OdishaPlus Bureau
Over 400 MSME entrepreneurs participated in the webinar
The webinar was addressed by Mr. Ravindra Nath, Former Chairman & Managing Director, National Small Industries Corporation Ltd. (NSIC) as Chief Guest of the evening. The other panelists were Dr. Sarat Kumar Sahoo, MD, Ruchi Foodline, Dr. Avinash Tripathi, Professor Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar and Mr. Sambit Mohanty, National Creative Director-South, McCann Worldwide India. Mr. Srikant Rath, CEO, Sanket Communications was the moderator of the webinar. Besides Mr. Subhashish Tripathy, Managing Director, Sanket Communications, Mr. Prakash Sahu, Director, Sanket Communications, and over 400 MSME entrepreneurs, representatives of various industrial associations like Orissa Small Scale Industries Association and District Small Scale Industries Association (Cuttack), media, educationists and interested students from various universities participated in the webinar.
Mr. Subhashish Tripathy, MD Sanket Communications “Sanket wants to use its rich expertise in the industry to help and handhold the MSMEs in Odisha. This is a beginning of a series of webinars in that direction”. Mr. Srikant Rath, Moderator of the session started by citing the objective of the webinar on how MSME entrepreneurs and their business can achieve success and growth. “Branding plays a pivotal role to make the product unique. A brand inspires trust and it is the single most dominant and unifying statement that embodies a company’s culture & values along with its products and services”, he added
Mr. Ravindra Nath, Chief Guest of the occasion highlighted on how the world has opened up today as a market for MSME entrepreneurs and how branding is a key input for differentiation and customer relevance in business. He also cited interesting facts about branding as a proven success recipe in case of brands like Lijjat Papad, Nirma, Infosys which had humble beginnings and were able to expand their business by giving priority to branding as much as they gave to the quality of their product or service.
Dr. Sarat Kumar Sahoo spoke about how he built “RUCHI” a name as a brand, that helped his sales, marketing & growth. He highlighted how 4Ps. i.e. Product, Price, Place and Promotion play a pivotal role to create and sustain a brand in the market.
Prof. Avinash Tripathi shared insights on what is a brand and how to nurture a brand with same care and dedication the way you nurture your own child. He spoke on how strong branding helps sustain a product in the market.
Mr. Sambit Mohanty spoke about the role of creativity in branding for better consumer perception and the basic creative elements which are hallmark of a good brand.
Coming to the Question & Answer session the moderator asked Mr. Ravindra Nath What apart from cost are challenges of branding before an MSME and what are the possible solutions and is there an innovative way out for the cost issue involving branding? Answering to this he said, “Sustenance of a brand is very crucial. It is aptly said, what is seen is sold.
Answering to the questions asked by the moderator on what made him coin his brand name as “Ruchi”, he replied that, ‘Ruchi’ has been derived from a Sanskrit word and in every Indian language it has some meaning. The name itself implies the taste or choice. This showcases an important aspect of branding, that a name should be easy to pronounce, simple and memorable as it will have a better recall value with the customers.
Answering to the question, “Is branding an expensive proposition for an MSME, if yes, how to plan and at what stage”, Prof. Tripathi replied that it’s all about mindset. A qualitative product gives a brand identity. So, it is very important to nurture a brand since its inception till it reaches to the last step of the ladder. Answering to the question as to how important is it to follow the right brand guidelines, Mr. Sambit Mohanty said, to maintain uniformity, following the right guidelines is a must as it ensures uniformity.
Concluding the session, Mr. Smarajit Mohanty, President, OSSIA spoke on the theme of the webinar and its relevance for the MSME entrepreneurs.