Building a brand

INTERVIEW: T R Radhakrishnan

'SMEs have yet to benefit fully from marketing'

Small and Medium entrepreneurs need to increase their budgets and see the benefits in the short run, says T R Radhakrishnan, general manager (finance), Pratibha Industries Limited.

According to him, a recent change in the sector is that the bigger players have started looking at SMEs as a possible threat. Once SMEs are able to establish a good marketing strategy the threat will become real.

However, in practicality, SMEs are shying away from huge advertisement spends due to their limited marketing budgets. Limited access to the international arena is another major shortcoming of SMEs in adapting to the changes demanded by the new times.

Pratibha Industries, which is mainly into infrastructure projects in the water sector, has set a target of an annual turnover of Rs 350 crore this year. And the company has made it clear that branding will be given preference over marketing.

Does your company have a marketing and branding strategy? Can you spell it out for our readers?

Our company, being in the infrastructure industry, is dealing with a limited number of clients like various government departments. We have to project our company in a positive way to establish a great level of comfort to our clients who entrust huge projects to us for execution. We are required to go in for a branding strategy more than a marketing strategy.

How relevant is marketing in today's economic scenario for the country's small and medium size entrepreneurs (SMEs)?

Marketing is the core for any economic activity. It is not different for small "� and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) than large corporates. Projecting the company and its product in the right prospective is essential to attract the target consumer. As the economy is freeing up increasingly, the consumer is getting more choices and hence marketing plays a vital role.

Is the present marketing strategy of SMEs profitable?

SMEs are shying away from huge ad spends due to their limited marketing budgets. I feel the benefits of marketing have not yet percolated down to the SMEs. They need to increase the budgets and can see the benefits in the short run.

Is the SME sector favourably adapting to the change demanded in the new times? What are the shortcomings?

I observe that the SME sector is adapting to changes demanded by the new times. This comment is due to the increase in the market share of SMEs in most of the segments.

SMEs are able to offer stiff competition to large players due to their lower overheads. Limited access to international arena is the major shortcoming of SMEs in adapting to the changes demanded by the new times.

What kind of policy changes would you expect from the government?

I do not believe in extending crutches of any sort by the government to SMEs. However, I feel that government should ensure that SMEs have access to cheaper credit as large players.

What impact will be on the relationship between the bigger players and the SMEs, once a specific marketing strategy comes into play?

Bigger players have started looking at SMEs as possible threat to them. This is a recent change. Once SMEs are able to establish a good marketing strategy the threat shall become real.

Are there any plans to take your business abroad too?

No. Not at present. India still has plenty of work. There were tenders from abroad but we are not interested. India is doing well. Why should we venture abroad? There are plenty of opportunities out here.

"The SME sector is adapting well to changes demanded by modern times. They are able to compete with big players due to lower overheads"
T R Radhakrishnan, GM, (Finance) Pratibha Industries