Communication & Technology – A must for an SME trader

Do you know that almost everyone looks up the internet in the following situations?

• Making a purchase decision
• Start a new business
• Look for a new supplier
• Business joint ventures
• Sourcing raw material
• Sourcing packaging material
• New buyers
• Comparison of products
• Product reviews
• The list goes on!

Since internet is easily accessible and more and more business is taking place online, it has become a necessity rather than an added advantage to make an online presence for your business.

But how easy or difficult is it to get online? It takes a lot of effort in making a neat website, update the content, put the right kind of images and keep the website updated all the time. Plus, because of the plethora of websites, you need to invest in SEO, SEM, social media marketing, etc.

Usually, since traders and other business people do not have the expertise to handle all of it, they go for one of the following two options:

1. Outsource the entire activity (which comes at a high price)
2. Do it in-house to save on cost (but the outcome is quite bad because of lack of knowledge and expertise)

This is a fix that many traders face. Add to this the fact that traders have not one, or two, or three products but the SKUs run in multiples of tens or hundreds. So it’s even more difficult to manage the operations.

Is there a way to avoid these problems and still get to the ultimate objective of having an online presence?

The answer is a product from bizporto.com, the bizTrader. bizTrader is a specifically designed product for SME traders that can not only manage inventory but upload all the product information online and maintain it, get you SEO and SEM traction, bring you on Google, Yahoo!, bing and other search engines and also maintain your online presence without you having to do anything. You can purchase the product at a very economical price for 12 months and stay relieved about your online marketing.

You need not put in any effort in managing it, all you have to do is prepare yourself to handle the business that will flow in after you begin using bizTrader.

bizTrader will change the way you do business. It will expand your market presence, increase your sales, give you a well defined space in the online market and benefit your business overall.

What are you waiting for?

A trader in the SME sector? You need to read this!

Today, SMEs have the maximum opportunities because of the fuelled growth in all sectors. There is a lot of business waiting to be captured but the SMEs are not able to utilize all that there is. Do you also feel that there’s something missing which, had it been available, can actually help you do your business in a more efficient way?

With the growing entrepreneurship, there is a growing need for B2B traders too. But there is a huge gap between the demand and the supply. And this gap is not because of less supply but because the right people are not connected at the right time.

Most SME players start small and grow over a period of time and gain expertise in their area of work or the sector they operate in. However, most players deal with a large number of SKUs and categories of products. In which case, the inventory management poses a big problem since day-to-day transactions are high in number, there are many returns, many suppliers, many buyers, credit periods and what not!

In such a case, the trader not only has to ensure that all the transactions, big or small, are accounted properly but also that he knows the status of the inventory. Mostly, it is quite difficult to ascertain how much stock is available at any point. Without this knowledge, the trader cannot commit to new leads immediately. Also, in case a minimum balance is not maintained, a sudden order may not be fulfilled which means giving away business to a competitor.

Thus inventory management, though seems like a small part of the business activity, is actually a very critical element in the smooth flow of the business.

Since a trader may not have highly skilled staff, it might be quite difficult to use complicated accounting softwares.

bizKontrol is an inventory management plus accounting software that can be used easily by anyone who has the basic computer knowledge. It gives the traders a clear picture of the level on inventory, all the buyers, all the suppliers, accounting, etc. The software has been designed after a lot of research into the specific requirement of an MSME trader. The design is sleek and neat with easy to view options which makes it simple to understand and operate. 

Why you need to be on Google?

It’s true. Google can make or break your business. It’s safe to say that Google can be a sturdy back bone to your business and help you achieve success that you could not have imagined with the traditional marketing efforts.

Still not convinced why your small business needs to be on Google? The answer to that is simple and complicated. It is simple because Google is our answer to every question. Did you know that 62% of searchers never go on to the second page of the results and 90% do not go after page 3? This also means that one has to be on the first page of Google search results to be really able to make a possible mark into the target audience’s mind.

Here are a few reasons why your business needs to be in Google‘s good books:

1. Huge market

There are billions of searches happening on Google every day. Some of these searches might be pertaining to your business and if the search leads to your company website, you might get a small share of the big pie.

1. Local searches

If your target audience is city specific, then Google is even more effective and affordable. In case you are planning to advertise on Google for reaching out to potential customers in a specific city only, you might have to spend less and get a high ROI.

