Outsourcing – The Rise of Uber and Airbnb
In recent years, businesses that follow the maxim ‘work smart, not hard’ have all but displaced major industry competitors. Uber and Airbnb are two examples. Both are similar because they’ve used outsourcing to create profitable businesses without the usual associated overheads and risks.
The benefits of outsourcing: Not sweating the small stuff
Uber, the ride-sharing service, has capitalised on the growth in the smartphone market, making it easy for anyone with a GPS-enabled smartphone to open the app and find a nearby driver.
- Uber wins: Drivers use their own vehicles and Uber, as a result, has no costly vehicle maintenance overheads.
- The drivers win: They have the certainty of a steady stream of customers.
- The Uber user wins: Private transport is minutes away at most times (in major cities).
Similarly, by giving property owners the tools and network to market their homes and apartments to travellers for rent, Airbnb has no need to worry about time consuming admin. Airbnb doesn’t have to manage and oversee room-cleaning. By outsourcing all the admin of running an accommodation service, Airbnb can focus more on expansion, marketing and product development.
Outsourcing and reducing risk
Both companies benefit from finding industry partners that are willing to shoulder a share of risk:
- Uber’s drivers shoulder the expense of vehicle acquisition and maintenance
- Airbnb’s property renters shoulder the risk of messy or destructive guests
By thinking out of the box, both companies have found ways to cut corners and not manage everything in-house. This is thinking smart for the modern business world, where mobile technology and crowd-based models make it easier to create a global network of industry partners.
Consistently creating engaging content is more often than not a struggle for most businesses looking to enhance their brand and grow a following in this digital environment. Understanding that your team has limitations and outsourcing your content marketing efforts has many benefits, not the least of which is time saving – working smarter, not harder. Eliminate the extra expense of in-house content creation and outsource your next blogs, articles and social media updates to the experts!
