to be active on B2B marketplaces which offer cost-effective solutions for both marketing and sourcing.”
In addition, for the first time ever, the entire classified portals industry was together on one platform. The think tanks from InfoEdge, OLX, Asklaila.com, Quickr India, J9 Ventures successfully enabled a detailed understanding of leveraging their cost-effective services for brand building, promotions and engaging customers. While Mr. Amarjit Batra, OLX highlighted the worthiness of local classifieds and methods to utilize blogs and social networking sites like Facebook, Mr. Pranay Chulet, CEO, Quickr India termed the local classified portals as 'faster, better and cheaper' way of enhancing businesses. Believing in the tech-tonic shift in the way information is consumed, Mr. Amlan Mandal from Asklaila apprised everyone in the audience on evaluating what works better (social media) for business, segmentation of target group and timing of consumption.
An interactive platform, the one-of-a-kind conference also had panelists answering questions put forth by the engaged audience. To a question on what all aspects to be kept in mind while hiring SEO agencies, a panelist replied that objectives and deliverables are to be well-defined while understanding basics of SEO by oneself. Replying to another question on how to use social media for a B2B segment, another panelist said that companies can start groups around their area of expertise through which they can tap their target customers.
Proudly enriching the SME audience with low-cost or free ICT solutions, corporate giants like Microsoft, Google India, Intel South Asia ardently shared stage with upcoming business leaders like Luna Ergonomics. Addressing the session, Mr. Rajeev Karwal, Founder and CEO, Milagrow stated, “In order to remain competitive, SMEs need to use low-cost or free tools like Cloud Computing. Infact, lesser known softwares like Sugar CRM, Orange HRM and .proj are very helpful tools for managing businesses efficiently.” Moreover, Mr. Gautam Gandhi, Manager, New Business Development, Google India emphasized on importance on careful integration of online and offline activities by small businesses. Sharing an exciting new technology, Mr. Abhijit Bhattacharjee, CEO, Luna Ergonomics informed that with Panini Keypad users can type in any language and utilize it for different areas of their business like sales force automation and sending updates to customers in regional languages, among others.
The conference concluded with the forward-looking theme of cost-effective mobile and email marketing solutions for SME businesses where One97, Valuefirst, 160by2, Sprinklr jointly enlightened the esteemed audience with their knowledge. Describing email marketing as a high ROI solution, Mr. Manjunath K G, Co-founder & MD, Sprinklr said, “SMEs need to start building mailing lists and tracking visitors to their websites and getting back to them.” Lastly, Mr. Pankaj Agarwal, Head-Sales, Netcore Solutions explained how mobile marketing can be effectively used in a cost effective way. He added, “Mobile marketing tools like SMS-push/pull, games application, Voice-IVR or Voice-SMS, Mobile Internet-rich media, et al can be highly beneficial for SMEs.” Mr. Agarwal also ran an instant poll among the audience to know their feedback about Mobile Advertising. Over 90% SMSed stating Yes!
About IndiaMART.com
IndiaMART.com is India's largest online B2B marketplace connecting global buyers with suppliers through business directories, online product catalogs, buy-sell offers, industry specific marketplaces, printed media and trade shows participation.
Founded in 1996, the company has a pan-India presence in over 100 cities. With over 1500 employees located across 39 offices in the country, IndiaMART.com offers an extensive range of value-added products and services to its 700,000 registered members and nearly 5 million global buyers across various industries and verticals.
IndiaMART.com has won numerous awards over the years and has been widely covered by media such as CNBC, BBC, BusinessMoney, CNN, Businessworld, Economic Times, Financial Express, etc for its pioneering role in promoting SME business in the country. Its existing investors include Intel Capital and Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd (Times Group), India's largest print media group.
For more information, please visit: www.indiamart.com/press-section/
Media Contacts
Pawandeep Kaur
Manager – PR
IndiaMART.com
M: +91-9990098828
E: pr@indiamart.com
Thursday, July 8, 2010
IAMAI encourages SMEs to employ low cost ICT tools
The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) had organized a conference titled 'Free for SMEs' to boost the use of Internet and communication technology (ICT) amongst micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The conference, held in association with IndiaMART.com, saw MSME experts give advice on the ways businesses can implement ICT to grow and drive Indian economy.
Dinesh Rai, Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium enterprises who was the guest of honor, spoke about Government of India's various initiatives to promote the use of technology in MSMEs which are set to boost the economy. Describing MSMEs as the backbone of development of any economy, Rai highlighted a plethora of schemes launched by the Government to provide customized solutions to MSMEs. These programs range from raising awareness to providing high-end ICT solutions. Rai also added that the SME sector in India, that employs 59.7 million people spread over 26 million enterprises, has been growing at a rate of 12 percent.
Dinesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO of IndiaMART.com, said the need of hour is to look at innovative methods and devise ways to maximize the use of Internet and technology to gain more. He also drew attention to two main impediments that have restricted the use of ICT in India accessibility and affordability. Agarwal opined that addressing these two issues would provide simple and viable business solutions to MSMEs using technology.
Anil Bharadwaj, Secretary General, FISME, concurred that the use of Internet and mobile technology is still in its nascent stage in India and scope of growth leveraged by ICT was immense. Bharadwaj said that the adoption of ICT in India is directly proportional to accessibility and infrastructure development. The IAMAI ended with the release of a report titled 'Free for SMEs: Free and Low cost ICT Solutions for SMEs' by Dinesh Rai. The report gives an overall picture of how ICT can be utilized by SMEs for increasing their productivity.
http://www.ciol.com/SMB/SMB/News-Reports/ICT-tools-to-catalyze-the-growth-of-SMEs/138505/0/
Dinesh Rai, Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium enterprises who was the guest of honor, spoke about Government of India's various initiatives to promote the use of technology in MSMEs which are set to boost the economy. Describing MSMEs as the backbone of development of any economy, Rai highlighted a plethora of schemes launched by the Government to provide customized solutions to MSMEs. These programs range from raising awareness to providing high-end ICT solutions. Rai also added that the SME sector in India, that employs 59.7 million people spread over 26 million enterprises, has been growing at a rate of 12 percent.
Dinesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO of IndiaMART.com, said the need of hour is to look at innovative methods and devise ways to maximize the use of Internet and technology to gain more. He also drew attention to two main impediments that have restricted the use of ICT in India accessibility and affordability. Agarwal opined that addressing these two issues would provide simple and viable business solutions to MSMEs using technology.
Anil Bharadwaj, Secretary General, FISME, concurred that the use of Internet and mobile technology is still in its nascent stage in India and scope of growth leveraged by ICT was immense. Bharadwaj said that the adoption of ICT in India is directly proportional to accessibility and infrastructure development. The IAMAI ended with the release of a report titled 'Free for SMEs: Free and Low cost ICT Solutions for SMEs' by Dinesh Rai. The report gives an overall picture of how ICT can be utilized by SMEs for increasing their productivity.
http://www.ciol.com/SMB/SMB/News-Reports/ICT-tools-to-catalyze-the-growth-of-SMEs/138505/0/
Monday, July 5, 2010
Low cost or free applications and tools for SMEs
According to various reports and surveys SME’s form a larger part of the GDP contribution. Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), stated that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are expected to contribute 22 per cent to India's GDP by 2012. But these are numbers, how do we see growth? From ROI perspective right! Well, the bitter truth is that SME’s are still not up to the mark. Up from current about 17 per cent.
“But if we talk about SME growth, they are under utilizing their capabilities”
So, what’s the Reason? One important fact here is that the success of an SME depends upon its quality services and yes brand building. The other factor that hampers the SME growth is limited availability of funds. Utilizing funds properly and in an intelligent manner makes or breaks the game for SME’s
A proper insight about various technologies and tools available for free or in a much affordable price certainly helps in accelerating the business. ICT is a new age communication technology that can be employed to give users quick access to ideas and experiences from a wide range of people, communities, and cultures. Moreover, ICT tools can be used to find, explore, analyze, exchange and present information responsibly and without discrimination.
And where can you get all the information you need to make your Small business Smart?
Here, we would like to take this opportunity to invite you to IAMAI's conference which discusses low cost and free mobile solutions for SME’s to leverage organizational growth. The registration is free, for more information please visit http://ievents.iamai.in/ict4sme/agenda.php.
“But if we talk about SME growth, they are under utilizing their capabilities”
So, what’s the Reason? One important fact here is that the success of an SME depends upon its quality services and yes brand building. The other factor that hampers the SME growth is limited availability of funds. Utilizing funds properly and in an intelligent manner makes or breaks the game for SME’s
A proper insight about various technologies and tools available for free or in a much affordable price certainly helps in accelerating the business. ICT is a new age communication technology that can be employed to give users quick access to ideas and experiences from a wide range of people, communities, and cultures. Moreover, ICT tools can be used to find, explore, analyze, exchange and present information responsibly and without discrimination.
And where can you get all the information you need to make your Small business Smart?
Here, we would like to take this opportunity to invite you to IAMAI's conference which discusses low cost and free mobile solutions for SME’s to leverage organizational growth. The registration is free, for more information please visit http://ievents.iamai.in/ict4sme/agenda.php.
Low cost or free applications and tools for SMEs
Low cost or free applications and tools for SMEs
According to various reports and surveys, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) form a larger part of the GDP contribution. Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) stated that SMEs are expected to contribute 22 per cent to India's GDP by 2012. But these are numbers, how do we see growth from ROI perspective? Well, the bitter truth is that SMEs are still not up to the mark. We need to up their contribution from current about 17 per cent.
“But if we talk about SME growth, they are under utilizing their capabilities”
So, what’s the Reason? One important fact here is that the success of an SME depends upon its quality services and yes brand building. The other factor that hampers the SME growth is limited availability of funds. Utilizing funds properly and in an intelligent manner makes or breaks the game for SMEs.
A proper insight about various technologies and tools available for free or a much affordable price certainly helps in accelerating the business. ICT is a new age communication technology that can be employed to give users quick access to ideas and experiences from a wide range of people, communities, and cultures. Moreover, ICT tools can be used to find, explore, analyze, exchange and present information responsibly and without discrimination.
And where can you get all the information you need to make your Small business Smart?
Here, we would like to take this opportunity to invite you to IAMAI and IndiaMART.com's conference which discusses low cost and free online solutions for SMEs which benefit organizational growth. The registration is free, for more information please visit http://ievents.iamai.in/ict4sme/agenda.php
According to various reports and surveys, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) form a larger part of the GDP contribution. Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) stated that SMEs are expected to contribute 22 per cent to India's GDP by 2012. But these are numbers, how do we see growth from ROI perspective? Well, the bitter truth is that SMEs are still not up to the mark. We need to up their contribution from current about 17 per cent.
