Social Networking For Better Business

By the time you have this issue in your hand, the Budget would have been
announced. What it will portend for the channel community is anyone's guess.

But let me draw your attention to another interesting albeit not very new
phenomenon. It is one of Web 2.0 and within the pages of this issue, you will
read an article about Web 2.0 and its impact on the channel community. It is
amazing how simple the concept is, but yet how the Indian channel partners have
not woken up to it.

In this era, almost everyone has their profile on social networking sites
like Orkut, Ryze, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. In fact, Linkedin proudly states that
more people have signed onto their website than the population that lives in
Sweden.

I have seen several executives of vendor companies as well as channel
partners use IM programs to communicate with their clients, suppliers, employees
and even each other. But not many of them have leveraged the power of social
networking sites to help them in their business.

One common excuse for this is lack of time. But if a few minutes of your time
can mean gaining better knowledge of your line of work or meeting people with
whom you can have symbiotic relationships, I don't think you can grudge that
time.

It is heartening to see that some people have broken this mould as written in
the article within this issue of DQ Channels. Suresh Ramani has managed to post
some interesting information about Microsoft on his blog. He has posted reports
on new initiatives that the company is planning, product launches, partner
awards programs, etc. He has become the company's broadcast for the channel,
especially those who are in the SMB space.

vinita bhatia

What is interesting is that he has also used this blog to get business for
his peers as well as give business to those partners he has met online. In one
case, his client wanted to know about someone who could offer security
solutions, which was not Ramani's forte. He promptly routed to business to
another partner in Mumbai who could offer this instead.

What often holds back such participation amongst partners is the fear that
their peers would take away their clients. But in such a situation you could
always engage with those partners who are not your competitors. That way you can
go to your customers with a wider bouquet of solutions and not have to worry
about losing that client.

It is actually elementary that this mode of networking is easy, swift and
also convenient. May be partners have not woken up to its potential. I hope this
is reversed though.

vinita bhatia

vinitavs@cybermedia.co.in