BUSINESS WITH 'FRIENDS'

Small businesses and start-ups have a partner in their growth – Facebook, a widely popular social media networking site, and the opportunities it provides for low-cost promotional and communication strategies. And, with the youth, consumers below the age of 25 years who are ‘fans’ of this networking site and also a key target audience for e-retailers, the importance of Facebook just can’t be ignored.

It’s no surprise that to reach these 82 million ‘friends’ of Facebook in the country, leading e-commerce players including Jabong, Myntra, Prettysecrets, Zivame and Bewakoof, amongst others, are increasingly relying on this medium to expand their customer base as well as range of products offered.

A recent Comscore report also pointed out that 86 per cent of browsers in the country visit a social networking site, and Facebook is clearly the preferred option.

Striking a similar view, Sachin Rao, Country Small and Medium Business Manager, Facebook India, said,“Smaller e-retailers have recognised the role we play, in terms of attracting greater ‘visits’ to there site along with boosting online sales.”

A wide ‘platform’

Small businesses, and even large organisations, often face considerable uncertainties when entering a new product segment, and this social networking site offers considerable scope for them to test their product online and create a loyal customer base, before their actual entry.

And, that’s once again due to significantly lower cost of advertisements vis-a-vis print media and television commercials, with ‘daily budgets’ starting from Rs 300, and a focused target audience. This has resulted in e-retailers like Pigtails and Ponys, From My Closet and Batman Delivers, scaling up their operations considerably via this site.

Nikita and Nivedha, created their Facebook page - Pigtails and Ponys to showcase handmade head bands they created as a hobby, and the response from ‘friends’ was overwhelming. The two entrepreneurs then set up their business, and also diversified their product portfolio to include a range of hair accessories, and traffic from this site accounts for three-fourth of new business generated.

Nikita and Nivedha, proprietors, Pigtails and Ponys, said,“Within a short time of uploading our advertisements on Facebook, we benefited from a doubling in conversion rates and a steep jump in our profitability.” Similarly, Zivame, which offers offers personal products for women, benefited from a sharp increase in repeat customers via Facebook.

Clearly, businesses need to be ‘networked’ to ensure their success.