2. It’s complicated!

It’s not everyone’s cup of tea to understand Google and make it work for them. If you can do it for your business first, you will be beating a lot of competition even before they think of getting there. Hence, start now and understand how you can get there. An easier and effective way of doing so is to enlist your business on a B2B product search engine such as bizporto.com.

Bizporto.com spends a lot of time and effort in making the website very search engine friendly. Once you are listed there, you will be on Google’s first page result when a potential buyer is searching for your category of products.

3. New business

It is estimated that for every 10 online searches, 7 searches happen on Google. Thus, if those 7 people cannot reach you website when looking for your products or services, you are allowing potential customers to go to your competitors. Don’t you think you should do something about it?

4. It’s worth it!

It might seem cumbersome and tedious and too high a cost, but investing time and money on Google pays off. Imagine being the top search result for your business on Google. Business will go exponentially and all the efforts will then seem worth it.

Word of Mouth marketing – a great boon for small businesses

Do you think WoM is good for your brand? Will it suit your marketing goals and help you achieve them too? If you are a small business enterprise, Word Of Mouth marketing may help you achieve many goals. A lot of brands include everything possible in their marketing plans without understanding what’s good and what’s bad for them. If you are a small business and fit in the following scenarios, then you can implement WoM strategies for your benefit. It’s free and more credible than advertising.

1.       Women Oriented Products

WoM works very well for products that are aimed at women. Products like cosmetics, hair colors, clothing line, beauty parlors, kitchen amenities, etc can be easily marketed by WoM. When women use these products, they generally discuss with friends and family. Whether or not they like the product, they definitely have an opinion about it which gets passed on to their circle. From one to another, they tend to try the product if they hear something good about the same from their trusted group of friends. Thus, women oriented products can be marketed through WoM. A unique way of doing so can be sponsoring small kitty parties where women can experience the product for free and then spread the word about it.

2.       Niche Business

Brands that have a very niche audience can make use of WoM. This is an apt strategy for those who have a much targeted group to reach out to. It is so because niche groups are most likely to be intertwined in some way or the other – online forums, groups, association, etc. If a few people use the product and have a positive opinion about it, they would definitely want to share it with the rest of the group. For example, a shampoo that is made of natural ingredients and has not been animal tested will be termed as ‘Vegan’. All those who wish to live a 100% vegan life are connected on various platforms and if even a few of them are convinced about the product’s quality and the claim of being ‘Vegan’, they would spread the good word. Also, when the target audience is niche, spending in huge advertising budgets doesn’t make sense as the RoI will be extremely low.

3.       Local Business

Local businesses which are geographically confined to a small area can use WoM to a large extent. Consider the example of Pune based the Four Fountains Spa. It started with one branch in the city and then the good word spread about it as an affordable spa that can rejuvenate you completely. Its popularity spread like wild fire as people who went to the spa shared their experiences with friends and family and started gifting spa vouchers as gifts to their parents, friends and even as corporate gifts, which fuelled the WoM even more and increased their sales. Today, the spa has expanded to various Indian cities with more than 10 branches, all this in just a period of about 3 years.

4.       No Advertising Budget

Brands that do not have any advertising budget should focus more on WoM strategies to drive the business. It is a great marketing alternative when the cash reserves do not allow for spending on newspaper ads or TVCs.

Simple Marketing Tips for Small Businesses

You have a small business and limited resources to market. Is that a problem? Absolutely not! Here are a few tips on how you can best utilize your time, effort and money on marketing your business:

• Add a personal touch: Be it a Facebook post or an email message, add a personal touch to it. Make your brand more human by giving its voice a touch of emotions and sentiments. Whatever you write or send out, even the content on your website, should have a personal touch and a human tone because It helps in connecting with your target audience faster!

• Use your existing network: Charity begins at home and so does marketing. Your family, friends, associates are the first target audience that you have to reach out to. Their support will help you get further. It’s like a ripple effect. If your network promotes you on their social network or circle of friends. Their network promotes it among their network. That’s how the word gets out! But the most important in this is how you sell your business idea to your own friends and family and make them believe in you and your product.

• Let the picture talk: A picture speaks a thousand words! It has been concluded that images can potentially attract more attention, capture mind share and engage people. Hence, use images more than text on Facebook, websites and elsewhere. It allows you to build a better positioning of the brand. Even product images should be good quality so that the user experience on your website and other online portals is enhanced.

