Small Businesses stand tall during times of crisis – Founder of AMF Hermawan Kartajaya

“In a time of crisis, small businesses are the ones that can be managed more easily said the founder of Asia Marketing Federation (AMF) and Asia Small Business Federation (ASBF), Hermawan Kartajaya.

He said this at the launch of ASBF Sri Lankan Chapter partnering with the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM). ASBF is a multi-nation organization in Asia championing sustainable growth for SMEs, connecting Asia to the world.

“Yet, there are three main challenges in regard to small businesses which are; lack of knowledge in operational aspects, marketing and handling finances. Due to this drawback, they manufacture products according to their whims and fancies and pray those would move well in the marketplace”,

He further stated, “Most small businesses lack knowledge in segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP) and making a product Top-of-the-mind of potential customers. Not knowing their target market segment, they try to sell the product to varied segments and in the process waste their limited resources.”

“’They spend huge budgets on popularizing the product but not on making strong products. Most of them lack the knowledge in calculating the profit due ignorance on balance sheets or income statements.”

“Hence, SMEs should be educated on the real meaning of entrepreneurship which is being ready to survive in a volatile marketplace. Merely going digital and being in the comfort zone expecting things to happen routinely is not the name of the game.”

“Before enhancing the business, they should consolidate it. Money being offered by the government on lesser interests to small businesses that lack the knowledge in operational excellence, marketing and calculating profit is risky. That money given upfront will be gone in a jiffy”.

SLIM Vice President Education and Research, Prof Dewasiri N Jayantha said, “SMEs in Sri Lanka represent over 75 percent of all business and contribute over 45% towards the human capital and 52% to the GDP.”

Hence as the apex bodies for marketing in Sri Lanka, SLIM believe our primary responsibility is to uplift the SMEs. SLIM thus has taken great initiatives towards motivating, guiding and uplifting SMEs and developing SLIM’s research arm was one of the key initiatives taken to facilitate this process.

Further, with a view to shedding light on knowledge-transition to strengthen the SME sector, projects and activities under SLIM have now been transferred to the ASBF Sri Lankan Chapter, with a new council and executive committee”.

Source: Daily News