“But if we talk about SME growth, they are under utilizing their capabilities”
So, what’s the Reason? One important fact here is that the success of an SME depends upon its quality services and yes brand building. The other factor that hampers the SME growth is limited availability of funds. Utilizing funds properly and in an intelligent manner makes or breaks the game for SMEs.
A proper insight about various technologies and tools available for free or a much affordable price certainly helps in accelerating the business. ICT is a new age communication technology that can be employed to give users quick access to ideas and experiences from a wide range of people, communities, and cultures. Moreover, ICT tools can be used to find, explore, analyze, exchange and present information responsibly and without discrimination.
And where can you get all the information you need to make your Small business Smart?
Here, we would like to take this opportunity to invite you to IAMAI and IndiaMART.com's conference which discusses low cost and free online solutions for SMEs which benefit organizational growth. The registration is free, for more information please visit http://ievents.iamai.in/ict4sme/agenda.php
Friday, July 2, 2010
The If’s and Buts’ of Marketing Your Company Online
How do you promote your business? By visiting potential customers, taking leads, advertising, and blah! There is a need for advertising, so as to more and more people are aware of your products or services. As a matter of fact how many people do you reach by advertising? A couple of thousands! The world of online marketing unleashes a whopping market of more than 60 million people around the globe, and marketing here is not very expensive!
Your competitors are already marketing online
Even though forty percent of small business owners are not on the web, the other sixty percent have realized the importance of marketing on the web. Everyone and anyone is realizing the growing importance of having a cyber presence. From stock marketers to nuts and bolts supplier, everyone’s out there. So, do want to stay out!
People buy online, sell online and network online, according to a survey the online trade has increased considerably, and there are chances of further inflation.
Your customers are already engaging into conversations about your brand, but are you leveraging the same as a brand?
Customers and prospects are talking about your brand day in, night out on the social media. If you don’t figure there, well, then you probably are not at the top of the mind brand recall in your domain for your prospects.
How do you do it then? Is it a difficult game? Does it involve a lot of money?
Not really! What you need is a solid understanding of your business and a support of a strongly established partner, who can establish the right presence online for your business and further help you achieve your business objectives!
What do you need to do as the first step?
To start with, you need to create CONTENT, Socially Optimized Content, which engages your audience into your conversation and creates possibilities with them. This content is further then marketed using low cost tools as the Social Media and the Mobile!
And where can you learn more about leveraging the Online and the Mobile Media and meet the Industry leaders?
We hereby take this opportunity to invite you at the IAMAI and Indimart’s conference on the Low Cost and Free Internet and Mobile Solutions for SMEs, wherein our Speakers and Social Media partners, will help you in understanding on how to best leverage online tools to build a community and leverage local classified portals for brand Building, promotion, interaction and reaching the target audience
Your competitors are already marketing online
Even though forty percent of small business owners are not on the web, the other sixty percent have realized the importance of marketing on the web. Everyone and anyone is realizing the growing importance of having a cyber presence. From stock marketers to nuts and bolts supplier, everyone’s out there. So, do want to stay out!
People buy online, sell online and network online, according to a survey the online trade has increased considerably, and there are chances of further inflation.
Your customers are already engaging into conversations about your brand, but are you leveraging the same as a brand?
Customers and prospects are talking about your brand day in, night out on the social media. If you don’t figure there, well, then you probably are not at the top of the mind brand recall in your domain for your prospects.
How do you do it then? Is it a difficult game? Does it involve a lot of money?
Not really! What you need is a solid understanding of your business and a support of a strongly established partner, who can establish the right presence online for your business and further help you achieve your business objectives!
What do you need to do as the first step?
To start with, you need to create CONTENT, Socially Optimized Content, which engages your audience into your conversation and creates possibilities with them. This content is further then marketed using low cost tools as the Social Media and the Mobile!
And where can you learn more about leveraging the Online and the Mobile Media and meet the Industry leaders?
We hereby take this opportunity to invite you at the IAMAI and Indimart’s conference on the Low Cost and Free Internet and Mobile Solutions for SMEs, wherein our Speakers and Social Media partners, will help you in understanding on how to best leverage online tools to build a community and leverage local classified portals for brand Building, promotion, interaction and reaching the target audience
ICT- Changing The Game For SME's!
While it's an ardent fact that SME's share a bigger percentage of the GDP in the market, the revenue sharing stats however differ drastically. According to Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are expected to contribute 22 per cent to India's GDP by 2012 up from current about 17 per cent. But if we talk about SME growth, only a few SME's are able to market themselves in the international market with a caption most of them being virtually ineffective. The reason, we might agree to is the lack of a well developed communication strategy
What is ICT?
The world wide web has opened some unexplored markets, but to exploit those markets you need to go global, you need to communicate! Not just communicate, you need to communicate effectively with precision. But how would you do that? ICT tools can be used to find, explore, analyze, exchange and present information responsibly and without discrimination. ICT can be employed to give users quick access to ideas and experiences from a wide range of people, communities ,cultures and political issues.
Some number crunch
Available data suggests that electronic commerce is growing, it still accounts for a considerable proportion of economic activity for firms of all sizes. Taking a wide definition of electronic commerce to cover transactions over computer-mediated networks (including traditional EDI) and inter-firm transactions, e-commerce sales were 23.3% of total business sector sales in Sweden and 17.9% in Finland. Excluding the financial sector they were 20% in Norway, and 16% in the United Kingdom and Denmark. These figures are estimated to increase as the time proceeds, and consequently the need to communicate and form online relations also develops.
How would i leverage ICT for my organization's growth?
Seems like we've read your mind, Right! Well, some of the above artifacts might have given you some insights onto this. For a complete knowhow of ICT and the new media, we would like to take this opportunity to invite you to the Conference 'Free for SMEs' being presented by IAMAI and IndiaMART on 6th July, 2010 at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.
To know more details, please visit – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=131611130197170.
What is ICT?
The world wide web has opened some unexplored markets, but to exploit those markets you need to go global, you need to communicate! Not just communicate, you need to communicate effectively with precision. But how would you do that? ICT tools can be used to find, explore, analyze, exchange and present information responsibly and without discrimination. ICT can be employed to give users quick access to ideas and experiences from a wide range of people, communities ,cultures and political issues.
Some number crunch
Available data suggests that electronic commerce is growing, it still accounts for a considerable proportion of economic activity for firms of all sizes. Taking a wide definition of electronic commerce to cover transactions over computer-mediated networks (including traditional EDI) and inter-firm transactions, e-commerce sales were 23.3% of total business sector sales in Sweden and 17.9% in Finland. Excluding the financial sector they were 20% in Norway, and 16% in the United Kingdom and Denmark. These figures are estimated to increase as the time proceeds, and consequently the need to communicate and form online relations also develops.
How would i leverage ICT for my organization's growth?
Seems like we've read your mind, Right! Well, some of the above artifacts might have given you some insights onto this. For a complete knowhow of ICT and the new media, we would like to take this opportunity to invite you to the Conference 'Free for SMEs' being presented by IAMAI and IndiaMART on 6th July, 2010 at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.
To know more details, please visit – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=131611130197170.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Why should SMEs Adopt ICT?
Small and Medium Enterprises' uptake is going at a snail's pace and thus fail to fall in-line with the rising expectations. It seems that the industry is not able to utilize the power of online media, and as a matter of fact, most of them are not aware of the “social media effect”! Surveys find that small and medium enterprises only use electronic learning for training ICT employees and managers only. The study was done for the major European countries. Thus the results of the studies are the great lack of training procedures in SME, lacking learning tools and materials, adverse reaction of a significant number of managers, lack of internet connection speed necessary for electronic learning etc..
Now with that many loopholes the boat’s going to sink! You may argue, you may disagree, but you cannot ignore social media. It is simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself. And they are going to shake up just about every business.
The point is that consumers now have a more potent aggregate power: someone with a problem can now reach others with the same problem faster, build a community around this shared problem easily, and mobilize lots of people behind the common cause more efficiently. That’s what the power of communication is, it definitely adds more efficiency!
ICT is a new age communication technology that can be employed to give users quick access to ideas and experiences from a wide range of people, communities, and cultures.
SMEs must know how to leverage the New Age media such as the Online and the Mobile, to effectively reduce down their time to market and also increase the outreach to their relevant target audience.
But how do SMEs learn all of this, while investing their crucial time?
IndiaMart and IAMAI have collaborated to bring the Conference on Low Cost and Free internet and Mobile Solutions for SMEs on July 6th 2010, at the India Habitat Center, New Delhi.
Register FREE NOW
Now with that many loopholes the boat’s going to sink! You may argue, you may disagree, but you cannot ignore social media. It is simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself. And they are going to shake up just about every business.
The point is that consumers now have a more potent aggregate power: someone with a problem can now reach others with the same problem faster, build a community around this shared problem easily, and mobilize lots of people behind the common cause more efficiently. That’s what the power of communication is, it definitely adds more efficiency!
ICT is a new age communication technology that can be employed to give users quick access to ideas and experiences from a wide range of people, communities, and cultures.
SMEs must know how to leverage the New Age media such as the Online and the Mobile, to effectively reduce down their time to market and also increase the outreach to their relevant target audience.
But how do SMEs learn all of this, while investing their crucial time?
IndiaMart and IAMAI have collaborated to bring the Conference on Low Cost and Free internet and Mobile Solutions for SMEs on July 6th 2010, at the India Habitat Center, New Delhi.
Register FREE NOW
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
SMEs – Accounting Immense Growth Possibilities
SMEs provide employment to approximately 50 million people, which is nearly 80 to 85 per cent of the employment. Interestingly, the volume of labor in this sector is estimated to be nearly four times higher than the large enterprises in the country! Why then we still reel under the mythical supremacy of multi-million conglomerates?
The De Facto!
The Milagrow World SME Conference 2009 stated that the SME sector is the second largest contributor in terms of GDP after the agriculture sector in the Indian economy. With the SME's huge contribution, India has achieved 7.98 per cent GDP growth despite the slowdown. According to Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are expected to contribute 22 per cent to India's GDP by 2012 up from current about 17 per cent.
Well, all looks good! What’s the challenge then?
With the major world economies upscaling themselves towards being globalized, the social media and Internet technologies have emerged as the key players. One of the major factors hampering the SME growth is essentially the lack of a well defined and scalable ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) structure. ICT allow users to participate in a rapidly changing world in which work and other activities are increasingly transformed by access to varied and developing technologies.
SMEs should first focus on the need of access to new technologies to withstand and perform well through awareness by R&D and by using the latest technologies. Only a few SME's are able to market themselves in the international market and most of them are virtually ineffective.
Go to Market is a major challenge for the SMEs, they Need Business to Grow
The market today is more fierce and competitive, and needs much more than just than the less valued, price oriented way of businesses! The need exists for good valued, knowledge-based products, but if you're not able to present your products in the right manner, then the foresaid qualities might not really appeal! Therefore, bridging this B2B gap is certainly a quintessential factor.