• Contests: Small contests and giveaway are a great way to engage existing and potentials customers. Keep aside a monthly budget based on your will and utilize that money for gifts and giveaways. Such activities go a long way in increasing your number of loyal customers. And if they like what they win, they will come back to you and buy the product!

• Get together: If other similar players in your industry are also small and mid-sized, it would be a great idea to join hands for joint promotion. A combined marketing activity is a great way to increase awareness about the product segment and reduces cost of marketing. You can approach media for PR stories on all the brands together. It’s a win-win situation for all.

• Network: Networking helps increase your personal brand and generate credibility in the market. You are the brand ambassador for your product by default hence people judge your product and brand based on your personality. Hence, meet as many people as possible and create a good impression on them to be able to generate a good impression for your brand.

7 mantras of successful positioning

Positioning is about building a brand image and sustaining it. Brand experts often find themselves wondering as to what is the best way possible for positioning a brand that captures the mind space of the potential consumer. While every brand has its own course to follow to build an impactful positioning, there are some basic mantras that can help put the brand on the right track.

Here are some tips that one should keep in mind while setting out to implement a positioning strategy:

 

1.     Aim to be different

You have to position yourself something different from what already exists in the field. There are various products in the category, why should they choose you over the rest? If you can answer this question, you have a focus as to how you want to position yourself.

 

2.     Find your core competence

You will find that there is an advantage that you have which your competitor doesn’t. Figure out what it is – what are you able to do better than the competitor, and focus on that while positioning.

 

3.     What do you stand for

If you had to describe your brand in one word, what would it be? When you say ‘Tata’, you invariably think of trust. That’s what they stand for, what do you stand for? When you know what you stand for, you get more aligned with your positioning strategy.

 

4.     Competition monitor

You know what you stand for, but do you know what your competition stands for? Your positioning should be stronger than your competitor. But for that you need to overrule what your competitor already positions it to be. If Idea stands for social causes, Vodafone stands for best Value Added Services. Both have made a very strong positioning for themselves, and both have their own audience to appeal to.

 

5.     Customer’s Quest

Do you know what will make your customers happy? Do some firsthand research, talk to people and see what they are missing in the options available to them. When you know what your customers want, you can easily align your offering to their needs. And that will be your positioning guiding light.

 

6.     Stay Focused

In all your communication with the existing and potential customers, hammer only what your key positioning is. There should be a very clean alignment between all forms and medium of communication when it comes to the message you are giving out.

 

7.     Relevance is the key

Your positioning should be relevant to the product as well as to the customer. If there is no relevance, establish it. Again, look at Idea. It has made social causes relevant to the brand, thus generating a soft corner for itself in the minds of the people. Now everybody perceives Idea as a brand that is very sensitive to social issues. The positioning is relevant to the Indian consumer.

Challenges of a trader and how to handle them

B2B is an acronym for Business to Business. There are over 10 lakh B2B traders in India and the number is increasing as you read this. These B2B traders want to connect with each other to form win-win partnerships so that they can benefit and grow together.

A B2B trader thus has unlimited opportunity to grow and capture market however there are a few hurdles that he faces on the road to success. These hurdles are specific to the B2B sector:

1.      Different target audience

Since the target audience for a B2B trader is not the final consumer, the marketing techniques cannot be the same as those used by a retailer or a B2C trader. This means that the marketing communication strategy for a B2B trader has to be different and most traders do not know how to develop the most efficient marketing plan for them

2.      Lack of budgets to develop an online presence and branding

Most traders do not have the budget to set up an online presence for their brand. In fact, they are unaware of the benefits that they can derive out of ‘branding’ initiatives.

 3.      Lack of skilled man power

B2B traders do not have the skilled man power to develop a team that can handle sales through direct marketing. Thus, they need an alternate sales channel that is cost effective, efficient and easily manageable.

 4.      Buyer decision making influenced by online search results

These days, all prospective buyers do an online search before approaching a seller. This means that if somebody wants to buy a raw material, he will look for that online, see which traders are offering it, at what price. There will also be a comparison based on quality, credibility and brand recognition of the seller. Based on this preliminary research, the potential buyer will approach a potential seller. If both agree to each other’s terms and meet each other’s requirement, a B2B transaction takes place.

