Exhibitions and Business Events Blog

Human’s insistence on using plastics for every mundane activity is steering the world towards an environmental disaster. However, confrontation with the Environment could be easily avoided, only if the humans knew that plastics are not a disposable. 

Use of plastic bags is quite common among shoppers, despite the fact that they are aware of its ill-effects. Plastics are said to be one of the major toxic pollutants as they are biodegradable, and hence pollute earth, air and water.

It is impossible to dispose of plastic waste.

Both at the time of production as well as at the time of its disposal, plastics can cause severe damage to the environment. So the best way to combat the hazards of plastic is to cut down its use, and thereby help bring down its production.

The chemicals used in the manufacturing of plastics are highly toxic and pose a serious threat to all living beings on earth.

Benzene and vinyl chloride, used in plastics, are known to cause cancer, while many other hazardous elements are also present in plastics, in the form of gases and liquid hydrocarbons. In addition, plastic resins are flammable and have caused more than a few accidents worldwide.

The poisonous substances released during the manufacturing of plastics are synthetic materials such as ethylene oxide, benzene and xylenes. Apart from harming the eco-system, these chemicals can cause a range of maladies like birth defects, cancer, damage of the nervous system, blood and kidneys problems together with the weakening of the Immune system. And majority of these toxic substances are released even during the recycling of plastics.

However, what is hard to believe is that like other chemical substances, plastic disposal is just a myth. Once the plastic is manufactured, it cannot be disposed of by any means. Recycling, burning or land filling doesn’t really help.

Recycling only helps bring back the toxic waste into the Marketplace and ultimately into the environment, thereby adding to the toxic waste.

And since plastic does not go through bacterial decomposition, using plastic for land –filling purposes only means we are preserving the poison forever.

There are a group of people who believe that plastics can be burned and thus the toxic waste could be easily rid off. However, this is not true. When plastic is burned, a whole lot of poisonous gases are released into the air, including dioxin, the most toxic substance known to science.

According to a study carried out by the Public Interest Research Group, based in Delhi, besides the dangers, recycling of a plastic is also too expensive, dirty and labour driven, Further recycling of plastic cause’s skin, and respiratory problems. Nonetheless, recycling of plastic doesn’t help much because the quality is pretty bad.

Plastics, again, choke drains thereby block urban sewage systems. The plastics discarded in rivers, seas pollute the air, water, soil and marine life. Clogged drainage systems become a breeding-ground for mosquitoes, apart from causing flood problems during monsoons.

Getting rid of plastics through landfills is also risky. On one hand, there is a high – probability of toxic seepage from the landfill causing contamination of water resources, while on the other plastic obstructs the flow of ground water. In case of landfills, cadmium and lead in the wastes mixes up with the rain water and then eventually the polluted water makes its way into nearby streams, lakes and water bodies.

The best way out of this danger is to make controlled use of plastics, if one can’t shun it altogether.

Yes, times are really bad, and are getting worse by the day. Lays offs are mushrooming world over. People are being treated as pokeroots by Companies, a weed, something you rip out and toss aside, without worrying much about the consequences. So, it is upon the individuals, to buffer themselves from this financial mess. 

Advance financial planning may help, say experts. Imagine the worst possible situation that may arise due to economic recession and lay offs and then chart out a survival strategy accordingly. If you are courageous enough, you’ll successfully turnaround the challenging circumstances in your favor.

Some suggestions on how you can accomplish this.

1) Assess your financial needs

Sit down, and evaluate your financial requirements, thoroughly. Say, for instance, shortlist all your short and long-term requirements. Know the needs that can be avoided in the current situation and those needs that require immediate attention. These checks and balances will help you stay with in your means.

2) Switch over to a more lucrative business

Recession simply means opportunity for the courageous, and the financially prepared. In case, you are laid off, don’t lose your heart, and rather concentrate on industries, like Agriculture and Food and Beverages industry that are doing pretty well.

3) Build your own garden and take care of your food requirements.

Food prices are spiraling. Shortage of food in the world is a well-known fact as every country is trying to stock food resources. And probably, if you manage to satisfy your hunger, then I believe all other fears could be easily taken care off. So, go ahead and tend your plants, if you are really looking forward to bring down your food expenses.