There are several online B2B portals (IndiaMart being one of the market leaders in India) that offer a wide range of services specifically targeted at the SME sector. These services can be utilized for various aspects of marketing either for free or by spending some nominal amount.
Cost effective ways to reach out to your target audience: Online and the Mobile Media?
SMEs must know how to leverage the New Age media such as the Online and the Mobile, to effectively reduce down their time to market and also increase the outreach to their relevant target audience.
But how do SMEs learn all of this, while investing their crucial time?
IndiaMart and IAMAI have collaborated to bring the Conference on Low Cost and Free internet and Mobile Solutions for SMEs on July 6th 2010, at the India Habitat Center, New Delhi.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
IndiaMART.com Launches Video Profiles for Suppliers
* Exclusive 'Video Profile' facility to plug buyer-supplier trust gap
New Delhi, 7 June 2010: With buyers based in remote locations, accessing prospective supplier's credentials has so far been a daunting task. However, to bridge this trust gap, IndiaMART.com, India's leading online B2B marketplace, has recently launched an exclusive facility - 'Video Profile' for suppliers. This service will provide the buyers with a first-hand experience of viewing the suppliers' office, product range, overall infrastructure and manufacturing processes, in a short video uploaded on the latter's website.
Commenting on the exclusive service, Mr. Dinesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, IndiaMART.com said, "Based on the premises that globally many buyers are apprehensive to do transactions with small businesses due to non-verification of their background and qualification, we are proud to bring out the service 'Video Profiles' which provides an optimal solution to this quandary. The buyers will now be able to derive satisfaction about the suppliers through a thorough look at their credentials presented in the videos. And, in turn, suppliers too would be able to add credibility to their profiles."
He added, "I am sure that this facility will cement global faith in the Indian SME cluster and foster a good rapport between the suppliers and buyers."
A 'Video Profile' is a free-of-cost service for IndiaMART.com suppliers where they can get a short video uploaded on their websites, making it easily accessible for the buyers. This video, of duration one to two minutes, can showcase their office premises, work atmosphere, product range, overall infrastructure, manufacturing processes, etc.
IndiaMART.com always strives to provide breakthrough services and value added offers to its clients. Recently, the company launched Business Offers, a bouquet of exclusive services at discounted rates for its members and FREE Tenders at http://tenders.indiamart.com/, a highly acclaimed service, which is not available anywhere else.
About IndiaMART.com
IndiaMART.com is India's largest online B2B marketplace connecting global buyers with suppliers through business directories, online product catalogs, buy-sell offers, industry specific marketplaces, printed media and trade shows participation.
Founded in 1996, the company has a pan-India presence in over 100 cities. With approximately 1500 employees located across 39 offices in the country, IndiaMART.com offers an extensive range of value-added products and services to its 700,000 registered members and nearly 5 million global buyers across various industries and verticals.
IndiaMART.com has won numerous awards over the years and has been widely covered by media such as CNBC, BBC, BusinessMoney, CNN, Businessworld, Economic Times, Financial Express, etc for its pioneering role in promoting SME business in the country. Its existing investors include Intel Capital and Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd (Times Group), India's largest print media group.
For more information, please visit: www.indiamart.com/press-section/
Media Contacts
IndiaMART.com
Arun Tyagi
Marketing & PR
M: +91-9711003832
T: +91-120-3911000
F: +91-120-2424943
E: pr@indiamart.com
New Delhi, 7 June 2010: With buyers based in remote locations, accessing prospective supplier's credentials has so far been a daunting task. However, to bridge this trust gap, IndiaMART.com, India's leading online B2B marketplace, has recently launched an exclusive facility - 'Video Profile' for suppliers. This service will provide the buyers with a first-hand experience of viewing the suppliers' office, product range, overall infrastructure and manufacturing processes, in a short video uploaded on the latter's website.
Commenting on the exclusive service, Mr. Dinesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, IndiaMART.com said, "Based on the premises that globally many buyers are apprehensive to do transactions with small businesses due to non-verification of their background and qualification, we are proud to bring out the service 'Video Profiles' which provides an optimal solution to this quandary. The buyers will now be able to derive satisfaction about the suppliers through a thorough look at their credentials presented in the videos. And, in turn, suppliers too would be able to add credibility to their profiles."
He added, "I am sure that this facility will cement global faith in the Indian SME cluster and foster a good rapport between the suppliers and buyers."
A 'Video Profile' is a free-of-cost service for IndiaMART.com suppliers where they can get a short video uploaded on their websites, making it easily accessible for the buyers. This video, of duration one to two minutes, can showcase their office premises, work atmosphere, product range, overall infrastructure, manufacturing processes, etc.
IndiaMART.com always strives to provide breakthrough services and value added offers to its clients. Recently, the company launched Business Offers, a bouquet of exclusive services at discounted rates for its members and FREE Tenders at http://tenders.indiamart.com/, a highly acclaimed service, which is not available anywhere else.
About IndiaMART.com
IndiaMART.com is India's largest online B2B marketplace connecting global buyers with suppliers through business directories, online product catalogs, buy-sell offers, industry specific marketplaces, printed media and trade shows participation.
Founded in 1996, the company has a pan-India presence in over 100 cities. With approximately 1500 employees located across 39 offices in the country, IndiaMART.com offers an extensive range of value-added products and services to its 700,000 registered members and nearly 5 million global buyers across various industries and verticals.
IndiaMART.com has won numerous awards over the years and has been widely covered by media such as CNBC, BBC, BusinessMoney, CNN, Businessworld, Economic Times, Financial Express, etc for its pioneering role in promoting SME business in the country. Its existing investors include Intel Capital and Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd (Times Group), India's largest print media group.
For more information, please visit: www.indiamart.com/press-section/
Media Contacts
IndiaMART.com
Arun Tyagi
Marketing & PR
M: +91-9711003832
T: +91-120-3911000
F: +91-120-2424943
E: pr@indiamart.com
Monday, June 7, 2010
Leveraging Online Matchmaking for SME Growth
Globally, SMEs are the most vulnerable group of an economy because of a number of reasons inherent to their nature. They face enough hardships because of their small size and lack of appropriate investment channels, besides the barriers of distance, reach, communication and resources. Hence, they require a need-based solution enabling them to overcome these impediments and reach out to a wider base of buyers. Anticipating this vacancy in SME world, online matchmaking interfaces have come into existence as the much needed exposure platform.
In India, the online B2B matchmaking trend started in the late 90's with the launch of web portals like IndiaMART.com. Today, marketing means nothing short of an engaging online presence as over 30% of global B2B trade takes place online. In India alone, the business generation is estimated at US$15 billion. Such sizeable figures signify the strong foundation provided by online B2B marketplaces to SMEs.
Thus, an online B2B matchmaking platform has various benefits in store for suppliers. These include:
1.24X7 visibility – A small enterprise trading through an online platform enjoys round-the-clock exposure in the virtual world at an optimum initial cost. This enables the suppliers to create their brand position and attract buyers.
2.Credibility – Being registered with such a platform provides the much needed credibility to the suppliers. Most of these companies give a verification stamp to its members, marking them as verified sellers and enhancing their opportunities of being taken seriously in business.
3.Extensive online promotion – SMEs are flooded with a range of options available like customized product catalogs, business directories, listings in vertical specific guides, etc, in the online marketing category. This makes it all the more easy for them to attract buyers and have direct contact with them.
4.Matchmaking across borders – Online trading has made the world a small place, breaking geographical boundaries with its global reach. Today, a automobile component supplier sitting in the comforts of his office in Jamshedpur can carry out successful business transactions with a US based automobile manufacturing firm, thus making to-and-fro business trips a futile exercise.
5.Easy access – The most enterprising feature of this platform is the accessibility a supplier enjoy. He/ she can update product catalogs, profile information, contact details and others features from anywhere at anytime.
6.Immediate business queries – The association with a B2B matchmaking platform brings along instant business queries which a supplier couldn't even dream of with traditional approach, that too at the initial phase.
SMEs' take on the online matchmaking platforms:
Mr. Gopal Sahai of Sahai Cables Int. Pvt. Ltd. (www.indiamart.com/sahaicables/) vouches for the wide exposure his products received after his listing with one of the leading B2B platforms in India. He credits his company's growing brand position in the market to the portal.
According to Mr. Chakraborty D, CEO of Archana Art and Design (www.indiamart.com/archanaartanddesign/), trading on an online platform provides need specific solutions to the members, which initiates a robust momentum to their company. His enterprise benefited a lot with its association with IndiaMART.com, maturing queries worth Rs. 2 lakh in a single month.
CEO of Kun Beads, Mr. R. K. Paswan (www.indiamart.com/kunbeadsworld/), testifies for the the impact of verification provided by IndiaMART.com in the form of Trust Seal. The credibility stamp provided him a list of genuine buyers, enhancing his business prospects.
Thus, with every second enterprise making its presence felt in virtual world, this is the correct time for more traditional businesses to come out of their shell and open up to the new avenues awaiting them through online B2B matchmaking.
In India, the online B2B matchmaking trend started in the late 90's with the launch of web portals like IndiaMART.com. Today, marketing means nothing short of an engaging online presence as over 30% of global B2B trade takes place online. In India alone, the business generation is estimated at US$15 billion. Such sizeable figures signify the strong foundation provided by online B2B marketplaces to SMEs.
Thus, an online B2B matchmaking platform has various benefits in store for suppliers. These include:
1.24X7 visibility – A small enterprise trading through an online platform enjoys round-the-clock exposure in the virtual world at an optimum initial cost. This enables the suppliers to create their brand position and attract buyers.
2.Credibility – Being registered with such a platform provides the much needed credibility to the suppliers. Most of these companies give a verification stamp to its members, marking them as verified sellers and enhancing their opportunities of being taken seriously in business.
3.Extensive online promotion – SMEs are flooded with a range of options available like customized product catalogs, business directories, listings in vertical specific guides, etc, in the online marketing category. This makes it all the more easy for them to attract buyers and have direct contact with them.
4.Matchmaking across borders – Online trading has made the world a small place, breaking geographical boundaries with its global reach. Today, a automobile component supplier sitting in the comforts of his office in Jamshedpur can carry out successful business transactions with a US based automobile manufacturing firm, thus making to-and-fro business trips a futile exercise.
5.Easy access – The most enterprising feature of this platform is the accessibility a supplier enjoy. He/ she can update product catalogs, profile information, contact details and others features from anywhere at anytime.
6.Immediate business queries – The association with a B2B matchmaking platform brings along instant business queries which a supplier couldn't even dream of with traditional approach, that too at the initial phase.
SMEs' take on the online matchmaking platforms:
Mr. Gopal Sahai of Sahai Cables Int. Pvt. Ltd. (www.indiamart.com/sahaicables/) vouches for the wide exposure his products received after his listing with one of the leading B2B platforms in India. He credits his company's growing brand position in the market to the portal.
