Consulting Capers

IN CONVERSATION

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Synovate business consulting is two years old in India, and considering that most people think that Synovate offers only market research services, a client list of 30 in business consulting is not bad at all. Almost all these clients are multinationals who have worked with Synovate internationally and are also using its services in India, but there will soon be Indian companies on the list, the associate director, business consulting, Asia Pacific, Christophe Grimont, tells Business Standard.

What's the key differentiating factor of Synovate?

We provide market intelligence based strategic consulting. We go beyond strategic advice to providing actionable steps for executing the strategy. Using tools like war gaming, we assist the client to assess their preparedness for disruptive market changes in a safe simulated environment.

How does India figure in your scheme of things?

Today, international firms looking at broadbasing their operations in Asia are seriously considering a presence in India. In the past few years the Indian market has emerged as an opportunity that cannot be missed. It is also looked at as a hub of intellectual capital and quality products, beyond a pure play low cost outsourcing centre.

A majority of our clients are Fortune 500 companies. We advice our clients on assessing the Indian market potential and also evaluate local partners for growth. On the other side, we advice Indian companies looking at entering the global space.

What will be the focus areas this year?

This year our major thrust will be to tap into the retail and IT sectors. And keeping in view clients' growing dependance on our expertise, we see our strenghts being fully leveraged in the Indian marketplace.

What kind of growth are you looking at?

We have been growing at about 35 per cent over the last three years and expect to sustain that over the next few years. About 40-50 per cent of our growth will be organic. Even at times when the industry was not doing too well, we could sustain the growth because of our high client retention rate, which is over 70 per cent.