Knowledge process seen as key to growth of BPO sector

MANILA, Philippines – Knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) services will be key to expanding the outsourcing industry and helping it attain its revenue goals, an industry executive said.

According to Synergy Business Consultany managing director Germaine Reyes, KPO services are needed if the industry is to meet its goal of at least $25 billion in revenues in the next five years as anticipated by the Business Processing Outsourcing Association of the Philippines (BPAP).

Synergy, a market research consultancy company, believes that market research is a dormant vertical that could be monetized given the right priorities in marketing the country as a potential research hub.

KPO services with focus on market research are slowly catching up in the local BPO industry. According to a BPAP survey, nine percent of BPO companies surveyed offer marketing services, which involves market research.

“Aside from the Philippines being cost-effective compared with other countries, our edge lies in our ability to look at the client requirement from different perspectives to provide clients more business-focused, actionable and relevant outputs. This is significant in conducting effective market research that aids in decision-making and marketing program development,” Reyes said.

On its part, Synergy is pushing to create awareness for the Philippines as a center for KPO services in market research by being bullish in offering its outsourcing services.

“Our 11 years of experience in the industry provided us insights on how the market behaves. With this knowledge, we have formed approaches in conducting research that has proven effective with our clients,” Reyes added.

Synergy’s market research expertise include quantitative research; qualitative research via focus group discussions (FGDs); ethnographic research; telemarketing, online research, statistical analysis, data mining and analytics; and training. The company has served diverse industries, spanning from the telecommunications, food and beverages, real estate, IT, banking, consumer products, legal and HR services, pharmaceuticals, academe, media, among others.

“We are also pushing to broaden our services in the market research industry by continuously providing outsourcing services not only to clients in Asia Pacific but also to clients in the US. One of these services is analytics outsourcing which we believe will be a key growth area,” Reyes pointed out. –Mary Ann Ll. Reyes (The Philippine Star)