Tuesday, April 02, 2013

This University is Under Siege!

Usage of Outdated tools, Wrong Analysis, faulty Reportage, Attrition of key Personnel, lack of Forward Integration – thanks to its Complacent Approach, IMRB risks Losing Ground very fast

The early birds do catch the worms, but in the corporate world, it’s really about how long you can keep them. Being born in a period (1970, to be precise) when Indian companies weren’t even updated on the real meaning of the word ‘customer’, does provide several advantages to IMRB, a company that’s well known for its customised researches. But when one looks at how it’s failing to set new benchmarks, one wonders how long it can continue to keep its competitive strengths intact.

For a company that claims to be the ‘University’ of the Indian market research industry, it would be quite appropriate to do a quick ‘research’ on the pioneering work by brand strategy guru David Aaker on Sustainable Competitive Advantage (SCA). Aaker had said that a company’s assets and skills will ultimately determine whether it can retain a sustainable competitive advantage.

For IMRB, development of the right kind of assets and skills appears to be the major challenge. A more embarrassing challenge is the fact that faults in IMRB’s reportage and findings have crept up faster than one could have ever expected or imagined – and it’s surprising that IMRB’s management could have overseen (and overlooked) these issues. For example, an IMRB report like the Internet Usage and Habits of Cyber Cafe Users (December 5, 2010) is riddled with numerical conflicts that could fox even the most intrepid analyst – 4Ps B&M has listed one such mistake in the graph at the right.

Some industry players put the blame for such lack of professionalism to be the result of their manpower challenges. Lakshmikant Gupta, Chief Marketing Officer at LG Electronics India, tells us from his experience and interactions, “IMRB is having a tough time retaining people, as they are moving to international MR firms or other sectors for better career options.” Numerous surveys point out lack of growth opportunities as the main reason for employee attrition. For an international MR company, it could be quite appalling if they were unable to provide their performers the right career progression, and it definitely has a worrisome bearing on growth prospects.

In general, the malaise starts from the top of the industry ladder. Dhiraj Chaddha, Marketing Head, Voltas Ltd. points out, “I think there’s a big room for improvement in the Indian MR industry. Most of them are following archaic models, which haven’t changed over the years.” Pioneers do have a role in shaping the best and worst in an industry. IMRB proves quite true to the stereotype.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist). For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
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