Bhartesh Chhibbar, a techie, was quick to realise that a huge number of SMEs were in search of an online presence to make the marketing and servicing aspects of their business quicker and competitive, which is what led to a start-up called HeyBiz

Most small businesses generally shy away from online marketing due to lack of knowledge or because they find it expensive. They don't have an easy way through which they can showcase their business sales, new promotions, etc., in the local or national markets. This is something that Delhi-based Bhartesh Chhibbar realised when he first started studying India's SME sector to find out if there was a business opportunity there. And that is also how he set up HeyBiz with a mission to extend the outreach of technology to small and medium enterprises. Chhibbar had previously co-founded Rocketalk and has worked as a technical leader at Cisco systems, USA, for six years. "HeyBiz provides cost-effective digital presence for SMEs to grow their business economically and efficiently over their smartphone," he says.

Elaborating about this unique app, Chhibbar explains that HeyBiz is a messaging and engaging mobile application for users and businesses through which a user can connect, follow, chat and get queries answered from nearby businesses or services without sharing his mobile number. For business owners this can work as a powerful tool to create and maintain a mini business profile on their smartphone. They can update users with latest upcoming sales, promotions or new service launches with just a few clicks. "It is an innovative way to do sales-marketing-support (SMS) of a business on smartphone anytime and anywhere," he adds. It is free and available on Android and IOS platforms.

The response so far has been more than encouraging and the reason, Chhibbar explains, is that SMEs are the quickest to adapt to changing scenarios and get accustomed to latest technologies. "They accept the fact that being technology driven is very important for their business growth and productivity. Successful companies that are able to foresee changes in the market and shifts in customer preferences are those who lead the advance of technology and new ventures. The ability to innovate is not necessarily coupled with huge investments and advanced technologies, but is considered more as a mindset and the ability to acquire the changes as opportunity. As we are moving towards a global village where information is available digitally and people are connected through a wide digital platform, it is the need of the hour for SMEs to digitise themselves," he says.

According to Chhibbar's market study, over the last five years India has seen a rapid adoption of digital gadgets and its widespread use with 130 million smartphones users along with 350 million internet users, and counting. "Consumers today are keen on gathering information, doing research or want a real-time solution before they buy a product or service. Websites of companies, product profiles, etc., are popular information sources. In this area, HeyBiz provides businesses and customers a quick and easy tool through which they can connect with each other in real time and provide or get quick service or information about the product," he says. With an 85 per cent adoption rate of businesses, HeyBiz has also attracted interest from brands like brands likeApna Ghar, Bonton Holidays, Snap Fitness, The Chocolate Room, Little Millennium, Axis Dental, etc.

Meanwhile, Chhibbar continues to experiment with new ideas that can give SMEs an extra edge when competing with the big giants. Recently, for example, HeyBiz tied up with Eco Rent A Car, the largest pan-India luxury car rental company for SMEs to book luxury cars with just a click through this application. "This way, Eco Rent A Car can reach out to a huge database of prospective customers to serve them with its fleet of 2,000 vehicles across 52 major cities of India," Chhibbar states. Another addition to the HeyBiz portfolio is the 'bargain' platform. "Indians love to bargain. With most offline businesses moving online to offer products and services through an e-commerce presence, consumers are left with little choice of discounts. Most e-commerce sites offer products and services at comparable prices, leaving little scope for the customer to indulge in bargains that he or she can boast of. Amidst this an app that can allow users to bargain before making an online purchase is a godsend. HeyBiz lets consumers engage in a chat with businesses through a well-formulated instant messaging system on the mobile platform," he explains.

HeyBiz also has a special feature that allows users to save their chats for future reference. This is particularly useful when one needs to recall past dealings with a particular business. "For example, if you would like to remember the amount you paid for a treatment at your favourite spa the last time, or want to recall the deal you got on a phone purchase where you bargained for a whopping discount a year ago, it's all there in the chats saved on HeyBiz app and you can retrieve this information at the tap of a finger," Chhibbar elaborates. Launched in January this year and with 1,000+ listings on its platform, HeyBiz has already become a hit in Delhi. Chhibbar now wants to take it across India. "SMEs will find that this app fills that crucial gap between offline and online presence," he says.