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Indian SMEs go online marketing savvy
By Swikriti Singh, SiliconIndia
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Tuesday, 22 February 2011, 22:29 IST |
2 Comments
Bangalore: Indian SMEs are reaping the benefits of the Internet medium in every regard to grow their businesses and have left behind the traditional media like newspaper ads and outdoor ads to a large extent. Currently, over 57 percent SMEs use their website as a sales channel and get direct business leads from their website.
Amongst the SMEs who have an online presence, 56 percent of them have concluded about internet being a cost effective medium as compared to print and television and 79 percent of SMEs believe that Internet advertising provides a greater reach. SMEs with a marketing expenditure ranging between 
25 - 70 lakhs per annum tend to spend a larger sum of money on the online medium and avoid relying on traditional media. But majority of the expenditure (43 percent) comes from SMEs who spend between 12 to 25 lakhs on advertising on an annual basis, reflecting the low cost benefit of the Internet.
The SME business market of India is large and bubbling with newer opportunities which may result in SMEs taking the place of the next generation cash cow. Increased purchasing power and consumerism is what drives the business scenario in India. Thus, there is an opportunity for competitive advantage that can benefit investors and entrepreneurs to a large extent.
Commenting on the study findings, Sridhar Seshadri Head of Online Sales Google India said, "While the absolute number of SMEs with an online presence is very low compared to actual businesses in India, we're pleasantly surprised to see increasing understanding amongst Indian SMEs to use the web for business growth. In the last two years we have seen a significant increase in the number of businesses that have started to advertise online. Small and Medium Enterprises are one of the key growth drivers for Google India."
Questions have also been thrown up on the role that the Internet is required to play in the future growth wherein 62 percent of the SMBs believe that the percentage of Internet spends in the total advertising budget will increase significantly in the future.
With the SMEs trying to enhance their online presence in every possible way for a faster growth, the major question that arises is that will the beginning of the internet era mark the end of the traditional era of newspapers and televisions for marketing and sales?
25 - 70 lakhs per annum tend to spend a larger sum of money on the online medium and avoid relying on traditional media. But majority of the expenditure (43 percent) comes from SMEs who spend between 12 to 25 lakhs on advertising on an annual basis, reflecting the low cost benefit of the Internet.
The SME business market of India is large and bubbling with newer opportunities which may result in SMEs taking the place of the next generation cash cow. Increased purchasing power and consumerism is what drives the business scenario in India. Thus, there is an opportunity for competitive advantage that can benefit investors and entrepreneurs to a large extent.
Commenting on the study findings, Sridhar Seshadri Head of Online Sales Google India said, "While the absolute number of SMEs with an online presence is very low compared to actual businesses in India, we're pleasantly surprised to see increasing understanding amongst Indian SMEs to use the web for business growth. In the last two years we have seen a significant increase in the number of businesses that have started to advertise online. Small and Medium Enterprises are one of the key growth drivers for Google India."
Questions have also been thrown up on the role that the Internet is required to play in the future growth wherein 62 percent of the SMBs believe that the percentage of Internet spends in the total advertising budget will increase significantly in the future.
With the SMEs trying to enhance their online presence in every possible way for a faster growth, the major question that arises is that will the beginning of the internet era mark the end of the traditional era of newspapers and televisions for marketing and sales?