SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROJECT

MARKET ANALYSIS AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FOR MSME

SECTORS WITH RESPECT TO IT SERVICES

Conducted for: Fillip Technologies

(Submitted for the degree of M.B.A in Marketing)

Submitted By: Sagnik Barma

Department: Mba - Day
Batch: 2019-21.
University Roll No.: 107/MBA/191078
University Registration No.: 107-1112-0076-19
Institute: Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management
(IISWBM)
Supervised by:
Institute Mentor: Dr. Archana Sharma
Organization Mentor: Mr. Vikash Kumar
CERTIFICATE

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 DECLARATION
I Sagnik Barma, Roll No. 107/MBA/191078 student of Indian Institute of Social Welfare
and Business Management, hereby declare that the project report on “MARKET
ANALYSIS AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT FOR MSME SECTORS WITH
RESPECT TO IT SERVICES” is an original and authenticated work done by me. I further
declare that it has not been submitted elsewhere by any other person in any of the institutes
for the award of any degree or diploma.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

With immense pleasure I am presenting “MARKET ANALYSIS AND BUSINESS

DEVELOPMENT FOR MSME SECTORS WITH RESPECT TO IT SERVICES”
Project report. I thank all who supported me.

I express my profound thanks to Prof. Archana Sharma, my project guide and all those who
have indirectly guided and helped me in preparation of this project.

I would also like to extend our gratitude to all staff and our colleagues of Indian Institute of
Social Welfare and Business Management, who provided moral support, a conductive work
environment and the much-needed inspiration to conclude the project in time and a special
thanks to my parents who are an integral part of the project.

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 PROJECT REPORT INDEX

Chapter No. Topics Page No.

1 Introduction 7

2 Objectives of the study 9

3 Organization Profile 10

· Organization Chart 11

· Name, Address, Location 12

· Vision & Mission statement 13

· History 14

· Product/Services 15

4 Review of Literature 16

5 Research Methodology 23

· Research Design 24

· Statement of Problem 25

· Sources of Data collection 26

· Sample Description 27

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6 Data Analysis & Interpretation 28

7 Findings 42

8 Suggestions & Recommendations 44

9 Conclusion 46

References 49

Annexure 50

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INTRODUCTION
Market analysis is a quantitative and qualitative assessment of a market. It looks into the size
of the market both in volume and in value, the various customer segments and buying
patterns, the competition, and the economic environment in terms of barriers to entry and
regulation. Behind every successful product or service present in the market today, there is a
story of substantial market analysis on competitors and customers. It is the first and the most
important step in the development of any marketing plan. Market analysis is one of the most
vital components which help a business or an organisation in order to gather all the necessary
and important information that is required for making effective and wise business decisions.
Market analysis is the thorough process of data collection to choose whether the product or
the service that is going to come will cater to the needs of the consumers. Effective market
analysis can help in getting valuable insights into shifts in the economy, competitors, on-
going market trends, demographics, and the traits of expenditure made by the customers.
Market analysis is one of the most crucial components which help businesses with all the
essential information and making wise business decisions. Effective market analysis also
helps in clarifying what makes a company different from the competition. That way, one
would know what makes them stand out or what one needs to do to set them apart. Behind
every successful product or service present in the market today, there is a story of substantial
market analysis on competitors and customers.
High technologies, automation and digitalization have become part of our everyday life
which we now strongly depend upon. It is really quite difficult to imagine any consumer
segment without the possibility to purchase goods or services remotely. The current rhythm
of customers' lives literally makes the company to be "ahead of its time". In this present
generation, if one is inactive, not mobile and client-oriented, then it could quickly seem that
one has ceased to exist. Digitalization strategy is the gradual penetration of digital
technologies into all spheres of public life. From an organizational point of view, social
digitalization corresponds to a change in the process and organization of work in connection
with the integration of new information technologies. From the user's perspective, it can be
defined as a real boom of online life and apps development. As for the global view of
business, here we will see even the greater importance of digitization, as new information
technologies destroy the boundaries between professional and personal life, as well as
between private and public. Digitalization is a profound transformation of business, involving
the use of digital technologies to optimize business processes, improve the company's

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productivity and improve the experience with customers. One of the primary digitization
steps is the satisfaction of consumer needs, which change along with the development of
technologies, namely, the creation of a more comfortable and prompt interaction between the
client and the company. Businesses are now creating systems that will promote their digital
growth, which is one of the most important factors. The world is now online, and it is
necessary for the businesses to exist online as much as it is for them to exist offline.
The Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector is a major contributor to the
socio-economic development of the country. In India, the sector has gained significant
importance due to its contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country and
exports. The sector has also contributed immensely with respect to entrepreneurship
development especially in semi-urban and rural areas of India. According to the provisions of
Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006 the Micro, Small
and Medium Enterprises (MSME) are classified in two classes i.e. Manufacturing Enterprises
and Service Enterprises. India has approximately 6.3 crore MSMEs. The number of
registered MSMEs grew 18.5% YoU to reach 25.13 lakh (2.5 million) units in 2020 from
21.21 lakh (2.1 million) units in 2019. The Indian MSMEs sector contributes about 29%
towards the GDP through its national and international trade.
According to data shared by the MSME Minister in the Rajya Sabha, the registered MSME is
dominated by micro enterprises at 22.06 lakh (2.2 million) units in 2020 from 18.70 lakh (1.8
million) units in 2019, while small enterprise units went up from 2.41 lakh (0.24 million)
units to 2.95 lakh (0.29 million) units. Mid-sized businesses only increased from 9,403 units
to 10,981 units during this period. MSMEs are being encouraged to market their products on
the e-commerce site, especially through Government e-Marketplace (GeM), owned and run
by the government, wherefrom Ministries and PSUs (public sector undertakings) source their
procurement. The platform has recorded transactions worth Rs. 55,048 crore (US$ 7.5
billion) until September 2020. Domestic business requires a strong financial stimulus with
concessional working capital loans to ensure adequate liquidity is maintained in business
operations from the government and financial institutes. The current scenario due to COVID-
19, more and more consumers are looking online, e-commerce is booming and it provides the
potential for SMBs to transform and build on digitisation of their businesses. A shift that has
been underway and began post demonetization in 2016. According to the Cisco India SMB
Digital Maturity Study 2020, digitalisation of small and medium businesses (SMBs) could
add anywhere between $158-216 billion to India's GDP by 2024 and contribute to the
country's economic recovery post COVID-19.

