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.

Register FREE NOW!!

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

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.

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.