According to Mr. Chakraborty D, CEO of Archana Art and Design (www.indiamart.com/archanaartanddesign/), trading on an online platform provides need specific solutions to the members, which initiates a robust momentum to their company. His enterprise benefited a lot with its association with IndiaMART.com, maturing queries worth Rs. 2 lakh in a single month.
CEO of Kun Beads, Mr. R. K. Paswan (www.indiamart.com/kunbeadsworld/), testifies for the the impact of verification provided by IndiaMART.com in the form of Trust Seal. The credibility stamp provided him a list of genuine buyers, enhancing his business prospects.
Thus, with every second enterprise making its presence felt in virtual world, this is the correct time for more traditional businesses to come out of their shell and open up to the new avenues awaiting them through online B2B matchmaking.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Optimal Time for SMEs to Market Through Internet
Who would have thought about online business two decades ago? Furthermore, ten years back, who would have thought about online marketing? But today, it is the reality for most of the businesses across every genre and every economic status. Online marketing has replaced the traditional ways with its efficient and comprehensive tools, especially benefiting SME sector worldwide.
With cyberspace usage leaving the market astounded with a host of advantages in its kitty; now, is certainly the best time for smarll businesses to market through Internet and tap a much larger base of buyers. Utilising such an opportunity, online business and marketing platforms like IndiaMART.com have heralded a wind of change in the SME sector through their Internet-based comprehensive service range to buyers and suppliers alike. Armed with a paraphernalia of value added tools and services like online trade enquiries, trade alerts, etc., Internet-based interfaces are a boon for the SME sector. Likewise, social media sites and blogs also hold great potential to drive online marketing to success.
Following are some of the benefits which the SMEs can reap off internet marketing:
1. Wide reach – The world wide web has indeed lived upto its name. Reaching people across varied age, interest, demography, socio-economy group, etc has become possible only through the advent of Internet. According to Miniwatts Marketing Group, approximately 1.67 billion people worldwide use the Internet, as on June 2009. SMEs can actually build business at international level without splurging money on frequent globe trotting trips, all because of Internet marketing.
2. Free or low cost of information distribution – Shortage of credit is one of the biggest problems faced by for every SME. And online marketing comes across as a blessing for them as it allows for cost-effective dissemination of information about their enterprise and products, to the target audience, Indian or global. Isn't it better to upload product catalogs on web pages for negligible cost rather than have expensive print outs of leaflets and pamphlets?
3. Devoid of time constraints – Available 24X7 to the users, this platform provides flexible business and marketing opportunities to people unlike traditional media like print and electronic. Moreover, Internet also has a vast shelf life, which implies to information availability for a longer period of time. This enables brand retention in audience minds, giving good exposure to SMEs.
4. Interactive nature of the medium – With more and more communication platforms like social media sites, blogs, polls, discussion forums mushrooming in the virtual world, it has been an upward drive for online marketing all the way. According to a recent study, social media site Facebook has 300 million registered users accessing social network. SMEs can utilize this approach to build customer relations which may lead to business leads.
5. Blurred demographic boundaries – A small business owner can carry out successful business transactions with a buyer operational in USA or UK or at the other end of the globe, sitting in the comforts of his office in India. Demographic constraints have been lifted by the arrival of online marketing.
With such rewarding features, Internet marketing hosts enormous opportunities for sellers to connect with the buyers and promote their businesses.
With cyberspace usage leaving the market astounded with a host of advantages in its kitty; now, is certainly the best time for smarll businesses to market through Internet and tap a much larger base of buyers. Utilising such an opportunity, online business and marketing platforms like IndiaMART.com have heralded a wind of change in the SME sector through their Internet-based comprehensive service range to buyers and suppliers alike. Armed with a paraphernalia of value added tools and services like online trade enquiries, trade alerts, etc., Internet-based interfaces are a boon for the SME sector. Likewise, social media sites and blogs also hold great potential to drive online marketing to success.
Following are some of the benefits which the SMEs can reap off internet marketing:
1. Wide reach – The world wide web has indeed lived upto its name. Reaching people across varied age, interest, demography, socio-economy group, etc has become possible only through the advent of Internet. According to Miniwatts Marketing Group, approximately 1.67 billion people worldwide use the Internet, as on June 2009. SMEs can actually build business at international level without splurging money on frequent globe trotting trips, all because of Internet marketing.
2. Free or low cost of information distribution – Shortage of credit is one of the biggest problems faced by for every SME. And online marketing comes across as a blessing for them as it allows for cost-effective dissemination of information about their enterprise and products, to the target audience, Indian or global. Isn't it better to upload product catalogs on web pages for negligible cost rather than have expensive print outs of leaflets and pamphlets?
3. Devoid of time constraints – Available 24X7 to the users, this platform provides flexible business and marketing opportunities to people unlike traditional media like print and electronic. Moreover, Internet also has a vast shelf life, which implies to information availability for a longer period of time. This enables brand retention in audience minds, giving good exposure to SMEs.
4. Interactive nature of the medium – With more and more communication platforms like social media sites, blogs, polls, discussion forums mushrooming in the virtual world, it has been an upward drive for online marketing all the way. According to a recent study, social media site Facebook has 300 million registered users accessing social network. SMEs can utilize this approach to build customer relations which may lead to business leads.
5. Blurred demographic boundaries – A small business owner can carry out successful business transactions with a buyer operational in USA or UK or at the other end of the globe, sitting in the comforts of his office in India. Demographic constraints have been lifted by the arrival of online marketing.
With such rewarding features, Internet marketing hosts enormous opportunities for sellers to connect with the buyers and promote their businesses.
Monday, May 31, 2010
SME Marketing: Some Common Blunders
Comprehensive marketing at a reasonable cost is what every seller dreams of. There is nothing like a good packaged deal conducive of factors like cost, after sales services, etc, which can guarantee business leads in a short span of time.
Moreover, the foremost role of marketing is to get prospective buyers talking about your company and your product. And this persistent interest leads to trade generation. Still, most of the SMEs find it difficult to turn this interest into trade leads, despite good marketing.
What can be the reasons?
Lets discuss in detail:
* Information overdose: When a prospective buyer reaches you, he/she wants to be pampered with exhaustive product information, quality product, good customer services, to say the least. However, there are instances when he/ she gets half-baked information and services. Thus, instead of what the customer wants from the product, the seller pays attention on what the product is all about.
Solution - Customer's want is the need of the hour!: Buyers will feel welcomed when you pamper them with customized solutions to their queries. For instance, if a client wants information on how your product can help him save power consumption, then you must stress upon that very feature of your product instead of listing all the salient features which may not be of interest to him. Try having two to three versions of leaflets and pamphlets of same product/ service, sorted by the its characteristics.
* Inept product prices: The general psyche of a seller is that a low priced product/ service can lure prospective buyers. However, today's buyer is market savvy and may not buy the theory of 'Low Price = Value for money = Good deal' as price is not the sole purchasing criteria anymore, but a part of the bigger picture.
Solution – Focus on quality of service, not just the cost: Do not make 'Low Price' as the sole advertising criteria of the product. Instead, promote it on the basis of quality and relevancy. Moreover, timeliness also plays an important role in product promotion. Offering right thing at the right time is the key to success. You can get a market survey done (or perhaps do it yourself) to gauge your target group's preferences. This will help you market your product/ service with a more focused approach.
* Communication gap: Every business succeeds on the quality of customer services it provides to its clients. Imagine your inbox full of business queries while you hibernate in your cocoon. Customers expect quick response from the seller as and when they want it. And the seller must entertain them on a priority basis as customers are an impatient bunch.
Solution - Bridge the gap: Be pro-active and keep the buyers updated on latest offers and schemes initiated by your company through newsletters and e-mails. This way, you'll remain in their sight. In addition, the seller must quickly respond to business queries from buyers and be specific in his communication.
Nowadays, clients want product satisfaction and would not flinch even for a second before paying a good price for it. So, respond to them with good customer services and laugh your way to their good books, and to the bank, ofcourse!
Moreover, the foremost role of marketing is to get prospective buyers talking about your company and your product. And this persistent interest leads to trade generation. Still, most of the SMEs find it difficult to turn this interest into trade leads, despite good marketing.
What can be the reasons?
Lets discuss in detail:
* Information overdose: When a prospective buyer reaches you, he/she wants to be pampered with exhaustive product information, quality product, good customer services, to say the least. However, there are instances when he/ she gets half-baked information and services. Thus, instead of what the customer wants from the product, the seller pays attention on what the product is all about.
Solution - Customer's want is the need of the hour!: Buyers will feel welcomed when you pamper them with customized solutions to their queries. For instance, if a client wants information on how your product can help him save power consumption, then you must stress upon that very feature of your product instead of listing all the salient features which may not be of interest to him. Try having two to three versions of leaflets and pamphlets of same product/ service, sorted by the its characteristics.
* Inept product prices: The general psyche of a seller is that a low priced product/ service can lure prospective buyers. However, today's buyer is market savvy and may not buy the theory of 'Low Price = Value for money = Good deal' as price is not the sole purchasing criteria anymore, but a part of the bigger picture.
Solution – Focus on quality of service, not just the cost: Do not make 'Low Price' as the sole advertising criteria of the product. Instead, promote it on the basis of quality and relevancy. Moreover, timeliness also plays an important role in product promotion. Offering right thing at the right time is the key to success. You can get a market survey done (or perhaps do it yourself) to gauge your target group's preferences. This will help you market your product/ service with a more focused approach.
* Communication gap: Every business succeeds on the quality of customer services it provides to its clients. Imagine your inbox full of business queries while you hibernate in your cocoon. Customers expect quick response from the seller as and when they want it. And the seller must entertain them on a priority basis as customers are an impatient bunch.
Solution - Bridge the gap: Be pro-active and keep the buyers updated on latest offers and schemes initiated by your company through newsletters and e-mails. This way, you'll remain in their sight. In addition, the seller must quickly respond to business queries from buyers and be specific in his communication.
Nowadays, clients want product satisfaction and would not flinch even for a second before paying a good price for it. So, respond to them with good customer services and laugh your way to their good books, and to the bank, ofcourse!
Saturday, May 29, 2010
IndiaMART.com to catalyze B2B matchmaking through 'ACMEE 2010'
Comprehensive marketing platform for companies in industrial sector, especially SMEs
Sizeable 240 distinguished suppliers already registered with ACMEE 2010
Dinesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, IndiaMART.com to be the Guest of Honor
New Delhi, 29th May 2010: IndiaMART.com, India's largest online B2B marketplace, has decided to sponsor the ACMEE 2010 (Auto Components and Machine Tools Engineering Exhibition) with an aim to synergise B2B matchmaking. The exclusive trade forum, to be organized by AIEMA Technology Centre in Chennai Trade Centre, Nandambakkam, Chennai from June 17 - 21, 2010, seeks to provide better exposure to companies, especially SMEs, in the industrial sector, with over 240 verified suppliers already registered with the exhibition. Mr. Dinesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, IndiaMART.com will grace the event with his esteemed presence as the distinguished Guest of Honor.