But what if your business is missing from the online search results or has not online presence at all. In such a scenario, you are completely losing out on a huge set of potential buyers who are looking for the product that you are offering. A B2B trader might be aware of this but does not know how to go about in setting up an online sales platform for its business.

5.      Too many products

A B2B trader usually has hundreds and thousands of SKUs and finds it difficult to maintain the online presence for those because they are so high in number and do not have readymade software that can come their rescue.

6.      Competition

There is a lot of competition based on price point and thus all traders of a particular type of product offer similar products at a similar price point. To make a mark in the buyer’s mind, a trader needs to develop his brand and most of all, create an online presence.

7.      Traditional marketing does not help

What works for retailers for mass marketing – such as newspaper insertions, point-of-sale display, banner ads, etc will not work of B2B traders since the target audience is not mass but niche. Hence a specialized approach is required when planning marketing for B2B sellers.

8.      Tedious business operation

The day to day operations in any trading company involve high number of transactions and high levels of inventory to be managed. This creates a lot of confusion and is a tedious process to manage on a regular basis. It consumes a lot of time and leaves little room for other tasks such as business expansion and marketing.

What is the way out?

At bizporto.com, we understand the pain points of a B2B trader and have developed a comprehensive solution that addresses all the above mentioned problems as well as seamlessly blends a traders offline store with its online presence.

Why do you need biztrader?

Inventory Management & Accounting

• Complete business accounting
  (Sales, purchase, vouchers, credit / debit note, etc)
• Automatic inventory management
• Access to reports of your business and operations
• Alerts and information on stock

Online Sales Channel

• Take all your products on Google search resultd in one click
• Sync  all products in your inventory
• Receive genuine inquiries
• Grow business ‘glocally’

An easy-to-setup and economical solution specifically for traders.

Negative Publicity – How to deal with it?

The impact of negative publicity is much more than that of positive publicity. A negative word against your brand’s product or quality can hurt – the marketers, their marketing plans and even the sales to a large extent. Marketers must understand that nobody generates negative publicity for them but themselves. Customer experience can make or break them. Brands can handle negative publicity for themselves in the following ways:

1. Be nice to your customers

This is first and the foremost way of avoiding negative word against yourself. Be nice to your customers, take care of their needs and serve them the best you can. Nothing flatters customers more than the service provider/seller treating them with dignity and respect. Make sure your front desk staff or salesmen are well groomed and well equipped to give your customers an experience they would find hard to forget. In certain Indian restaurants, you will find the owner himself serving the customers along with the crew, especially during rush hours. This only shows that the owner is concerned about the guests and not just leaving it to the waiters to handle them. Even if the food is not appealing to the taste buds of the guest, they would think twice before saying anything negative about the restaurant.

2. Don’t fake it

A lot of companies themselves write positive testimonials and good comments about their brand on review websites, blogs, feedback columns on the company’s website, etc. One can usually make out what is genuine and what is not if there is an only positive review to be found. Another way of doing it is paid advertorials which may not be as appealing either. Try to avoid that, instead wait for genuine feedback from clients which are believable and the exact expression of their experience with your brand.

3. Accept criticism positively

When you hear a negative word about your brand doing rounds, analyze what is triggering the bad word. The criticism should be taken positively and the changes be implemented based on the criticism. This will only make you realize what your weak areas are and where the competitors are scoring over you.

4. Show that customer’s feedback matters

When you hear negative review of your brand, try to ascertain what will make the pain areas go away. Take the feedback seriously, acknowledge the negative word and work on improving the brand. When the customers know that you have taken serious efforts to work on their feedback, they will only respect you more. For eg, when Cadbury got in trouble because of the worms and everyone started talking about how unsafe it was to give the chocolates to the kids or anyone else, they launched a campaign which clearly stated about the packaging and safety measures that Cadbury had implemented post the crisis.

5. Improve your SEO

The negative reviews, blogs and comments can help you find out what are the key words associated with your brand in terms of negative publicity. These can help you do a better keyword research for online ads, response strategy and website content.

6. Future strategy

A negative review of your brand can help you make a more profound marketing strategy and product innovation strategy for the future. You can learn from the mistake and come back much stronger and better. Usually, brands are advised to go for a small test marketing of the new products to avoid mass negative feedback, if any.