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OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The main objectives of the research project are given as follows:

❏ To study and analyse the response of MSME sectors regarding digital visibility.
❏ To understand the impact of IT services on MSME sectors

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ORGANIZATION PROFILE
Fillip Technologies is the best IT service providing company in Patna. The company provides
all types of IT services in Patna. They have solutions to all the IT related problems. The
company is experienced for more than 6 years and we have a huge number of happy clients
from all over India. The company has provided services like Website Designing, Software
Developing, Mobile App Developing, Digital Marketing, SEO, Web Hosting and
Ecommerce.

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Organisation chart

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Name, Address, Location
The name of the company where the study of this has been conducted is Fillip Technologies.
The registered office of Fillip Technologies is situated in Patna, Bihar.
The address of the office is:
Divyan Bhawan 1st & 3rd Floor Kankarbagh Main Road, Opp HDFC Bank, Bihar 800020.
The office is located beside Bihar Auto Part Lane Patna, Bihar.

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Vision & Mission statement
Fillip Technologies has established to bring revolution in the IT sector. The company has
unique solutions for all IT related problems. Fillip technologies have developed ideal and
unique software which is designed by keeping the needs of our clients. The company has
planned their strategy in such a way that their clients will achieve their business goal with
productive outcomes. Fillip technologies work hard to ensure that the website of their clients
carry all the important information which the visitors want to know. The company has a
unique strategy for this purpose. The digital marketing team works hard to increase client’s
business growth. Choose Fillip Technologies to achieve your business goal. We have experts
who are dedicated to providing the best services to our clients so that they can increase their
revenue.

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History
Fillip Technologies is the best IT service providing company in Patna. The company provides
all types of IT services in Patna. They have solutions to all the IT related problems of a
business. The company has an experience for more than 6 years and they have a huge number
of happy clients from all over India. The company provides services like Website Designing,
Software Developing, Mobile App Developing, Digital Marketing, SEO, Web Hosting, and
Ecommerce and so on.

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Product/Services
Fillip Technologies is an IT service providing company. The three main areas where the
company provides its services are given as follows:

Website Designing

The website designs and the work of the website designers are most accepted because of the
quality work of the employees. This high quality work increases the number of viewers of its
client website. As a website designing company in Patna, the company provides best quality
service to its clients. The company provides affordable website designing services. The
websites designed by the company are mobile friendly. The employees work with
determination to ensure more traffic engagement to their client’s website. Fillip Technologies
design dynamic websites for their clients.

Software and Mobile App Developing

The company develops the best quality of software for their clients. Fillip Technologies use
the latest techniques and standards to develop software. The software developed by the
company is best in quality. The company helps their clients to expand their business. Fillip
Technologies is experienced in developing best mobile apps for Android phones. The
software developers are experts in developing best Android apps and apps for Windows. The
company has clients from all locations of Bihar and all are satisfied with the services of the
company.

Search Engine Optimization

Fillip Technologies provides the best Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Service in Patna.
With the SEO content marketing in Patna, the company assures the right visitors to visit their
website frequently. Their SEO service helps the websites of their clients to keep good domain
advantage. The SEO service provided is according to the keywords searched by users
frequently and in this way the client’s websites get the right visitors frequently.

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REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Introduction
Digitalization is when one uses digital technologies to change a business model and provide
new revenue and value-producing opportunities. Digitizing an organization can give
competitive advantage by doing things better, faster, and cheaper than its competition. Using
creative digital solutions provides a competitive edge in the business world and a proper
digitalization plan can help reinvent processes, improve quality and promote consistency.
Digital solutions can simplify a country’s security and intelligence systems, and its economy
and infrastructure. For citizens, digitalization promises much needed improvement both in the
delivery of public services, such as Government/Bank issued certificates, and other services,
financial or other consultancy services. Digital solutions and services can facilitate trades and
settlement worldwide. It can help in defending against malpractices such as embezzlement
and money laundering. As stated by Valenduc and Vendramin (2016), incorporation of digital
platforms also facilitates in connecting buyer and seller directly, eliminating the middleman.
Adapting to technology has proved to be a beneficial factor in the graphs of the businesses. It
is making the work systems easier and less complicated, that way; people can completely
focus on the work and be less bothered by peripheral factors that were prevalent earlier.
Digitalization has enabled businesses with instant communication. Businesses are now
creating systems that will promote their digital growth, which is one of the most important
factors.
The purpose of digitalisation is to enable automation, increase data quality, and collect and
structure all that data so we can apply advanced technology, such as better and smarter
software. Digitalisation is not a specific manufacturing, warehousing or logistics issue; it’s a
business-wide challenge. Thinking of digitalisation as many separate projects complicates the
process and belittles the value it can bring to one’s business. Most digitalisation showcases
are singled out projects. The tendency is to start with wireless networks because the source is
limited in scope. Moreover, it’s better to embrace the business dynamics and build one’s
digitalisation strategy around networks that connect to different ERPs and applications. As
per the view of Martinez (2019), it can be stated that, without a business network, the
underlying data quality will not be good enough for the rest of the business applications to
reach full potential. The crudest way to start digitalising written business communication is to
scan physical documents and digitise these business transactions. Each order and invoice,
comprises so much information stored than any one person or department might realise.