Commenting on the association, Mr. Dinesh Agarwal said, “India is a burgeoning global manufacturing market boasting of exquisite and economical products, quality processes and sought-after capital engineering. Riding on this, ACMEE, one of the pioneering industrial exhibitions in the country, provides an ideal forum for exploring business potentiality besides networking and an opportunity to exchange varied product information and technical details. We, at IndiaMART.com, believe this is synonymous with our objective. Thus, we are delighted to be the proud sponsors of the coveted event.”
He added, “We had associated with ACMEE 2008 as well when the event registered business transactions worth Rs. 250 million. This year too, we are anticipating a huge influx of global buyers and sellers in the fair. We wish ACMEE 2010 a great success and hope that it exhorts the business aspects of the Indian SMEs.”
Slated to be the biggest automobile and mechanical tools trade fair, ACMEE 2010 is the nineth in the biennial series. The event will see exhibitors display an array of products such as Automotive Components, Entire range of Auto Components/ Parts & Supplies, Hydraulics & Pneumatics Systems, Instrumentation & Controls, Automobile and allied services comprising auto components, et al. Moreover, the approval by the Trade Promotion Organization will allow the event to capitalize on the duty free import and exhibition of products which are otherwise subject to custom's rule and regulations.
Besides pioneering online promotions for SMEs, IndiaMART.com has been instrumental in catalyzing B2B matchmaking through these leading sponsored and non-sponsored events. In last two years, IndiaMART.com has partnered with prestigious forums such as IndiaMART AMTEX, IndiaMART UMEX, IndiaMART IMEX, IndiaMART Sign Show, IndiaMART Food & Technology Expo, IndiaMART ACMEE, IndiaMART HITEX International Machine Tool Expo 2009 etc.
About IndiaMART.com
IndiaMART.com is India's largest online B2B marketplace connecting global buyers with suppliers through business directories, online product catalogs, buy-sell offers, industry specific marketplaces, printed media and trade shows participation.
Founded in 1996, the company has a pan-India presence in over 100 cities. With approximately 1200 employees located across 31 offices in the country, IndiaMART.com offers an extensive range of value-added products and services to its 700,000 registered members and nearly 5 million global buyers across various industries and verticals.
IndiaMART.com has won numerous awards over the years and has been widely covered by media such as CNBC, BBC, BusinessMoney, CNN, Businessworld, Economic Times, Financial Express, etc for its pioneering role in promoting SME business in the country.
Its existing investors include Intel Capital and Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd (Times Group), India's largest print media group.
For more information, please visit: www.indiamart.com/press-section/
Media Contacts
IndiaMART.com
Arun Tyagi
Marketing & PR
M: +91-9711003832
T: +91-120-3911000
F: +91-120-2424943
E: pr@indiamart.com
Sizeable 240 distinguished suppliers already registered with ACMEE 2010
Dinesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, IndiaMART.com to be the Guest of Honor
New Delhi, 29th May 2010: IndiaMART.com, India's largest online B2B marketplace, has decided to sponsor the ACMEE 2010 (Auto Components and Machine Tools Engineering Exhibition) with an aim to synergise B2B matchmaking. The exclusive trade forum, to be organized by AIEMA Technology Centre in Chennai Trade Centre, Nandambakkam, Chennai from June 17 - 21, 2010, seeks to provide better exposure to companies, especially SMEs, in the industrial sector, with over 240 verified suppliers already registered with the exhibition. Mr. Dinesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, IndiaMART.com will grace the event with his esteemed presence as the distinguished Guest of Honor.
Commenting on the association, Mr. Dinesh Agarwal said, “India is a burgeoning global manufacturing market boasting of exquisite and economical products, quality processes and sought-after capital engineering. Riding on this, ACMEE, one of the pioneering industrial exhibitions in the country, provides an ideal forum for exploring business potentiality besides networking and an opportunity to exchange varied product information and technical details. We, at IndiaMART.com, believe this is synonymous with our objective. Thus, we are delighted to be the proud sponsors of the coveted event.”
He added, “We had associated with ACMEE 2008 as well when the event registered business transactions worth Rs. 250 million. This year too, we are anticipating a huge influx of global buyers and sellers in the fair. We wish ACMEE 2010 a great success and hope that it exhorts the business aspects of the Indian SMEs.”
Slated to be the biggest automobile and mechanical tools trade fair, ACMEE 2010 is the nineth in the biennial series. The event will see exhibitors display an array of products such as Automotive Components, Entire range of Auto Components/ Parts & Supplies, Hydraulics & Pneumatics Systems, Instrumentation & Controls, Automobile and allied services comprising auto components, et al. Moreover, the approval by the Trade Promotion Organization will allow the event to capitalize on the duty free import and exhibition of products which are otherwise subject to custom's rule and regulations.
Besides pioneering online promotions for SMEs, IndiaMART.com has been instrumental in catalyzing B2B matchmaking through these leading sponsored and non-sponsored events. In last two years, IndiaMART.com has partnered with prestigious forums such as IndiaMART AMTEX, IndiaMART UMEX, IndiaMART IMEX, IndiaMART Sign Show, IndiaMART Food & Technology Expo, IndiaMART ACMEE, IndiaMART HITEX International Machine Tool Expo 2009 etc.
About IndiaMART.com
IndiaMART.com is India's largest online B2B marketplace connecting global buyers with suppliers through business directories, online product catalogs, buy-sell offers, industry specific marketplaces, printed media and trade shows participation.
Founded in 1996, the company has a pan-India presence in over 100 cities. With approximately 1200 employees located across 31 offices in the country, IndiaMART.com offers an extensive range of value-added products and services to its 700,000 registered members and nearly 5 million global buyers across various industries and verticals.
IndiaMART.com has won numerous awards over the years and has been widely covered by media such as CNBC, BBC, BusinessMoney, CNN, Businessworld, Economic Times, Financial Express, etc for its pioneering role in promoting SME business in the country.
Its existing investors include Intel Capital and Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd (Times Group), India's largest print media group.
For more information, please visit: www.indiamart.com/press-section/
Media Contacts
IndiaMART.com
Arun Tyagi
Marketing & PR
M: +91-9711003832
T: +91-120-3911000
F: +91-120-2424943
E: pr@indiamart.com
Monday, May 24, 2010
IndiaMART.com Brings Exclusive Business Offers for its Members
* Business services at exclusive rates for IndiaMART.com members.
* Corporate giants like HSBC, Monster.com, CC Avenue partner the initiative.
New Delhi, 24 May 2010: Always striving to make its customers feel privileged, IndiaMART.com once again comes up with a platter full of exclusive customer friendly services. The company has announced incredible business offers under a newly launched section named 'Business offers' on its website, where five companies have already partnered with IndiaMART.com to serve the latter's customers at a highly subsidized rate, in a first of its kind initiative.
Corporate giants like HSBC, Monster.com, CC Avenue, E Mudhra and Sage have come together on IndiaMART.com's matchmaking platform to provide a bouquet of exclusive services to its members like Trade Account, Recruitment Solutions, Payment Gateway, Digital Signature and ERP Solutions, respectively. What's more, the members can enjoy all these services at 20%-25% of the regular price. At this time and age, a business also needs customized services to stay ahead in the market and maximize its profit, along with various other things. And with value added offers like online transactions, digital signatures, information about global tenders, etc, small enterprises are definitely going to exult in glory. Surely, IndiaMART.com is gifting its members a smooth business ride all the way.
“We'll always be indebted by the SMEs and MSMEs for their unmatched support and faith in us and we take this opportunity to thank all our esteemed patrons for the same. It gives me immense pleasure in bringing a host of value added business offers for them. The company has always endeavored towards constant improvisation and this latest offering is our way of showing gratitude to our members. I wish the members benefit from this cohesive approach initiated by the company with its esteemed partners and register a great business growth,” says Mr. Dinesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, IndiaMART.com.
IndiaMART.com is one of the leading B2B platforms to herald a wind of change in Indian SME sector. The company recently announced access to around 50,000 live Indian tenders in its database, absolutely free for its patrons. Apart from such never-heard-before initiatives, IndiaMART.com is always on its toes to provide global exposure to Indian SMEs and MSMEs by participating in various international trade shows, around the year.
About IndiaMART.com
IndiaMART.com is India's largest online B2B marketplace connecting global buyers with suppliers through business directories, online product catalogs, buy-sell offers, industry specific marketplaces, printed media and trade shows participation.
Founded in 1996, the company has a pan-India presence in over 100 cities. With approximately 1200 employees located across 31 offices in the country, IndiaMART.com offers an extensive range of value-added products and services to its 700,000 registered members and nearly 5 million global buyers across various industries and verticals.
IndiaMART.com has won numerous awards over the years and has been widely covered by media such as CNBC, BBC, BusinessMoney, CNN, Businessworld, Economic Times, Financial Express, etc for its pioneering role in promoting SME business in the country.
Its existing investors include Intel Capital and Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd (Times Group), India's largest print media group.
For more information, please visit: www.indiamart.com/press-section/
Join us on Facebook to become a Fan and get the latest news and updates about IndiaMART.com: http://www.facebook.com/IndiaMART
Media Contacts
IndiaMART.com
Arun Tyagi
Marketing & PR
M: +91-9711003832
T: +91-120-3911000
F: +91-120-2424943
E: pr@indiamart.com
* Corporate giants like HSBC, Monster.com, CC Avenue partner the initiative.
New Delhi, 24 May 2010: Always striving to make its customers feel privileged, IndiaMART.com once again comes up with a platter full of exclusive customer friendly services. The company has announced incredible business offers under a newly launched section named 'Business offers' on its website, where five companies have already partnered with IndiaMART.com to serve the latter's customers at a highly subsidized rate, in a first of its kind initiative.
Corporate giants like HSBC, Monster.com, CC Avenue, E Mudhra and Sage have come together on IndiaMART.com's matchmaking platform to provide a bouquet of exclusive services to its members like Trade Account, Recruitment Solutions, Payment Gateway, Digital Signature and ERP Solutions, respectively. What's more, the members can enjoy all these services at 20%-25% of the regular price. At this time and age, a business also needs customized services to stay ahead in the market and maximize its profit, along with various other things. And with value added offers like online transactions, digital signatures, information about global tenders, etc, small enterprises are definitely going to exult in glory. Surely, IndiaMART.com is gifting its members a smooth business ride all the way.
