The primary gig financial system will 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 various sectors and places, together with Asia-Pacific (APAC).
That being stated, market analysis has been round for a lot of extra years. Should you take a look at the definition of the gig financial system, “noun: financial exercise that includes using momentary or freelance employees to carry out jobs sometimes within the service sector,” you’ll see that that is primarily what the market analysis business 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 an alternative of full-time staff displays the transient nature of the work, which has similarities to the momentary nature of market analysis tasks.
With the present growth in gig financial system platforms, the standard market analysis database mannequin is changing into outdated. Folks need multiple means of earning profits; they need it to be simply accessible and fast; they need a good alternate for his or her time; they usually wish 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’ll take a look at a number of 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 is not any secret. A lot of the area’s workforce is comprised of gig employees – preferring to take jobs that provide them extra flexibility and incomes alternative. Whereas there have been a couple of gig financial system platforms which have did not 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 will be attributed to some major issues:
- They’ve a wonderful understanding of the area, together with the hyperlocal markets, they usually have tailored their enterprise mannequin and choices to mirror native situations, demand, preferences, and regulatory necessities.
- They supplied extra alternatives and companies for each shoppers and gig employees 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 decreased by Seize forming an anti-fraud division referred to as GRABdefense, which makes use of AI and machine studying to determine and handle shady exercise on the platform.
One other factor to level out is that Seize was in a position to outperform Uber by creating localized variations of their app that targeted 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 development additional.
Freelancer
One other success story within the area is Freelancer. Freelancer is an Australia-based on-line market for freelance companies, and you will discover nearly anybody for something you want. Their gigs embrace software program growth, writing, knowledge entry, and design proper on via 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 present Swedish web site, www.getafreelancer.com, and rebranded it with the strategic aim of constructing and increasing upon the companies provided and areas lined. He wished to supply as many abilities and fields as attainable. Ranging from a half-baked app supplied a terrific springboard from which to work on a extra subtle providing.
They structured their platform in an intuitive means that allowed employers of just about any measurement to publish jobs, and gig employees may simply bid on them. The simplicity of their UI is essential.
They acquired a number of different area of interest freelance marketplaces/apps that not solely expanded their person base but in addition added to their technological capabilities and decreased their competitors.
Certainly one of Freelancer’s huge challenges to unravel was the time and labor it took to confirm accounts. It might typically 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 expertise to automate the processes concerned, which considerably decreased the time and labor concerned in verification.
Additionally value noting is that Freelancer edged out one other standard freelance platform, Upwork, by providing higher service pricing, which equated to a better person 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 effectively. Whereas unlucky, these failures can function worthwhile 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 throughout 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 almost sufficient consideration to their opponents (Seize and Go-Jek) and, because of this, had been unable to achieve 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 applied 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 targeted on establishing native partnerships and increasing via 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 elements in its failure.
Ofo’s Collapse in China
Gig platforms like Uber have confronted challenges within the APAC area because of difficulties of accountable and efficient growth. Ofo, a Chinese language bike-sharing startup, was in a position to seize an amazing quantity of market share in a really quick 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 crucial and extra bikes than they may service. As an increasing number of bikes fell into disrepair, tens of millions of customers had been left stranded as hundreds of non-functioning bikes littered the streets. Ofo’s collapse in China serves as a very good warning to gig platforms (in any area!) that well-thought out growth is essential 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 effectively with Japan’s extra conventional cultural values and choice for face-to-face interplay. The non-public contact that Japanese shoppers search for was absent in Process Rabbit’s cell 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 Manner
Finally, many of those failures may have been prevented if these corporations performed easy market analysis earlier than increasing into these unknown markets. If that they had finished 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 achieve the area highlights the significance of conducting analysis and understanding the native market demand earlier than increasing.
Sadly, none of this stuff occurred, and all three of those corporations failed to ascertain themselves in APAC. APAC is a market primed for achievement within the gig financial system house, however provided that engaged with appropriately.