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These include trends, patterns, pricing insights and buyer preferences to name a few. The data
will flourish, enabling the managers to tap into new insights, and allowing the company as a
whole to move forward making better business decisions.

Market Analysis
A market analysis is the process of gathering information about a market within an industry.
Market analysis studies the dynamics of a market and what makes potential customers tick. A
market analysis may seem complex, but it’s necessary if one wants to lead one’s business in
the direction of success. Analysing markets helps in reducing risks because one can better
understand their customers and market conditions. Effective market analysis also helps in
clarifying what makes a company different from the competition. That way, one would know
what makes them stand out or what one needs to do to set them apart. Behind every
successful product or service present in the market today, there is a story of substantial
market analysis on competitors and customers. It is the first and the most important step in
the development of any marketing plan. As stated by Chong et al. (2017), market analysis is
the thorough process of data collection to choose whether the product or the service that is
going to come will cater to customers’ needs. Effective market analysis can help in getting
valuable insights into shifts in the economy, competitors, on-going market trends,
demographics, and the traits of customers’ expenditure. Market analysis is one of the vital
components to help business with all the essential information and making wise business
decisions.
In order to conduct market analysis in an effective manner, the following steps need to be
followed:
1. Determining the purpose of study
There are many reasons why businesses might conduct market research. One might use them
to assess business risks, reduce issues, or create opportunities. One can look at past problems
to decrease future risks and analyse past successes to see what one needs to continue to do in
the future. Before starting any market research, one needs to determine whether the analysis
is for internal or external purposes. Internal purposes include things like improving cash flow
or business operations. External purposes include trying to convince lenders to give you a
business loan.
2. Understanding the industry’s outlook
In the market analysis, outlining the current state of the industry is quite vital. Including
where the industry is heading using metrics such as size, trends, and projected growth is

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valuable for market analysis. One needs to be sure to have relevant data to back up their
claims. This section will let investors or lenders see that the company has done its homework
on its business’s industry. And, it will show them whether or not the industry is worth their
time and money.
3. Pinpointing target customers
In order to analyse the market, one must determine who the potential customers are. This part
of the process is called a target market analysis. One needs to fully understand who their
customers are and where they come from. The research should paint a clear picture of the
potential customers. One needs to consider things like age, income, gender, location,
occupation, education level, marital or family status. Once a company narrows down who
their customers are, they need to find out their needs, interests, personalities, and
demographics. Pinpointing one’s target market can help them to better cater to future
customers and market more efficiently. As the business grows, its potential customers may
evolve or change. One needs to revisit their target market from time to time to ensure they
still fit one’s business.
4. Comparing with competition
In order to further analyse the market, one needs to understand their competition and one
must know who their competitors are trying to target. One needs to look at things like their
competitor's offerings, location, targeted customers, and disadvantages in the market. A
company needs to make a list of all of their main competitors and go through each one on the
list and determine their strengths and weaknesses. Once the competitors’ strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are outlined, ranking them from most to least
threatening needs to be done. Then, one needs to determine the advantages and marketing
position of their own company.
5. Gathering additional data
Information is the greatest ally when it comes to conducting a market analysis. The more
information one is able to gather and have, the better off one’s business will be. The data that
is being collected needs to be unbiased, relevant, and factual. One needs to be able to back up
their research and make decisions based on accurate information. Using credible sources
while gathering additional data is vital.
6. Analysing the findings
After one analyses the market, it’s time to take a look at their findings. One needs to lay out
all of their research and organize it using different sections. The researcher needs to include
sections for their purpose, target market, and competition. Based on this research, the

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researcher would be able to forecast other things for their business, such as cash flow cycle,
gross margin, and customers’ buying habits.
7. Putting the analysis into action
Conducting a market analysis might seem like a daunting task, but it is quite important for a
business to function better in today’s world. For internal purposes, one needs to look at how
one can use their findings to improve their business. One needs to use their analysis to see if
they can make any of their business processes more efficiently. If a person conducted an
analysis for external purposes, one needs to be prepared to speak with lenders about their
research and conclusions. Moreover, one needs to revisit their market analysis every now and
then for necessary tweaking.

Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is the act of promoting and selling products and services by leveraging
online marketing tactics such as social media marketing, search marketing, and email
marketing. In many ways, digital marketing is no different than traditional marketing. In
both, smart organizations seek to develop mutually beneficial relationships with prospects,
leads, and customers. However, digital marketing has replaced most traditional marketing
tactics because it's designed to reach today's consumers. With the ease of internet access, the
number of social media users in India stood at 326.1 million in 2018 and in 2020, over 50 per
cent of India's population was accessing social networks. A strong digital presence will help a
company to create awareness and engagement both before and after the sale in a much more
effective manner. It would also help a business to convert new buyers into rabid fans who
would buy more and more often in the future. Digital marketing also helps in kick-starting
word-of-mouth and social sharing and helps in garnering all the benefits that come with them.
Moreover, it will also shorten the buyer's journey by presenting the right offers at the right
time. Social media has been proven to boost brand awareness by driving up engagement.
Social engagement includes things like comments, likes, shares, and re-posts. Social media
also helps in increasing brand awareness by directing traffic straight to the company’s
website. Companies are doing this by including direct links to their website in their profile,
bio, and posts. Connecting and engaging with social media followers, the company will be
able to build lasting relationships between them and the business. One can do this by
interacting with them on their posts, responding to their questions and comments, and
providing them with any help that they might need.