“We'll always be indebted by the SMEs and MSMEs for their unmatched support and faith in us and we take this opportunity to thank all our esteemed patrons for the same. It gives me immense pleasure in bringing a host of value added business offers for them. The company has always endeavored towards constant improvisation and this latest offering is our way of showing gratitude to our members. I wish the members benefit from this cohesive approach initiated by the company with its esteemed partners and register a great business growth,” says Mr. Dinesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, IndiaMART.com.
IndiaMART.com is one of the leading B2B platforms to herald a wind of change in Indian SME sector. The company recently announced access to around 50,000 live Indian tenders in its database, absolutely free for its patrons. Apart from such never-heard-before initiatives, IndiaMART.com is always on its toes to provide global exposure to Indian SMEs and MSMEs by participating in various international trade shows, around the year.
About IndiaMART.com
IndiaMART.com is India's largest online B2B marketplace connecting global buyers with suppliers through business directories, online product catalogs, buy-sell offers, industry specific marketplaces, printed media and trade shows participation.
Founded in 1996, the company has a pan-India presence in over 100 cities. With approximately 1200 employees located across 31 offices in the country, IndiaMART.com offers an extensive range of value-added products and services to its 700,000 registered members and nearly 5 million global buyers across various industries and verticals.
IndiaMART.com has won numerous awards over the years and has been widely covered by media such as CNBC, BBC, BusinessMoney, CNN, Businessworld, Economic Times, Financial Express, etc for its pioneering role in promoting SME business in the country.
Its existing investors include Intel Capital and Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd (Times Group), India's largest print media group.
For more information, please visit: www.indiamart.com/press-section/
Join us on Facebook to become a Fan and get the latest news and updates about IndiaMART.com: http://www.facebook.com/IndiaMART
Media Contacts
IndiaMART.com
Arun Tyagi
Marketing & PR
M: +91-9711003832
T: +91-120-3911000
F: +91-120-2424943
E: pr@indiamart.com
Friday, May 14, 2010
Ministry Proposes 20% Public Procurement from MSMEs
This is surely going to bring about a wide smile on the faces of MSME owners!
The Ministry of MSME, Government of India, has announced a Public Procurement Policy (PPP) which makes it mandatory for all the ministries and Public Service Units (PSUs) to procure 20% of their total purchase from MSMEs.
Until now, the government procured a meager volume of 4 to 5 percent from MSMEs, out of its total purchase. Unlike many other countries, where the public procurement share from SMEs is at a good position, Indian MSMEs have always faced disappointment due to lack of government support. Out of many recommendations proposed to the government last year, for the benefits of the MSMEs, the 20% PPP is the first one to be presented to the Cabinet for approval.
According to Madhav Lal, Additional Secretary and Development Commissioner, Ministry of MSME, the ministry is on its last minute consultation with the concerned PSUs and other ministries. “The proposed policy will make it mandatory for ministries and PSUs to procure 20 per cent of their annual purchase volume from MSMEs and report the procurement made from MSMEs in their annual reports”, stated Mr. Lal.
The MSME associations are a happy family after the announcements as they have been demanding some reservation in public procurement since long. India has a vast public procurement which allows huge growing potential. And with big sectors like railways, defence, power, manufacturing and transport etc in the public sector, the recommended 20% PPP is surely going to boost the business prospects of the Indian MSMEs.
Apart from that, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has also made a similar announcement. “In a financial year, in case the large industry (private and public sector) procures stipulated percentage of goods/ services from MSMEs and subject to the transaction having been completed in the form of payment to MSMEs, the large industry would be entitled to certain tax benefits. This would also facilitate the growth progression and upgradation of the vendors,” said Salil Singhal, chairman of CII's National MSME Council.
Ecstatic on hearing the announcements, Mr. Dinesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, IndiaMART.com, commented, “It's better late than never! Though the government took a long time to pay heed to an important pain area of the MSMEs, I welcome the decision as it eventually proposes a huge growth opportunity to them. Apart from marketing and matchmaking platforms like ours, MSMEs also need government support to grow.”
Glad with a commendable gesture like this, lets expect some continuous support from the government for the small industries.
The Ministry of MSME, Government of India, has announced a Public Procurement Policy (PPP) which makes it mandatory for all the ministries and Public Service Units (PSUs) to procure 20% of their total purchase from MSMEs.
Until now, the government procured a meager volume of 4 to 5 percent from MSMEs, out of its total purchase. Unlike many other countries, where the public procurement share from SMEs is at a good position, Indian MSMEs have always faced disappointment due to lack of government support. Out of many recommendations proposed to the government last year, for the benefits of the MSMEs, the 20% PPP is the first one to be presented to the Cabinet for approval.
According to Madhav Lal, Additional Secretary and Development Commissioner, Ministry of MSME, the ministry is on its last minute consultation with the concerned PSUs and other ministries. “The proposed policy will make it mandatory for ministries and PSUs to procure 20 per cent of their annual purchase volume from MSMEs and report the procurement made from MSMEs in their annual reports”, stated Mr. Lal.
The MSME associations are a happy family after the announcements as they have been demanding some reservation in public procurement since long. India has a vast public procurement which allows huge growing potential. And with big sectors like railways, defence, power, manufacturing and transport etc in the public sector, the recommended 20% PPP is surely going to boost the business prospects of the Indian MSMEs.
Apart from that, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has also made a similar announcement. “In a financial year, in case the large industry (private and public sector) procures stipulated percentage of goods/ services from MSMEs and subject to the transaction having been completed in the form of payment to MSMEs, the large industry would be entitled to certain tax benefits. This would also facilitate the growth progression and upgradation of the vendors,” said Salil Singhal, chairman of CII's National MSME Council.
Ecstatic on hearing the announcements, Mr. Dinesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, IndiaMART.com, commented, “It's better late than never! Though the government took a long time to pay heed to an important pain area of the MSMEs, I welcome the decision as it eventually proposes a huge growth opportunity to them. Apart from marketing and matchmaking platforms like ours, MSMEs also need government support to grow.”
Glad with a commendable gesture like this, lets expect some continuous support from the government for the small industries.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
SMEs should learn Lean Manufacturing
What is lean manufacturing all about?
The lean manufacturing process is a comprehensive way to reduce waste of all types. It could be a waste of time or material, it is still waste. Lean manufacturing is a manufacturing strategy that seeks to produce a high level of throughput with a minimum of inventory. This type of manufacturing is like adding spokes to a wheel, so the wagon can roll.
In addition to eliminating waste, lean manufacturing seeks to provide optimum quality by building in a method whereby each part is examined immediately after manufacture, and if there is a defect, the production line stops so that the problem can be detected at the earliest possible time. The lean manufacturing method has much in common with the Total Quality Management (TQM) strategy. Both strategies empower workers on the assembly line, in the belief that those closest to production have the greatest knowledge of how the production system should work.
In a lean manufacturing system, suppliers deliver small lots on a daily basis, and machines are not necessarily run at full capacity. One of the primary focuses of lean manufacturing is to eliminate waste; that is, anything that does not add value to the final product gets eliminated. In this respect, large inventories are seen as a type of waste that carries with it a high cost. A second major focus is to empower workers, and make production decisions at the lowest level possible.
How do you begin the lean manufacturing process?
Everyone in the organization will require significant training. You will need to develop an overall strategy and training plan and recognize that this is a major commitment from the management down to the lowliest employee.
A step by step approach would approximate this plan, depending on your specific needs. Here are 6 steps to implement lean manufacturing.
Determine which aspects of lean manufacturing apply to you, prioritize according to your needs and abilities.
* Categorize your people into groups according to similar training needs.
* Identify your programs and make a matrix, or chart.
* Decide whether you will hire an consultant or do it in-house.
* Develop a time frame or schedule according to work area or personnel.
* Prepare an immediate schedule and begin!
Advantages of Lean Manufacturing
* Lean manufacturing strategies can save millions of dollars and produce excellent results.
* It gives the manufacturer a competitive edge by reducing costs and increasing quality.
* Allows manufacturer to be more responsive to custom.
* Lower lead times
* Reduced set-up times
* Lower equipment expense
* Increased profits
The lean manufacturing process is a comprehensive way to reduce waste of all types. It could be a waste of time or material, it is still waste. Lean manufacturing is a manufacturing strategy that seeks to produce a high level of throughput with a minimum of inventory. This type of manufacturing is like adding spokes to a wheel, so the wagon can roll.
In addition to eliminating waste, lean manufacturing seeks to provide optimum quality by building in a method whereby each part is examined immediately after manufacture, and if there is a defect, the production line stops so that the problem can be detected at the earliest possible time. The lean manufacturing method has much in common with the Total Quality Management (TQM) strategy. Both strategies empower workers on the assembly line, in the belief that those closest to production have the greatest knowledge of how the production system should work.
In a lean manufacturing system, suppliers deliver small lots on a daily basis, and machines are not necessarily run at full capacity. One of the primary focuses of lean manufacturing is to eliminate waste; that is, anything that does not add value to the final product gets eliminated. In this respect, large inventories are seen as a type of waste that carries with it a high cost. A second major focus is to empower workers, and make production decisions at the lowest level possible.
How do you begin the lean manufacturing process?
Everyone in the organization will require significant training. You will need to develop an overall strategy and training plan and recognize that this is a major commitment from the management down to the lowliest employee.
A step by step approach would approximate this plan, depending on your specific needs. Here are 6 steps to implement lean manufacturing.
Determine which aspects of lean manufacturing apply to you, prioritize according to your needs and abilities.
* Categorize your people into groups according to similar training needs.
* Identify your programs and make a matrix, or chart.
* Decide whether you will hire an consultant or do it in-house.
* Develop a time frame or schedule according to work area or personnel.
* Prepare an immediate schedule and begin!
Advantages of Lean Manufacturing
* Lean manufacturing strategies can save millions of dollars and produce excellent results.
* It gives the manufacturer a competitive edge by reducing costs and increasing quality.
* Allows manufacturer to be more responsive to custom.
* Lower lead times
* Reduced set-up times
* Lower equipment expense
* Increased profits
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Credit Ratings for SMEs
Credit ratings specially designed for SMEs, factoring in their exclusive characteristics related to size and style of functioning, helps in bridging the information gap for well deserving SME units with their lenders. It also helps SMEs to encourage ties with new trade partners based on the strength of the ratings obtained. It anticipates the need for disclosing information that is confidential in nature while prospecting business.
For a successful and meaning rating exercise, cooperation between agency and the rated SME is very essential. While SMEs would provide the information more in direct association. The analysts undertaking the rating of SMEs should be able to understand the constraints obtaining in the SME unit, like scattered information without necessary skills in articulating the relevant information and knowledge. The analysts should have an SME assessment specialization and his focus should be SME ratings, only then he would be able to carry out a proper peer comparison.