4) Work from home

So what if you loose your job. Working from home is another attractive option. Initially, you could start with baking cookies or work over the internet.

Yet another option is that if you are married, and if your partner is working full-time then you can volunteer for baby sitting and even work part time from the confines of your home. It is just a matter of weighing available options.

5) Curtailing electricity and gas costs

Escalating electricity and gas costs can send your monthly budgeting haywire. So, cut down on the use of gas and electricity, as far as possible. Cook once in a week, and keep heating up portions throughout the week. Pool car services, or use car only when absolutely necessary.

Office Supplies, the name in it self suggests goods that a consumer buys and stocks in office. In a corporate world office supplies comprise of pens, pencils, clipboards, paperclips, conference folders, office furniture and many such things. 

In a fast changing business environment, companies place order for office supplies on the internet. These online stores, no doubt offers goods and services of our choice, but the best part being it is a convenient way of buying things. With entrepreneurs getting busier with each passing day, spending time on purchasing office supplies offline seems to be an unnecessary deterrent. So the best way out is to opt for online services.

Shopping online for office supplies helps the business owner keep a check on cost factor. In addition, he can keep a tab on the approved purchase list. Further, he can get his products delivered on time, sans any fuss. Even when your office supplies are running low, you can replenish them ASAP.

In the earlier times, purchasing business supplies was literally annoying, and time-consuming task. A person from the office had to drive down to the warehouse, and then waste his precious little time to pick and choose the right stuff for the office. And once the selection process was over, he had to load them and drag back to office.

However, with the arrival of internet, anything and everything can be shopped online. Consumers can surf online, compare prices of various items and place orders accordingly.

Here are a few tips while choosing the right online office supply stores. Firstly, check out whether your office supplier has kept pace with all the latest technologies. Next, verify whether your online supplier offers free shipping. Last, but not the least, the office supply store online should be well-equipped with all sorts of office furniture. Be it chairs, desks, filing cabinets, umbrella stands, coat racks, clocks etc. These are certain things that make an office look like an office.

So if you interested in buying wholesale office supplies online then let us know. Made-from-india.com offers a perfect platform if you wish to purchase office supplies online. The B2B portal offers wide variety of office products and services and is also known for quick and excellent delivery of services.

Recently, the Indian Leather Industry experienced a boom. It stood to gain a bigger share of the global market, with leading brands from US and Europe either importing or planning to source leather and leather products from India. 

If one is to believe reports by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion of various industries, the leather industry has been developing rapidly. India has around 3% share in the global trade of leather in comparison to China’s 20%. In order to promote the rapid advancement of this industry, the Government of India has been constantly making efforts to show improvements.

Leather industry is the 10th largest sector in the Indian manufacturing sector, providing employment to 2.5 million people and weaker sections/minorities, of which about 30 % are women. Also, due to its considerable export revenue, prospects and expansion, this sector holds a prominent place in the Indian Economy. It is also the largest manufacturing sector and its products are considered amongst the top ten export earners of the country.

Leather garments and other leather goods in India are among the major production and thus have a lot of demand even overseas. India has colossal natural resources of raw hides & skins due to which the export of leather products has undergone a structural transformation resulting in increased exports of various leather products.

Government Programs & Policies

The government has tried its best to incorporate various methods and policies in its five yearly programs for the revival of the leather industry. Under the rule of licensing and reservations all manufacturing items in the leather sector from the SSI list in 2001, had been reserved. Initiatives were also taken by the government to increase the export of value added products and the Central Government from its side took various policy support measures.

Some of them include:

-> Improving duty free entitlement from 1% to 3% for Leather Products and footwear.

-> CVD exclusion on lining and interlining materials, customs.

-> Excusing duty of machinery and equipments for sewage treatment plants.

-> 5% discount on import duty extended to certain additional machinery.

-> Support by International marketing programme through MDA and MAIS

-> Through the means of shaping various inter ministerial committees.

