Technology creates opportunities that assist the mankind to design innovative solutions. Very few business leaders have the ability to craft the unique pathway that leads to innovation and creativity. One such persona, passionate about learning and revolutionizing the lives of people is Sanjay Nagi, Founder and Managing Director of Market Insight Consultants. Driven by ‘hunger for newness’, describes him the best. He consistently strives hard to grow the business by upholding the organizational values- Satya (truth), Dharma (duty), Harsh (customer happiness), and Anurag (spirit of winning).
After completing his graduation from IIT Roorkee with B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering in 1983, Sanjay started working for L&T’s Earthmoving Machinery Division. In 1993, he started his first company which he sold subsequently and established Market Insight Consultants which is into decision support consulting.
Apart from this, Sanjay is an international trainer and also run a non-profit trust called MICRUTS foundation. Dreaming to be a multinational, he had also established Modha Investments and Services in Oman which is a trade facilitation bridge between India and Oman.
Being amongst the dominant consultants to facilitate the entry of global companies into India, Sanjay assert, “we have been able to set our footprint outside India by setting up operations in the Middle East. We have also developed a body of research around India’s most important subject of innovation”.
Tackling the External and Internal Challenges
In the initial days, the biggest external challenge faced by Sanjay was to counter the market complexities and outshine its competitors. His sheer commitment to ethics helped him to drive Market Insight Consultants from a market research company to a decision support company, leading to newer success heights. Another major challenge was to foresee and take advanced precautionary measures for the changed buyer-behavior contexts.
On the other hand, tackling the internal challenges also helped Sanjay to be amongst the leading entrepreneurs. He strived hard to sustain the culture of excellence across all his companies. While developing and sustaining teams who help the organization to grow, ensuring the business pipeline to see the organization meets its operational costs over a certain time horizon was also a key challenge. Engaging clients in a fiercely competitive market where price undercutting was becoming the norm was also a thought-provoking deal for Sanjay. As a remedial measure, Sanjay de-risked his business by getting into retainership projects which ensure steady revenue to chart into new market waters.
Unique Services Across-the-board
Under the leadership of Sanjay, Market Insight Consultants delivers a wide-range of services that highlight:
Highest in Industry Service Diversity – The company offers exclusive services for Market Feasibilities, Market Entry Strategy for foreign players planning to foray into Indian Market, Customer satisfaction studies and systems set up. It also provides solutions for Quality enhancement at International Airports, Media and communication needs assessment research, Partner section and joint venture search, and Innovation Research. The company also sets itself apart through its prominent Project Management and Consultancy services.
Highest in Industry Sector Diversity- Market Insight Consultants is providing exceptional services to a wide-range of sectors including Aviation, Engineering, Electronics and Electrical, Handicrafts, Food, FMCG, Luxury etc.
Additionally, the company’s new service range for startups mentors and consults their market access in a very unique combination.
MD’s Take on Current Industry Scenario
“We straddle two spaces – the Market Research Space and the Consulting Space”, states Sanjay.
He believes that the market research industry in India is largely unregulated with the presence of MNCs, domestic majors and a plethora of SMEs. Typically work keeps getting handed down to a sub-contractor and then to another sub-contractor so quality standards are difficult to maintain. Also, there is client pressure on using technology for data collection, something Sanjay had predicted twenty years back is happening now. He ensures that the technology as well as social media will make a number of companies redundant if they do not change.
Sanjay also believes that, in the consulting space, the larger consultants are able to handle multiple sectors, but most consulting companies can work only in limited domains. He avows, “with our service and sector diversity and ability to offer par services at lower fees, we have been able to future proof ourselves”.
Opining the Budding Entrepreneurs
Expressing his viewpoints about the startup forums, Sanjay says “for an entrepreneur getting to know him first is much better before building VUCA capability and tenacity followed by the relationship skills”. On the business model front, he suggests the budding entrepreneurs to be clear about what specific needs their products and services propose to solve-in the market and stay relevant in face of the competition.
Foreseeing the Future
With the trend of Indian economy to remain upward in the future, there would be a significant increase of foreign players planning to test the Indian markets. This would surely increase the need of reliable and experienced consulting partners to handhold them in India. As such, Sanjay is gearing-up along with his team to work progressively towards achieving newer milestones. Also, technology is going to disrupt the traditional MR practices, spurring growing use of digital tools for data collection, and real time quality checks on surveys. Acknowledging this, Sanjay articulates “we are relentlessly pursuing overseas business development and our aim is establishing ourselves on global consultancy map in the next three years”.
Source :-The 10 Most Creative Corporate Leaders to watch in 2018
