NAVIGATING THE INDIA MATRIX

Big life events make you pause and reflect. And 2024 has been quite the year for me. I’m now a “youthful” 54-year-old first-time dad.

Welcoming my baby coincides with another anniversary: 10 years supporting business in India. Quite a milestone. Given India’s prominence, everyone believes I am onto a winner. The belief is what I do for a living must guarantee nappy purchasing funds.

The Matrix Series turns the spotlight on the business - advisor relationship, shedding light on the opportunity in a unique way. Do business seek out the Oracle, guided by Morpheus? What is international business facing in this market? Just how deep is India’s rabbit hole?

Future instalments therefore explore what knowledge and connectivity help decode India, discussing the tangible outcomes advisors influence, to impact trade and investment.

As India’s rise continues unabated, the perception is demand for expert advice must be increasing exponentially. But in an easy-to-access information age, is this really the case? I was curious enough to if not research, at least calibrate with background reading my view.

I was not as shocked as Neo when he awoke post-red pill, but the reality is rather stark… ?

For example, The World Bank’s Enterprise Analysis Unit historically provided insight through surveys into behaviours to access Emerging and Developing Markets (EMDEs). Pre-COVID (2019), their last exhaustive survey indicated over 60% of business seek support. However, it is worth noting the findings combined market entry and legal support as one.

A fascinating Post-COVID WEF report, flagged that over 67% of businesses were seeking external guidance ?to address both their challenges of supply chain resilience and growth: ??https://www.weforum.org/publications/future-readiness-of-smes-and-mid-sized-companies-a-year-on/. But this excludes MNCs and does not exclusively focus on market entry or come to that, India.

Digging deeper, reports by heavyweight consultancy industry hitters or key India trade bodies provide equally revealing, yet more relevant statistics. I am no mathematician, but my rough calculations aggregating diverse report results from trusted sources, suggests the % of businesses seeking India market entry support is closer to 50 rather than 60% +.

Those seeking advice need to cover wide ranging topics, requiring domain and sub-domain specialism of legal, finance, sectorial expertise and more. As anticipated, understanding the regulatory framework and finding the right partners were key themes.

Yet, surprisingly, the % of business prepared to pay for partner identification or operational set-up is low (10 to 15%). These lag significantly behind market entry staples such as strategy development or market intelligence (20 to 35%). Legal or regulatory compliance vital to business, pip all others as the most common paid support, with tax, running it close. ???

Think about this for a minute. It is brutal. Half the business community do not, for myriad reasons, take any India market entry advice. And a spoiler alert for those jumping on the consulting bandwagon. Less than a third, at best, will ever use your paid advisory services.

To tackle a far from ideal situation, and thrive in the "India Matrix," businesses and advisors must join forces. Yes, businesses should proactively involve experts to plan, prepare and implement India entry. And I have seen the pitfalls from both sides of the fence.

However, when support is sought, advisors must become more adept at articulating the dual options and relative value of free and paid support.

There are fantastic free resources available for business to cut their cloth accordingly. Advisors should know them. And highlight them. Demands beyond the reasonable, feasible or economical arise. Yet, our ethical obligation is to patiently signpost correctly. This does not mean sparing business from harsh truths. Free advisory is akin to a basic simulation, rather than a full view of market dynamics. But, flag limitations empathetically and constructively.

Overall, advisors follow this rule of thumb. It helps us manage our time effectively as we try to concentrate efforts on well-resourced business who can afford our solutions.

In my experience, business is willing to pay for the right advisory support. But demonstrating ROI is not straightforward. Unfortunately, advisors fall into a trap. They give the right answer, but do not consider if the question posed was the correct one. Morpheus instructs and explains to Neo the limits of the Matrix but cannot guarantee how Neo will fare. Advisors cannot promise or guarantee a path to success. What Morpheus does is to provide tools and insights that enhance Neo’s chances of bending the Matrix to his will.

Advisors who best illustrate how their recommendations ensure you make informed, strategic decisions are in high demand because this gives any business confidence they were listened to and understood.

Business cannot ignore ROI, but must be open to qualitative rather than quantitative evidence. They should focus on whether the advisor’s involvement makes them more likely to succeed.

Look out for the next instalment on Thursday focused on understanding the difference between opinion and advice to protect your market entry strategy. And in the meantime, I wish you safe passage through India’s Matrix. Reach out if you think I can be of help.