Four Ways To Make the Case For Outsourcing
How do you convert outsourcing leads into clients? You may need to make the case for outsourcing. "Businesses today are kicking into survival mode," says Bill Allison, managing director for the Pacific Southwest Management Solutions & Services Group at Deloitte & Touche. "With a sluggish economy and increased competition, shrewd executives turn to outsourcing as the most cost-effective strategy to meet the bottom line and seek a higher return on investment." Outsourcing, especially in the information technology (IT) arena, is a mechanism that allows businesses to compete effectively and sustain market dominance in the future. According to Allison, it is something most midsize companies should think about if they want to be poised for success. Here are four arguments he suggests you can make in favor of IT outsourcing. 1. Time efficiency - Technology allows businesses to create effective solutions when faced with a challenge. Generally the more demanding and complex the business, the more important the technology infrastructure becomes. Still, there are companies that continue to run their business on an IT infrastructure that has not been upgraded in years. These companies are jeopardizing their pecking order in a competitive marketplace. Ultimately, these companies spend too much time on IT problems stemming from a dated system, and too little time focusing on the customer. Outsourcing eliminates the challenge of fixing IT problems (e.g. the system is inefficient, the space capacity is limited), as well as the time spent on recruiting and retaining skilled IT work force. Dedicating less time to IT issues allows a business to deliver a higher rate of customer satisfaction and more time to focus on new opportunities. 2. Cost-effectiveness - Outsourcing can be based on leveraging an external service provider's economies of scale and expertise. Many companies share a platform for outsourcing, meaning they reap cost benefits by sharing the provider's data center services and IT infrastructure already in existence for its other clients. This enables the business to accomplish new projects that were once considered too expensive. 3. Rapid time to market - A company that launches a new startup division will typically require highly automated processes. Outsourcing places those responsibilities on to a team of outsourcing experts who can quickly and successfully link the company's system to its vendors and customers. An outsourcing provider can get you up and running with a single, seamless solution to support multiple users in different geographic locations. 4. Best practices - The ability to create and sustain shareholder value is what businesses want. Outsourcing helps achieve that, but you need to be careful about what you outsource and whom to outsource it to. Outsource correctly, and you can position your company to outshine your competitors and make your investors happy. However, outsourcing decisions that are not carefully strategized will prepare you for declining market share and decreasing margins. Businesses considering outsourcing should develop an "internal characterization." If you were your own customer, what would you like to see improved, emphasized or removed altogether? An honest answer usually requires a fresh, outside perspective that is handled by an unbiased party qualified to take a holistic view of your business. Internal characterizations performed with in-house personnel might capture the issues, but peering into the mirror can be more effective with a neutral set of eyes. A mistake to be avoided is basing your outsourcing decisions on what you think you are good at, instead of what you should be good at. As for deciding whom to outsource to, ask yourself, "What is the basis of competition in the outsourcing vendor's industry?" Is your vendor appropriately integrated to deliver against the dimensions of performance that matter most to you? If so, you have made the right choice. If not, look elsewhere. Henry DeVries is a marketing coach and writer specializing in lead generation for professional service firms. An adjunct marketing professor at UCSD since 1984, he is the author of "Self Marketing Secrets" and the recently published "Client Seduction." Visit http://www.newclientmarketing.com or e-mail questions to henry@newclientmarketing.com. © 2005 Henry DeVries, All rights reserved. You are free to use this material in whole or in part in pint, on a web site or in an email newsletter, as long as you include complete attribution, including live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read: "By Henry DeVries of the New Client Marketing Institute. Please visit Henry's web site at http://www.newclientmarketing.com for additional marketing articles and resources on marketing for professional service businesses."
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Employee Motivation: It?s More Than A Paycheck
Managers often ask, usually with exasperation, "How can I keep my employees motivated? I pay them decently. What else is there?"
Building the Trust in Your Employees - 12 Easy Tips
In Stephen Covey's great book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People", he talks about the 'emotional bank account', where you have to build a credit in your relationship with the individuals who you work with (and everyone else as well!).
Building Shareholder Value Through Your People
Increasing shareholder value is the most important driver for organisations in the modern business world. Shareholder value is built through growing profit and building confidence in the organisation, which moves share prices upwards. Shareholders like this!And the employees of an organisation have a crucial part to play in both elements of this.
Another Use for Meetings
Every meeting is a laboratory where you can observe and learn important things
about the people who attend. In fact, you can use meetings to identify people who
merit being promoted into leadership positions. Watch for:
When Change Is In the Wind...Heads Up!
In these days of takeovers and mergers, of downsizings and lean management, chances are that you are going to be caught in a job upheaval at least once in your career. Probably more than once!
Learn How To Get The Most From Your Team
Being a leader isn't easy. Every one looks to you to make decisions, resolve disputes, and to carry all the responsibility. Being a leader can be a lonely job.
Innovation Management ? some ideas are better than others
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.
Firing Someone Without Resentment
Firing, sacking, letting go or terminating people is unpleasant. There are ways to minimise resentment, but why bother? Because most legal action and unpleasantness stems from dissatisfaction/resentment about the way things were handled - about how rather than what happened. Dismissal can be unfair because of the reason, or the way it was done, so you need to be extremely careful. In the law regarding employer-employee relationships, fairness is key. You must be fair, and be seen to be fair. But fairness, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder - after being terminated, very few people have clear vision!
