Expert Speak: Mr. Ajay Wahi

SMEs : Your time has come but only if you focus on your people

India will sparkle for the next many decades. Our time has finally come. From being considered a slow, closed economy for years, we are now viewed as one of the most promising countries globally. India is everywhere. No company in the world can succeed without an India office. Our people are more educated now, and they are more demanding than ever before. Our citizens now want the latest: the latest in technology, the latest in consumer goods, the latest in everything.

Indian Market: Huge Opportunity

And who will service the Indian market? The entire world will! All global companies, small or big, want to enter India. Sensing this huge business opportunity, millions will exhibit entrepreneurship, wanting to grab a piece of the huge cake that is the ever-growing Indian economy.

So far, it is the bigger players who have been at our service. But with millions of entrepreneurs entering the fray, it will be the small and medium set-ups (SMEs) which will flourish because they will propel the drive to quench India’s economic hunger. Whether these SMEs service large companies or the consumer directly, their success or failure will determine the degree of the country’s economic success. With high passion and a deep-rooted sense of belonging to a country whose time has come, these SMEs have every chance to succeed.  However, to succeed, the SMEs need lot of support and guidance on sales, finances, market penetrations, strategy, automation, IT, branding and finally on people.

Focus on PEOPLE

I highlight PEOPLE for one main reason: they are the common factor across all the above areas. It is people who conclude sales deals, who invent better machinery for higher production, who think and create strategy, and who create efficient processes. So if people are not happy, then the best of strategies is doomed to fail!

  

There is another reason why focus on people is very important. Besides the fact that they make things happen, people will gradually become a scarce resource. The time is not far away when people will have 100 options to chose from. And they will choose to work with you only if you have built for yourself the reputation of taking care of your people. This problem will be exacerbated by the mushrooming of SMEs which will create unprecedented demand for the limited skilled manpower we have in the country. As the icing on the cake, it is expected that in 10 years from now, all the advanced countries like US, Japan, Europe, and China will have either too many young people or too many old people. India, on the other hand, will have the largest productive population (24 to 45 years). And it is this productive population which will be sought after globally to fill up junior- and middle-level executive / managerial vacancies!

You may say 10 years is a lot of time - why bother about it? But building up a company takes time, and in the few years it will take you to build a reputation for yourself as a desirable SME to work for, you will find the 10 years considerably shortened. 

So, if you are running an SME, focus on people from today so that years from now when you grow even faster and want more people, these limited people choose to join you! 

And if you are part of the Government or a large corporate player or a reputed consultant or a effective trainer or an association etc, kindly do your bit to help out the SMEs on how recruit, train, retain people because they really need this guidance as they will succeed only if the can make people happy and productive. If their people win, they win and if they win, India wins.

The author of the article is Mr. Ajay Wahi, MD, Management Treasures Group and author of management books.

VH Polymers Gains Distinct Advantage with Internet

VH Polymers, a company manufacturing industrial rubber items as well as teflon products was commenced by Mr. Alok Shah, Manager, VH Polymers in 1982 with an initial capital of less than Rs 10 lakh. The company offers a range of products in the moulded and extruded rubber and teflon components category. The company’s offerings find use in industries like sugar, engineering, chemical, textile and maintenance through replacement parts for earthmovers, conveyors, compressors, valves, etc. There is definite scope for the company in the cement industry.

Drive for Excellence

The company has two production facilities, which are located in Mumbai and employs a workforce of 15–20 people that have enabled it to earn a turnover of around Rs. 80 to 90 lakh. On its way to this exponential growth, VH Polymers faced several critical challenges relating to competition, quality and pricing. The company faces tough competition for industrial items in the regions of Baroda and Gujarat. To differentiate itself amongst other players in the market, VH Polymers has maintained and provided the best possible quality to customers. To Mr. Shah, the satisfaction expressed by customers they have served is the best compliment they have received so far.

http://www.indiamart.com/corporate/success-stories/vh-polymers.html






Areas for Value Addition

VH Polymers is one of those companies that believe in the potential of traditional business tools such as the Yellow Pages. But, ever since they were introduced to online b2b marketplace, internet has become a very important tool and an integral platform for their business.

SK Pharma Machinery Unlocks Global Prospects

SK Pharma Machinery Pvt Ltd has its roots in 2000, when it was started by two ambitious entrepreneurs, Mr. Govind K Panchal and Mr. Shailesh K Panchal. The company started by three people conducting a range of pharma jobs, and is now a focused manufacturer of machinery for the pharmaceutical, beverage and cosmetic industries with offices in Thane and Mumbai as well as production facilities in Umargaon, Gujarat. Mr. Shailesh Panchal, Director, SK Pharma Machinery Pvt Ltd recalls that the company received its first order from Lark Laboratories, and since then, they have not looked back. Today, the company employs around 110 people, including 65 people working in their manufacturing facilities. From a humble figure, the company turnover has now grown to about Rs. 16 crore.

