India’s first MSME’s Hyper Local Mobile Platform, "FindMe@ SmartSites" launched
Targets to bring 5crore MSMEs in India on digital platform.
Hyderabad, November 27, 2016….. To give fillip to five crore plus MSMEs in India, Hyderabad's Startup, AppSpace Innovation Pvt. Ltd, incubated in T-Hub, launched a unique mobile platform "FindMe@ SmartSites" that empowers small businesses to go digital easily
Rajeev Vavulapati, Managing Director of AppSpace Innovation Pvt. Ltd while addressing a press conference in city on Saturdaytermed it as “India’s First MSME’s Hyper Local Mobile Platform”
Former IT employee of couple of MNCs like IBM, Oracle, Rajeev and together with his Khamam town friends—Ajay and Sankar while having a team near Mythrivanam, in Ameerpet, encountered some people approaching them with a pamphlet seeking directions to the shop. That is when they hit with an idea that how will it be, if the same pamphlet navigates them to the store. How will it be if the same pamphlet at a click of button connects to the shop. "FindMe@ SmartSites" is the result of that incident, said Rajeev.
Rajeev Ravulapati further added that, "FindMe@ SmartSites" helps Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) to get discovered by customers and communicate marketing messages like special offer, product arrival, upcoming event and various announcements.
The MSME segment has hardly tapped into digital media for promoting their business. They have always used traditional means like pamphlets and banners to communicate with their customers who happen to come from nearby locality, usually ranging to a maximum of 2 to 4 km. Internet and Smartphones have dramatically affected the way people shop. But this is still limited to food delivery in the Hyperlocal space and online shopping dominated by a handful of e-commerce majors. "FindMe@ SmartSites"has the potential to disrupt hyperlocal marketing for all MSMEs in India,informed Rajeev.
Speaking further, Rajeev added that the small Businesses have stayed away from digital technologies like website, email and social media due to various reasons such as 1. No technical knowhow; 2. High cost of setup & maintenance and 3. Not being tech savvy.
Keeping up with the Indian Government’s Digital India Initiative, FindMe@ SmartSites brings small merchants to the digital world. They can sell more and compete with bigger companies on a relatively better footing. They just need to download the FindMe@ mobile app and easily enable their business. They can start creating digital posters to communicate with nearby consumers. Rapidly increasing digital awareness is resulting in adoption of new technologies quicker than ever before, Rajeev added.
FindMe@ pilot project was carried out in the city of Khammam where hundreds of small businesses started benefiting from its various features. FindMe@ is now launched in Hyderabad with a view to acquiring 5000 businesses and 100000 users in the first phase of rollout.
This platform is unique as it caters to all kinds of businesses providing products or services. The MSME segment needed a simple mobile solution which is easy to operate yet addresses the varied needs of myriad types of businesses. FindMe@ SmartSites have a generic structure with features that are common to all businesses.
Using "FindMe@ SmartSites", customers can search for business places in their vicinity, find out what the products or services they provide and get push notifications for offers and other alerts. Businesses can quickly add their business place to FindMe@ which is called as a SmartSite. Anybody who is familiar with smartphone usage will be able to setup and maintain their business SmartSite on FindMe@ and use it for marketing their business to nearby users.
FindMe@ is available on a monthly subscription of Rs 100/- which makes it very affordable as it is cheaper than any traditional media and has the advantage of unlimited usage by the business. For the first time, a small business can get their businesses accessible from mobile. The Mobile SmartSite provides web presence by default. Customers can get GPS Navigation and contact details of the merchandisers on their mobile. They can send free SMS invitations to bring customers to their SmartSites. The small businesses can publish information about their products, services, offers and their customers can receive these notifications in real time, added Rajeev.
The platform also provides location based classifieds to announce job vacancies or buy/sell information. They can run customer loyalty programs. There is a provision for customers to give their feedback about these small businesses. Tracking of vehicles like a school bus or delivery van is also possible. Both customers and businesses need to download FindMe@ mobile app available for Android and iOS smartphones.
"FindMe@ SmartSites"is a platform wherein Business Places, Personal Places, and Public Places can come together for easy discovery and engagement.