Throughout the Five Year Plan 400 crores of rupees was made obtainable for various schemes under the Indian Leather Development Programme which included the integrated development of Leather Sector and the Infrastructure strengthening of Leather Sector. Numerous schemes for the support of Rural Artisans namely the INTECHMART and Saddler development comprised of execution of schemes, which were eventually going to be implemented from the 9th Five Year Plan.

Government: Schemes

The government introduced various proposals for the 11th Five Year Plan which were basically strategies focusing on achieving US Dollar seven Billion export earnings by the end of XI five year plan. Augmenting and increasing equipments like raw hides and skins so as to diminish imports of the same and tackling issues relating to the environment to make the leather units meet stern environmental standards were also part of the strategies; lastly, it was proposed that training facilities for dealing with the demands of the industry facing a sharp shortage of skilled manpower, be started.

Government undertaking

The government had got itself involved in the development of the leather industry to a considerable extent. It was indeed very optimistic about its various policy measures and its role in the upgradation of this sector.

Yet it was about time that the government got itself involved into deeper problems that the leather industry was still facing.

Is Indian Marketplace an ideal place for conducting international business, or does it require further improvisation in terms of regulatory framework, infrastructure development et al? The article sheds light on the Indian Market conditions 

India’s ever increasing population has compelled the Indian government to embrace various birth-control measures. However, this very population base has been instrumental in attracting MNCs to set-up their bases in the country. But having a huge population base sufficient enough to draw the attention of all and sundry?

Before we discuss in detail, the various factors that drive Indian market, let us first understand what a market is all about. “A market is a place, where buyers and sellers come together to crack a deal”. But to be referred to as a successful market place, the deals undertaken should not only be closed, but should also be beneficial to both the parties. However, bringing the buyer and seller on a common platform is not that easy. To attract buyers and sellers, a market should have the following features.

Important features of Indian market:

1. Indian Business Environment

2. Political Force

3. Accessibility of Buyers

4. Rigid frameworks

5. Infrastructure Development.

LET US DISCUSS THE ABOVE FACTORS IN DETAIL

1. Indian Business Environment

India fundamentally is a mixed economy. Important sectors like infrastructure and Industry are government controlled, while the remaining sectors fall under the private sector domain. However, with liberalization of the economy since 1991, India has opened its doors for global players.

Earlier, the government had considerable hold over the private sector, through licensing for additional manufacturing, import of capital goods, raw material and technology. But with onset of liberalization, government has changed the norms of many licensing activities and in some areas licensing has been completely removed. This has ushered in a new economic freedom in India. In addition, the government keeps launching various economic reforms from time to time to stimulate foreign investment.

So, on the whole, economic environment in India is improving. But a need is being felt to further speed up the growth process to attract more foreign investment and high growth rate.

2. Political Force

Over the past twenty years, Indian politics have gone through a tremendous paradigm shift, from a stable single party government, to a stable collation government. The quality of stableness is what attracts International audience, and India’s stable collation governments have given some confidence to the international markets.

Despite having collation governments, the main political parties have been successful enough to drive impressive economic reforms in India.

3} Accessibility of Buyers

India’s biggest plus point is its huge diversified population, comprising of people belonging to different types of religion, cast and creed. However, the trouble starts right where the strength lies – the diversification brings alongside various complications, for example, difficulty in deciphering different customer behaviour. However, potential exists for selling various types of consumer goods; therefore, many foreign companies have been successfully establishing their bases in India.

The presence of the huge population automatically translates into availability of huge workforce for all other sectors, such as education, medical, agriculture and various other industries.

Moreover, India is considered to be the fastest growing economy in the world, so heavy industries such as shipping, bulk Machinery, refineries, infrastructure and real estate etc. have tremendous scope for development here.

Further, India’s highly educated workforce and economic development will fuel the growth of various industries as well as attract foreign investors.

4. Rigid framework

An ideal market should be well-regulated. In India, Markets are governed by the demand and supply of goods, and at the same time government is involved in every decision making process.

In case of foreign investors government has introduced many regulations, which is proving to be a major hindrance for foreigners planning to invest in India. Understandably, government is continuously reviewing them and making changes as per the market requirements, so to protect the interest of the local business community.