The Early Days

Since the company started with very little capital, the brothers faced several hardships. However, their quality of service led to several orders for machinery primarily due to references and word-of-mouth. “There is no competition since what we are manufacturing are totally different products. Because of our product quality, customers using our machines are quite satisfied with them. We don’t need any awards since our clients do not go anywhere else and we receive repeat orders. Our clients can go through our website and check all relevant details about the company. We have made some registrations for our safety as well as that of our clients,” commented Mr. Shailesh. The company is also a member of Indian Pharma Machinery Associations.

http://www.indiamart.com/corporate/success-stories/s-k-pharma-machinery.html

Global Opportunities

The main marketing strategy of SK Pharma Machienery as door-to-door marketing. But the company was already receiving bulk of its orders through references. The challenge came when the company was aiming for exports.  The company decided to leverage online service and since then have added three more countries to its market portfolio. Thus, came the knocjThe pharma industry is growing leaps and bounds everywhere in the world. SK Pharma hopes to grow in tune with this global surge with significant help from online B2B marketplace.

Expert Speak: Mr. Anand Pillai

Effective communication strategies which SMEs can adopt

Employees spend majority of their time at their work place and in interpersonal communication. Thus it is no surprise to find that most conflicts arise because people cannot sustain effective communication. Cultivating the art of effective communication and listening helps to build bridges and enhance relationships.

Given below are 5 essential cornerstones for ascertaining effective communication at workplace which every enterprise (small or big) should achieve:

1. Trust and transparency

In today’s virtual world and knowledge economy-Secrecy is bad strategy. I believe that the time has come to now stretch this beautiful muslin of transparency and trust over our organizations too. Managers’ needs to be transparent in their operations and openly communicate to the employees about the organization’s policy/ vision, challenges and strength. This will build trust among the employees (especially the increasing influx of Gen Y) turning everyone into business partners where they meaningfully contribute to the success of the organization through their innovation, creativity and commitment to deliver.

2. Etiquette

While effective communication needs to adhere to the principles of social etiquette (meaning it has to be polite) it cannot just restrict itself to this aspect and incorporates many more attributes. In my view for communication to be effective it has to inspire action and if possible change. And this is one common concern that business managers and leaders often mull about. A frequently heard complaint from most managers today is that while they work hard to create messages, most of these messages do not translate into action or positive thinking for the employees who it was intended for. I firmly believe that the problem lies in the message delivery. The message cannot be or rather should not be delivered in such a fashion that it comes across as an order. Instead recipients should feel that the message communicated to them is in their best interest and accommodates their well being, and growth and development.

In other words effective organizational communication should at one important level help in eradicating self deprecating behaviors and aid the development of new behaviors. And for this effective communication to happen managers have to become better teachers in terms of what to do and how to go about doing the same. Very often leaders think that because they are telling people what they want them to do; people are turning around and doing it. This is a profound fallacy. We need to realize that teaching, not telling, is a communication skill at which all leaders need to become effective—because the more you teach, the more people will learn and the more successful they will be.

3. Empathy

Another strategy for effective communication is effective or attentive listening and empathy. The communicator needs to be tuned to the sensitivities of his audience/message recipient and take into account his/her points of view. Most importantly the communicator should always have a clear goal in his/her mind that needs to be achieved from the communication.

4. Credibility

Credibility is yet another pertinent hallmark of effective organizational communication. In other words ascertaining the accuracy of the communication is of pivotal importance. This is especially critical as faulty or incorrect communication can lead to a lot of chaos and confusion.

5. Implementation

Often the message is not communicated by the leaders clearly or they hesitate to share complete information with the employees. Doing this the leaders in the organization discourages to promote an organizational culture which promotes open and clear communication, and this results can have negative repercussions on the work culture and the employee productivity.

So, an organization to leverage and unleash its people’s potential today should create and fosters a work culture wherein problems, plans, issues, opinions, thoughts and ideas pertaining to work, are discussed and handled in a professional, transparent, proficient manner through positive, effective communication.

All this about effective communication may sound like common sense but “common sense is not common practice. Let us be painfully be aware of what George Bernard Shaw said "The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place."

The author of the article is Mr. Anand Pillai, Sr. Vice President and Global Head, Talent Transformation, Intrapreneurship Development & EFCS Transformation Initiatives, HCL Technologies Ltd.

Create Private Video Chat Sessions with Google Video Chat

Technology is a crucial element today which enables growth for every business. With its proper use, businesses can move to the next level. Internet has specifically created new opportunities for companies, especially the small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It is a great enabler which the SMEs can leverage toge benefits out of it.

One of the best advantages of the Internet is fostering faster communication. Free online tools have created many new opportunities for SMEs to increase effectiveness and hence, productivity. One of the best examples of leveraging the Internet is by collaborating teams. Teams which are working on projects and are located either across campuses or across the globe, require key elements of technology to help them collaborate in just the right time and with just the right effort.

