Tapping the BOP Segment - Opportunities Galore - Free Resources - Articles

Tapping the BOP Segment - Opportunities Galore

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BOP - A Global Opportunity

Most of the MNCs primarily focused on serving the rich, and the upper middle-class consumers, and so they failed to identify the market at the BOP. Experts say, companies, that serve the BOP market will have four distinct sources of opportunity. They are:

• BOP markets are large and quite attractive
• Local innovations in the BOP market can help create global opportunities
• Innovations in the BOP market can be applied in developed markets also.
• Lessons learnt from the BOP markets can help multinational companies improve their operational efficiencies.

All these can be made possible when companies come forward with a better approach to help the poor. This approach should involve partnering with the consumers to continuously innovate products so that it results in a win-win situation for both consumers and marketers. Thus, companies can become profitable by offering the products and services needed for these consumers while creating a feeling in the consumers that they are actively engaged in the market.

Global Examples
There are several examples of some of the world’s renowned companies working towards the betterment of BOP consumers and serving them with products that meet their requirements. Companies across a wide range of industries such as health and personal care, energy, services and agriculture, etc., have come up with innovative products to serve the BOP consumers. Casas Bahia, the largest retail chain in Brazil, came up with an innovative business model to serve BOP consumers. According to its business model, the company educates consumers about the importance and usage of products available in their stores, and then offers them financial assistance to purchase those products, so that it ensures that their capacity to consume also increases. Cemex, one of the largest cement manufacturing companies in the world, came up with a scheme called “Patrimonio Hoy,” under which it assisted the consumers in using part of their savings to build their own houses.

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