A good rating from an external expert credit rating agencies like ICRA, ONICRA, SMERA etc emphasizes the best business practices adopted by an SME unit and helps in benchmarking its strength and reliability of performance. These agencies are unbiased and aims to bridge the gap between the needy SMEs to willing yet hesitant lenders by evaluating financial parameters as also qualitative factors like management profile, corporate governance, industry risk and similar other non-financial parameters that have bearing on the creditworthiness of units.
Firm information considered would include industry scenario, business financials, credit history, management expertise, future plans and business prospects. Mainly the rating process involves plant / site visits and interactions with the management of entities. Further, based on the quality of disclosures adopted by the entity, the rating highlights the intrinsic strength of the entity while giving due respect to confidentiality requirements of the rated SMEs. This provides a strong element of comfort to the SME client that his rating has been based on proper and evaluation of his business and also to the lending agency and anyone basing their credit or trade decisions.
For a successful and meaning rating exercise, cooperation between agency and the rated SME is very essential. While SMEs would provide the information more in direct association. The analysts undertaking the rating of SMEs should be able to understand the constraints obtaining in the SME unit, like scattered information without necessary skills in articulating the relevant information and knowledge. The analysts should have an SME assessment specialization and his focus should be SME ratings, only then he would be able to carry out a proper peer comparison.
A good rating from an external expert credit rating agencies like ICRA, ONICRA, SMERA etc emphasizes the best business practices adopted by an SME unit and helps in benchmarking its strength and reliability of performance. These agencies are unbiased and aims to bridge the gap between the needy SMEs to willing yet hesitant lenders by evaluating financial parameters as also qualitative factors like management profile, corporate governance, industry risk and similar other non-financial parameters that have bearing on the creditworthiness of units.
Firm information considered would include industry scenario, business financials, credit history, management expertise, future plans and business prospects. Mainly the rating process involves plant / site visits and interactions with the management of entities. Further, based on the quality of disclosures adopted by the entity, the rating highlights the intrinsic strength of the entity while giving due respect to confidentiality requirements of the rated SMEs. This provides a strong element of comfort to the SME client that his rating has been based on proper and evaluation of his business and also to the lending agency and anyone basing their credit or trade decisions.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Only Your Balance Sheet can Oxygenate Your Enterprise, says B2B tycoon, Dinesh Agarwal reports SME WORLD (Magazine-April Issue, Page-45)
The Balance Sheet is the life blood of enterprise. It must be kept in good health as only the balance sheet attracts the oxygen needed to survice and grow. This is the explanation given by Dinesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO, IndiaMART.com, the successful Indian B2B portal.
He was 'x-raying' the MSME sector's impediments to growth and the measures required to remove the funding road blocks at the ASSOCHAM Seminar on 'SMEs-Finance with Governance in Delhi recently. SME WORLD was the magazine partner at the event.
"Micro, small and medium enterprises, especially the micro and the small do not worry about their balance sheets 'which are often guided by their profit and loss accounts. Balance sheet should never be treated casually. In the mad rush to upward their tax saving graph they neglect to symbolize their rate of growth in their balance sheet which is the primary need to raise funds from all sources - banks, private equity, venture capitalists or anywhere."
Agarwal expressed his concern about this serious issue of the blatant neglect of their balance sheets by the SMEs. He said, "most of the micro enterprises are hurting their balance sheet. Almost all their efforts are targeted to save the taxes or get subsidies or any other promotional assistance from the government."
Agarwal observed 'the government must simplify the tax structure'. He said the enterprises often feared to show their growth in their balance sheets and in the process they become keen to remain in the 10% and 20% tax brackets. "Rather than focusing on tax slabs, there must be gradual shift in the tax limits," he said.
Sharing his experience of dealing with thousands of SMEs everyday, he said "our interaction with enterprises has revealed that there are essentially two kinds of enterprises. One is those who are growing regularly and the other who are waiting for the government's initiatives to excel."
Raising the issue of complexity of the government schemes, he urged the government to have fewer schemes rather than a whole gamut of them which eventually die down on their own. "There is a need to simplify the procedures to take benefits of different schemes. Multiple mechanisms to avail the benefits of the schemes and assistance being rendered by the government are cumbersome and discourage the entrepreneur. The schemes should have an elaborate canvas with tangible framework to attract maximum number of the targeted segment."
Agarwal pointed out that most of the schemes created unnecessary confusion and remain on papers because either they are not publicized or they are too complicated.
He was 'x-raying' the MSME sector's impediments to growth and the measures required to remove the funding road blocks at the ASSOCHAM Seminar on 'SMEs-Finance with Governance in Delhi recently. SME WORLD was the magazine partner at the event.
"Micro, small and medium enterprises, especially the micro and the small do not worry about their balance sheets 'which are often guided by their profit and loss accounts. Balance sheet should never be treated casually. In the mad rush to upward their tax saving graph they neglect to symbolize their rate of growth in their balance sheet which is the primary need to raise funds from all sources - banks, private equity, venture capitalists or anywhere."
Agarwal expressed his concern about this serious issue of the blatant neglect of their balance sheets by the SMEs. He said, "most of the micro enterprises are hurting their balance sheet. Almost all their efforts are targeted to save the taxes or get subsidies or any other promotional assistance from the government."
Agarwal observed 'the government must simplify the tax structure'. He said the enterprises often feared to show their growth in their balance sheets and in the process they become keen to remain in the 10% and 20% tax brackets. "Rather than focusing on tax slabs, there must be gradual shift in the tax limits," he said.
Sharing his experience of dealing with thousands of SMEs everyday, he said "our interaction with enterprises has revealed that there are essentially two kinds of enterprises. One is those who are growing regularly and the other who are waiting for the government's initiatives to excel."
Raising the issue of complexity of the government schemes, he urged the government to have fewer schemes rather than a whole gamut of them which eventually die down on their own. "There is a need to simplify the procedures to take benefits of different schemes. Multiple mechanisms to avail the benefits of the schemes and assistance being rendered by the government are cumbersome and discourage the entrepreneur. The schemes should have an elaborate canvas with tangible framework to attract maximum number of the targeted segment."
Agarwal pointed out that most of the schemes created unnecessary confusion and remain on papers because either they are not publicized or they are too complicated.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Role of Small & Medium Enterprises in Economic Development
SMEs plays an important role in the economic development of a country. Their role in terms of production, employment generation, contribution to exports & facilitating equitable distribution of income is very critical. The SMEs broadly consists of:
1) The traditional cottage & household industries such as khadi & village industries, handicrafts, handlooms, sericulture and coir industries.
2) Modern SMEs.
The traditional village and cottage industries as distinguished from modern SMEs are mostly unorganized and located in rural ares and semi urban areas. They normally do not use power operated machines/appliances & use relatively lower levels of investment & technology. But they provide part time employment to a very large number of poorer sections of the society. They also supply essential products for mass consumption & exports.
The modern SMEs are mostly defined in terms of the size of investment & labour force. The industries (Development & Regulation) defines SMEs having less than 50 workers with the aid of power or less than 50 workers with the aid of power.
Government is extending various steps towards SMEs. In India, a unique instrument called reservation in the sense of legal ban on production by large units introduced in 1970s was for the safety and promotion of SMEs. In addition, the SMEs has been supported and encouraged by various government policies for infrastructure support, technology upgradation, preferential access to credit, preferential policy support, etc.
Specific Contributions of Small Scale Sector:
1. The contribution of Small scale sector to the manufacturing sector and GDP as a whole is significant in terms of its share in total value added.
2. Small scale sector performs to the manufacturing sector and GDP as a whole is significant in terms of its share in total value added.
3. SMEs can play a role in mitigating the problem of imbalance in the balance of payment accounts through its export promotion.
4. While the large scale industries are expected to increase the inequities of income and concentration of wealth, SMEs are expected to help widespread equal distribution of income and wealth.
5. Small sector may provide opportunities to a large number of capable and potential entrepreneurs who are deprived of appropriate opportunities.
6. It can help to release scarce capital towards productive use.
7. SSI can reap the benefits of lean production and can find new cost-efficient techniques of lean production.
8. As small units can use resources more efficiently to the full capacity without any wastage, they may have higher allocative efficiency.
9. As the element of risk is minimum in SMEs, more resources will be employed by large number of labor force.
1) The traditional cottage & household industries such as khadi & village industries, handicrafts, handlooms, sericulture and coir industries.
2) Modern SMEs.
The traditional village and cottage industries as distinguished from modern SMEs are mostly unorganized and located in rural ares and semi urban areas. They normally do not use power operated machines/appliances & use relatively lower levels of investment & technology. But they provide part time employment to a very large number of poorer sections of the society. They also supply essential products for mass consumption & exports.
The modern SMEs are mostly defined in terms of the size of investment & labour force. The industries (Development & Regulation) defines SMEs having less than 50 workers with the aid of power or less than 50 workers with the aid of power.
Government is extending various steps towards SMEs. In India, a unique instrument called reservation in the sense of legal ban on production by large units introduced in 1970s was for the safety and promotion of SMEs. In addition, the SMEs has been supported and encouraged by various government policies for infrastructure support, technology upgradation, preferential access to credit, preferential policy support, etc.
Specific Contributions of Small Scale Sector:
1. The contribution of Small scale sector to the manufacturing sector and GDP as a whole is significant in terms of its share in total value added.
2. Small scale sector performs to the manufacturing sector and GDP as a whole is significant in terms of its share in total value added.
3. SMEs can play a role in mitigating the problem of imbalance in the balance of payment accounts through its export promotion.
4. While the large scale industries are expected to increase the inequities of income and concentration of wealth, SMEs are expected to help widespread equal distribution of income and wealth.
5. Small sector may provide opportunities to a large number of capable and potential entrepreneurs who are deprived of appropriate opportunities.
6. It can help to release scarce capital towards productive use.
7. SSI can reap the benefits of lean production and can find new cost-efficient techniques of lean production.
8. As small units can use resources more efficiently to the full capacity without any wastage, they may have higher allocative efficiency.
9. As the element of risk is minimum in SMEs, more resources will be employed by large number of labor force.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
IndiaMART.com Ad Campaign Brings Small Business into Spotlight
-Nationwide Ad Campaign launched Radio, Internet & Print media.
-First ever Radio campaign by any Online B2B player in India.
-The campaign focuses on boosting B2B trade with “Buy-Sell Products in 20,000 Categories” theme.
-In a first of its kind branding experiment, IndiaMART will have fixed presence across all pages of Timesofindia.com and Economictimes.com.
New Delhi,16 February 2010: India's largest online B2B marketplace, IndiaMART.com has launched a nationwide advertising campaign across radio, Internet and print media. The two month long campaign aims to enable bulk buyers and suppliers to find and discover the right business partners across India and overseas. This drive is an extension of raising awareness among SMEs and MSMEs to bring them online.