Regulatory framework in India is quite complicated; consequently hasn’t struck the perfect chord with foreign investors in general, with numerous registrations and formalities involved in setting up the business. India generally gets its investment from developed nations, where regulatory frameworks are pretty simple and strong; hence they feel that India’s regulatory framework has a room for improvement.

There are numerous laws and regulations that industries have to adhere to before setting up their operations in India. Further, red-tapism being rampant in various government organizations, further delays the process.

Given below are some of the regulations applicable to setup an industry in India.

* Company registration

* State VAT Registration

* Provident fund registration

* Pollution control certificate

* Permanent account number

* Tax Deduction Number.

* Employee state insurance Certificate.

* Central VAT Registration

* Central Excise registration

* Professional Tax Registration - Differs from state to state

* Shop and establishment registration

Apart from the aforesaid registration, there are many depending on the type of industry to be established. Moreover, not just the registration part, the company has to submit regularly various monthly, quarterly and annual filling with different government departments.

However, the above mentioned regulations make the matters more complicated. As a result the government is trying to bring improvements in this framework, which helps boost the confidence level of all investors. Given below are some of the improvements introduced by the government.

* Online registration of companies.

* Online filling of Income Tax Return.

* Online filling of sales tax returns.

* Online payment of services tax.

* Online payment of taxes

* Online filling of tax return.

5. Infrastructure growth.

Development process of a country should be backed by strong infrastructure development. Infrastructure includes development of airport, railway, power, ports, bridges, highways and dams etc. However, India has always been way behind in terms of infrastructure development process. Nonetheless, since last ten years India has been taking progressive steps on this front.

Many ongoing projects is said to be changing the face of Indian Infrastructure sector. However, slow execution of projects is still the worrying point.

CONCLUSION

To be very forthright Indian economy is still a growing economy; totally geared towards various growth processes and reform process. India still needs to do a lot to achieve the status of a great market; however, it will always remain the favorite destination for the international business community.

Outsourcing transactional and technical work to other countries has become a common practice in the hi tech world. Entities that provide these services are known as business process outsourcing firms (BPOs). Also those that rely heavily upon broadband Internet resources are continually referred to as information technology enabled (ITES) or BPO-ITES. Five major global BPO sectors are information technology (43%), financial services (17%), telecommunications (16%), consumer goods and services (15%) and manufacturing (9%).

India is the absolute leader in providing outsourced, offshore services, with about 63 percent share. Plenty of BPO companies have been employed by well known US internationals. Some of them include Accenture, AOL, Association, Cisco, Citibank, Dell, Delta Airlines, GE, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Motorola and Yahoo.

India relies heavily upon a plentiful, well trained, English speaking workforce, which mostly includes college graduated engineers, for the critical mass essential to make the industry a success that it is. The country enjoys good infrastructure and a healthy telecom industry; with observance to international standards for quality, security, training and the protection of intellectual property; with a tax-friendly environment and reasonably low labour costs despite the fact that, the gap in labour costs is closing.

A lot of this can be attributed to the government’s backing and encouragement. Over 4, 00,000 Indians offer outsourcing services, mainly in finance, human resources and customer care services. Of these, some include the call centers and technical support, medical transcriptions, data processing, billing and management support. Other surfacing areas of interest are also pharmaceuticals and legal services. With the change in the 1990s from government’s domination to privatization, India capitalized outsourcing and the industry has since then reached great heights. During the 1990s multinationals created wholly owned subsidiary in India to provide some of their back office and customer support services. These service providers have eventually taken advantage of the economies by providing services to multiple customers.

Outsourcing work is often exercised in combination with a service level management (SLA) that is included into the outsourcing contract. SLA’s function is to measure the work performed and the result may determine the price paid by the outsourcer.

Financial Protection for BPOs in India

Bangalore in Karnataka state is the hub for all U.S software companies in India. This city has a skilled workforce and a well-developed telecommunications infrastructure, while a city like Hyderabad is the centre for U. S companies which are engaged in life sciences. New outsource centers are increasing in many other locales in India where labor costs are lesser than in the established metropolitan centers, especially for senior employees. Cities gaining a considerable U.S business include Pune, Chennai, New Delhi and Mumbai.