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Social media marketing is the use of social media platforms to connect with your audience to
build your brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic. This involves publishing great
content on the company’s social media profiles, listening to and engaging its followers,
analysing their results, and running social media advertisements. The major social media
platforms at the moment are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube,
and Snapchat. There are also a range of social media management tools that help businesses
to get the most out of the social media platforms listed above. Social media marketing first
started with publishing. Businesses were sharing their content on social media to generate
traffic to their websites and, hopefully, sales. But social media has matured far beyond being
just a place to broadcast content. As stated by Chatterjee and Kar (2020), nowadays,
businesses use social media in a myriad of different ways. For example, a business that is
concerned about what people are saying about its brand would monitor social media
conversations and response to relevant mentions. A business that wants to understand how
it’s performing on social media would analyse its reach, engagement, and sales on social
media with an analytics tool. A business that wants to reach a specific set of audience at scale
would run highly-targeted social media ads.

Impact of digitalisation on business development

Technology today is no longer seen as a helper of everyday business practices. It has now
become the heart and soul, the only help and the centre of every business strategy. Optimum
utilization of the technologies will lead to a better positioning in the online market. Digital
business, as it relates to business technology, offers companies and individuals new ways to
connect, collaborate, conduct business, and build bridges between people. An organization
that adopts today’s digital technologies will enable decision makers to have access to all the
information they need all the time, from anywhere, and from any device they choose. The
digital revolution is powered by technology – the internet, mobile technology, computer
processing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, nanotechnology, robotics and
information processors are all tools that we can use to perform tasks in various ways.
Perpetually innovating, adapting and improving solutions and solving more problems create a
digitally transformed business.
The importance of digitalization in emerging business ecosystems is increasing day by day.
Adapting to technology has proved to be a beneficial factor in the graphs of the businesses. It
is making the work systems easier and less complicated, that way; people can completely
focus on the work and be less bothered by peripheral factors that were prevalent earlier.

20
Digitalization has enabled businesses with instant communication. Businesses are now
creating systems that will promote their digital growth, which is one of the most important
factors. The world is now online, and it is necessary for the businesses to exist online as
much as it is for them to exist offline. As per the views of Alshawaaf and Lee (2020), it can
be stated that the companies are now rethinking on their old business strategies, and are
trying to incorporate the new technological changes in those business models. Forming of
new strategies has given the businesses a new and different framework for the working. With
technology involved on a larger scale, it has become easier for them to scale heights and
survive the competition. Another important aspect of digitalization is that the corporates are
now being compelled to keep innovating. Digitalization has taken the businesses to a whole
different landscape, and it needs constant innovation in the ways of its working. Without
innovations, there would be stagnancy in the systems and lead to a deteriorating graph.

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Conclusion
Digital transformation is the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business,
fundamentally changing how you operate and deliver value to customers. It's also a cultural
change that requires organizations to continually challenge the status quo, experiment, and
get comfortable with failure. Digitisation has now become a necessity for businesses to have
targeted marketing strategies with the advent of social media. It enables them to get even
more leads, and also increases the reach of the brand or the product. Even the storage devices
for companies have changed. Almost every company is now moving towards cloud
computing technology for the management of large amounts of data. Cloud computing has
also given rise to the applications of various cyber security solutions. Digitalization has had a
huge impact on the working and growth of business today. With greater applications of AI
and other technologies, we may see the business landscape changing completely. Digitization
is a process of converting information from the normal form into a digital (computerized)
format. This format presents data that is represented as bits or bytes. Digitalization of
business helps to improve the efficiency of its process, consistency, and quality. It can
integrate conventional records or files into a digitized form, eliminating redundancies and
shortening of communications chain. It would also help in improving and facilitating a better
informational exchange. Digitizing also helps in providing customer service anywhere in the
world while reducing operational costs, thereby, improving the overall continuity of business
growth.
A business may take on digital transformation for several reasons, but by far, the most likely
reason is that they have to survive. In the wake of the pandemic, an organization's ability to
adapt quickly to supply chain disruptions, market pressures, and rapidly changing customer
expectations has become crucial. The importance of digitalization in emerging business
ecosystems is increasing day by day. Adapting to technology has proved to be a beneficial
factor in the graphs of the businesses. It is making the work systems easier and less
complicated, that way; people can completely focus on the work and be less bothered by
peripheral factors that were prevalent earlier. Therefore, it can be concluded by stating that
technology and the digital revolution can disrupt conventional models and bring benefits to
the common man in many ways.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The Research Methodology deals with various specific procedures or techniques used to
identify, select, process, and analyse information about a topic. In this research, different
methods and techniques have been adopted in order to understand and analyse the response of
MSME sectors regarding digital visibility. The various benefits due to the incorporation of
digitalisation and the ways in which it has improved the overall work culture and
environment in the organisations has been studied and analysed. The different research
philosophies and approach of research has been presented in this chapter. This chapter also
deals with the design of the research and strategy that has been used in this research. The
different data collection and sampling methods that are being used in order to conduct this
research has also been described in this research methodology chapter.

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Research Design
Research design refers to the overall strategy utilized to carry out research that defines a
succinct and logical plan to tackle established research questions through the collection,
interpretation, analysis, and discussion of data. In order to conduct this research, a
descriptive research design has been adopted. Descriptive research aims to accurately and
systematically describe a population, situation or phenomenon. It can answer what, where,
when and how questions, but not why questions. A descriptive research design can use a wide
variety of research methods to investigate one or more variables. This kind of blueprint is
used for exact investigation developing the working hypotheses from an operational point-of-
view. It has inbuilt flexibility, which is needed because the research problem, broadly defined
initially, is altered into one with more particular meaning in exploratory studies, which in fact
may necessitate changes in research procedure for gathering relevant data.
In this research, a purposive sampling design has been adopted in order to obtain responses
for this research work. It is a form of non-probability sampling in which researchers rely on
their own judgment when choosing members of the population to participate in their study.
This sampling design has enabled in collecting data from people who have credible
professional knowledge and experience in the Indian MSME sector. A survey questionnaire
has been designed and sent to professionals working in the Indian MSME sector through their
LinkedIn accounts or company websites. This has been done in order to understand the views
of professionals working in the MSME sectors regarding digital visibility. The questionnaire
comprises close ended questions which are effective for analysing quantitative data.
A total of 49 respondents who are professionally related to the MSME sector had taken part
in the research study. The data obtained from the questionnaires has been represented in the
form of bar and column charts and effective analysis of the data.