Announcing the launch, Founder and CEO, IndiaMART.com, Mr. Dinesh Agarwal, said, “The world is changing fast and everyone knows it. More and more people are doing business online and even the smallest business can no longer afford not to be there on the Internet. IndiaMART.com has made it very simple for buyers and suppliers to do business from anywhere to anywhere. We wish for all SMEs and MSMEs to become part of the silent revolution and adopt the Internet as a new way of doing business to achieve sustainable expansion, growth and competitiveness.”
Agarwal further added, “At a time when everyone is cutting on hiring and marketing activities, the Internet serves as an economical means of reaching newer markets. There are numerous such hidden opportunities that businesses can explore online.”
Founded in 1996, IndiaMART.com has been at the forefront of fostering trade between buyers and suppliers. The company is a proud and deserving recipient of Emerging India and Red Herring awards for its efforts. Talking about the campaign, Arun Tyagi, General Manager, Marketing, IndiaMART.com, said, “India has more than 10 million SMEs, of which only about 1 million SMEs are online. Our integrated marketing campaign aims to bridge this gap by communicating the benefits of the Internet to the small and medium businesses and make them understand how the Internet has become a new channel of sales for their business. Nationwide presence across print, radio and Internet shall help us in taking our message to a large part of the target audience.”
Elaborating on the campaign, Tyagi adds, “In a first of its kind branding experiment, we will have fixed presence across all the pages of Timesofindia.com and Economictimes.com for the entire duration of the campaign.” The campaign will also be aired across 12 stations of Radio Mirchi including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Jaipur, Jalandhar and Indore. The radio jingle has been uploaded on social networking site Facebook.
The print campaign includes major dailies like Times of India, Economic Times, Navbharat Times, Maharashtra Times and Vijay Karnataka. On the Internet, Google, Yahoo, Rediff, Moneycontrol, Timesofindia.com, Economictimes.com, Indianexpress.com and more than 1000 other top websites through various ad networks will run the campaign.
About IndiaMART.com
IndiaMART.com is India's largest online B2B marketplace connecting global buyers with suppliers through business directories, online product catalogs, buy-sell offers, industry specific marketplaces, printed media and trade shows participation.
Founded in 1996, the company has a presence in over 100 cities pan-India. With approximately 1000 employees, IndiaMART.com offers an extensive range of value-added products and services to over 500,000 members and over 5 million global buyers across industries and verticals.
IndiaMART.com has won numerous awards over the years including Red Herring 100 Asia & Emerging India and the company has been widely covered by media such as CNBC, BBC, BusinessMoney, CNN, Businessworld, Economic Times, Financial Express, etc. Its existing investors include Intel Capital and Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd (Times Group), India's largest print media group.
For more information, please visit: www.indiamart.com/press-section/
Media Contacts
IndiaMART.com
Arun Tyagi
Marketing & PR
M: +91-9711003832
T: +91-120-3911000
F: +91-120-2424943
E: pr@indiamart.com
-First ever Radio campaign by any Online B2B player in India.
-The campaign focuses on boosting B2B trade with “Buy-Sell Products in 20,000 Categories” theme.
-In a first of its kind branding experiment, IndiaMART will have fixed presence across all pages of Timesofindia.com and Economictimes.com.
New Delhi,16 February 2010: India's largest online B2B marketplace, IndiaMART.com has launched a nationwide advertising campaign across radio, Internet and print media. The two month long campaign aims to enable bulk buyers and suppliers to find and discover the right business partners across India and overseas. This drive is an extension of raising awareness among SMEs and MSMEs to bring them online.
Announcing the launch, Founder and CEO, IndiaMART.com, Mr. Dinesh Agarwal, said, “The world is changing fast and everyone knows it. More and more people are doing business online and even the smallest business can no longer afford not to be there on the Internet. IndiaMART.com has made it very simple for buyers and suppliers to do business from anywhere to anywhere. We wish for all SMEs and MSMEs to become part of the silent revolution and adopt the Internet as a new way of doing business to achieve sustainable expansion, growth and competitiveness.”
Agarwal further added, “At a time when everyone is cutting on hiring and marketing activities, the Internet serves as an economical means of reaching newer markets. There are numerous such hidden opportunities that businesses can explore online.”
Founded in 1996, IndiaMART.com has been at the forefront of fostering trade between buyers and suppliers. The company is a proud and deserving recipient of Emerging India and Red Herring awards for its efforts. Talking about the campaign, Arun Tyagi, General Manager, Marketing, IndiaMART.com, said, “India has more than 10 million SMEs, of which only about 1 million SMEs are online. Our integrated marketing campaign aims to bridge this gap by communicating the benefits of the Internet to the small and medium businesses and make them understand how the Internet has become a new channel of sales for their business. Nationwide presence across print, radio and Internet shall help us in taking our message to a large part of the target audience.”
Elaborating on the campaign, Tyagi adds, “In a first of its kind branding experiment, we will have fixed presence across all the pages of Timesofindia.com and Economictimes.com for the entire duration of the campaign.” The campaign will also be aired across 12 stations of Radio Mirchi including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Jaipur, Jalandhar and Indore. The radio jingle has been uploaded on social networking site Facebook.
The print campaign includes major dailies like Times of India, Economic Times, Navbharat Times, Maharashtra Times and Vijay Karnataka. On the Internet, Google, Yahoo, Rediff, Moneycontrol, Timesofindia.com, Economictimes.com, Indianexpress.com and more than 1000 other top websites through various ad networks will run the campaign.
About IndiaMART.com
IndiaMART.com is India's largest online B2B marketplace connecting global buyers with suppliers through business directories, online product catalogs, buy-sell offers, industry specific marketplaces, printed media and trade shows participation.
Founded in 1996, the company has a presence in over 100 cities pan-India. With approximately 1000 employees, IndiaMART.com offers an extensive range of value-added products and services to over 500,000 members and over 5 million global buyers across industries and verticals.
IndiaMART.com has won numerous awards over the years including Red Herring 100 Asia & Emerging India and the company has been widely covered by media such as CNBC, BBC, BusinessMoney, CNN, Businessworld, Economic Times, Financial Express, etc. Its existing investors include Intel Capital and Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd (Times Group), India's largest print media group.
For more information, please visit: www.indiamart.com/press-section/
Media Contacts
IndiaMART.com
Arun Tyagi
Marketing & PR
M: +91-9711003832
T: +91-120-3911000
F: +91-120-2424943
E: pr@indiamart.com
Monday, January 18, 2010
Challenges Faced By Indian SMEs
SME sector is considered as one of the most important segments for any nation. SMEs have fostered the Indian economy's competitiveness in an increasingly challenging global economic picture. The survey found that SMEs are more concerned with issues like staff shortages, a lack of orders, sales and government regulation.
Some of these hurdles comprise of inefficacy of SMEs to access continued development and success.
Lack of Finance: It has emerged as the most critical barrier for perfect capacity utilization and competing in the market. SMEs are not able to raise adequate funds from banks, especially for high risk projects. Insufficient basic infrastructure facilities like irregular power and water supply, bad road and railway connectivity etc are some of the factors that are hampering the growth of SMEs in India.
Lack of Technology: One of the crucial factors that prompts in the success or failure of enterprise is technology. The best use of technology no doubt enables enterprise in reducing cost of production, maintain consistency in quality, improve productivity and finally develop the competitiveness of the enterprise.
Lack of Planning: Another problem that is mainly faced by SME sector is the proper division of time, which is usually the outcome of improper planning and strategy. Moreover, if you are in debt then you have to be careful from your bankers and suppliers and off course your employees who will be on your nerves on the salary day.
Lack of Marketing Assistance: One of the chief problems that SME do not have marketing expertise or not in a position to hire someone who can jazz up with their sales. Paucity of marketing support and limitation of the resources is a characteristic of all SMEs. In this framework the discussion focuses on SME's typical traits and how these effect upon marketing characteristics within SMEs.
When it comes to marketing of products or services internationally, any small or medium company is always constrained by its scarcity of budgets, which in turn limits its growth. A B2B marketplace is a platform where sellers can list their businesses free of cost and leverage the power of internet. Not only they solve companies problem of reach to the buyers worldwide, the online marketplace also support their communication needs and help them display an array of products.
Lack of Knowledge: Lack of knowledge and information about the various schemes announced by the government.
Lack of Right Staff: Last but not the least SMEs are largely dependent on their staffs, if you fail in the recruitment process, you fail indeed. SMEs must hire right employees, who give their best and support the enterprise through their performances.
By seeing the growing obstacles in the way of SMEs, some renowned companies like IndiaMART.com and Hellotrade.com are taking initiatives to aware the SMEs about online presence, ICTs, online promotions and online advertisements to get rid of these shortcomings mentioned above . IndiaMART.com is doing this through a drive involving seminars, events and one to one commitments to illuminate the SME entrepreneurs.
Some of these hurdles comprise of inefficacy of SMEs to access continued development and success.
Lack of Finance: It has emerged as the most critical barrier for perfect capacity utilization and competing in the market. SMEs are not able to raise adequate funds from banks, especially for high risk projects. Insufficient basic infrastructure facilities like irregular power and water supply, bad road and railway connectivity etc are some of the factors that are hampering the growth of SMEs in India.
Lack of Technology: One of the crucial factors that prompts in the success or failure of enterprise is technology. The best use of technology no doubt enables enterprise in reducing cost of production, maintain consistency in quality, improve productivity and finally develop the competitiveness of the enterprise.
Lack of Planning: Another problem that is mainly faced by SME sector is the proper division of time, which is usually the outcome of improper planning and strategy. Moreover, if you are in debt then you have to be careful from your bankers and suppliers and off course your employees who will be on your nerves on the salary day.
Lack of Marketing Assistance: One of the chief problems that SME do not have marketing expertise or not in a position to hire someone who can jazz up with their sales. Paucity of marketing support and limitation of the resources is a characteristic of all SMEs. In this framework the discussion focuses on SME's typical traits and how these effect upon marketing characteristics within SMEs.
When it comes to marketing of products or services internationally, any small or medium company is always constrained by its scarcity of budgets, which in turn limits its growth. A B2B marketplace is a platform where sellers can list their businesses free of cost and leverage the power of internet. Not only they solve companies problem of reach to the buyers worldwide, the online marketplace also support their communication needs and help them display an array of products.
Lack of Knowledge: Lack of knowledge and information about the various schemes announced by the government.
Lack of Right Staff: Last but not the least SMEs are largely dependent on their staffs, if you fail in the recruitment process, you fail indeed. SMEs must hire right employees, who give their best and support the enterprise through their performances.
By seeing the growing obstacles in the way of SMEs, some renowned companies like IndiaMART.com and Hellotrade.com are taking initiatives to aware the SMEs about online presence, ICTs, online promotions and online advertisements to get rid of these shortcomings mentioned above . IndiaMART.com is doing this through a drive involving seminars, events and one to one commitments to illuminate the SME entrepreneurs.
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