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Tag: Endurance International Group

  • A third of MSMEs enhance digital presence during lockdown

    A third of MSMEs enhance digital presence during lockdown

    NEW DELHI: Digital transformation by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has traditionally lagged behind the expected growth curve. As per Zinnov Consulting, out of the 75 Million MSMEs based in India, 16-18 million have a social media presence, an online listing or a website. Out of five million domain names registered in India, only half have a website behind them.

    Ahead of International MSME Day 2020, Endurance International Group (“EIG”), the parent company of web presence brands like HostGator, Bluehost, ResellerClub, BigRock undertook a survey with Indian MSMEs to understand their adoption of digital presence in response to challenges during Covid2019.

    According to the survey, approximately 30 percent of MSMEs started a business website or enabled e-commerce functionality since the lockdown started owing to the Covid2019 pandemic. More than 50 percent of MSMEs surveyed / embraced video conferencing tools and WhatsApp to keep business running during these turbulent times.

    The importance of digital mediums during this crisis has had a resurgence. Preference for using digital is now approximately ~1.9X more than traditional sales interactions. MSMEs in the educational services segment recorded the highest jump in the importance of using digital mediums.

    With lockdown measures in place, the MSMEs who were able to offer e-commerce functionality witnessed revenue contribution from e-commerce increasing to approximately 50 percent of their total revenues. For MSMEs in retail and educational services, increase in revenue contribution from e-commerce was 53 percent and 65 percent respectively.

    The negative impact of Covid2019 on MSMEs has been intense with many having to pause or entirely shut their business. In this survey, one third of MSME respondents confirmed that they are temporarily shutting their business until normalcy resumes. This pause in business is more prominent among MSMEs in metros cities and those in the retail and manufacturing verticals. Majority of MSMEs (nearly 60 percent of those surveyed) believe that it will take up to six months for business to return to normal.

    MSMEs are seeking support from the government to tide over this crisis. More than 50 percent of MSMEs expect the government to offer tax discounts or exemptions, followed by 36 percent of MSMEs asking for loans at zero interest or cheaper rates.

    “Covid2019 has forced everyone to rethink daily life. In response to the lockdown, MSMEs who could embrace digital presence were able to keep some semblance of normalcy and continue to serve or engage with their customers. This crisis has made it imperative to digitally transform our places of work. We are fortunate to be able to aid businesses in their digital transformation journey through our products and services," said Endurance Group- APAC, SVP and general manager Manish Dalal, having web presence brands like HostGator, Bluehost, ResellerClub, BigRock.

    According to the survey, lack of technical expertise and the perceived costs of developing a web presence continue to be the key challenges to creating web presence. Due to these challenges, very often MSMEs take assistance from web professionals to create digital presence. India is primarily a DIFM (do-it-for-me) market and web professionals will play a key role in the digital enablement of MSMEs.

    EIG caters to small business owners and web professionals, those who help small businesses to come online, through brands such as HostGator, Bluehost, ResellerClub, BigRock. These brands provide the tools and resources needed to build and establish a web presence, be found online, and improve productivity through digital solutions like domains, hosting, business email and more.

    Survey Methodology

    To understand the digital trends among small businesses during the lockdown, EIG administered an online questionnaire to their MSME customers in the segments of retail, educational services, technology services, independent bloggers, consultant, advertising & marketing, travel and finance. Majority of these MSMEs are in the metro cities. The survey was conducted over the first 2 weeks of June 2020.

    Key findings:

    ●        Approximately 30 percent of MSME  either started a website or expanded to e-commerce during the COVID-19 lockdown;

    ●        Around  50 percent embraced video conferencing and WhatsApp for business purposes;

    ●        Revenue contribution  from e-commerce increased close to 50 percent  for MSMEs during COVID-19;

    ●        Preference for using digital is now estimated at ~1.9X more than traditional sales interactions; and

    ●        Approximately 60 percent MSMEs believe that it will take up to 6 months for business to return to normal once COVID-19 ends.

  • Constant Contact offers Indian SMBs affordable tools to grow

    MUMBAI: Constant Contact, an Endurance International Group company, has announced the launch of its email marketing services in India. Constant Contact aims to support this market fully and help small businesses in India build successful, lasting customer relationships. Constant Contact hosted a networking lounge at ad:tech.

    India had approximately 350 million Internet users at the end of 2015, with 730 million expected by 2020[1], making this market ripe for new small businesses. To help these small and medium businesses (SMBs) and digital marketing professionals, Constant Contact’s launch in India will be highly localized to meet the needs of the Indian market – taking the best of a technology that currently serves the U.S. market and optimizing the product for India. Constant Contact will offer its customers in India use of a version of the product for free – with the option to move to a paid plan based on their usage patterns and needs.

    In addition to email marketing solutions, Constant Contact will have a dedicated India website, which has been updated and enhanced for Indian users to offer a better experience. Keeping in mind the user and purchase decision behavior of local customers, the company will also offer local payment options as well as sales and support staff. Constant Contact will also offer training and onboarding, campaign setup and templates, as well as analysis tools that will enable users to measure the efficacy of their campaigns.

    “India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and has one of the most burgeoning small business and start-up ecosystems. Boasting the second highest search volume for email marketing of any country in the world in the first half of 2016, India is a critical growth market for us,” said Endurance International Group EVP and GM – international markets Pankaj Gulati.

    “The best way to have happy customers in India is to provide fully localized solutions with local payment methods and local support. With this infrastructure already in place and with the global brand recognition of Constant Contact, we are demonstrating our commitment to serve the business community in India.”

    As part of the Endurance family of brands, Constant Contact is able to extend its reach and be a better partner to small businesses across the globe. Leveraging the current Endurance International Group footprint in India, Constant Contact has unique access to new customers, especially emerging small businesses that are just getting started with web hosting.

    “Endurance is committed to investing in global markets and the success we’ve seen with BigRock in India has given us the insight to expand our presence there with email marketing,” said Endurance International Founder & CEO Hari Ravichandran. “We are thrilled to bring Constant Contact to India, a market that has been hungry for a localized professional, reliable email marketing solution.”