Seven Cs to Avoid Procedure Writing Errors
You do your best to make sure your organization is operating as effectively as possible. But if your policies and procedures are incomplete, outdated, or inconsistent, then they are not driving the performance improvement they should. When employees try to use incomplete or undefined procedures, waste and costly errors soon follow.
Do the People in Your Organisation Dress For Success?
What really amazes me, with all the personal and professional development seminars people attend, from executives in corporate world, business owners and employees alike, very little investment has been made into the way they look ... personal image.
Innovation Management - idea selection and valuation issues
Innovation is different and distinct from creativity in that it is idea selection, development and commercialisation as opposed to creativity, which is problem identification and idea generation. The core issue with innovation management is, therefore, how to select those ideas that are most likely to succeed?
Know Your Business! - 7 Key Questions You Must Ask
You need to know all that is going on around you to be successful in business, whatever the size of your organization. Yet how do you keep all those plates spinning? Here are just 7 quick and easy questions for your checklist - use them and they will serve you well. Use them and your business will develop and grow.
Performance Appraisals: Questions for Smarties and Dummies
In numerous programs I've conducted on performance appraisals, with Human Resource people (who are responsible for developing and implementing programs) and with line managers (who actually conduct the reviews) are often foggy about performance appraisal procedures. Here are some frequently asked questions.
What One Thing?
A few weeks ago I asked my readers what the most important issue was in their business. Hundreds responded with a variety of answers, but one of the most common was, "How do I get everything that needs doing done?"
Finding the Right Way to Motivate Your Employees
Fear, Incentives and Growth
Burger on a Bun Decision Making
When approaching any decision, it's important for individuals to maintain the healthy state of openness called for by WYSINWYG (what you see is never what you get). Remember that there is always more going on than simply meets the eye. Calling on all the skills, strengths and resources that are accessible, though not immediately apparent will produce vastly better results. Secondly, individuals should strive for balance in both their data gathering and their decision-making. Many factors can influence a final decision, not the least of which is emotion. Strong emotion easily clouds the process and can result in extreme solutions. Sometimes extreme measures will be called for, but generally they are not. Decisions that weigh both objective and subjective data and strike an effective balance are likely to succeed. Finally: keep it simple. Begin with what you know. Reduce the complex to the direct. Set clear goals and implement straightforward plans. Whether making decisions as an individual or as a team, the three principles provide the foundation for creating effective solutions.
The Retailers Calendar
The Julian calendar we use to pass the time every day, every week, every month and every year is the one most commonly used by businesses. Its general availability and familiarity make it a natural selection.
Group Meeting Disrupters
MEETING DISRUPTERS: If two participants are carrying on a personal discussion that interferes with a meeting, direct a clear and simple question to one of them. In order to avoid embarrassing them, address them by name before asking the question. An alternative is to restate a previously expressed suggestion and then ask them for an opinion.
Dialogue vs. Discussion
Have you ever sat in a meeting where everyone is busy giving their point of view and trying to prove why they are right? Where no one is actually listening or trying to understand other individuals' points of view. The alternative meeting format is where everyone listens to and agrees with the meeting leader. No one contributes or adds ideas, they are just compliant.
How to Make a Difference Every Day
Every day, everyone can make the world a better place. It's simple; it's quick and it is free. All it requires is a recipe containing you (yes, that's YOU!), awareness and a natural disposition to be brave enough to change the day of
everyone you come into contact with in a positive way.Appreciating what people do for you, whenever you come into contact with them is the first step. It may not sound much, but saying a sincere 'Thank You' means much to many people - it is not what they experience normally. This can be a 'Thank You' to someone who holds a door open for you to the guy you buy your morning paper from. It can be to an employee who you manage, for something, for goodness sakes, for anything they did well - in the moment, sincerely.The next step, when it is comfortable for you, is to explain what it was they did that was great. So, as an example, it could be to an employee who you manage,'Thank you for that piece of work, your effort has made such a difference to it'.It could be a 'Well done' as you stand in front of a display of merchandise'What I especially like about it, is how you made such a great impact with the cornflakes'Outside your place of work, you buy a sandwich,'Thank you - can I just say what a great job you did putting that together for me; I truly appreciate it'.Sharing positive observations that people might not see in themselves, because there is not enough positive feedback in the world creates positivity.You can make a difference to literally dozens of people every day and makes their lives brighter. And how do you think they will respond to the next customer; and the next. Research shows that they will be buzzing for the next 5 interactions with others. Maybe they will 'Pay it Forward' as in the film. (Not seen it - do so!). This is about small things that you can do every day. And if you can't do it consistently? Just do it sometimes and that is much, much better than never at all.You may never know the positive difference you have made to someone you spend a little time, a little courtesy with - but you will have to live with that delicious 'not knowing'!Tip? Set yourself a target of doing this five times a day - and if you do, give yourself a pat on the back! This works in business and the real (:-)) world too!
|
