On a whim, Sandhu set up a profile on Facebook at the end of last year with photographs of some of her products. To her surprise, she bagged an order the same day from a customer in California. Ten months on, Sandhu, whose social media page has been liked by 17000 visitors, is busy planning exhibitions in the US and UK.
As business on social media gains rapid acceptance, small-town entrepreneurs are securing customers from across the world. Sandhu gets over 100 orders a week mostly from customers in the US, Canada and the UK. On an average, individual customers order 5-10 pieces at a time, while a wholesale order starts at 40. "I have international recognition which has helped increase sales by 20 times since the launch of the page," says Sandhu for whom the Facebook page is the sole link with her customers.
For scores of entrepreneurs like Sandhu living in non-metros and towns with tight marketing budgets and no experience of running a commercial enterprise, Facebook has emerged as a significant marketing and sales tool. In fact, many of them are using their Facebook page as a substitute for a proprietary website. It costs nothing to set up a page, profile or group and it provides space for displaying photographs to boot.
Location of Business Does not Matter
The social networking site also gives an opportunity to interact with customers and provides instant access to millions of users worldwide.
"Location does not matter if the entrepreneur has the infrastructure to deliver products across the country," says Advit Sahdev, founder of social media marketing venture Odigma. A recent study by global workplace solutions provider, Regus, states that 83% of firms in India agree that social media activity is essential for the success of marketing strategies.
The report also says that 61% of Indian firms, which participated in the study, were successful in getting customers through business social networking in 2011, compared with 51% in 2010. While any large company or start-up can use social media as a brand building or marketing device, it is the creative entrepreneur, located in non-metro cities and towns, who has found Facebook most useful.
"If an entrepreneur is using Facebook as her sole marketing medium, she need to be selling a unique product to stand out of the clutter," says Sahdev. He adds that entrepreneurs in creative industries such as fashion and jewellery design and handicrafts have a natural advantage over others.
-source: EconomicTimes
-source: EconomicTimes
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