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Statement of Problem
A research problem is a statement about an area of concern, a condition to be improved, a
difficulty to be eliminated, or a troubling question that exists in scholarly literature, in theory,
or in practice that points to the need for meaningful understanding and deliberate
investigation. In the recent years, there has been a paradigm shift in the ways in which
businesses are being conducted. Today, more and more executives of companies and
entrepreneurs have realized the need for changes in their business. It is useless to struggle
with the concept of universal digitalization - it needs to be accepted and companies should
understand how it can be built in. This is one of the most important directions that will help
to make a new technological breakthrough in the world economy, while significantly
reducing costs and optimizing production processes to preserve the environment, save
human, money and time resources, and also improve the standard of living in general.
In this research study, the various advantages and benefits that companies operating in the
MSME sectors might gain has been discussed and dealt with. But for the thousands of
MSMEs to turn to digitization in India will not be an easy task. India currently ranks 9th in
the small and medium businesses digital maturity in the Asia Pacific region, according to the
CISCO report. The challenges range from an absence of digital skills and access to talent, to
lack of necessary technologies required for a business overhaul. Everything comes at a price
and so does digitalisation of a company’s business processes. Therefore, companies need to
carefully analyse the pros and cons of upgrading itself into a digital platform. However, it is
quite evident that operating from a digital platform has its share of benefits which will only
increase in the near future. This research work would enable business owners and new
entrepreneurs to take a well informed decision while taking the decision of digitising their
business processes and providing products and services from a digital platform. This
research work would also enable them to understand the various spheres of digitalisation and
website making that needs to be kept in mind while developing their own websites or
promoting their products and services online.

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Sources of Data collection

Data collection refers to the procedure of collecting, measuring and analysing accurate
insights for research using standard validated techniques. In this study, primary quantitative
data sources have been collected and analysed in order to understand the data. The data has
been collected first-hand sources mainly from interviews and surveys. The researcher can use
statistics and can derive data from there. This is expected to help the research paper and
would upgrade the quality. Primary sources are very vital as it consists of human interaction
and human opinions for collection of data. Primary research can be both qualitative and
quantitative in nature.

In this project, a survey questionnaire has been used in order to collect data from the
respondents. The questionnaire was sent to the respondents in the form of a Google form to
their respective LinkedIn accounts or company email ids. The questionnaire was sent to
people who are professionally involved with the MSME sector in India. In this survey
method, the questionnaires were sent to the respondents concerned with a request to answer
the questions. This kind of questionnaire survey has been conducted as the usage of such
fixed-response questions reduces the variability in the results. Moreover, the data obtained
are reliable because the responses are limited to the alternatives stated.

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Sample Description
Sampling is a technique of selecting individual members or a subset of the population to
make statistical inferences from them and estimate characteristics of the whole population.
Different sampling methods are widely used by researchers in market research so that they do
not need to research the entire population to collect actionable insights. A sample is defined
as a smaller set of data that a researcher chooses or selects from a larger population by using
a predefined selection method. These elements are known as sample points, sampling units,
or observations. Creating a sample is an efficient method of conducting research. In this
research work, a purposive sampling design has been adopted in order to obtain responses
for this research work. It is a form of non-probability sampling in which researchers rely on
their own judgment when choosing members of the population to participate in their study. A
purposive sampling design has been incorporated in order to effectively understand the views
of professionals working in the MSME sectors regarding digital visibility.
A Google form comprising related and well thought out questions were being sent to the
respondents to their respective LinkedIn accounts or company email ids. Purposive sampling
was undertaken in order to ensure that the respondents were well aware of the various
developments in the Indian MSME sector. This, in turn, has helped in collecting credible and
useful information from the respondents who are closely attached with the MSME sector in
India.

27
DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION
In this chapter of the project work, a complete analysis of the data and information that has
been gathered in due course of the project work has been conducted. Data analysis involves
inspecting, cleansing, transforming and modelling data in order to carry out the research in a
more scientific and effective manner. Data analysis has multiple facets and approaches,
encompassing diverse techniques under a variety of names, and is used in different business,
science, and social science domains. Proper data analysis techniques are being implemented
in this research work in order to find out inferences that would enable in better understanding
of the research topic. In this study, primary data analysis has been conducted in order to
extract information and understand the outcome of the research work.

28
Primary Analysis

Q1) Does your company have a website?

Options Number of Total

respondents respondents

Yes 38 49

No 11 49

Table 1: Companies having website

Figure 1: Companies having website

29
Inferences:
The graph given above shows that 38 respondents out of 49 respondents have stated that their
company has its own website. It has also been found out that only 11 respondents have stated
that their company does not have its own website. Therefore, it can be inferred from this data
that the companies with which most of the respondents are associated have websites. As a
result of this, it can also be stated that most of the respondents are knowledgeable about the
various effects of digitalisation of companies.

Q2) How many years are you working in the MSME sector?

Options Number of Total

respondents respondents

0-1 Years 15 49

2-4 Years 13 49

5-8 Years 16 49

9-15 Years 5 49

Table 2: Working experience in MSME sector

30
Figure 2: Working experience in MSME sector

Inferences:
The graph above shows that 15 respondents have an experience of 0-1 years and 13
respondents have an experience of 2-4 years in the MSME sector. Moreover, 16 respondents
have an experience of 5-8 years and only 5 respondents have an experience of 9-15 years in
the MSME sector. Therefore, it can be stated that all of the respondents who took part in the
questionnaire survey have relevant professional experience working in the MSME sector. As
a result of this, it can be inferred that the respondents have provided credible and well
informed responses based on their professional experiences.