A few firms also specialize in knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) or legal process outsourcing (LPO). Knowledge transfers frequently involve core business processes and intellectual property, and hence represent a higher level of risk for the outsourcing company. In India, there are two legal routes, statutory protection and written party-to-party agreements. Both methods are used for copyright, patent and trade mark protection. For the protection of trade secrets, companies rely on agreements. Even as copyright protection is available in India for software, patent protection is not so assured.

Outsourcing Practices:

The BPO industry is a fast growing industry. New services such as biotech research, tele-radiological services, design and engineering, and tax processing, are being created. They can create a local subsidiary or buy needed services directly from a local service provider. There are joint ventures and BOTs (build, operate and transfer) that begins as an outsourcing company body, advance as independents or are relocated or sold to local businesses. BPO transitions usually involve some form of performance testing during the changing stage, a process sometimes called “base-lining.”

There are compelling reasons for outsourcing, not the least of which is the cost of skilled and unskilled labor and economies of scale. The BPO industry prospered in its early years due to the considerable difference in labor costs flanked by first world and third world countries. That gap has narrowed in the past couple of years. The direct costs of labor, however, represent only part of the total cost of outsourcing. The gap in salaries and benefits is offset to some degree by added enterprise costs, such as management, employee training, communications, control, efficiency, security, preservation of intellectual property rights, and transportation.

A major cost aspect that employers are having complexity with resolving is employee turnover. The annual turnover rate among employees of business process (BPO) centers in India has reached epidemic levels, averaging 40 percent in latest years. There is not only a direct cost associated with employing and training, but also the costs of productivity and efficiency associated with learning curves and the cost of errors, which can lead to lost business.

India, emerging as an ideal export destination, driven by its cheap, yet quality goods.

Believe it or not, but a movie has helped rekindle the dashed hoped of Indian exporters. And the film in question is none other than Oscar winning movie, Slumdog Millionaire. There were reports doing rounds that this movie has helped India reclaim its lost glory, in the field of apparel and jewellery exports. In fact, according to a popular e-commerce site, the movie has bolstered demand for Indian goods significantly.

This does not mean that Indian exports are heading back towards the heady days of 2006-08. However, one cannot deny the fact that people world over, slowly, but steadily are graduating towards Indian goods. India, known as a Mecca of Manufacturing, is growing into a hub for exporters, dealing in assortment of goods. Many of the products have made in roads in countries such as United States and in many places, across Europe.

In fact, backed by cheap labour force, and an array of goods, many small and large retail businesses across the globe, are eyeing Indian goods, to cater to their domestic requirements. As a result, ‘Made-in-india’ labeled goods have a huge fan following all across the globe, so much so that even China has been selling its goods under the Indian banner.

Small and Large Retail Businesses: If you are running a retail organization and are looking for products to sell, Indian exporters literally have thousands of items on offer. Indian exporters deal in different kinds of goods, from baby products, furniture, toys, hand tools etc. When a foreign company is on a look out for cheaper goods, they obviously fall on Indian Exporters.

Purchasing Products on a cheaper rate: Another reason why exporters from India are more popular than their foreign counterparts is because the products manufactured in India are particularly cheaper. Say, for instance, retailers of United States prefer to purchase goods from Indian Exporters simply because they can increase their profit margin, by selling it at an increased rate to their customers. And moreover, the Indian products are no less in quality as compared to the wholesalers located right in their home country.

Exporting products from India profit customers as well. As retailers purchase goods at an affordable rate, they pass on the benefits to the customers as well. So it is a win-win situation for everyone: the consumer benefits, the retailer benefits and even the exporters benefits in the process.

Though some are skeptical about exporting from India, but plenty of businesses, individuals, and people are rather positive about trading with India, as they have found that transactions go smoothly and the products are of good quality as well.

All said and done, Indian exporters have captured a larger share of the international markets. America has the largest number of retailers and business owners carrying out business transactions with exporters in India on regular basis. Even other countries have put their best foot forward, by establishing trade relations with India.

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India, emerging as an ideal export destination, driven by its cheap, yet quality goods.

