Relationship building in business markets: experiences of Indian IT service firms

Abstract

Indian Software Industry has been growing at a phenomenal rate for the past 15 years and had helped position emerging India firmly on the Global Services Map. According to NASSCOM the total revenue from Indian Software and Service sector including domestic market has touched nearly USD 40 billion during FY07 and this is expected to grow by 27 percent to reach USD 49-50 Billion in FY08.While it was the need for making the existing applications Y2K compliant that gave the fillip to Indian Software Services players in 1990 s, Indian IT Companies have latched onto the Global Delivery Model coupled with proven processes and delivery capabilities to expand their service offering capabilities to cater to most of the IT needs of corporations in developed economies. Sales and Marketing approach by Indian IT companies is constantly evolving and the challenges faced are aplenty. Fortune 500 / Forbes global 2000 Companies based out of the USA adopted IT outsourcing much earlier than Companies based out of other developed countries. Cultural Sensitivities, language barriers, the way business is conducted in these counties are some of the reasons for slower growth by leading Indian IT companies in other geographies. Marketing and sales approaches in different countries vary. This project attempts to study the conceptual frame work of emergence of Relationship Marketing in B2B scenario, particularly IT Services Marketing and the evolution of marketing and sales approach by Indian IT Services Companies in developed economies. Subsequent sections of this report present the learning from literature review on B2B marketing, importance of relationship building in services marketing, the frame work for relationship building and the building blocks for developing a long sustainable relationship with customers. Section 2 covers the introduction to the study and overview of relationship marketing. Section 3is a summary of relevant literature in relationship marketing focusing on B2B and services context covering relationship building process frame work, building blocks for stable relationships, emergence of relationship marketing in services marketing, the importance of continuous learning in relationship marketing and key account management. Section 4 presents the research methodology followed, whereas research findings are presented in Section 5.