Have you observed that maximum old family-run Indian businesses still run away from digitalization? According to the Dell Technologies Digital Transformation Index (the DT Index), just 12% of Indian Businesses are Digital Leaders. There are several reasons to explain this digitized lack even in the 21st century, where technology is at the peak of its growth. To list a few:
- The “being clueless” Dilemma
Most old Indian business owners find themselves being utterly clueless and overwhelmed with the fast-tracked digitalization happening all around. The pace at which technology and trends keep updating can at times even leave the Gen-Z oblivious, let alone our “old-school” Indian businessmen. A business that has been completely running offline for decades, can have a really hard time getting digitized or switch to the online modes of work. After all, there is so much to be taken into consideration in order to do that- rebranding, creating a more appropriate logo, website development, social media presence, social media growth, content marketing, etc.
2. The “Imposter syndrome” or the fear of coming out as fools
It can be pretty scary for an old-Indian cultured businessman to confidently announce his/her business transition from offline to online. As they might socialize in the community of like-minded individuals who might not believe in this digital economic wave or might as well be against it. These business owners might as well face a lot of criticism for making such decisions, that would end up making them feel like an imposter (“who am I to get all tech-savvy at the age of 50?”)
3. The “people business”
losing its values.
Many such old Indian businesses have been running in the family for generations. It stands at a much higher position for these families than just being a source of income. A lot of these businesses were initiated with an aim of serving the people, building customer relationships that would last longer than most birthdays, taking the family name ahead, and always having a personal connection with the community. These strong values and beliefs being passed on to generations along with the business make it very difficult for these business owners to embrace the digital way of commerce. They fear that this change would make them lose connection and trust with their customers which took ages to build and might end up losing business.
What do our old Indian Business Owners need to be informed about?
Most times, these insecurities and strict family/business principles don’t allow the business owners to even consider what lies beyond the decision of making this change. Here are a few easy first facts they need to realize:
- Better Organization
Digitizing these old businesses can improve the efficiency of the business. As most of these businesses have always relied on their human resources for the execution of tasks, it is very likely for human errors to utilize more than the required time and energy of the organization as we can only rely so much on the human brain to take care of. Making use of the needed software can ensure lack of human error, cost-saving, increased efficiency, reduced operational costs, etc.
2. An opportunity to build newer customer relationships.
Relying on word of mouth or the similar demographic of customer base built over the years doesn’t leave much room for growth. These business owners need to understand that digitizing their business would mean keeping the old customer base in touch (maybe even more impressed) and tapping into the potential customer base that they might not have even thought of reaching out to. This doesn’t take away the old personal connection with the customers but in fact, helps expand their customer connections broader than their locality.
3. Possible business expansion
If the business owners don’t have an online presence, how will their potential business collaborators even know that they exist? There is a sea full of people and organizations looking for such old businesses to collaborate and expand with, as they know that these businesses hold very strong values, already have a trusted and proven customer base and not to mention a great product in the market. Getting the business digitized can open up doors these business owners never thought would be possible offline, even after running for so many generations.
There can be so many more challenges our old Indian Business owners might face, but with a little help from the Gen-Z, understanding the pros and cons for making the right decision and being open to change and transform with the trends can take businesses to heights they never thought existed.
Credits:- Sakshee Pawar
