Finding business partners the easy way

Finding business partners the easy way

I. Christianto
Contributor
Jakarta

There are many ways for businesses to initiate projects,
market their products, promote themselves or find partners.

The traditional and most favored way used for such purposes,
is by getting or placing corporate information through printed
business directories.

Using business directories is the simplest, easiest and most
popular way for people to find contact persons or at least
telephone numbers of particular companies.

One of the most popular business directories is the Yellow
Pages, which is published by a telecommunications provider or an
assigned company.

Nowadays, many other companies offer business directories with
additional information on a firm's line of business, details of
contact persons, as well as the company's background.

To lure people to purchase their directories, almost every
directory provider claims that their corporate information is
more accurate and up to date.

"We are in the business of data, so accuracy is a priority.
All of the entries in the Yellow Pages are accurate because we
have checked every single item at least three times," said
Priyanto Mangunpawiro, a director of PT Infomedia Nusantara, the
company that publishes the Yellow Pages in Indonesia.

Infomedia Nusantara, run by state-owned telecommunications
operator PT Telkom and PT Elnusa, has published the Yellow Pages
since 1976.

Priyanto said his company published two kinds of telephone
directories, including the White Pages, which comprise of
household telephone subscribers and the Yellow Pages for business
telephone subscribers. Infomedia publishes, in total, 2.3 million
copies of the Yellow Pages every year, he added

There are two kinds of Yellow Pages, one for shopping and the
other for business services and industry. Each subscriber
receives the White Pages free of charge, and each edition is
updated annually, he said.

"The directories are published separately in 68 locations
across Indonesia. There are some 6.4 million entries, which
equals the total number of installed telephone lines in the
country. In the Yellow Pages there are 17,000 business entries.

Out of the total number of entries in the Yellow Pages, around
7,000 are located in Jakarta," he said, adding his company earned
revenue from the companies that placed advertisements in the most
famous business directory.

Infomedia charges between Rp 100,000 and Rp 240,000 (US$22.85)
per year for an entry, printed in bold, in the Yellow Pages,
according to Priyanto.

"But the rates differ depending on locations. We don't charge
the same rate for entries from Jakarta as we do for Surakarta
(Central Java)."

Meanwhile, advertisers should allocate between Rp 2.5 million
up to Rp 19 million every month to place an advertisement on the
back cover of the Yellow Pages, he said, admitting there was a
huge difference between the rates for the classified type and
those on the back cover.

The business of business directories is about accuracy. People
are never likely to rely on a particular directory if they find
wrong addresses or telephone numbers.

So, any company that deals with business directories are
always trying to offer data that is as accurate as possible.
Infomedia, for instance, conducts cross-checking three times
before placing an entry. The company needs to get approval from
the related companies.

"Clients have the right to penalize us if there are any
mistakes. Therefore, I can safely say the data is 100 percent
accurate," Priyanto said.

James Castle of Castle Asia, a private research and
consultancy firm, which also publishes business directories,
agreed that accuracy was a priority.

"Our accuracy is pretty good. We have to check every piece of
data carefully," he said.

Equally, Robert Darmago, senior advisor of PT Dataindo Inti
Swakarsa, which provides the business-to-business (B2B) Indonesia
business directory on CD ROM, agreed that accuracy is the most
important factor.

"The data we receive from company brochures is placed on the
directory. We also monitor on a live basis, therefore, we know of
any change at any time so as to control accuracy," he said.

The challenge for companies offering business directories is
collecting data. It is understandable that not all companies may
think a directory, which places its name inside, is useful for
its own prospects. With a good strategy and reputation such
challenges are likely to disappear.

In line with the fast-moving business world, where more people
want to have a convenient and easy way to find something in a
directory, several companies have tried to improve on what they
offer.

Castle Asia has published several business directories such as
American Business in Indonesia and Directory of International
Companies in Indonesia. The first directory has reached its 10th
edition, while the second edition of the latter directory will be
published later this year.

Each of the directories publishes 2,500 copies. The price of
American Business in Indonesia is Rp 495,000 while the Directory
of International Companies in Indonesia costs US$295.

"We aren't a publisher and the business directory is only an
accidental activity. But the directories are good for marketing,
investigating the market, and are sort of a free promotion for
the companies listed," said Castle.

He admitted that there had been a slower rate in the selling
of the directories due to the recent crisis in Indonesia.

He said the directories published by Castle have some leading
points, though.

The second edition of the Directory of International Companies
in Indonesia, for instance, is expected to include at least 3,000
companies, more than the 2,000 companies listed in the first
edition. It will also display various details including names of
executives -- which are normally regarded as important because
they are the decision-makers - addresses, telephone and fax
numbers, e-mails, nationalities, number of employees, dates of
establishment, brand names, affiliated companies, Indonesian
partners and the business activities.

Meanwhile, Dataindo offers a business directory on CD-ROM
containing the details of over 60,000 companies, brands and
senior persons, as well as 380 industries and 10,000 product
classifications.

The leading points of the CD-ROM is that people will be able
to search more easily, based on several functions and categories.
In addition, the CD-ROM also offers, among other things, related
information and data on specific areas, charts, tax information
and government regulations.

The flexible database format allows the users to select
records by industry, product (where applicable) or locations.
There are several packages offered by Dataindo, with prices
starting from Rp 99,000 to Rp 5.5 million.

In addition, Infomedia also introduced the online version of
the Yellow Pages (www.yellowpages.co.id) in late 1999. Priyanto
said there were some 240 entries included in the online version
of the Yellow Pages.

Those seeking information from business directories in
Indonesia now have several choices.

They will be able to find partners, markets and promote or
expand their projects.

When the time arrives, people in Indonesia will also be able
to experience web-based business directories such as the ones
currently being prepared by software, computer-related industries
and their partners.

Such a tool will ease the way in which companies conduct their
business online. The business community will be able to provide
information about their products and services on the
Web as well as locate partners and customers.