Q3) Do you think digitalization favourably helped MSME sectors?

Options Number of Total

respondents respondents

Yes 40 49

31
No 5 49

Maybe 4 49

Table 3: Digitalization favoured MSME sectors

Figure 3: Digitalization favoured MSME sectors

Inferences:
The graph given above shows us that 40 respondents out of 49 have agreed to the statement
that digitalization favorably helped MSME sectors. Only 5 respondents have said that they do
not think that digitalization favorably helped MSME sectors and 4 respondents have stayed
neutral about it. Therefore, it can be clearly stated that digitalization has favorably helped
MSME sectors.

32
Q4) How are employees benefiting from digitalization?

Options Number of Total

respondents respondents

Creates a 11 49
more
collaborative
culture.

Unites the 12 49
workforce

Gives more 8 49
time for new
ideas

Allows 5 49
employees to
work
remotely

Provides a 8 49
better
customer
experience

33
Save costs 5 49
and invest
elsewhere

Table 4: Employee benefits from digitalization

Figure 4: Employee benefits from digitalization

Inferences:
The graph given above clearly shows that 11 respondents think digitalisation has created a
more collaborative culture whereas 12 respondents think that it unites the workforce. 8
respondents stated that digitalisation has provided employees with more time for new ideas. 5
respondents have stated that it enables employees to work remotely and 8 respondents have
stated that it helps in providing a better customer experience. Lastly, 5 respondents have
stated that digitalisation has enabled companies to save costs and invest in some other
ventures. Therefore, it can be stated that digitalisation has provided several benefits to the
employees of the organization and it has helped in improving the overall efficiency of work.

34
Q5) What are the positive effects of digitalization on the company?

Options Number of Total

respondents respondents

Creates 7 49
digital
presence

New contact 8 49
channels
with
customers

Better 6 49
decision-
making

It improves 9 49
efficiency
and
productivity

It encourages 8 49
innovation

35
It makes 6 49
communicati
on and
teamwork
easier

It improves 5 49
working
conditions

Table 5: Positive effects of digitalization on the company

Figure 5: Positive effects of digitalization on the company

Inferences:
The graph given above shows that 7 respondents have stated that digitalisation creates a
digital presence of the company and 8 respondents have stated that it has helped in creating
new contact channels with customers. Moreover, 6 respondents have stated that digitalisation
has facilitated better decision making and 9 respondents have stated that it has improved

36
efficiency and productivity. Furthermore, 8 respondents have stated that digitalisation has
encouraged innovation in the companies and 6 respondents have stated that it has made
communication and teamwork easier. Lastly, 5 respondents have also stated that digitalisation
has improved working conditions in their organisations. Therefore, it can be stated that
incorporation of digitalisation have improved the overall work culture and environment in the
organisations.

Q6) Which are the most important topics in website making?

Options Number of Total

respondents respondents

Mobile 6 49
compatibility

Accessible to 8 49
all users

Well planned 5 49
information
architecture

Well- 6 49
formatted
content that
is easy to
scan

37
Fast load 8 49
time

Effective 7 49
navigation

Contrasting 4 49
colour
scheme

Good error 5 49
handling

Table 6: The most important topics in website making

Figure 6: The most important topics in website making

38
Inferences:
The graph given above shows that 6 respondents think that mobile compatibility is quite
important for a website and 8 respondents think that the website needs to be accessible to all
the users. Moreover, 5 respondents have stated that a well-planned information architecture is
required and 6 respondents have stated that a well-formatted content that is easy to scan is
important for website making. It can also been seen that 8 respondents have stated that a fast
load time is an important topic to consider while website making and 7 respondents have
pointed out that effective navigation is an important topic for the same. Lastly, 4 respondents
have pointed out that a contrasting colour scheme is an important topic and 5 respondents
have stated that good error handling needs to be kept in mind while making a website.
Therefore, it can be stated that topics like accessibility, effective navigation, fast load times
and mobile compatibility are the most important topics that need to be considered while
making a website.

Q7) Do you think a new company should invest in digitalization?

Options Number of Total

respondents respondents

Yes 39 49

No 4 49

Maybe 6 49

Table 7: Invest in digitalization

39
Figure 7: Invest in digitalization

Inferences:
The graph given above shows that 39 respondents have agreed to the fact that a new company
should invest in digitalization. Furthermore, only 4 respondents have stated that a new
company should not invest in digitalization, while 6 respondents have stayed neutral on the
topic. Therefore, it is clearly evident that the majority of the respondents have supported the
idea of a new company investing in digitalization as it has innumerable benefits to it in terms
of productivity and profitability.

Q8) Do you think companies without a website are lacking in profit-making?

Options Number of Total

respondents respondents

Yes 35 49

40
No 11 49

Maybe 3 49

Table 8: Companies without website are lacking in profit-making

Figure 8: Companies without website are lacking in profit-making

Inferences:
The graph given above shows that 35 respondents have agreed to the fact that companies
without a website are lacking in profit-making. Furthermore, only 11 respondents have stated
that companies without a website are not lacking in profit-making., while 3 respondents have
stayed neutral on the topic. Therefore, it is clearly evident that the majority of the respondents
have supported the idea that companies without a website are lacking in profit-making.