Believe it or not, but a movie has helped rekindle the dashed hoped of Indian exporters. And the film in question is none other than Oscar winning movie, Slumdog Millionaire. There were reports doing rounds that this movie has helped India reclaim its lost glory, in the field of apparel and jewellery exports. In fact, according to a popular e-commerce site, the movie has bolstered demand for Indian goods significantly.

This does not mean that Indian exports are heading back towards the heady days of 2006-08. However, one cannot deny the fact that people world over, slowly, but steadily are graduating towards Indian goods. India, known as a Mecca of Manufacturing, is growing into a hub for exporters, dealing in assortment of goods. Many of the products have made in roads in countries such as United States and in many places, across Europe.

In fact, backed by cheap labour force, and an array of goods, many small and large retail businesses across the globe, are eyeing Indian goods, to cater to their domestic requirements. As a result, ‘Made-in-india’ labeled goods have a huge fan following all across the globe, so much so that even China has been selling its goods under the Indian banner.

Small and Large Retail Businesses: If you are running a retail organization and are looking for products to sell, Indian exporters literally have thousands of items on offer. Indian exporters deal in different kinds of goods, from baby products, furniture, toys, hand tools etc. When a foreign company is on a look out for cheaper goods, they obviously fall on Indian Exporters.

Purchasing Products on a cheaper rate: Another reason why exporters from India are more popular than their foreign counterparts is because the products manufactured in India are particularly cheaper. Say, for instance, retailers of United States prefer to purchase goods from Indian Exporters simply because they can increase their profit margin, by selling it at an increased rate to their customers. And moreover, the Indian products are no less in quality as compared to the wholesalers located right in their home country.

Exporting products from India profit customers as well. As retailers purchase goods at an affordable rate, they pass on the benefits to the customers as well. So it is a win-win situation for everyone: the consumer benefits, the retailer benefits and even the exporters benefits in the process.

Though some are skeptical about exporting from India, but plenty of businesses, individuals, and people are rather positive about trading with India, as they have found that transactions go smoothly and the products are of good quality as well.

All said and done, Indian exporters have captured a larger share of the international markets. America has the largest number of retailers and business owners carrying out business transactions with exporters in India on regular basis. Even other countries have put their best foot forward, by establishing trade relations with India.

B2B Buyers make long term purchases 

Though consumers indulge in long term purchases, like purchase of houses or cars, such purchases seldom happen. However, long-term purchases are a common feature in Business-To-Business Markets, where capital machinery, components are purchased for a longer duration.

Further, such products and services necessitate service back-up from the supplier as opposed to the consumer markets. Say, for instance, a computer network, new machinery, a photocopier or a fleet of vehicles, call for far more extensive after sales services than a house, or a single vehicle purchased by a consumer. Moreover, repeat purchases in case of machine parts, office consumables, will call for ongoing expertise and services, like delivery, implementation/installation advice, etc, services which a common consumer is less likely to demand.

The Role of a Business-to-Business Marketer

A B2B marketer has to keep in mind two important points here: First, the importance of relationship-building in business-to-business markets, especially with key customers and second to nurture technically focused sales team.

B2B Markets are more innovation driven than Consumer markets

Consumer markets are largely driven by innovation, vis-à-vis consumer markets. B2B companies that switch on to an innovation mode are generally done to counter an innovation that has taken place in a competitive company. B2C businesses generally have low-risk, as they behave according to the whims and fancies of the consumers as opposed to the calculated behaviour of various businesses.

However, this does not mean, that B2B marketers are bad innovators as compared to those in the consumer markets. Sometimes the opposite could be true, as innovation in a B2B world is carefully planned, implemented and eventually commercialized. Audiences in a B2B world are more defined and trends can be easily traced as opposed to consumer markets.

The Role of a Business to Business Marketer

Business to business markets has both time and indicative data from upstream, this helps them analyze various options before arriving at a decision. As competitors are at power with you, it becomes absolutely imperative to gather good quality intelligence. B2B marketers are suggested to take on detailed market research and then blend it with the upstream information in order to come up with complete market intelligence picture.