Let Google Video Work for You!
Google video is one of the basic options which Google chat module provides. It basically enables people to get connected across the globe and have a video chat that too at no cost.

As shown in the screen-shot above, initiating a Google video chat is easy. All you need to do is login to your Google mail and choose the person you wish to invite for a video chat. Its obvious that the other person also has to have access to a web camera. The button marked with RED once clicked, sends a video chat invite from your side to the other user. This loads the video chat environment.

Once this is achieved, both the users in the chat conversation can see each other while hearing each others' voices. All this is enabled by google at no cost at all. The video chat is a great tool for SMEs as it allows for better communication and collaboration. Especially amongst team members around projects. It also helps SMEs reduce the cost and time of travel, hence they can be far more effective and productive.

Team IndiaMART Knowledge Services is committed to enable SMEs with tools, tips and techniques to help them reach up the value chain and hence achieve the next level of growth. For more information on how you can create new opportunities for your business, drop in a comment to this post and we will get in touch with you!

Manage Your Business's Reputation On facebook With: Use Facebook As Feature

One of the key concerns for any organization leveraging services of social media is its online reputation. Social Media is free when it comes to expressing and sharing views online. Your customers have more power in their hands to express themselves better. Hence, today they go online and tell thousands of other people about their experience with your product/ brand. For Small and Medium enterprises, its a lot more different challenge. Being small and emerging, SMEs have to ensure that they always win the customer's trust. Though its obvious that not every business can be perfect and that not every business can go to great extents in satisfying the customer. Hence, it becomes all the more critical to manage online reputation.

Be present on your facebook fan page as the brand and as yourself!
One of the key strategies almost every SME should implement in their social media efforts is to keep a constant and closer touch with their customers. This is one USP which SMEs has over its larger counterparts. The customers love personalized experience.

Facebook now allows you to manage your Facebook fan pages (of which you are an admin) as the "brand/ page name" and while being on the page "as yourself/ individual user".

How do I do this?
All you need to do is to click on the "Account" link on the top right of the facebook profile, it will show a drop-down option as "Use facebook as Page" as shown in the screen capture below:

Once you click on the link, you will get the following screen which will show you all the various facebook fan pages of which you are an admin.

Clicking on the option of a "switch" on the right end of every page will allow you to manage and operate that page as the brand/ the page's identity itself.

What if the customer is looking for a personalized answer from the management?

What if your customer tomorrow comes on your page and gives a feedback which is not very pleasing, instead of quickly removing it, you must go ahead and try and resolve the issue first as a brand on facebook. Once the issue is resolved, you can then quickly switch to use the facebook fan page as "yourself" and thank your customer.

This will create a very powerful connect of your customer with you and your brand as they will know that as a brand you own up responsibilities and are ready and prepared to resolve it in a public medium.

Team IndiaMART Knowledge Services is committed to enable SMEs with tools, tips and techniques to help them reach up the value chain and hence achieve the next level of growth. For more information on how you can create new opportunities for your business, drop in a comment to this post and we will get in touch with you!

Your First Lesson in E-Commerce: OLX

With the Internet spreading its reach in India and the customer being more aware, it is one of the most positively impacted areas in business in E-commerce. As more and more people are getting aware of the benefits and advantages of being online,they are becoming open to use their credit cards and other such information with care and safety online. With increasing consumption and online buying patterns, there is a whole genre of online users who are entering the online space while selling items to online buyers.

Now you can sell and buy online while sitting in the comfort of your own home. There are many such online platforms enabling such dealing. Your first lesson in online buying and selling comes from OLX. OLX is a free to use online classified portal. Its like your usual newspaper converted online, where you can search for various items which you are interested in and if you like them at their price, you can buy them. Such a platform is an advantage for both the buyer and the seller, as the time is being saved and so is the hassle of giving costly advertising in news papers. Such simple and straight buying and selling obviously can help you with your first lessons in leveraging the internet for doing e-commerce.

How to do it?

All you need to do is to login to olx.in and register as buyer/ seller. Obviously you can switch roles as you proceed. Once registered, if you are a seller, you can post your product online for free at OLX and it will hence become a part of the classified listing under the category of the products mentioned on OLX. Once your listing is complete, you will tart receiving updates if someone shows interest in buying your product.

Understanding your online customer!

Part of your first lesson in E-commerce, is understanding your online customer. Each customer online has a different view to your product. You can quickly understand the perceptive value of your offering according to the customer and how does the customer react to your postings. This will help you understand the customer better and hence reduce down your sales cycle, by pitching in just the right prices in future.

The next steps!

Once you are well aware of the customers perceptive values and other nitty gritties of e-commerce, you can then move onto setting up an online store/ shop either of your own or on partner sites like E-bay etc. and hence you can make money while being at home.

Team IndiaMART Knowledge Services is committed to enable SMEs with tools, tips and techniques to help them reach up the value chain and hence achieve the next level of growth. For more information on how you can create new opportunities for your business, drop in a comment to this post and we will get in touch with you!