The primary gig financial system may be dated again to 1995 with the creation of Craigslist within the USA. It wasn’t till latest years that this innovation exploded throughout many alternative sectors and places, together with Asia-Pacific (APAC).
That being stated, market analysis has been round for a lot of extra years. In the event you take a look at the definition of the gig financial system, “noun: financial exercise that includes the usage of non permanent or freelance staff to carry out jobs usually within the service sector,” you’ll see that that is primarily what the market analysis trade has been doing since its inception – exchanging somebody’s time and mental labor in return for an incentive. The gig financial system’s reliance on unbiased contractors as a substitute of full-time staff displays the transient nature of the work, which has similarities to the non permanent nature of market analysis tasks.
With the present increase in gig financial system platforms, the standard market analysis database mannequin is turning into outdated. Individuals need multiple manner of getting cash; they need it to be simply accessible and fast; they need a good trade for his or her time; they usually need to really feel revered. This gig employee platform mannequin is a two-way course of, each events want one another to succeed.
On this article, we are going to take a look at among the largest gig financial system platforms all through APAC, paying attention to their failures and their successes.
SUCCESS OF GIG PLATFORMS IN APAC
The expansion of the gig financial system within the APAC area isn’t any secret. A lot of the area’s workforce is comprised of gig staff – preferring to take jobs that supply them extra flexibility and incomes alternative. Whereas there have been a number of gig financial system platforms which have didn’t take off, there are a selection of success tales about platforms which have skilled nice success.
Seize is likely one of the largest gig financial system platforms within the area. What began as a ride-hailing app (like Uber) for Malaysians has advanced right into a extra complete “tremendous app” that gives quite a lot of gigs and companies, together with meals supply, parcel supply/courier companies, and ride-hailing.
The success of Seize may be attributed to a couple major issues:
- They’ve a superb understanding of the area, together with the hyperlocal markets, they usually have tailored their enterprise mannequin and choices to replicate native circumstances, demand, preferences, and regulatory necessities.
- They offered extra alternatives and companies for each shoppers and gig staff by increasing their choices to incorporate greater than only a single gig (e.g., ride-hailing).
One of many early challenges confronted by Seize, which comes as no shock to anybody, was fraud! GPS spoofing, phantom bookings, and different usually nefarious issues involving fraud had been considerably diminished by Seize forming an anti-fraud division known as GRABdefense, which makes use of AI and machine studying to establish and handle shady exercise on the platform.
One other factor to level out is that Seize was capable of outperform Uber by creating localized variations of their app that centered on native markets, thereby adapting to totally different cultures and languages within the area. In addition they acquired Uber’s enterprise in Southeast Asia in 2018, which accelerated their progress additional.
Freelancer
One other success story within the area is Freelancer. Freelancer is an Australia-based on-line market for freelance companies, and you could find nearly anybody for something you want. Their gigs embrace software program growth, writing, information entry, and design proper on by to engineering, the sciences, gross sales and advertising and marketing, and accounting and authorized companies!
In truth, they now declare to be the world’s largest freelancing and crowdsourcing market by their variety of customers and tasks.
So how did Freelancer do it?
The founder, Matt Barrie, bought an current Swedish web site, www.getafreelancer.com, and rebranded it with the strategic purpose of constructing and increasing upon the companies supplied and areas lined. He wished to supply as many expertise and fields as potential. Ranging from a half-baked app offered an incredible springboard from which to work on a extra refined providing.
They structured their platform in an intuitive manner that allowed employers of nearly any measurement to submit jobs, and gig staff might simply bid on them. The simplicity of their UI is vital.
They acquired a number of different area of interest freelance marketplaces/apps that not solely expanded their consumer base but additionally added to their technological capabilities and diminished their competitors.
Certainly one of Freelancer’s massive challenges to resolve was the time and labor it took to confirm accounts. It might usually take days to confirm a single account. They streamlined the account verification course of by forming a Know Your Buyer (KYC) program and investing in higher know-how to automate the processes concerned, which considerably diminished the time and labor concerned in verification.
Additionally price noting is that Freelancer edged out one other in style freelance platform, Upwork, by providing higher service pricing, which equated to the next consumer satisfaction score.
Whereas these are solely two examples of success tales within the area, the listing is rising because the demand for casual and versatile work alternatives will increase. Nevertheless, there have been loads of failures alongside the best way as properly. Whereas unlucky, these failures can function beneficial classes and spotlight the intricacies and nuances of this area.
FAILURE OF GIG PLATFORMS IN APAC
Uber’s Retreat from Southeast Asia
Uber’s foray into Southeast Asia and subsequent failure to ascertain itself inside the market ought to function a cautionary story to any firm wanting towards worldwide growth. When Uber first started increasing to this area in 2018, they didn’t pay practically sufficient consideration to their rivals (Seize and Go-Jek) and, consequently, had been unable to realize any vital market share regardless of their massive monetary investments within the area.
Uber merely tried to rinse and repeat the identical methods it had carried out in different markets, whereas Seize and Go-Jek catered their strategy to the distinctive challenges of the area. For instance, Uber largely approached their launch on this space in isolation whereas Seize and Go-Jek centered on establishing native partnerships and increasing by a partner- led strategy.
Moreover, Seize and GoJek did a greater job of prioritizing and sustaining regulatory compliance, which is of accelerating significance globally. Uber’s lack of consideration to regional nuances and its failure to adapt to the native market had been vital components in its failure.
Ofo’s Collapse in China
Gig platforms like Uber have confronted challenges within the APAC area attributable to difficulties of accountable and efficient growth. Ofo, a Chinese language bike-sharing startup, was capable of seize an amazing quantity of market share in a really brief period of time. Nevertheless, in an try and capitalize on their early success and sustain with their ever-growing demand, Ofo pushed themselves to scale at a tempo they couldn’t handle or maintain.
They flooded China’s streets with extra bikes than vital and extra bikes than they might service. As increasingly more bikes fell into disrepair, hundreds of thousands of customers had been left stranded as 1000’s of non-functioning bikes littered the streets. Ofo’s collapse in China serves as warning to gig platforms (in any area!) that well-thought out growth is vital to long-term success.
TaskRabbit’s Restricted Success in Japan
TaskRabbit, a platform for outsourcing on a regular basis duties, entered the Japanese market with excessive hopes. Nevertheless, their American enterprise mannequin didn’t mesh properly with Japan’s extra conventional cultural values and choice for face-to-face interplay. The private contact that Japanese shoppers search for was absent in Activity Rabbit’s cellular ad-hoc service. The app by no means caught on as on a regular basis Japanese shoppers opted to work with repairmen that they had been referred to or knew personally.
THE IMPORTANCE OF MARKET RESEARCH
Market Analysis Goes a Lengthy Method
In the end, many of those failures might have been averted if these firms performed easy market analysis earlier than increasing into these unknown markets. If they’d carried out this, Uber and TaskRabbit would have understood the native preferences, rules, and aggressive landscapes of Southeast Asia and Japan (and will have tailored their companies accordingly). Equally, Ofo’s failure to reach the area highlights the significance of conducting analysis and understanding the native market demand earlier than increasing.
Sadly, none of these items occurred, and all three of those firms failed to ascertain themselves in APAC. APAC is a market primed for fulfillment within the gig financial system house, however provided that engaged with accurately.