Consumer Markets rely on packaging to gain maximum leverage

There has been an unprecedented growth in the packaging of consumer goods in recent years, as packaging today is not simply reduced to preserving and protecting the goods, today it has evolved into a vehicle through which aspirations and desires get transpired to the customer. Consumers being less logical than business-to-business buyers, this strategy has proved quite successful in the consumer markets.

However, the same strategy can’t be applied in a B2B market, where product is valued primarily on technical parameters. More importantly, the offers are build on relationships, and not on dreams and aspirations.

Business –to-Business marketers

In Business-to-Business markets there is more emphasis on clear packaging. Resources are far better allocated to developing relationships and expertise.

Sub-brands make little sense in B2B markets

Building of a brand is never given too much preference in the B2B world. However, in this day and age, it is becoming increasingly important for each and every product to establish its own identity, so a sudden shift in approach- towards brand building- is been witnessed in the B2B world. In fact, in the past few years, the role of brand building has increased in the B2B world. In a B2B world, branding just influences 5% of the buying decisions, while in a consumer market 30% to 40% of the buying decisions is influenced by branding.

It has been frequently observed that B2B companies have a laid-back approach in terms of developing and implementing branding strategies as opposed to B2C companies. B2B companies are generally bad at recognizing branding strategies that is supposed to cover every aspect of the business.

In their eagerness to gain advantage of branding, many B2B companies have gone over board and have come up with large number of sub-brands, targeting every aspect of the product range. However, this approach is apt for consumer markets, where the marketer has to attract buyers of different segments and sub-segments of numerous target audiences. In business-to-business markets, target audiences are quite smaller and as explained earlier; more importance is given to relationships than branding. More importantly, B2B markets have more defined and well-informed buyers, so launching brands and sub brands are considered to be pointless in a B2B world.

The Role of a Business to Business Marketer

Here b2b marketer has to make sure that branding strategies are thoroughly researched and carefully executed. Branding strategy should act as a channel for transmitting company values and philosophy. Moreover, business-to-business marketers should acknowledge the fact that ‘less is more’ when we speak of branding in the B2B world. In other words, it is better have a single brand, where customers, stakeholders and employees can relate to, rather than having a set of sub-brands which eventually proves to be an obstacle to the marketer.

Conclusion: B2B buyers are tougher to deal with

Business-to-Business buyers’ jobs are said to be more challenging, because they are accountable of the purchases made to the companies concerned. As a result, they focus on the essentials, like the quality of the product. They don’t mind shelling out a little more, in an attempt to acquire the best of the products. Their experienced eye can instantly make out a bad product from the good. Business–to-Business Marketer B2B marketer’s job is to ensure that his products, services and intangibles meet and exceed customer requirements. Business-to-business buyers are more predictable than consumer counterparts. So this ultimately means that good quality market intelligence and attention to target market’s needs will help a b2b marketer better meet the market requirements.

Small number of Buying Units in B2B markets 

Pareto Principle or 80:20 principle rules almost all business-to-business markets. To put it more precisely, small number of customers rule the sales ledger. Even some of the largest business-to-business companies may just have 100 or few customers that may make huge a difference to sales.

The major difference between a consumer market and a B2B market is of scale. In consumer markets, there is a limit to a single persons purchase. No doubt, there will be heavy users of all consumer products, but in the consumer market there won’t much difference between heavy users or light users when compared to the scale of difference in business-to-business markets. The amount spend by the largest and the smallest buyer in a business-to-business world is likely to be much, much more as opposed to the amount spend by the largest and smallest buyers in the consumer markets.

The Role of a Business to Business Marketer

Since small number of customers rules the lives of businesses, database management has become a crucial component of business-to-business marketing. Customer relationship management systems help in updating databases. It includes personal details of members of the DMU along with each and every transactional and contract record.

Moreover, business-to-business marketer should be skilled at key account management. Key account management calls for prompt delivery of services and products in the given time period, buyers also look forward to services such as rapid problem resolution and technical advice. Further, key business-to-business accounts, today, are looking beyond the delivery of effective products and services at good prices, now they are aiming at partnerships. Today, they are looking for suppliers, who can bring value-additions to the table. Say, for instance, stock goods on their behalf, offer technical consultancy, calculate product efficiency and even provide long-term on-site support.

