Facebook fast becoming a business tool in India

Date : May 3, 2014

Social media site is now essential for young entrepreneurs.

India became the world's second largest user of Facebook in April, with more than 100 million users. Increasingly, young Indians are also turning to Facebook as a business platform and not just as a social tool.

Mobile phone Facebook use grew more than threefold in the last year, according to Sandeep Raja, divisional manager of Airtel.

"Real estate prices in India are zooming, so setting up shop for a small marketer is next to impossible. Social media as a sales platform is investment-free," Raja said. "Young entrepreneurs are finding it easy to tap markets through Facebook and sales are made on the move thanks to mobile phones. We are seeing a revolution."

"We are seeing more and more B2C (business-to-consumer) operations on Facebook," Facebook India chief Kevin D'Souza told Khabar South Asia. "At present, online sales account for less than 1% of retail sales in India but we could see a rapid transformation."

Jayanta Sengupta, a senior professor at National Council of Applied Economics Research said, "Experience has taught us that in India, the journey from small beginning to limitless growth is often very short. With Facebook-based B2C e-commerce, the same may happen."

Outwitting the obstacles

But there are still obstacles: payment gateways are often unreliable given India's limited bandwidth and the dearth of high-speed internet access.

"But this problem is overcome by cash on delivery." Sengupta said. "Flipkart, a startup which got off in 2008, is now one of the biggest online mass-goods merchants thanks to its cash-on-delivery method."

National Association of Services and Software Companies (NASSCOM) National Consultant Radha Seth said, "Indians are fast changing their way of thinking because it was rare to see consumers here think of buying something without trying on the products physically, first. But Facebook is changing consumption patterns."

Facebook is also turning into a platform for pushing unconventional products. The "Pigeon Buy and Sell India" site seeks people who practice the old tradition of pigeon breeding. There are also sites for trading old memorabilia, scrap iron, pets, designer clothes, custom-made furniture and almost anything for daily use.

"The day is not far when even the neighbourhood pop-and-mom store will open a Facebook page to boost sales," said OLX executive Rathna Nair. "Young India is willing to experiment and nobody has the old respect for establishments which flaunt traditional advantages.

"What matters is simplicity in communicating the effectiveness of your product. And here, Facebook sells."

Source And Courtsey By :- http://khabarsouthasia.com/en_GB/articles/apwi/articles/features/2014/05/03/feature-03