GROWTH PROSPECTS FOR SMEs IN INDIA

Posted by: Aditya Batra, Head of Operations

India is one of the fastest growing economies of the world which has shown a steady acceleration in the last half-ecade. The driving force behind this development is the robust socio-economic policies by the government, an influx in the domestic and foreign capital and a rise in disposable income and consumption among many other positive attributes. When pitching about development, one major factor that has served to be India’s backbone is Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sector.

The growth of these SMEs is a continuous process should be considered only when it will benefit the business in some way. However, to reap maximum benefits out of the same, one requires meticulous planning.

Some of the techniques that would help an SME to grow are listed below:

1. Location

Selecting the demographic location for expansion of your business is important. It is significant for one to study the competitors and set your location around potential customers. The second important thing to consider is the availability of employees, electricity, water, good roadways, etc.

2. Check your Current Resources

Before taking the plunge, it is also important to check the capabilities of current employees and to know whether they would be able to perform efficiently during this stage. This will give an idea of whether new employees have to be hired or not. Analysing the machinery and equipment is also important and knowing about their working condition is vital because that is what will provide you a fair idea of the regular wear and tear that might be required whether they need repairing or are working fine or new equipment has to be purchased.

3. Do your market research

Doing an in-depth survey of the market so as to be well-aware of your competitors and to identify the missing link in the market that your business or products can fulfil is also necessary. Also, managing the prices of your products, to get an advantage over your competitors in the market is of prime importance. Also, it is critical to decide whether there is a need to find new target customers for a new location or for new products. The next step after research is to carry out a marketing campaign to catch the attention of the new customers.

4. Choose where to get the funds from!

Having proper finance is very important for small business growth or expansion. This can be achieved in two ways, either with a business loan or with equity finance. The small businessman can go for a loan with security or for a loan without security. In equity funding, the business owner will have to sell some shares of the business. In such a scenario, loan without security is the best option for a small business owner since the owner need not worry about giving any security and would not have to wait for a longer period of time for loan disbursal.

5. Keeping pace with the latest technology

Being in sync with the latest technology is important for every business and that is when AI (Artificial Intelligence) comes as a rescuer. Integrating AI in CRM (Customer Relationship Management) applications can help small businesses understand customer inquiries, the automated route leads, personalized marketing campaigns, and also provide sharper strategic inputs. Presently, AI can also help with handling marketing operations, analysing advertising performance, and can also give the best budget suggestions. It can also help in controlling the cost of hiring additional marketing or advertising staff. AI-powered competitive analysis tools can help you track your competitors’ activities and also helps in identifying competitors’ products, weaknesses, and strengths which can be used in the business strategy.

6. Deciding the Correct Way of Marketing your products/services

Adopting the most proper marketing strategies can also be an issue during business growth, which can easily be overcome by using solutions like social media and WhatsApp. Using WhatsApp to grow your business can offer multiple benefits:

a. Collect the phone numbers of your customers so that you can send them messages about discounts, offers, etc. from time to time.
b. Create a broadcast list of all your customers or send messages one by one.
c. Share with them the daily rates, offers of the week, etc. depending on the nature of your products can be another strategy.
d. Seeking the feedback from your customers will help you know the areas that need improvement.
e. Use the ‘WhatsApp Status’ feature to share discount codes, flash sales, coupons, new stock of products, etc. The status feature can also be used to share demos of new products with your customers.