Ethical Consumerism

Today everyone understands that industrialization have depleted natural resources. If brands can make up for what they have used up in alternate ways, the consumers and other stake holders will differentiate the brand from its competitors. Ethical consumerism is a concept that they should harness upon with the target audience. Today more and more people are opting for products that assure them that they are choosing something ethical. If a brand can establish that positioning about itself, a consumer would make the effort of sticking to that brand, no matter what.
Today, brands want the government, businesses and organizations working for social causes like environment to collaborate so as to make sustainable production.
Following are the various examples of ethical consumerism that brands can choose to inculcate in their offering by taking a few simple initiatives:

1. Energy Efficient Appliances
Companies should research and manufacture goods in the relevant category that are energy efficient. A washing machine that automatically switches off when not in use or a refrigerator that saves energy by adjusting the temperature of the fridge according to the requirement are the kind of things people prefer because they understand that even though they cannot contribute much to the environment, they can contribute the best they can by using energy efficient appliances. Thus companies should manufacture products that are energy efficient.

2. Local Produce
Consumers prefer to buy goods that have been produced by local makers because this not only means that these products will be priced lesser compared to the products that have been imported or sourced from a far off land, but this will also mean that by buying these products they is helping the local economy and improving the standard of living of the people who are involved in it. Companies should thus buy raw material from local sellers.

3. Lesser Carbon Footprints
Buyers are now aware of the concept of carbon footprints and realize that they need to curb their carbon footprints as much as possible. Today, there are dedicated organizations that assist other organizations in reducing their carbon footprints. One such example is Agneya Carbon Ventures based in Maharashtra. They help organizations in managing their carbon footprints, thus ensuring that the negative effect on the environment because of their operations is minimum possible. Also, these can be publicized to gain consumer’s credibility. Thus, every company should make use of such services which help them manage their carbon emission better.

4. Energy Efficient Travel
People are now more and more aware of the ways they can help save the environment. Eco-tourism is one such way. A lot of resorts today offer eco-friendly stay for their guests, which essentially means that they will be treated with natural way of living involving less water usage, more greenery, less use of toxic substances for use, etc. People prefer to spend vacations in such places instead of travelling to a far off destination that involves a lot of travel, which results in more carbon being emitted in the environment.

Building Brand Accountability

A brand is considered more accountable towards the consumers if they know that the brand is involved in a social cause. This will encourage the consumers to make that extra effort in choosing your brand over its competitors. Organizations agree that they take up corporate social responsibility not because it’s the most ideal thing to do but because it strengthens their brand.

1. Well known brands
When a brand is well known already, all its initiatives are much more appreciated and well received. If Tata Motors implements a CSR activity, it will get talked about in the media and will add credibility to the brand even more. However, smaller brands should not get disappointed if their social initiatives are not coming out as effective as they expect them to be. These are stepping stones that are necessary.

2. Reduced Government Role
As more and more sectors are being privatized, the government’s socialist approach needs to be carried forward in the private sectors. This means that companies and brands need to support the government’s endeavor to provide welfare to the society – by way of employee benefits, more number of jobs, environmental initiatives, increased productivity, sustainable urbanization, etc. When a brand supports the government in such a way, it is bound to make a mark in the public eye and build a stronger name for itself.

3. Corporate Governance
Today more and more companies are paying attention to corporate governance which includes ethical practices, transparency of operations, etc. When an organization takes up social initiatives, it can show to the stakeholders, customers and the government how it is an ethical organization that devotes its resources in social causes. Something as simple as providing special maternity benefits also counts.

4. Employee Benefits
Just as charity begins at home, a company should first ensure that their employees are happy before they step out to bring a change. This means making comfortable working practices for employees, keeping their needs in consideration, can help the organization in building a strong internal brand. IBM India provides work from home facility to all its employees wherein they can choose to work from home whenever they want. This keeps the employees happy and reduces the attrition rate to a large extent.

5. Interest of the consumers
When a company initiative addresses an interest of the customer, it immediately becomes popular and the brand gains visibility in the customer’s eyes. For example, today more and more Indians want to go ‘Vegan’, essentially demanding products that are free of any animal ingredient or animal testing. Thus, a brand that offers products that are eco-friendly appeals to this audience and instantly makes a name for itself.

6. Partnerships & Associations
Organizations that have a social bent to them are preferred by partners and associates; only because they seem more trustworthy and credible. Also, brands want to associate with those brands that are already working for a social cause, so that the credibility passes on to them as well.