And since there are selected few buying units in business-to-business markets, it presents both an opportunity and an expectation to the B2B marketer. The marketer at his end should ensure that biggest buyers are provided with best value-added services. Remember, if you don’t satisfy his requirements, someone else will be willing to.

Fewer behavioural and needs-based segments comprise B2B Markets

A study of over 2000 business-to-business studies reveals that B2B markets have smaller number of needs-based segment than consumer markets, whereas an FMCG market boasts of not less than 10 or 12 segments. The average business-to-business market by and large has 3 or 4 segments.

Probably, a smaller target audience makes it convenient to have smaller number of segments in business-to-business markets. In consumer market, there are thousands of potential customers, so it is considered practical and economical to divide the market into 10 to 12 segments, though several segments may get separated by small variations or need.

The primary reason for smaller number of segments dominating the B2B markets is that business audience’s behavior and needs are comparatively lesser than that of a consumer audience. Whims, insecurities and indulgences are far less likely to affect the decisions of a B2B buyer, since the purchase is for place and not for oneself or for a personal family member. And since, numerous colleagues are involved in the decision making process, it will help sort out out the unwarranted behaviour.

Need-based segments in a b2b market often comprises the following

Price-focused segment – Often small companies fall in this segment. Companies work for low profits and consider the product/service of low strategic importance.

Quality and brand focused segment- This segment seeks the best possible product and don’t mind paying for it. Medium-sized and large companies seeking high margins fall under this segment, and consider product/service of high-strategic importance.

Service-focused segment- Both product quality and range is important for the buyer and even after sale services and delivery rank prominently in their must-have list. Both big and small industries fall under this category and are specially into bulk purchasing.

Partnership-focuses segment – Here the buyer regards the supplier as the strategic partner. Such companies work on comparatively high margins and consider the product/service of strategic importance.

The Role of a Business to Business marketer

Since business-to-business market is confined to a few segments, makes the role of a b2b marketer much easier. Nonetheless, the marketer has to put in some efforts to find which customers fit in which segment, and moreover he has to come up with innovative strategies to attract each of these segments Major challenges encountered by a b2b marketer while ascertaining behavioral or need based segmentation are as follows.

To arrive at a consensus on what segments to serve, and to familiarize oneself with the special features of this segment, this usually calls for investment in quantitative market research.

Once the segmentation has been achieved, there is a need to identify other segments like country and the industry sector. Behavioural and need-based segments usually bypasses ‘firmographic segments’ like country and industry sector.

Orienting sales team, marketing teams, customer relationship and various other departments, so as to get them acquainted with the segments. This calls for huge effort and investment, horizontally and vertically within the organization.

Given the limited size of b2b target audience, B2B marketers, more often than not split the target audience geography wise, with all the key accounts receiving the much-desired attention.

Personal Relationships are crucial in B2B markets

Business-to-Business Markets rides on personal relationships. Small number of customers that buys by and large from the same supplier is easy to talk to. Sales and technical representatives show excitement in meeting such buyers. People refer each other by their first-names. Personal relationships and confidence level reaches newer heights. Now days, it is a commonplace for a business-to-business supplier to have customers who have been loyal and committed for years.

The significance of personal relationships is particularly predominant in emerging markets like China and Russia, where the concept of branding is still at its budding stages. Here the customer completely trusts the salesperson in terms of the quality of the products.

The Role of a Business-to-Business marketer

Stress on developing relationships, helps cultivate faithful buyers, thereby making it easier for a b2b marketer to focus more on the sales and technical side, rather than devoting too much of time on promotional activities. Advertising budgets for B2B marketers are usually fixed in thousands of pounds and not in millions. Unlike a consumer salesperson, a B2B marketer focuses more on cultivating a limited number of relationships than be quantity driven as in the case of consumer markets. Here, stress is more on face-to-face contact, and the salesperson is expected to have in-depth technical knowledge of whatever he or she is selling. Trade shows; therefore have come up in a big way in B2B markets. They are considered to be number one promotional tool of US business-to-business companies.($ 17.3 billion per annum are spent on trade shows)