‘Cost cutting’ – not the only purchase criteria of Global Outsourcing Companies

Consumers like you and me (generic) in the alternative evaluation stage of our purchase-decision-making-process develop certain criteria (price, quality, brand name, etc.) against which the product or service to be consumed would be valued and of course, this is based on whether our involvement in consumption is high or low. Let’s assume the product to be purchased is an automobile, automatically signifying a high involvement purchase and you will without a doubt mull over your decision with such criteria as price, performance, delivery schedule, servicing abilities and a myriad other clauses of your own. Earlier, with little or zilch competition, marketers worried very little of whether their products were tailor-made to gratify the needs of buyers or not. Conversely, owing to colossal corporate warfare, companies even after delivering top value products and services to consumers, must also bear with the fact that they have to cater to even the minutest of factors that would influence a buyer’s purchasing decision.

The reason why I have crafted out the above mini-version of the buyer decision model is because, ironically a similar sort of scenario now dwells in the Global Outsourcing (business) markets. Formerly outsourcing companies, contracted work primarily to those nations that implicated lower labour costs and ensured quality output (which is an obvious criterion) and these were made available to the buyers with ease by the suppliers. On the contrary, now buyers (Outsourcing companies) have upped the ante by anticipating superior services from suppliers that include enhanced geographic reach and services scope, suave work-delivery models and an assortment of the best talent that is essentially unmatchable.

Suppliers must now gear up and proactively strategise to meet the next-generation sourcing challenges. Though quite a few speculations made rounds of the fact that outsourcing in India has taken a dent during the economic downturn, many Indian IT and ITes (BPO, KPO, LPO) companies emerged victorious, having overcome the dreadful recession. Now, there is a change in the kind of challenge the suppliers of outsourcing services face; a confrontation that is only going to make them mature, improvise, sustain, compete and achieve business triumph. How? By managing to explore new and improved global delivery models, sketching out expansions that ensure positive consequences, adopting few of the best industry practises, recruiting a diversified and effective manpower and certainly the imperative feature (USP) of outsourcing – ensuring impeccable cost effective exercises.

The main motto of this article is to ascertain the significance of how a buyer’s purchasing decision (whether a B2C or B2B market) is subject to change. The functioning of a marketer and his organization can be smooth, provided both pay the right amount of respect to this thing called 'change'. The beauty of marketing is evident when such changes are handled well by bearing the fundamentals in mind and in this case the marketing fundamental being Consumer Buyer Behaviour. It is fitting therefore, to conclude this editorial with 'Heraclitus' cliché statement – The only thing that is constant is change, and flexibility is the need of the hour. 

A Manager's Guide to Creative Cost Cutting


Making profitable outsourcing decisions

Long time coming... Kaminey!!

Thank god and God bless my friend Gautam for having compelled me, in fact coerced me, into accompany him in watching a movie. Which one did he want to watch? – the critically acclaimed and extolled Bollywood cinema Kaminey. It is after a long time that I enjoyed a Bollywood movie which is quite diverse in its own sense. The last one I loved was Dev D.

I am glad I watched this movie, simply because of the fact that I can now believe that there is someone who is capable of producing a gangster movie which is unlike the mundane and persistently boring string of Indian gangster films majorly given birth to by Ram Gopal Verma. And that someone is Vishal Bharadwaj. Indian gangster cinemas needed innovation in storytelling, much like the way Guy Ritchie writes and directs his movies. The manner in which the movie is presented subtly in the first half and the second half taking off with an alarmingly brilliant screenplay making the audiences sit at the edge of their seats, reminds you of Guy Ritchie’s presentation style followed in the movie especially Snatch.

Albeit, this film would not impress the masses which is quite alright since it is not intended for the masses, instead it would and has been appreciated by particular TGs for whom it was made. In fact, there were a couple of people who left the movie hall and I could hear them grumbling that they couldn’t comprehend the movie at all. This has not disheartened the makers because these movie goers who prefer typical gangster films do not fall into their TG and that is great marketing for you!!

It needs to be understood that defining a suitable target market would take proper research and more importantly precise judgement on who would fall into the TG. It takes an even greater deal of courage not to be worried about leaving the masses out. Marketers needn’t be too ambitious in considering the entire mass market as their TG, which is where most film makers fail. So, kudos! to Vishal for his courageous effort and his excellent storytelling to both the movie buffs and to marketers respectively.

Can’t wait for Vishal’s next named Ishqiyaa!!