The Importance of Having an Online Voice

The Indian economic landscape is changing drastically with a rising consumer demand curve. Small and medium businesses form the backbone of the Indian economy. In the last decade, the SMB ecosystem has transformed in a big way with the advent of website builder tools which incorporates online voice, and the rise of digital technologies and a more evolved consumer.

By the year 2020 India is estimated to have 650 million active internet users. Indians are quickly becoming digital customers, looking for products and services online, especially on mobile devices. Recent estimates released by TRAI suggest that there are 1.03 billion mobile subscriptions in India.

The Internet as a Great Opportunity

To meet consumer demand, and gain profitability and scale, SMBs are leveraging digital technology to their advantage. The SMB industry is witnessing clear benefits of taking businesses online such as, faster growth, larger geographical market reach and increased revenue generation. SMBs are using digital technologies to cater to customers accessing and consuming content via mobile, in local languages. This is leading to the generation of new outreach channels for small businesses to set up their online presence and offer multi-media regional content.

While SMBs understand the relevance of an online presence, there are many that still do not realize the value of taking their businesses online. Limited knowledge, false notions of high complexity and costs often act as barriers for them. Several initiatives have been launched by the Government and the private sector that aim to address these challenges.

The Government is making it easier for SMBs to access Government services such as filing taxes, and registering businesses online. To aid growth, it is focused on providing access to low cost capital, developing skills and raising technology awareness among SMBs. The Government’s Credit Link Capital Subsidy Scheme for technology upgradation provides INR 2267 crore assistance to SMBs for technology upgrade. Additionally, Marketing Assistance programs help develop skills for the SMB sector. The Flagship programs – Make in India and Start-Up India, are already providing financial and administrative support to SMBs. Private Sector companies, Intel and Google are also raising awareness and skills among SMBs.

Indian SMBs are also exploring online commerce with the increasing influx of cashless and paperless services, online payment solutions, and digital transactions. According to the Digital Commerce report 2016 by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IMRB Kantar, the digital commerce market has grown at a steady rate of 30% since 2011.

The Creation of an Online Voice – Website Builder Tools

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Today, a business can get a domain name, develop and host a website at a low cost without any hassles using website builder tools.

SMBs have an edge when they choose the right domain name and extension to increase search ability and create a brand impression. A.com domain strengthens brand recall, expands the audience reach and is the most preferred domain name with SMBs in India. The State of the Domain Name Industry in India report by Zinnov, purports that 79% SMBs in India prefer .com for its audience recall factor.

A domain name should also be SEO-friendly to create the right connect with the target audience. It should convey business offerings, be crisp, and simple; and allow customers to find the business online easily. Ultimately, a domain name’s effectiveness lies in its uniqueness and simplicity to connect, recall and engage audiences.

The Rise of ‘Online Voice as a Service’

In today’s day, it is also becoming easier for SMBs to take the digital plunge, launch their businesses online and build their online presence. A few companies are now offering automated website creation services (website builder tools) that allow small businesses in emerging markets to create a voice in the form of a website. With drag and drop interfaces, no requirement for intricate layouts, and the ability to turn social media pages like Facebook pages into websites, these website builder tools service provider companies help SMBs create and update their websites at one click.

Developing economies are just getting warmed up to the idea of online marketing and social media seems a convenient and viable first choice. However, with social media pages not being customizable, automated website creation engines assist SMBs in easily and quickly publishing a website by converting their existing Facebook page.

What’s particularly interesting is that these services which acts like your online voice while website designing, offer users a custom domain, web hosting, access to site features such as custom page creation, Google Analytics tracking, and dedicated customer support. Users simply plug in their Facebook URL into the website creator and within minutes create their own full-fledged websites. Some of these companies also provide annual subscription plans with free domain registration. If a small business already has a domain name, it can connect it to the company’s account free of charge.

With automated website creation services SMBs can establish a strong web presence and increase their accessibility and conversion rate as visitors are much more likely to take action on a blair supply website rather than a social media page. More and more businesses are now entrusting automated website creation service providers to manage their image to the online world.

Conclusion

India is home to over 51 million SMBs that have contributed immensely to the Indian GDP and employed over 117 million people. Studies predict that internet penetration will rise to 60% by 2020, and SMB contribution to India’s GDP will increase to 48%.

Despite a challenging business environment, Indian SMBs have shown remarkable strength and resilience by maintaining consistent growth, creating livelihood opportunities and becoming a driver of socio-economic development. By going online and building an online presence using website designing tools that acts like Online Voice, SMBs can incur huge benefits for India in the long run and tell a very positive story of India’s progress.

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