41
FINDINGS
The primary data analysis performed in the earlier part of this research work has shown us
that the respondents who had taken part in the research survey had sufficient knowledge and
professional experience in the Indian MSME sector. The respondents comprises professionals
who are working in the MSME sector or who run a business in the aforesaid sector. As a
result of this, they have been able to contribute to our research study in a credible and
effective manner. It has been found out that most of the respondents agreed on the fact that
digitalisation of MSME companies would accelerate the overall growth of the sector in India.
The respondents have also agreed upon the various benefits of digitalisation which includes
workforce unity, creation of a collaborative work culture and also helps in providing better
products and services to their customers. It has also been found out that digitalisation helps in
facilitating more time for the generation of new ideas for the companies. This in turn, helps
the company to innovate or improve its products or services and eventually gain a
competitive edge over its competitors. Moreover, digitization of companies in the MSME
sectors would also help in saving the overall cost of production and as a result of this the
companies would be able to invest that amount of money in some other areas like research
and development.
On the basis of the primary analysis of the data that has been collected, it has been found out
that digitization of a company would also facilitate in creating a digital presence of that
company. Moreover, it would also help in establishing new contact channels with customers.
It has also been found out that digitalisation would facilitate in improving the overall
efficiency and productivity of the organisation. Moreover, from the responses of the
respondents it is also clear that digitalisation of an organisation contributes in improving the
overall communication among departments and other employees which in turn makes
teamwork easier in a professional environment.
From the data analysis, it has also been found out that mobile compatibility, user accessibility
and effective navigation are some of the most important topics that one needs to keep in mind
when making a website. Moreover, the respondents have also agreed on the points that a fast
load time and good error handling are other important topics that need to be kept in mind
while making a new website. It has also been found out that the respondents mostly agreed on
the fact that new and upcoming companies need to have their own websites in order to make
their mark in the industry and gain popularity. Lastly, most of the respondents have also
agreed on the fact that companies without a website are lacking in profit-making. Therefore,

42
it can be stated that from the data analysis it is quite clear that in order to flourish in today’s
digital age; companies need to have a website of their own and digitize their products and
services. The world is now online, and it is necessary for the businesses to exist online as
much as it is for them to exist offline.

43
SUGGESTIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS
The suggestions and recommendations regarding the various ways in which companies
operating in the Indian MSME sector might improve their overall performances and
productivity are given as follows:
➢ Promote their brands, product and services on different social media platforms
Companies need to promote their product and services on different social media platforms in
order to improve their digital visibility. Companies need to post videos and images in a
consistent manner. Over time, the customers will see the consistency in posts and begin to
recognize when a post is from a particular company without seeing the company’s logo or
social media handle. This type of brand recognition is the ultimate goal for social media
branding efforts. Companies need to map their customer bases and need to determine their
social media content accordingly. After visuals and captions the next important piece is
branding one’s social media posts. Company social media accounts tend to have some
personality. For some, it’s sarcastic or snarky and for others, it’s informative in nature.
➢ Improve engagement with their target customers through social media sites
Companies operating in the MSME sector need to improve their engagement with their target
customers through social media sites. It is not just about looking popular, it is about making
meaningful connections with current and future customers, which will serve to boost the
overall brand both on and offline. Social media engagement is the measurement of
comments, likes, and shares. Companies need to create and share content which is valuable
for their customer base. Content that is helpful to the audience, that addresses their needs and
pain points, is crucial. Moreover, commenting on current events and trends in a way that ties
in one’s brand is an opportunity to instantly connect with an audience in a timely manner.
➢ Develop an effective and user friendly company website
Companies need to develop an effective and user friendly company website in order to enable
their customers to navigate through the website in a seamless manner. This in turn, would
enable the customers to find out exactly what they were looking for in the first place. When
building out the site map, the goal should be to keep it as intuitive and simple as possible.
Each page needs to be named appropriately and made sure that the sub navigation relates to
its main navigation option. Moreover, users need to be able to navigate through the website
easily, regardless of the device they are viewing it on. Today’s website visitors are reading
less and expecting more photos, videos, and other visual components. At the same time, it’s
important to create the right balance between text and images, and not to go overboard with

44
stimulation. Lastly in order to get the most out of social media today, one must create content
that is easily shareable. In addition to including social icons on each page of your website,
one should also allow users to share specific pieces of content on the site across multiple
social media platforms.
➢ Invest in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) to improve digital visibility
In order to stay visible in the online space, companies need to invest in Search Engine
Optimisation (SEO). However, this is not something that can be achieved overnight. There
are trillions of web pages available online and it takes a lot of work to make a website stand
out from the crowd. The website needs to be mobile optimised in nature and make sure that
the user experience is not distracted by annoying popups or welcome banners. Moreover, the
website needs to load as fast as possible, especially on mobile. Speed is a known SEO
ranking factor and a known usability factor. Content needs to be published on the website in a
regular manner and the companies need to go after long tail keywords instead of only high
competition keywords. Furthermore, rich snippets are the new trend in SEO. Google
introduced rich snippets in both mobile and desktop results and websites that get a featured
snippet or a rich result, enjoy higher Click Through Rates and more traffic.

45
CONCLUSION
The advent of technological development and the rapid rise in the number of users on the
internet and social media sites have led to the digital transformation of businesses. The
overall objective of marketing is to connect with the target audience at the right place and
right time, and what better place to connect with your audience than the internet.
Traditionally, businesses reached their target audience using channels like television, radio,
magazines, events, and direct mail. Now, as people spend more time online, businesses are
trying to reach potential buyers through digital channels. After all, marketers need to go
where the people are. Digital marketing provides a level playing field for everyone to operate,
be it a large or small business. Content marketing and SEO require investments, but
companies do not need to break the bank to do it. If one can create high-quality content that
answers people’s questions, one can rank for long-tail keywords. Digital marketing benefits
businesses of all sizes by giving access to the mass market at an affordable price. Unlike TV
or print advertising, it allows truly personalised marketing. A website allows a company to
find new markets and trade globally for only a small investment. A properly planned and well
targeted digital marketing campaign can reach the right customers at a much lower cost than
traditional marketing methods. Measuring online marketing with web analytics and other
online metric tools makes it easier to establish how effective the digital marketing campaign
has been. One can obtain detailed information about how customers use the company’s
website or respond to its advertising. If the customer database is linked to your website, then
whenever someone visits the site, they can be greeted with targeted offers. The more they buy
from that site, the more the company can refine its customer profile and market effectively to
them. Moreover, getting involved with social media and managing it carefully, one can build
customer loyalty and create a reputation for being easy to engage with. Digital marketing lets
a company create engaging campaigns using content marketing tactics. This content (images,
videos, articles) can gain social currency - being passed from user to user and becoming viral.
It also helps in improving conversion rate of a company. Unlike other media which require
people to get up and make a phone call, or go to a shop, digital marketing can be seamless
and immediate in nature.
Digitisation also helps in managing physical documents in a much easier and cheaper
manner. One will spend time and resources on recurring record management versus the one-
time cost of digitization that could reduce overhead and effort in the future. Moreover,
physical records might get lost and one needs to scramble to replace the record, or spend time

46
finding it. Furthermore, the record may be irreplaceable, which could cost the organization
even more. Digitisation also helps in increasing the overall efficiency of the workers in the
firm. When used intelligently, the digitalization of business can lead to a significant increase
in productivity and can reduce some costs. Technology has helped companies to improve in
these areas throughout the years. Digitization goes hand in hand with data management, data
is knowledge, and knowledge leads to better decisions. The digitalization of business makes
it possible to have continuous contact with the customer, and this allows the company to get
to know them better. Moreover, some companies go further and apply Big Data when making
all kinds of decisions that affect almost the entire business. The digital transformation
involves placing the customer at the centre of the business, and while this involves work and
responsibility, it also offers significant advantages. One of them is to find out their opinions.
Contacts such as those established in social networks or opinion polls and websites, facilitate
the always important task of finding out what users think about the company’s products or
services. The other one is the constant need for improvement. The proximity to the customer
implies this responsibility. At the same time, every day we have new technological means at
our fingertips that offer us new options to improve the customer experience. It is true that
sometimes it will cost effort and an economic investment, but by acting wisely the result will
be the progress of the service of the company.
The digital transformation forces companies to act and once the movement begins, the inertia
makes it harder to stop. The digitalization of business usually leads to a dynamic of
innovation that allows it to be more aware of new trends and the possibilities offered by new
technologies. In addition, it can also help foster innovation among the team members.
Innovation will not only depend on digitalization, but it will also help to achieve it. Both
through the alignment of goals and the opening of new communication channels, the
digitalization of business improves internal communication. We can observe this both
through teamwork (e.g. inter-departmental) that will be needed to implement measures of
digital transformation, and through such basic choices as implementing an internal chat. The
possibilities that digitalization offers in a company cover many areas, and one of them is the
improvement of working conditions. New employment options, such as flexible working
hours or working from home, need the support of digitalization in order to be able to carry
them out and without this, it would be much more difficult, or even impossible. Digitalization
helps in improving working conditions and offers multiple benefits, not only for employees,
but also for the company. It helps decrease job turnover and increase talent retention. The
new generations of workers demand digitalization in their jobs. Therefore, it can be

47
concluded that digitalization of business is not always a simple process, but it can bring great
benefits. In addition, the market forces this and the company which fails to do so will
probably have problems in maintaining its competitiveness in the market.

48
REFERENCE LIST

Valenduc, G. and Vendramin, P., (2017). Digitalisation, between disruption and evolution.
Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, 23(2), pp.121-134.

Martinez, F., (2019). Process excellence the key for digitalisation. Business Process
Management Journal.

Chong, E., Han, C. and Park, F.C., (2017). Deep learning networks for stock market analysis
and prediction: Methodology, data representations, and case studies. Expert Systems with
Applications, 83, pp.187-205.

Chatterjee, S. and Kar, A.K., (2020). Why do small and medium enterprises use social media
marketing and what is the impact: Empirical insights from India. International Journal of
Information Management, 53, p.102103.

Al Shawaf, N. and Lee, S.H., (2020). Business model innovation through digitisation in
social purpose organisations: A comparative analysis of Tate Modern and Pompidou Centre.
Journal of Business Research.

49
ANNEXURE
Questionnaire

Questionnaire to understand the views of professionals associated with the MSME sector
regarding digital visibility.

Q1) Does your company have a website?

o Yes

o No

Q2) How many years are you working in the MSME sector?

o 0-1 Years

o 2-4 Years

o 5-8 Years

o 9-15 Years

Q3) Do you think digitalization favourably helped MSME sectors?

o Yes

o No

o Maybe

Q4) How are employees benefiting from digitalization?

o Creates a more collaborative culture

o Unites the workforce

50
o Gives more time for new ideas

o Allows employees to work remotely

o Provides a better customer experience

o Save costs and invest elsewhere

Q5) The positive effect of digitalization on the company?

o Creates digital presence

o New contact channels with customers

o Better decision-making

o It improves efficiency and productivity

o It encourages innovation

o It makes communication and teamwork easier

o It improves working conditions

Q6) Which are the most important topics in website making?

o Mobile compatibility

o Accessible to all users

o Well planned information architecture

o Well-formatted content that is easy to scan

o Fast load time

o Effective navigation

51
o Contrasting colour scheme

o Good error handling

Q7) Do you think a new company should invest in digitalization?

o Yes

o No

o Maybe

Q8) Do you think companies without a website are lacking in profit-making?

o Yes

o No

o Maybe

Name:

……………………………………………………………………..................

Email Address:

………………………………………………………………………………..

52